Ancient silk generally gets its name from its frame, line and color. Modern silk continues to use old names, such as Zhou, Ling, Ti and Juan. But there are also some loan words, such as georgette, taffeta and so on. At present, based on the silk's structure, material, processing technique, appearance and use, there are 14 main kinds of silk, including Sha, Luo, Ling and Juan.
1. Sha, which is also called plain gauze, is all or partly woven by well-proportioned eyelets.
2. Luo can be divided into vertical silk, horizontal silk, flower silk and plain silk.
3. Ling's surface has diagonal lines, which look like a leaning ice mountain.
4. Juan has a tabby frame which is fine and leveled.
5. Fang has a tabby frame, too, and is thin and soft.
6. Jin is beautiful and colorful. The most famous brocade is Sichuan brocade and Song dynasty brocade.
7. Duan is a kind of fabric which is smooth, bright and close.
8. Ti has plain silk and flower silk. They are thick and the lines are clear.
9. Ge has a tabby frame, diagonal frame and mixed frame. They are usual thick.
10. Ni has different frames and is always thick.
11. Rong's surface has many soft naps.
12. Chou is the general name of silk. It has a smooth surface.
13. Xiao is soft and has finestra.
14. Zhou has some lines and it is soft, so it does not wrinkle easily.
