Prologue

Nanjing-China is a team that values art, and this is an aspect we must emphasize in our project this year. We aim to utilize microorganisms to produce colored fibers as a new type of fabric, in order to reduce pollution in the fashion industry. However, for our project to truly make an impact, we need consumers willing to choose our products. As a fashion product, fashion design is an essential element. We have chosen to seek inspiration from traditional Chinese aesthetics. China possesses a fascinating aesthetic that reflects the aesthetic preferences of the Chinese people in traditional culture, which is advantageous in gaining consumer favor for our products. Therefore, we have visited numerous museums, learning about the sourcing, production, and design concepts of intangible cultural heritage. From traditional aesthetics, we have discovered the beauty that arises from the combination of technology and art.

Nantong Blue Printed Fabric Museum

Blue calico is a traditional handicraft in China, listed as intangible cultural heritage. It was originally dyed by indigo, and has a history of 1,300 years. Nowadays, blue calico is made by using lime and soybean powder to create a paste for baking the blue color onto the fabric. It goes through multiple processes such as weaving, engraving, and scraping to create the printed patterns. This aligns perfectly with our desire to create colored fibers. In order to draw inspiration from traditional culture and find more dyeing methods for our project, we visited the Blue Calico Museum.

Once inside, we are greeted by the museum staff who provide us with a brief introduction to the history and significance of the blue calico of Nantong. Next, we are guided through the various sections of the museum, which showcase different aspects of the blue calico making process. We can observe the traditional techniques used to create the fabric, including the hand-carving of wooden blocks and the application of natural dyes. The museum also displays a collection of antique blue calicos, highlighting the craftsmanship and artistic value of this traditional craft. In addition to the exhibits, the museum offers interactive workshops where visitors can try their hand at block printing and create their own handcrafts. These workshops provide a hands-on experience, allowing visitors to appreciate the skill and precision required in producing these intricate patterns. Overall, the visit offers a comprehensive and immersive experience for us to learn about the history, techniques, and significance of this traditional craft.

Through our visit to the museum, we have gained an understanding of the exploration of traditional craftsmanship in fiber dyeing, and the mastery of these techniques is truly awe-inspiring. While marveling at the richness of traditional culture, we have also been experimenting in the laboratory to create more diverse colors on fibers. At the same time, we are considering the optimization of the dyeing process, whether through simple absorption or chemical bonding, which still warrants further exploration.

Our museum visit deepened our understanding of integrating science and art, inspiring new ideas for our project's optimization. This fusion combines the analytical aspects of science with the creativity of art, bridging disciplines for innovation. In fiber dyeing, scientific knowledge of chemical reactions and color theory merges with artistic techniques, creating vibrant colors. By experimenting with different methods and exploring dye properties, we are going to achieve a wider range of colors and improve efficiency and sustainability. This integration extends beyond technicalities, exploring the connections between disciplines. Traditional craftsmanship in fiber dyeing showcases mastery and cultural significance. This cultural context adds depth to scientific and artistic exploration. In conclusion, the museum visit provided valuable insights into integrating science and art, sparking ideas and encouraging further exploration. Embracing this interdisciplinary approach unlocks new avenues for creativity, innovation, and understanding.

Nantong Textile Museum

Nantong Textile Museum in Jiangsu Province, as the first textile science and technology history museum in China, displays the long history of textile in China and Nantong. Through this visit, we hope to learn about the process of dyeing in the past, ancient handmade textile machines and tools, traditional textile products and relevant details. And we also want to learn about the long history and continuous evolution of Chinese textile.

The main hall of the museum is mainly composed of two parts: "Highlights of Chinese Textile " and "Nantong Textile History". The "Highlights" section displays ancient handmade textile machines, traditional textile products and detailed pictures, which shows the long history of Chinese textiles. The "Nantong Textile History" part shows the progress from native fabric to modern machine cotton textile in Nantong, the rise and fall of the JIANGSUDASHENG GROUP CO.LTD in Chinese history, and the improvement and evolution of handmade textile. It introduces the historical origin and personality characteristics of Nantong textile in many aspects.

The most impressive part is "Contemporary Nantong Textile History", which introduces the great changes of Nantong textile industry. It includes the innovation of textile technology, and the development and improvement of varieties and quality, as well as the training of textile scientific talents. All of them reflect the great influence of modern science and technology on the textile industry. In the final part of "textile Outlook", it introduces the breakthroughs of contemporary textile from raw materials to final products. Textile technology has entered a new era of the third great revolution!

This visit allows us to have a more detailed understanding of the development history of China's textile industry, but also to see the changes in textile technology in recent decades, and to have a new understanding of its status.

This visit made us realize the rapid development of China's textile industry in recent years, and let us see the various possibilities of its future. Through this visit, we systematically learned the development history of Chinese, especially Nantong’s textile industry. The museum has also set up an area dedicated to introducing Zhang Jian. By learning the historical materials displayed in it, we had a better understanding of the historical background and development concept of JIANGSUDASHENG GROUP CO.LTD, which will be visited soon, laying a solid theoretical foundation for the next visit.

Guangxi Museum of Nationalities

After deciding to use indigoidine as the first dye to work with, our team Rainboweaver has decided to continue conducting dyeing experiments with other colors, requiring us to search for new suitable dyes. Through preliminary factory research, we have come to realize that a significant source of pollution in the fashion industry comes from the dyeing and finishing processes. Therefore, our ideal choice of dyes would be natural, non-toxic, and widely used. During our visit to the Blue Print Fabric Museum, we were delighted to discover that indigoidine has been used in traditional Chinese textile crafts for blue dyeing. This inspired us to continue seeking inspiration from traditional Chinese textile crafts. Zhuang brocade is one of the four famous brocades in China, known for its rich and varied patterns and vibrant colors. As a result, we visited the Guangxi Ethnic Museum.

During our museum visit, we focused on understanding the production process of traditional Zhuang brocade. We found that the traditional textile processes were almost identical to the modern textile industry in terms of spinning, yarn-making, weaving, dyeing, and other steps. However, in terms of colors, traditional textile crafts primarily used natural dyes. We were surprised to discover that indigoidine was also used as a blue dye in the making of Zhuang brocade. In addition to indigoidine, many natural plants were also used for dyeing Zhuang brocade, such as using madder root for red dye and turmeric for yellow dye. When we saw the vibrant yellow color in Zhuang brocade, we were deeply fascinated and conducted further research. We found that the effective dyeing component in turmeric is curcumin! The widespread use of curcumin in traditional crafts like Zhuang brocade demonstrates its advantages in easy dyeing, color durability, pollution-free properties, and harmlessness to the human body. Moreover, curcumin has been studied by many iGEM teams as a dye. Therefore, we decided to research curcumin for yellow dyeing.

In China's rich history and culture, there are many exquisite craftsmanship techniques that are worth learning from. Just as modern industrial production is an improvement upon traditional crafts, our inspiration for developing new technologies may also come from traditional practices. Therefore, our team will continue to explore traditional Chinese crafts, seek inspiration, and improve our experiments. Combining traditional Chinese culture with synthetic biology is the artistic pursuit of our Nanjing-China team.

Rainboweaver hopes to create bacteria-produced fibers with a wider range of colors, combining practicality and artistry. However, it is not feasible for us to synthesize each pigment from scratch. Therefore, we will continue to collaborate with teams researching dye production and usage, weaving together this colorful "dream."

“Science and art are two sides of the same coin.” Tsung-Dao Lee

“科学和艺术是不可分割的，就像一枚硬币的两面” ——李政道