The Song-dynasty classic, The Comprehensive Mirror of Government ( Tongjian gangmu ), contains the following passage: In early history books, Empress Luozhou, wife of the Yellow Emperor (Huangdi) is cited as the inventor of sericulture. Archeological finds in Henan and Zhejiang provinces suggest that silk reeling and weaving with backstrap looms was practiced in the Neolithic Age. However, the earliest written evidence of silk is found in oracle bone inscriptions, which record such terms as mulberry, silkworm, silk and silk textiles. The specialization of production in the Ming and Qing dynasties (14 th -19 th centuries) resulted in a wide variety of novel weave structures and brilliantly colored patterns.Īccording to legend, the ancient Empress Luozhu taught the Chinese people how to raise silkworms. In the Tang and Song dynasties (7 th -13 th centuries), thriving international trade and the movement of the center of Chinese economic activity to the southeast brought about great changes in silk technology and production. During the Qin and Han dynasties (BCE 2 nd century-2 nd century ACE), a complete system of silk production and technology was developed. In the Shang and Zhou dynasties (BCE 16 th -3 rd century), a wide variety of silk fabrics were produced, including tabby, gauze, polychrome woven silk and silk embroidery. The earliest silk can be traced back to the Neolithic age, some 5,000 years ago. What role did silk play in ancient Chinese society? What is on display here is the story of the development of silk in China, told in a manner to deepen your understanding of the “Queen of Fibers.”
What are the origins of silk production? How many different types of silk are there? Silk is not only a symbol of the splendor of Chinese civilization, but also of its profound contributions to human civilization. Due to differing circumstances, the great early civilizations each had their own natural fibers: ancient India produced cotton the Egyptians wore linen the Babylonians wove fabrics from wool and the early Chinese, known to the Greeks as Seres (silk, hence sericulture, the production of raw silk from worms), were renowned throughout the world for mulberry cultivation, the domestication of the silkworm, silk reeling and fine weaving.
It was an important milestone in human civilization when our ancestors first clothed their bodies in woven textiles.
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