Quick Answer: What Is Chinese Luo Gauze?
Luo (罗, luó) is a Chinese gauze family in which warp threads cross one another as the weft passes through. The crossings hold open areas in the weave. Some fabrics vary the crossing or combine gauze with a denser weave to form motifs.[1][2][3]
- Structure: The openings relate to the way neighboring warp threads cross.[1]
- Examples: Tang and Song silks preserve different gauze grounds and patterns.[2][3]
- Uses: Hangzhou’s weaving tradition includes lightweight cloth for summer dress and hangings.[4]
Use the thread intersections and the catalog description to identify a gauze.
Begin with an opening in the cloth and trace the threads that surround it. A gauze can look like a mesh when seen through light, but a close view of the threads tells you how the opening was made.
Find the Crossings in the Warp
Warp threads run lengthwise on the loom, and the weft crosses them. In gauze weaving, adjacent warp threads also cross one another. The crossings bunch those threads together and leave open spaces beside them. The resulting holes can be irregular, depending on the order and number of crossings.[5]
Historical examples use different arrangements. Yueluo (越罗, Yuèluó), associated with the Yue region of present-day Zhejiang, is a named Tang gauze. Other gauzes are named for their thread arrangement rather than a region. Read a place name and a weave description as different kinds of information.[5]
Compare a Tang Diamond and a Song Camellia
A silk from the Tang dynasty uses four-warp gauze for the ground and two-warp gauze to form small diamonds. Two pieces of clamp-resist gauze are sewn onto the larger textile. The weave gives the fabric its open structure, and clamp-resist dyeing adds color to selected pieces.[2]
A brown Song dynasty silk fragment from De’an measures 32 by 27 centimeters. Scrolling camellias appear in a right-hand twill pattern against a three-warp gauze ground. Look at the flower and the space beside it to see how two interlacings produce contrast within one textile.[1][3]
Read the Stripes in Hangzhou Luo
Hangluo (杭罗, Hángluó), or Hangzhou luo, uses mulberry silk in a combination of plain-weave and gauze structures. Its openings can be arranged in regular horizontal or vertical stripes. That produces a different look from the camellia motif woven into a gauze ground.[4]
The Hangzhou weaving record names summer shirts, informal clothing and textile hangings among its uses. Hold a modern swatch up to the light to see the regular rows of openings. Look along the fabric to see whether openings repeat in stripes or occur around a larger motif.[4]
Distinguish Luo From Other Sheer Silks
The term sha (纱, shā) can refer to some fabrics woven with two crossing warps and can also be used for sheer plain-weave cloth. Luo often describes more complex crossing arrangements, although regional names can cover other structures. The English word “gauze” can appear in both sets of labels.[1][4][5]
Compare a close view of the threads with the material name. Chinese silk chou explains why historical names can change meaning. Chinese silk damask ling provides examples of motifs produced by contrasting twill structures.
FAQs About Chinese Luo Gauze
Are luo and sha the same?
They can both be translated as gauze. A textile record may use them for different warp crossings or for a sheer plain weave, so check the named structure.[1]
How can a flower appear in luo gauze?
A motif can use a different weave from its ground. The Song camellia fragment uses a twill flower pattern on a three-warp gauze base.[3]
Does light weight identify luo?
No. At Mawangdui, the curved-front unlined gown weighs 48 grams and the straight-front one weighs 49 grams. Both are cataloged as plain gauze gowns. To distinguish the weave, use a close view or a technical description of the yarn crossings.[6]
Sources
[1] China National Silk Museum. What Are Ling, Luo, Chou and Duan? Part One
[2] China National Silk Museum. Patterned Gauze With Clamp-Resist Inserts
[3] China National Silk Museum. Brown Gauze With Scrolling Camellias
[4] China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network. Hangzhou Luo Weaving
[5] China National Silk Museum. China’s Silk Textile Structures
[6] Hunan Department of Culture and Tourism. Mawangdui Plain Unlined Gauze Gowns