Lei Tzu found that she could wind this thread around her fingers. Subsequently, she persuaded her husband to allow her to rear silkworms on a grove of mulberry trees. She also devised a special reel to draw the fibres from the cocoon into a single thread so that they would be strong enough to be woven into fabric. While it is unknown just how much of this is true, it is certainly known that silk cultivation has existed in China for several millennia. Originally, silkworm farming was solely restricted to women , and it was they who were responsible for the growing, harvesting and weaving.
Silk quickly grew into a symbol of status, and originally, only royalty were entitled to have clothes made of silk. The rules were gradually relaxed over the years until finally during the Qing Dynasty — AD , even peasants, the lowest caste, were also entitled to wear silk. Government officials were paid their salary in silk, and farmers paid their taxes in grain and silk.
Silk was also used as diplomatic gifts by the emperor. Fishing lines, bowstrings, musical instruments and paper were all made using silk. The earliest indication of silk paper being used was discovered in the tomb of a noble who is estimated to have died around AD. Demand for this exotic fabric eventually created the lucrative trade route now known as the Silk Road, taking silk westward and bringing gold, silver and wool to the East.
It was named the Silk Road after its most precious commodity, which was considered to be worth more than gold. The Silk Road stretched over 6, kilometres from Eastern China to the Mediterranean Sea, following the Great Wall of China, climbing the Pamir mountain range, crossing modern-day Afghanistan and going on to the Middle East, with a major trading market in Damascus.
From there, the merchandise was shipped across the Mediterranean Sea. Few merchants travelled the entire route ; goods were handled mostly by a series of middlemen. The secret of silk-making eventually reached the rest of the world via the Byzantine Empire, which ruled over the Mediterranean region of southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East during the period — AD. According to another legend, monks working for the Byzantine emperor Justinian smuggle silkworm eggs to Constantinople Istanbul in modern-day Turkey in AD, concealed inside hollow bamboo walking canes.
The Byzantines were as secretive as the Chinese, however, and for many centuries the weaving and trading of silk fabric was a strict imperial monopoly. Then in the seventh century, the Arabs conquered Persia, capturing their magnificent silks in the process. Silk production thus spread through Africa, Sicily and Spain as the Arabs swept, through these lands.
Venetian merchants traded extensively in silk and encouraged silk growers to settle in Italy. This route today has come to be known as the Silk Road. The Emperors of China tried to keep their knowledge of sericulture a secret in order to maintain their monopoly.
Today, Silk remains as popular and important as ever. It is primarily produced in China, with India being the second largest producer in the world. Silkworms are generally reared for the primary purpose of extracting their Silk, however they have many uses and are also used as food — both for animal and human consumption — and research.
Silk is elegant, soft and durable. The future of Silk is also very exciting, Thanks to modern science, new developments have allowed for genetic modifications in the genome of the Silkworm, which have allowed for rapid advancements. Think about protection used by soldiers in battle! It is very heavy and often uncomfortable. Scientists have harnessed the strength and lightweight nature of Silk to develop armour for soldiers. There is also talk of it being used in construction to supplement other materials such as steel.
Would you trust a building constructed using steel?! Inside the cocoon, the caterpillar pupates changes into a moth in about two weeks. The cocoons are dipped into a hot steam bath and the thread is carefully unraveled and wound into skeins of silk. Today, the silkworm moth is thought to live only in captivity. The species has been so genetically altered by humans that it can no longer survive independently in nature, particularly since the adults have lost the ability to fly.
All wild populations are believed to be extinct, although presumably related forms may still exist in Asia. Donate Online.
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