Abstract
Tapestries from the Du Jinsheng Factory and Guo Hua Artistic Silk Factory were created near the
end of the Nanjing Decade (1927-1937) as part of the canon of propaganda for a strong, unified,
modern Republic of China (1912-1949). Since the Late Qing dynasty (1644-1912), imported
industry, such as steam reeling factories and Jacquard looms, were adapted by businessmen and
workers to advance an autonomous economy for the survival of the nation. Political rhetoric was
an amalgamation of internationalism such as modern industry with Nationalist ideologies such as
appropriated dynastic history. The politics and economics of the silk industry culminated in the
production and popularity of silk tapestries. The New Life Movement, championed by the CC
Clique and Chiang Kai-Shek, propagated the idea of “National Spirit.” This concept is epitomized
by the tapestries as the central tenets were the appropriation of dynastic history and modernization
to create a strong, resilient nation. The tapestries were also ideologically aligned with the National
Products Movement which championed the purchasing of domestically manufactured products,
especially silk. Tapestries from Hangzhou in the interwar years have never been studied before
which augments the importance and difficulty of my research.