Creating an identity is crucial for survival, whether of individuals, countries or commercial products. Carefully selected elements combine positive pieces from the past to project a desired image into the present. Weaving Identity illustrates the process of transition through the tale of a special textile, as cloth manufacture typically triggers the movement from field to factory in an industrial revolution. Scotland’s Harris Tweed, famously “hand woven in the Outer Hebrides”, transformed national identities through two turbulent centuries. The culture and history of home weavers turning the color of their landscape into material for markets on the other side of the world form an integral part of a globe spanning story involving wars, famine, migrations, industrialization and modernization. Key characters include the Scottish tycoon who capitalized on his profits from the Opium War to break the 19thcentury power of China and buy the birthplace of Harris Tweed at the time of its creation. The tale concludes with the purchase of major shares in one of the few remaining tweed mills by an entrepreneur from resurgent China, Japan’s emergence as a major market, and the Scots’ struggle to preserve and take pride in their cultural symbols. Tales of textile production’s involvement in the modernization of these countries, Japan, Thailand and Bhutan feature in other chapters. American examples include Pendleton and the role of Nike in tweed’s rebirth. Colorful illustrations taken on location accompany the text.
Tabla de materias
Contents
Figures and Tables
Timeline
Prologue Setting the Scene
Chapter 1 Spinning the Tale
- Weaver women
- Historical setting
- Matheson’s Lewis and Harris Tweed
- Global capitalism’s bedfellows
Chapter 2 China, Matheson and the First Opium War
- Roots of war
- Biography of a global capitalist
- Opium War aftermath: Taipan and Taiping
Chapter 3 Material and Modernization: Traditional to early 20thCentury
- Steps in the process
- From cottage to mill manufacturing
- Modernization and textile transition: Pendleton USA
- Tough times and textiles: Early 20thcentury China
Chapter 4 Asian Textile Transitions: Modernization Mixes
- Colonial influences
- Japan’s journey: tradition and textiles
- The Meiji Revolution: Opening to the West
- Thailand: Jim Thompson Silk
- Bhutan: Royal intervention
Chapter 5 Crossing Paths: Scottish Crofters, Chinese Revolutions
- China reborn
- Lewis emerges from the wars
- An industry on life support
- Moving forward
Chapter 6 The Dragon Leaps Overseas
- Launching Chinese Outward Foreign Direct Investment
- Investing in the UK
- Shandong Ruyi Science and Technology Group
Chapter 7 Tides in Global Trade: Recession Rebound
- Spring 2009 – 2016
- Clouds part and reappear
- Straws in the wind:
- Stornoway reconfigures
- Carloway seeks survival
- Shawbost shows a way
- Weavers
- Retail outlets
Chapter 8 Future Patterns: A New Textile Trail?
- Summarizing Development
- Colorful past, global future
Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Index
Sobre el autor
Susan Walcott is Professor Emerita at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Degrees from Swarthmore, Rutgers and Indiana University were in history and geography, specializing in China and East Asian modernization.
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