古之茶染

Tea Dyeing in Pre-modern China

文章采用文献研究与理论分析方法,探讨古代茶叶染色的用途、色相及原理。从五代开始,茶叶用于染纸、染棉纱、染布匹;可染得暗黄色(陈纸之色)、棕色(紫棉之色)、砖褐、莲子褐,以及黑色(皂、青);清、民国时期东北地区用野茶"茶条"染皂,得色"极青"。茶叶染色主要是利用茶叶的主要成分——茶多酚的氧化聚合性以及络合反应性。茶多酚可与棉布的纤维素分子、丝绸的蛋白质分子结合,故可染布、染帛。而不同品种茶叶的茶多酚含量以及茶黄素、茶红素、茶褐素等色素成分的含量不同,再加上染色工艺的差异,故而可染出不同的颜色。茶染棕色主要是利用茶多酚的氧化性;染皂主要是因茶多酚与铁离子络合反应显黑色;染褐色也同样是利用茶多酚与铁媒染显黑色,再与茶叶中的其他色素成分或其他染材中的色素复合,最终将布染成不同的褐色。

By combining literature research and theoretical analysis, the color, usage and dyeing mechanism of tea dyeing in pre-modem China were investigated. As early as the Five Dynasties, tea was used to dye paper, cotton yam and fabric brown and black. The brown color varied from light reddish-brown and yellowish-brown to brick-brown and lotus-seed-brown. During the Qing Dynasty and the Republican period, wild tea was used to dye items dark black in northeast China. The dyeing mechanism involved oxidative polymerization and complexation reactions of tea polyphenol, the main component of tea, and the combination of tea polyphenols with cotton cellulose or silk protein. The dyed color varied with the dyeing techniques and the contents of tea components, such as polyphenol, theaflavin, thearubigin and heabromin. The oxidative polymerization of tea polyphenol accounted for dyeing the light reddish-brown and yellowish-brown, and the complexation reactions with fer- ric ion for the black. The dyeing mechanism of brick brown and lotus-seed-brown could be explained by the ferric complexation theory and the mixture with other pigments in dyeing.