People all around the world maybe hear of the well-known “silk road” which is formed in ancient time. That has been our everlasting pride. There are also many beautiful stories and fairy tales about silk which have been passed from generation to generation.
Silk is a symbol of China’s ancient culture, furthermore, ancient Chinese silk industry has played a glorious chapter in the Chinese culture, which makes an indelible contribution to the promotion of the development of human civilization in the world. Chinese silk is famous for its excellent quality, beautiful color and rich cultural connotations.
Thousands of years ago, when the silk was transmitted to Europe along the ancient Silk Road, what it brought was more than just a piece of beautiful costume, or jewelry, it was splendid civilization of ancient oriental silk. Since then, silk has almost become a communicator and a symbol of oriental civilization. The earliest silk fabrics currently known, was unearthed in the ruins of the Liangzhu culture dating back to about 4700 years.
There is an old and beautiful legend about Silk in China: in ancient time, the Yellow Emperor (Huang Di) defeated Chi You, “silkworm God” personally devoted her spit silk to the grand Emperor to show her respect. The Yellow Emperor ordered his man to weave it for clothing. When he wore it, he felt no more comfortable than ever. In order to let all his people enjoy this comfort, Yellow Emperor’s wife Xiling’s went to find silkworm and from then on silkworms were fed on mulberry leaves. Later on, the folk worshiped the lady and named her as a sericulture God, Huangdi as a God of silk weaving machines. Since then, picking up mulberry and feeding silkworm have been the main labour means for people to survive in ancient Chinese society for thousands of years.
China is the birthplace of Silk, sericulture and silk reeling are the most important achievements of the ancient Chinese fiber utilization. Early as the Neolithic Age, the Chinese had invented silk weaving and cinnabar staining techniques. Since then, with the continuous improvement of the loom, and enhancement of printing and dyeing technology, silk varieties have been increasingly rich, and a complete dyeing system was set up, so that the ancient Chinese silk dyeing technology becomes a leader in the world.
Our Chinese people are laborous and hardworking, with the large land in China, I believe, the sericulture will never be faded, and our silk products will be favored by more and more people around the world.
