Wang Limin was born on September 16, 1959, in Zhoucun.
He graduated from the senior high school department of Zibo No. 6 Middle School in June 1976 and began working in November 1976.
He is currently Director of the Weaving Workshop at Zibo Kaili Silk Co., Ltd., and a core inheritor of Zhoucun Silk Dyeing and Weaving Technique, a national intangible cultural heritage program.
Work Experience & Technical Skills
Since starting his career, he has worked in multiple technical positions:
- Jacquard loom operator
- Jacquard equipment installer (including installing heald heads, threading heald frames, hanging heald harnesses, making healds, drawing-in, reed denting, and commissioning looms for normal operation)
- Workshop equipment supervisor
- Deputy workshop director (in charge of production technology; his workshop was awarded “Model Workshop” by Zibo Silk Company)
- Deputy director of the Equipment & Power Department
With nearly 50 years of frontline experience in silk weaving, he has mastered the full range of silk production techniques, laying a solid foundation for inheriting Zhoucun silk dyeing and weaving craftsmanship.
The complete process of Zhoucun silk dyeing and weaving includes more than a dozen steps:
inspection, silk soaking, drying, reeling, doubling, twisting, setting, rewinding, dyeing, warping, quilling, weaving, inspection, and trimming.
Artistic Value of Zhoucun Silk
Traditional Zhoucun silk and brocade paintings feature strong Oriental national characteristics and exquisite Chinese silk art.
As treasures of traditional Chinese culture and folk art, they have been used as high-end gifts presented by government leaders to international friends and for important conferences.
Technical Innovation & Equipment Upgrading
2011
Focusing on the R&D of brocade paintings, he led the team to upgrade the outdated K76 silk looms from the 1970s.
After nearly a year of repeated trials, they overcame five major technical difficulties:
- Renovation of the multi-shuttle box device
- Renovation of the optional shuttle selection device
- Optimization of color gradation and fabric weave design
- Improvement of dyed-filature weaving technology
- Renovation of the take-up and let-off mechanism
After upgrading:
- Shuttle boxes upgraded from 1×2 to 4×4
- Shuttles and weft yarns increased from 2 types to 6 types
- Weft density increased from 110 picks/cm to 240 picks/cm
2021
Through continuous exploration and testing, he further increased weft density to 300 picks/cm, producing much clearer brocade paintings.
By flexibly applying fabric weave variations, he integrated traditional craftsmanship with modern artistic expression.
Representative Works & Awards
His representative brocade paintings have won many provincial and ministerial awards:
- Eight Scenes of Zhoucun
- Along the River During the Qingming Festival
- Eight Steeds
- Preface to the Lanting Collection
- One Hundred Horses
- Iron Great Wall
- Red Boat
- Joyful Grassland
- A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains
- Good Fortune Arrives
- Blooming Pomegranates in Zibo
Important Collections
- 2019: Eight Scenes of Zhoucun and plant‑dyed double‑layer tussah silk long scarves collected by the China Silk Archives.
- 2021: Red Boat and five other brocade paintings collected by the Shanghai Municipal Archives and CIIE Bureau.
Academic & R&D Achievements
- 2013: Kaili Brocade Paintings won the Zibo Excellent Staff Technological Innovation Achievement Award.
- 2014: Co-authored paper Technological Characteristics and Production Process of Traditional Pure Silk Brocade Paintings was awarded “Excellent Paper” at the Annual Academic Conference of the Shandong Association for Science and Technology.
Media & Cultural Exchange
On November 27, 2024, he participated in the filming of China in Intangible Cultural Heritage on CCTV‑1 at Langya Ancient City in Linyi, receiving wide praise from officials and international guests.
Honors & Titles
- 2015: Named Municipal Representative Inheritor of Zhoucun Silk Dyeing and Weaving Technique by Zibo Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television, Press and Publication.
- 2016: Awarded Zibo Gold Medal Artisan, Gold Medal Artisan Innovation Studio, and Zibo Labor Medal for Revitalization (first batch).
- 2017: Awarded China Textile Great Artisan (first batch) by China National Textile and Apparel Council and two other authorities.
- 2018: Named Provincial Representative Inheritor (5th batch) of Zhoucun Silk Dyeing and Weaving Technique by Department of Culture and Tourism of Shandong Province.
- 2021: Awarded “Outstanding Master and Apprentice” of Zhoucun District by Zhoucun Federation of Trade Unions.