122 THE BLUE DYES OF CHINA AND INDIA. 



Thou-tien, or Tcha-lan. — There are in China several species of 

 Indigo/era, and one of them yields a blue dye. Dr. Williams states that 

 it is /. coccinea ; and Loureiro, /. tinctoria. There are extensive plantations 

 of indigo in the southern provinces of China, especially in those of 

 Kouang-si, Kouang-ton, and Fokien. The cultivation does not extend 

 beyond Tche-kiang. A Chinese dyer affirms that, the blue of the Indi- 

 gofera paste is not only superior to the other Chinese and Siamese indigos, 

 but also to the solid indigos of Java and Manila. 



Siaou-lan, Northern Ian. — In the vicinity of Pekin are plantations of a 

 species of Polygonum, which, on fermentation, yields a fine indigo. Thun- 

 berg and others enumerate the following species in use for blue dyes. 

 Polygonum Chinense, P. barbatum, P. perfoliatum, P. aviculare, and P. tinc- 

 torium. Whole fields of a species of Polygonum are cultivated at Tchou- 

 san for dye purposes. The malan is supposed to be P. barbatum, and the 

 Choiu-liao, P. perfoliatum. In 1784 the missionaries of Pekin stated — " It 

 seems beyond a doubt that the plant Ian, from which indigo is obtained, 

 has been known and cultivated for dye purposes centuries before the 

 Christian era. It seems certain that it is a true Persicaria." 



Tien-hoa, or Tien-tsing. — The Isatis Indigotica, Fort., yields this dye. 

 The plant grows in almost every province of China, but principally in 

 Fokien, Kiang-sou, Kiang-se, Tche-kiang, Koang-toung, and Kouang-si. 

 A considerable proportion of the Hen indigo used at Canton comes from the 

 latter province. At Amoy much is obtained from the Isle of Formosa, and 

 the district of Thsiouen-tcheou-fou. It is sold to the dyers in the form of 

 a gummy, almost liquid, paste, and they take precautions to prevent its 

 drying up, as, when dry, it only yields a blackish colour. This stuff yields 

 solid dark blues. The boiler is charged with 300 litres of cold water, 38 

 kilogrammes of indigo, and 1J kilogramme of shell lime. For every kilo- 

 gramme of indigo subsequently put into the boiler 37i oz. of lime are 

 added, with sufficient water to keep the vessel full. The boiler is charged 

 six or seven days before the period of dyeing. In some factories the cloth 

 to be dyed is first dipped in water, tinged with vinegar. A blue black in 

 much esteem is obtained from a mixture of this indigo, with the fruit of 

 Kao-hoa (Fortuncea Cliinensis). 



Tien-Ching. — Mr. Fortune first drew attention to this dye, noticed by 

 him in the province of Tche-kiang. He says : — " It is obtained from a 

 species of Ruellia (R. indigotica'). It is singular that a plant of this genus, 

 perhaps the very same, has been recently discovered in Assam, where it is 

 similarly cultivated for the blue dye it yields. Who knows but we are on 

 the eve of discovering that this species, producing a dye unknown to trade, 

 is cultivated everywhere, from the eastern shores of China to the frontiers 

 of Bengal." At Tche-kiang, the indigo is extracted from the stems and 

 leaves of this plant by the process of steeping and pounding, and it is sold 

 in the form of a paste, called tien-ching, at the rate of from 40 to 80 centimes 

 per kilogramme. 



