Dear readers

A very Happy New Year to you from our editors！

As the new year of 2020 clicked in， we are enthusiastically engaged with preparations for another upsurge of celebrations for the Spring Festival， Chinese New Year that falls on the 25th of January according to Chinese lunar calendar， bringing us into the Year of the Mouse in 12-animal zodiac signs， a chronological cycle in traditional horoscope in China.

In western culture， the new year is the time for making new resolution， the same as we do in our new year vividly represented by a characteristically zodiac animal to make our resolution more possible to be fulfilled，supported by the animals charismatic strength and auspices. With all these good and favorable omens in mind， I choose to use the word “Mouse”， instead of “Rat” to speak for 2020， even though the two words are common in defining this rodent animal， but there are some differences when you refer to some dictionaries where we can see that the mouse can be metaphorically a device connected to the keyboard， a peripheral component to the computer set to move cursor for computer operation， but a rat never is， by definition.

If it is not far-fetched to the traditional meaning of the zodiac sign in the Year of the Mouse， I add a digital value to 2020 in observing our cultural legacy that has passed down the history over thousands of years. A mouse in new era should be a newborn just as we need to be creative in doing business or making physical or cultural products in new life. I know people do not like some of the animals in in our zodiac signs， the rat is one of them. In English， there are many expressions about rats that have negative notion. If you call someone a rat， you dislike them because they have cheated you or betrayed you. If someone rats on an agreement， they do not do what they said they would do， in breach of their promises. This large mouse-like rodent， typically having a pointed snout and a long sparsely-haired tail， is abhorred， very often held accountable for transmitting diseases. In contrast， a mouse is moderately impressive either in physical appearance or in language colloquialisms or figurative speech. If you call someone a mouse， he or she is shy and timid， but not a deceiver or cheater as a rat stands for. Thats why I use the word “mouse” rather than “rat“ for the appellation given to the Chinese New Year 2020 to make it sound less unpleasant or more meaningful if the newborn value is added to the word.

If I see the mouse as a peripheral device to the computer， I see the forest instead of a wood for more significant horizon of our textile industry to be digitalized all the way down from fiber to fashion in manufacturing， R&D and designing in the Year of the Mouse. If we still keep in mind that a new resolution is to be made in the new year， it is the one that we shall go all out to basically realize our goal to become a strong country in textile industry in the year of 2020， the promises that we can not renege on， as we officially issued a 10-year development plan to become a textile power a decade ago. If the Mouse is a digital device， it is figuratively referred to as the AI and creative smart control technologies and equipment to control the cursor to make sure we are heading for highly productive manufacturing industrial sector， a strong textile country in technology， fashion and sustainability perspectives.

Wish you a very happy Year of the Mouse！

ZHAO Hong Editor-in-Chief

January， 2020