ovince of Kiang-su, and those of Hang-chow in Cheh-kiang, are highly
esteemed throughout China. Silk-weaving is still carried on solely in
native looms and chiefly in the cities named. The greater part of the
silk spun is used in China, but a considerable export trade has grown
up and 27% of the world's supply of raw silk is from China. The
reeling of silk cocoons by steam-machinery is supplanting native
methods. There are filatures for winding silk at Shanghai, Canton,
Chifu and other cities.

The most famous porcelain came from the province of Kiang-si, the seat
of the industry being the city of King-te-chen. Imperial works were
established here about the year A.D. 1000, and the finest porcelain is
sent to Peking for the use of the emperor. At one time 1,000,000
work-people were said to be employed, and the kilns numbered 600. The
Taiping rebels destroyed the kilns in 1850. Some of them have been
rebuilt. "Activity begins to reign anew, but the porcelain turned out
is far from equalling in colour and finish that of former times. At
the present day King-te-chen has but 160 furnaces and employs 160,000
workmen."[20] The common rice bowls sold throughout China are
manufactured here. The value of the export sales is said to be about
L500,000 yearly.

Cotton, &c.

The spinning and weaving of cotton on hand-looms is carried on almost
universally. Besides that locally manufactured, the whole of the large
import of Indian yarn is worked up into cloth by the women of the
household. Four-fifths of the clothing of the lower classes is
supplied by this domestic industry. Of minor industries Indian ink is
manufactured in Ngan-hui and Sze-ch'uen, fans, furniture, lacquer ware
and matting in Kwang-tung, dyes in Cheh-kiang and Chih-li, and
varnished tiles in Hu-nan. Paper, bricks and earthenware are made in
almost all the provinces.

Of industries on a large scale--other than those indicated--the most
important are cotton-spinning and weaving mills established by foreign
companies at Shanghai. Permission to carry on this industry was
refused to foreigners until the right was secured by the Japanese
treaty following the war of 1894-95. Some native-owned mills had been
working before that date, and were reported to have made large
profits. Nine mills, with an aggregate of 400,000 spindles, were
working in 1906, five of them under foreign management. There