Hifiory of the Art of Dyeing, 21^ 



the Chinefo, Hoang-ti, one of their carlieft emperors, was 

 the firfl: who wore a blue drefs, as bcintr the colour of tlic 

 heavens, and a yellow one, as behig the colour of the earth ^. , 

 He alfo caufed drefles of different colours to be made in imi- 

 tation of flowers and birds, that they might fervc as marks of 

 diftiuL^lion to the high and the low, the rich and the poor, 

 in his empire f. 



More infianccs which fliow that the art of dyeing was 

 held in high efleem at an early period among other nations, 

 might eafily be colle6led from antient hiftory ; but what has 

 been faid is fufficient to prove" the great antiquity of it, and 

 how Toon it was fpread almoft over the whole inhabited part 

 of the globe. 



Though it might be of great utilitv, and enable us to ex- 

 tend and improve the art of dyeing as pra6\ifed at prefent, if 

 we could procure a complete account of all the methods and 

 ingredients employed by the antient dyers, the information 

 left us by the antients on this fiibjedl is exceedingly defective 

 and obfcure : for their philofophers and hiilorians did not 

 think it Wv')rth their while to give a minute defcription of 

 things which were generally known in their time; and be-, 

 fides this, they were too proud to condefcend to viiit tradcf- 

 men for the purpofe of making themfclves acquainted with 

 the proceffes which they followed in their different arts J. 

 Even Pliny deferves reprehealion on account of this miftakem 

 pride when he fays : '^ I (liould have defcribcd the art of 

 dyeing, had it been included am6ng the number of the liberal 

 arts§/' 



As further information, therefore, is not to be obtained, I 

 fliall lay before the reader the following catalogue of dye* 



'■'■ Martini, Hiftoire dc la Chine, liy. i. p. 42. 



\ Goguer, Oii<^ine des Loix, vol. iii. p. 336^ 



% Of all the antient philofophers none feems to have entertained mo« 

 '.id ideas on this fubjc6t than Socrates, who thought that the hand of the 

 tift ought to be guided by the eye of philofophy, and for this reafon often 

 ^^itried his fcholars to the workfhops to fee the different procefTcs ufed in 

 them. Sonie plcafing iuftances of this may be found in Xenoplion's Me*- 

 anorabilia. * 



£ Plinv. lib. xxii. z. . 



