Silk has a long history and was guarded by the Chinese for over 2000 years. Sericulture is laborious, making silk a luxury fabric. Silk production spread to Japan and Europe, and spies smuggled silkworms to Europe. The Muslim empire also spread sericulture practices. In the 20th century, sericulture was largely confined to China and Japan, and man-made fibers were developed as alternatives during World War II.
Silk is an amazing fabric and has a long and fascinating history. The secret of silk production has been successfully guarded by the Chinese for over two thousand years, making it one of the oldest trade secrets in the world. Far from being just a fabric, this material is legendary and has been the basis of powerful political and economic empires around the world.
According to the Chinese, the gift of silk was given to them by Xi Lin Shi. She was the wife of the legendary Yellow Emperor of China, and one afternoon she was sitting under mulberry tea when a silkworm fell into her tea. Her maid rushed to pluck out the worm, but she ended up untangling it, and Xi Lin Shi came up with the idea of weaving the thread into a fabric. Chinese legends place this event at around 2600 BC, and archaeologists tend to agree that sericulture, the cultivation of Bombyx mori or silkworm for textile production, emerged around the same time.
Sericulture is very laborious. 30,000 silkworm larvae eat one ton of mulberry leaves to produce 12 pounds (five kilograms) of raw silk. In the process, the silkworms must be carefully incubated at the right temperature, pampered with the best foliage and finally killed by boiling so that the cocoons are left intact. Some manufacturers allow the worms to emerge from the cocoons, even if this damages the fibers.
The sheer amount of work involved made this material into a luxury fabric almost instantly. Only the wealthiest citizens of China could afford it, and indeed, for centuries, only members of the royal family could wear it. Even after the public was grudgingly allowed to wear the fabric, some colors were reserved for royalty. Only the emperor and empress, for example, were allowed to wear this material in a specific range of yellows.
Until about the 3rd century BC, silk remained largely unknown outside of China. Around this time, production of the cloth switched to Japan and the cloth began appearing in parts of Europe. It quickly became legendary for its soft texture, immense weaving strength and incredible beauty, although no one knew how it was made. A contemporary historian who claimed to have observed the process said it was produced by boiling leaves, which brought out puffs of fiber for spinning.
In AD 522, the Romans funded an act of espionage, sending spies to China to learn the secret of silk production, and silkworms were smuggled into Europe. Sericulture in Europe began immediately, making fabric more accessible to Europeans, though it remained largely out of reach for most people until the Industrial Revolution, when advanced weaving techniques significantly reduced costs.
The Muslim empire also deserves some credit for the spread of this fabric. Muslim traders brought this fabric and other goods from China in large quantities and spread sericulture practices in India and some Muslim nations. Numerous works of art were produced in silk, including carpets famed for their durability and beauty.
In the 20th century, sericulture was once again largely confined to China and Japan. When World War II broke out, people outside Asia had limited access to supplies, and several man-made fibers such as nylon were developed as alternatives.
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