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Green persimmon juice grows more beautiful with sun exposure; Xinpu Persimmon Dye Workshop brews plain fashion over ten years

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Persimmon dye, the sun's dye, grows more beautiful with sun exposure; Xinpu Persimmon Dye Workshop has cultivated it for ten years, brewing green persimmon juice into plain fashion

Xinpu Township in Hsinchu is an important domestic persimmon-producing area. In the past, persimmons were eaten directly or made into dried persimmons, but persimmons are also an important dyeing material. Ten years ago, the local area founded the Xinpu Persimmon Dye Workshop, using persimmon dye to make bags, clothing, long wallets and other accessories. In recent years, local and outside youth have joined the workshop, injecting new vitality into persimmon dyeing and making the plain persimmon-dyed fabric look neat and fashionable.

Walking on the streets of Xinpu, you can see persimmon-dyed cloth hanging in rice shops and incense shops, and even in coffee shops and hand-shaken drink shops, making the persimmon image of Xinpu Township clearer and calling on people across the country to visit.

Clothing made and designed with persimmon-dyed cloth (photo: Lin Yijun)

A pillar in a dried persimmon shop gave birth to persimmon dyeing; the first persimmon dye workshop in Taiwan is in Xinpu

Hsinchu County is Taiwan's fourth-largest persimmon-producing area. Compared with the persimmon dyeing traditions of Japan and South Korea, Taiwan's persimmons are almost all used for eating. It was not until the 94th year of the Republic of China (2005) that, by chance, it embarked on the path of persimmon dyeing.

Xinpu persimmon dyeing originated from a pillar in a dried persimmon shop. Zhong Mengjuan of the Xinpu Persimmon Dye Culture Association recalled that in the 93rd year of the Republic of China (2004), the township office originally wanted to use local characteristics for a course. When they came to the dried persimmon shop to investigate, they saw many marks on a pillar in the shop. "When the persimmon-drying ladies made dried persimmons, their hands would be stained with persimmon juice, and when they stood up they would hold the pillar, so the persimmon juice stayed on the pillar."

At the time, the township office staff were quite surprised and began to think about developing persimmon dyeing. But at that time no one in Taiwan was doing persimmon dyeing; dyed cloth was mostly indigo dyeing or plant dyeing. The township office staff invited Professor Chen Jinglin of Tianran Workshop to provide guidance, which opened Xinpu Township's path to persimmon dyeing.

Zhong Mengjuan, secretary-general of the Persimmon Dye Culture Association (photo: Lin Yijun)

Plant dyes fade after sun exposure, but persimmon-dyed cloth looks better the more it is sunned

When asked about persimmon dyeing, Zhong Mengjuan smiled. "After finishing the first piece, everyone thought it did not look good. Only when we took it out two years later did we feel it had become beautiful." She recalled that at the time they thought it did not look good because they did not understand persimmon dyeing. Since there had been no persimmon dyeing before, everyone's existing imagination was of plant dyeing, but persimmon dyeing is different from common plant dyeing. "Persimmon juice contains tannic acid and gum. Other plant dyes fade after sun exposure, but persimmon dyeing becomes deeper after sun exposure and is very pleasing to look at."

The tannic acid and gum in persimmon juice give superior coloring and color fastness to dyed cloth, and persimmon-dyed cloth without mordanting (used to fix or change color) becomes deeper the more it is sunned. Arriving at the cloth-drying yard behind the persimmon dye workshop, you can see sheets of persimmon-dyed cloth drying, with varying shades. A community mother helping to sort the persimmon-dyed cloth explained: "The gum in persimmon juice makes the cloth stiff. Later the cloth must be softened before use. If you want different colors, you need different sun exposure times."

Generally speaking, a piece of persimmon-dyed cloth needs about 7 full sunny days. The characteristic of looking better the more it is sunned has also earned persimmon dyeing the reputation of "the sun's dye." After the persimmon-dyed cloth is completed, copper acetate, iron acetate and the like are used to fix the color. As a natural dye, persimmon-dyed cloth contains no NPE, plasticizers or other environmental hormones, and has the advantages of being dirt-resistant, deodorizing and cool.

Persimmon-dyed cloth, known as "sun dye," does not fade after sun exposure because persimmons contain gum and tannic acid; instead, it looks better the more it is sunned (photo: Lin Yijun)

Unripe persimmons in midsummer have the most juice and are best for persimmon dyeing

There are 9 mainstream domestic persimmon varieties, from ox-heart persimmon and stone persimmon to brush persimmon. What kind of persimmon is suitable for persimmon dyeing? Zhong Mengjuan said that any persimmon can be used for persimmon dyeing, but the most suitable material is persimmons that are six or seven parts ripe, roughly the fresh green persimmons still on the tree in July and August each year. "At first the material was the discarded persimmon peel produced during the making of dried persimmons, but later we found that unripe persimmons have the most persimmon juice."

Zhong Mengjuan explained that the persimmons grown in Xinpu are mostly sweet persimmons for fresh eating, while dried persimmons are mostly made from astringent persimmons from central and southern Taiwan. The persimmon raw material for dried persimmons is the September persimmon (about eight parts ripe), but because the persimmon at this time is close to maturity, the fruit body is mostly flesh and less juice can be squeezed out. "One hundred jin of persimmons can yield only about 30 to 40 jin of persimmon juice."

The persimmon juice squeezed from fresh green unripe persimmons is green. If fresh persimmon juice is used immediately to dye cloth, it looks transparent and colorless, but after a few days of sunning the persimmon-dyed cloth slowly develops color. The persimmon juice squeezed by the workshop is usually left for a period before use. Zhong Mengjuan said that Korean persimmon dyeing likes to use fresh persimmon juice, while Japanese persimmon dyeing likes to use aged persimmon juice. After being left for a long time, persimmon juice coagulates into a jelly because of the pectin it contains, but aged persimmon juice has an odor, so persimmon dyeing chooses a middle path; the persimmon juice commonly used now is all squeezed within the past one or two years.

The persimmon juice used for persimmon-dyed cloth comes from green persimmons that are about six or seven parts ripe (photo: Lin Yijun)

After ten years of the association and the persimmon dye workshop, plain persimmon-dyed cloth is becoming more and more fashionable

The persimmon dye workshop is the base of the Persimmon Dye Culture Association. From inside to outside, the color scheme is the color of dyed cloth after sun exposure, making the whole place look low-key and simple. Zhong Mengjuan recalled that this base was hard to obtain, and the journey relied on assistance and support from all sides. When classes began in the 94th year of the Republic of China (2005), Teacher Chen Jinglin used persimmon peel as material and plant dyeing methods to do persimmon dyeing, and also taught color theory and other visual courses. "At that time the plan was supported by district office funds, until the 98th year of the Republic of China (2009), when during the county government Cultural Affairs Bureau's plan review, the review committee members were extremely amazed."

With the committee members' encouragement, the Persimmon Dye Culture Association was established in February of the following year (99th year of the Republic of China, 2010). In July of the same year, the township mayor believed there should be a base, and the persimmon dye workshop was born. "So the students who came to class expanded from elementary school mothers who liked handicrafts at the beginning to community mothers." From then on, Zhong Mengjuan also served as secretary-general of the association and head of the persimmon dye workshop, and this responsibility lasted ten years.

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