The hair of practically every domesticated animal is found in Chinese rugs—dog, cat, ox, cow, goat, camel, yak and sheep. In some fabrics the fiber is so rough it was thought to be jute, but is in reality an extraordinarily stiff, coarse, woolen yarn. Wool is, of course, most commonly used. It varies widely in quality, the best rugs having a beautiful natural luster.
A certain number of silk rugs were made during the Ming Dynasty, of not especially fine yarn. In some, the warps, wefts and pile tufts are all of silk; in others the warps and wefts are cotton and only the pile is silk.
In general, most of the carpets from western China are all wool. Those of eastern China have a wool pile, with cotton warp and weft.
Chinese weavers use the Sehna knot. In spite of the fact that this knot is usually associated with the closest texture and the shortest pile, Chinese rugs are the most loosely woven of all Orientals.
The pile is usually very high so that they feel deep and luxurious. Because the design motifs are not clear cut in such a long loose texture, they are often "carved" to make them stand out.
This carving (which is also used a good deal in modern western rugs), is achieved by clipping a curve around the figures and sometimes shearing the background to a lower level.
