Tang Imperial 25 Noble Bamboo Xiangyunsha Shoulder Bag

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1. Gold Metal Authenticity Card (To Certify A Tang Heritage Original)

2. Unique Engraved Serial Number

3. Complimentary Premium Gift Packaging

For more than 2,000 years, bamboo has stood at the centre of the Chinese imagination as the emblem of the noble mind. It is counted among the Four Gentlemen (四君子) of classical painting and the Three Friends of Winter (岁寒三友), admired because it bends in the storm yet does not break, grows upright without conceit, and keeps its green through the cold when other plants have surrendered.

Its hollow stem became a metaphor for the humble, open heart (虚心), and its jointed form for a life that rises node by node (节节高升). Scholars planted it outside their studios so that its character might settle into their own. The Tang Imperial 25 Noble Bamboo Xiangyunsha Shoulder Bag carries that lineage into a form meant to be lived with and, in time, passed on. Made to be kept.

The Motif · Noble Bamboo (君子竹)

The bamboo here is not printed onto the silk but woven into it, rendered in the jacquard technique (提花) so that leaf and stem rise from the ground cloth as texture rather than surface. Sprays of foliage move across the body in the manner of an ink painting, the darker leaves reading almost black against the soft mineral greens of the Xiangyunsha, with fine threads of amber catching the light along their edges. The composition is deliberately unhurried, more scholar's scroll than pattern repeat, and because the cloth itself is dyed and cured by hand, the way the bamboo falls across each bag is never quite the same twice.

Xiangyunsha, the Soft Gold of Silk (香云纱)

The body of this bag is Xiangyunsha (香云纱), often called Cloud Silk, a plant-dyed mulberry silk so prized that the textile world named it the soft gold (软黄金). It is dyed with the tannin of the wild yam, then coated with the mineral-rich river mud of the Pearl River Delta and cured under open sunlight, a labour that passes through the storied sequence of three steamings, nine boilings, and eighteen sunnings (三蒸九煮十八晒) across dozens of stages by hand. In 2008 the craft was inscribed on China's national register of Intangible Cultural Heritage, and it holds status as a protected National Geographical Indication.

Because raw gauze, sunlight, and earth each leave their mark on the finished cloth, no two bolts of Xiangyunsha are ever identical. The silk wears cool and light against the hand, carries a quiet antique lustre rather than a bright shine, and softens further with time, so that the bag you carry for years comes to feel unmistakably your own.

Key Features

• One of the Four Gentlemen. Bamboo stands among the four noble plants of Chinese art (四君子), the emblem of integrity and an unbending spirit.
• Rising node by node. Its jointed form carries the auspicious wish of steady ascent (节节高升), advancement earned step by measured step.
• The scholar's companion. Su Shi wrote that one may live without meat but not without bamboo, binding this plant to a life of refinement and quiet resolve.
• Woven, not printed. The bamboo is formed in the cloth itself through jacquard weaving (提花), giving the motif depth and a sculptural, full-bodied presence.
• Intangible Cultural Heritage silk. Xiangyunsha was inscribed on China's national ICH register in 2008 and is honoured as the soft gold of the textile world.
• Structured and enduring. A firm, sculptural body finished with supple cowhide trim, built to hold its shape and its poise for years.

Premium Materials

• Xiangyunsha silk (香云纱), 100% mulberry silk, plant-dyed and sun-cured, a natural protein fibre that is cool, light, and luminous in hand.
• Premium Cowhide Leather, carefully tanned and finished for a fine grain and an elevated touch, chosen to answer the silk's principal tone.
• Textile lining (聚酯纤维), smooth, hard-wearing, and quiet against the contents you carry.
• Gold-tone hardware, a brushed rectangular turn-lock clasp with a warm, satin finish, refined and understated in form.

Product Details

• Dimensions: Length 25cm, Width 9cm, Height 30cm
• Weight: 0.45kg
• Exterior: Xiangyunsha mulberry silk with premium cowhide trim
• Interior: Textile lining with interior pocket
• Carry: Soft cowhide top handle, with a detachable and adjustable shoulder strap up to 120cm, five-hole adjustment
• Hardware: Gold-tone brushed turn-lock clasp
• Colourway: Bamboo Green (竹青)

Every Bag Is One of a Kind

Because Xiangyunsha is dyed and cured entirely by hand, the placement of the bamboo will differ subtly from bag to bag and from the images shown here, while the overall aesthetic remains faithful throughout. Small natural marks and tonal shifts in the silk are inherent to the craft and are a sign of authenticity, not a flaw. A hand-measured variance of 1 to 2 cm is normal. No two pieces are ever exactly alike, and yours will be entirely its own.

Authenticity and Craft

Every Tang Heritage piece arrives with a metal authenticity card, engraved with its own unique serial number and logged in our records, verifiable directly with us at any time. It is your assurance that what you carry is genuine, traceable, and made to be kept. For the length of your life, and perhaps for the generations that follow.