纺织

• Pinyin: fǎng zhī
• Hanzi breakdown: 纺 = 纟+ 方 (silk/fibre radical + direction — to twist fibres into thread); 织 = 纟+ 戠 (silk radical + to mark — to interweave threads in a pattern)

Meaning

Spinning and weaving; the textile industry. The process of converting fibres into yarn and yarn into fabric; also refers to the industry as a whole.

One of China's oldest industries and a cornerstone of its early economic development and export growth. Encompasses spinning (纺纱), weaving (织布), dyeing (印染), and garment manufacturing (成衣). Common collocations: 纺织业、纺织品、纺织工人、纺织厂.

Examples

1. 中国的纺织业历史悠久，丝绸之路的兴起在很大程度上得益于中国对丝绸纺织工艺的垄断性掌握，这一优势长达数百年之久。 China’s textile industry has a long history. The rise of the Silk Road owed a great deal to China’s near-monopoly over silk-weaving techniques, an advantage that lasted for centuries.
2. 改革开放初期，低廉的劳动力成本使中国迅速成为全球最大的纺织品出口国，纺织业也因此成为推动沿海地区经济腾飞的重要引擎。 In the early years of Reform and Opening Up, low labor costs quickly made China the world’s largest exporter of textiles, and the industry became a major engine driving the economic takeoff of coastal regions.
3. 面对东南亚国家的低价竞争，国内纺织企业正逐步向高端功能面料和智能纺织领域转型，以维持在全球产业链中的竞争优势。 Facing low-price competition from Southeast Asian countries, domestic textile companies are gradually shifting toward high-end functional fabrics and smart textiles to maintain their competitive edge in the global supply chain.

Usage Guide

Context: industry, history, economy, manufacturing

Tone: neutral

Do Say

• 为应对原材料价格上涨和订单减少的双重压力，这家百年纺织企业决定引进自动化生产设备，以提高生产效率并降低对人工成本的依赖。(Facing the dual pressures of rising raw material costs and declining orders, this century-old textile company decided to introduce automated production equipment to improve production efficiency and reduce reliance on labour costs.)
• 本次展览汇聚了来自中国各地的传统纺织技艺，包括苗族的蜡染、壮族的壮锦和苏州的宋锦，充分展示了中华民族在纺织文化上的丰富多样性。(This exhibition brings together traditional textile techniques from across China, including Miao batik, Zhuang brocade, and Suzhou Song brocade, fully showcasing the rich diversity of Chinese ethnic textile culture.)

Don't Say

• 纺织 to specifically mean garment manufacturing — garment-making is 服装制造 or 成衣; 纺织 refers specifically to the spinning and weaving stages before garment assembly

Origin & History

纺 (to spin fibre into thread) + 织 (to weave thread into cloth) — together covering the full textile production process

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal