Huang Tiansheng
01 · Lineage & Regional School
Huang Tiansheng, Male, Han, from Foshanshishunde, Guangdong, is a sixth-batch national representative bearer of Xiangyunsharanzhengjiyi (Ⅷ-107). The tradition is documented in Foshanshishunde, Guangdong. Within the regional tradition and school record of Xiangyunsharanzhengjiyi in Foshanshishunde, Guangdong: The chief town for Shunde's sun-curing was around Lunjiao, amid villages threaded by waterways; the dyes are only two: the juice of Dioscorea cirrhosa and river-mud containing high-valent iron ions. In the late Qing and early Republican period gambiered gauze already reached foreign markets; in the 1920s all of Shunde had as many as five hundred-plus sun-curing factories and over ten thousand workers, with a daily output of more than four thousand meters. Today only the Lunjiao Chengyi Sun-curing Factory remains, and no more than two old hands thoroughly understand sun-curing. Records of the dye plant Dioscorea cirrhosa (shuliang) already existed in the Tang dynasty, and both Shen Kuo of the Northern Song and Li Shizhen of the Ming dynasty described its dyeing properties. During the Yongle reign of the Ming dynasty, Guangdong's gambiered gauze was already being exported abroad, and the gambiered gauze produced in the late Qing and early Republican period was even more welcomed by domestic and foreign markets. The sericulture and silk-reeling industry of Shunde District, Foshan City, has a long history. At its height in the 1920s, Shunde had more than five hundred sun-curing factories, over ten thousand workers, and a daily output of more than four thousand meters of aromatic cloud gauze.
02 · Mastery & Signature Works
The bearer record for Huang Tiansheng is anchored in the documented technical standards of Xiangyunsharanzhengjiyi in Foshanshishunde, Guangdong. Within the documented technical tradition of Xiangyunsharanzhengjiyi in Foshanshishunde, Guangdong: Shunde District of Foshan City lies in the heart of the Pearl River Delta and has long enjoyed the reputation of being the "silk capital of the south," where the full dyeing and finishing technique of aromatic cloud gauze has been preserved intact. The aromatic cloud gauze dyeing and finishing technique, also called sun-curing (shailiang), is a process that uses the plant dye Dioscorea cirrhosa to color silk. Aromatic cloud gauze, also called "rustling cloud gauze" (xiangyunsha), has many advantages: it is crisp yet soft and smooth, has excellent fastness to sunlight and washing, strong water resistance, is easy to wash and quick to dry, has deep color and resists soiling, does not stick to the skin, is light and resists wrinkling, and is soft yet substantial, durable for long wear. It is especially suited to wearing in hot summers, and is therefore deeply favored by consumers, famous at home and abroad; it was once exported to Europe and America, India, and Southeast Asia, and was praised by overseas people as "black shimmering pearl" attire, becoming a renowned product of Chinese silk. In its fourteen-step dyeing process, aromatic cloud gauze uses only the juice of the natural plant Dioscorea cirrhosa and river-mud containing high-valent iron ions, containing no chemical auxiliaries whatsoever, and producing no harmful waste that pollutes the environment. Because aromatic cloud gauze is purely handmade, its process is complex, its output is small, and it is constrained by weather and environment, its production is low and the number of practitioners is steadily decreasing. Representative repertoire, works and technical entries recorded for the project include: "Archival Record of Process Steps": In its fourteen-step dyeing process, aromatic cloud gauze uses only the juice of the natural plant Dioscorea cirrhosa and river-mud containing high-valent iron ions, containing no chemical auxiliaries whatsoever, and producing no harmful waste that pollutes the environment.
Archival Record of Process Steps
In its fourteen-step dyeing process, aromatic cloud gauze uses only the juice of the natural plant Dioscorea cirrhosa and river-mud containing high-valent iron ions, containing no chemical auxiliaries whatsoever, and producing no harmful waste that pollutes the environment.
Core Technique I
Shunde District of Foshan City lies in the heart of the Pearl River Delta and has long enjoyed the reputation of being the "silk capital of the south," where the full dyeing and finishing technique of aromatic cloud gauze has been preserved intact.
Core Technique II
The aromatic cloud gauze dyeing and finishing technique, also called sun-curing (shailiang), is a process that uses the plant dye Dioscorea cirrhosa to color silk.
Core Technique III
Aromatic cloud gauze, also called "rustling cloud gauze" (xiangyunsha), has many advantages: it is crisp yet soft and smooth, has excellent fastness to sunlight and washing, strong water resistance, is easy to wash and quick to dry, has deep color and resists soiling, does not stick to the skin, is light and resists wrinkling, and is soft yet substantial, durable for long wear.
03 · Transmission & Safeguarding Status
In 2025, Huang Tiansheng was announced in the sixth batch of national representative bearers for Xiangyunsharanzhengjiyi, with Foshanshishunde, Guangdong as the declared area. Within the documented safeguarding record of Xiangyunsharanzhengjiyi in Foshanshishunde, Guangdong: The project was inscribed in the national inventory in 2008 (batch 2), with Foshanshishunde, Guangdong as its declared area, and Foshan Shunde District Lunjiaojiedao Cultural Station as its safeguarding unit. Since the project was inscribed in the national inventory, its declared area and safeguarding unit have carried out documentation, transmission and presentation within the national safeguarding framework. Together, the inventory record and the project archive form the public documentary basis for the bearer’s transmission practice.
04 · Associated Heritage Item Dossier
Historical origin
Records of the dye plant Dioscorea cirrhosa (shuliang) already existed in the Tang dynasty, and both Shen Kuo of the Northern Song and Li Shizhen of the Ming dynasty described its dyeing properties. During the Yongle reign of the Ming dynasty, Guangdong's gambiered gauze was already being exported abroad, and the gambiered gauze produced in the late Qing and early Republican period was even more welcomed by domestic and foreign markets.
05 · Fellow National Bearers Lineage
National representative bearers recorded under the same item code, ordered from the first to the sixth batch. Batch order is not a teacher–student relationship.
| Bearer | Declared area | Roster code | Relation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liang Zhu | Foshanshishunde, Guangdong | 03-1366 | Same declared area |
| Huang Tiansheng | Foshanshishunde, Guangdong | — | This page |
06 · Archival Sources & Bibliography
This static English edition is rendered at the edge for search engines, AI crawlers and readers without JavaScript. Compiled from official national representative bearer archival records and the associated project dossier, organized by topic and translated into English. 阅读中文版。