国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

suffisante de cocons : contrevenir à cet ordre était, disait le décret, à révolter contre la lumière
et renoncer à la protection des dieux."

The quality of Khoten silk has always been considered superior; owing, however, to an
inferior method of reeling, it cannot compete with the silk of Khokand, and Khoten manu-
factured silk is valueless as an article of export; it is, however, largely used by women in
chogas, and a mixed cloth of silk and cotton, known as silk chakman (mushroo), is very
commonly worn by both sexes.

The wearing of garments, made entirely of silk, by men, being prohibited by the Sheriat,
such have been discontinued as articles of men's apparel since the expulsion of the Chinese.

As a rule, the silk manufacture is a purely domestic business; that is, both reeling and
manufacture are carried on in the house where the eggs are hatched and the worms reared;
there is, however, a sale for cocoons in the market, the purchasers being regular traders, who
sell again to reelers; spun silk being again bought by Andijani merchants and others. Silk
weavers laboring apart are usually employed by Andijani merchants, one of whom, last year,
made some improvement in the reeling process, and arranged for the working of 15 reels by the
turning of a single wheel. I refer to this in order to show that the introduction of machinery
would be readily welcomed in Khoten.

In a note on sericulture placed in the Appendix, I have detailed what I have been able to
gather on this subject.

Although manufactured silk is not exported, it is found profitable to send spun silk to the
markets of Khokand, and the waste silk of Khoten finds a sale at Almati (Vernoe). (The
paper used for the note currency in Russian Turkestan is said to be made from this.)

This year, at the request of Mr. Christie of the Sujanpúr Filature (near Gúrdaspúr in the
Punjab), an order was given in Yarkand for cocoons of Khoten silk to be brought down to the
Filature; it was further arranged to send a certain number of cocoons to the Filature of His
Highness the Maharaja of Kashmir as an experiment. It is hoped that the money these
cocoons will fetch in the markets of Kashmir and Umritsur will fully repay the cost of
carriage.

Mr. R. B. Shaw, in his Trade Report of 1873-74, as British Joint Commissioner of Ladakh,
paragraph 63, indicates further an opening in England for the sale of refuse silk and pierced
cocoons from Khoten.

"The trade in refuse silk and cocoons also promises well. Pierced cocoons (that is, those
out of which the grub has eaten its way) are considered utterly worthless in Central Asia, yet
in England these same pierced cocoons are in great demand, as they are treated by carding
machinery and spun into threads which are used in various fabrics. There is no silk reeling
industry in England, I believe, to utilise entire cocoons. The probable price mentioned for the
pierced ones in Khoten is such as to leave a hundred per cent. profit after paying all expenses
when compared with the rate offered in England. When a demand springs up the Khoten rate
will most likely rise, leaving only a more moderate profit."

The carpets of Khoten are celebrated for the excellence of their manufacture, and for the
variety of their patterns: they are made at three places in the province, Sumpúla, Yungkásh
and near Khoten itself: they are made either of silk or of wool, and gold thread is often intro-
duced into the pattern.

The wool made use of is chiefly obtained from the Kirghiz settled in the mountain districts
south of Khoten, by whom it is spun and sold in the weekly bazaars; the dyeing is carried out
by the carpet manufacturer. Madder, indigo, and cochineal are amongst the imported dyes,
the mordants employed being alum in the case of browns and yellows, and grape juice for
blues and mixed colors.

The cost of labor in the Khoten district is very slight, and the carpet-makers are hired as
required by those who are rich enough to purchase the material and set up the frames. There
are two kinds of frames, the standard frame which is placed perpendicularly, and a horizon-
tal frame which is placed near the ground; the latter is generally used with large carpets, but
the perpendicular frame allows of the work being better done.

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