Chinese Silk and the Silk Road

It is well known that silk is discovered in China as one of the best materials for clothing - it has a look and feeling of richness that no other materials can match. However, very few people know when or where or how it is discovered. Actually, it could date back to the 30th Century BC when Huang Di (Yellow Emperor) came into power. There are many legends about the discovery of silk; some of them are both romantic and mysterious.

Legend has it that once there lived a father with his daughter, they had a magic horse, which could not only fly in the sky but also understand human language. One day, the father went out on business and did not come back for long time. The daughter made him a promise: If the horse could find her father, she would marry him. Finally her father came back with the horse, but he was shocked at his daughter's promise.

Unwilling to let his daughter marry a horse, he killed the innocent horse. And then miracle happened! The horse's skin carried the girl flying away. They flew and flew, at last, they stopped on a tree, and the moment the girl touched the tree, she turned into a silkworm. Everyday, she spit long and thin silks. The silks just represented her feeling of missing him.

Another less romantic but more convincing explanation is that some ancient Chinese women found this wonderful silk by chance. When they were picking up fruits from the trees, they found a special kind of fruit, white but too hard to eat, so they boiled the fruit in hot water but they still could hardly eat it. At last, they lost their patience and began to beat them with big sticks. In this way, silks and silkworms were discovered. And the white hard fruit is a cocoon!

The business of raising silkworms and unwinding cocoons is now known as silk culture or sericulture. It takes an average of 25-28 days for a silkworm, which is no bigger than an ant, to grow old enough to spin cocoon. Then the women farmers will pick them up one by one to piles of straws, then the silkworm will attach itself to the straw, with its legs to the outside and begin to spin.

The next step is unwinding the cocoons; it is done by reeling girls. The cocoons are heated to kill the pupae, this must be done at the right time, otherwise, the pupas are bound to turn into moths, and moths will make a hole in the cocoons, which will be useless for reeling. To unwind the cocoons, first put them in a basin filled with hot water, find the loose end of the cocoon, and then twist them, carry then to a small wheel, thus the cocoons will be unwound. At last, two workers measure them into a certain length, twist them, they are called raw silk, then they are dyed and woven into cloth.

An interesting fact is that we can unwind about 1,000 meters long silk from one cocoon, while 111 cocoons are needed for a man's tie, and 630 cocoons are needed for a woman's blouse.

Chinese people developed new way by using silk to make clothes since the discovery of silk. This kind of clothes became popular soon. At that time, China's technology was developing fast. Emperor Wu Di of western Han Dynasty decided to develop trade with other countries.

To build a road becomes priority to trade silk. For nearly 60 years of war, the world famous ancient Silk Road was built up at cost of many losses of life and treasures. It started from Chang'an (now Xi'an), across Middle Asia, South Asia and West Asia. Many countries of Asia and Europe were connected.

From then on, Chinese silk, along with many other Chinese inventions, were passed to Europe. Romans, especially women, were crazy for Chinese silk. Before that, Romans used to make clothes with linen cloth, animal skin and wool fabric. Now they all turned to silk. It was a symbol of wealth and high social status for them to wear silk clothes. One day, an Indian monk came to visit the Emperor. This monk had been living in China for several years and knew the method of raising silkworms. The Emperor promised a high profit of the monk, the monk hid several cocoons in his cane and took it to Rome. Then, the technology of raising silkworms spread out.

Thousands of years have passed since China first discovered silkworms. Nowadays, silk, in some sense, is still some kind of luxury. Some countries are trying some new ways to make silk without silkworms. Hopefully, they can be successful. But whatever the result, nobody should forget that silk was, still is, and will always be a priceless treasure.

The Characteristics of Silk (to compare with other fabrics)

1. the most luxurious fabric;
2. the most comfortable fabric;
3. the most absorbent of fabrics (equal to wool);
4. the best fabric for drape;
5. the best fabric for color;
6. capable of the greatest luster;
7. having the finest "hand";
8. soil resistant;
9. moth & mildew resistant;
10. the strongest natural fabric;
11. cool in summer;
12. warm in winter.

Major local silk products of China

Shu Brocade
Shu Brocade made in Sichuan originated from Han and reached its heyday in the Wei, Jin, Sui and Tang Dynasties. With red as the predominate color, Shu Brocade has a variety of designs, fully reflecting the flowery nature of Shu Culture. In the Tang Dynasty, Dou Shilun, Duke Lingyang, created a set of designs for Shu Brocade, which was known as the "Duke Ling Yang Pattern".

Yun Brocade
Yun Brocade was developed during the Yuan Dynasty although its origin could date back to the Southern Dynasty. Historical records suggest that prior to the Southern Dynasty there was no brocade in Nanjing until Emperor Liu Yu (363-422) had workers move to Jiankang (today's Nanjing) and established production there. Yun Brocade features quality material, refined weaving and the wide use of gold and silver threads. This magnificence gained the name of Yun, which is Chinese for 'cloud'. Elegant Yun Brocade ultimately became a precious artwork and no longer a fabric for day to day wear. In the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties Yun Brocade was a royal tribute.

As the unique weaving skill cannot be undertaken by modern machinery, Yun Brocade remains very expensive.

Song Brocade
Song Brocade, as the name implies, originated from the end of Northern Song. Record has it that a Mr. Ji used Song Brocade for the paperhanging of some precious calligraphy copies. In all there were twenty different designs of this brocade. When the Ji family declined, they wanted to sell the copies but failed to do so due to the high price they demanded. Later some rich man bought them and used the brocade as patterns in workshops in Wu (today's Suzhou area). He made a substantial profit from it! This is regarded as the origin of Song Brocade. And it inherits the old tradition---today Song Jin is mainly used for paperhanging.

Brocades by Ethnic Groups

Zhuang Brocade
Zhuang Brocade is the creation of the Zhuang ethnic group in Guangxi. Zhuang Brocade features rich colors, as this is the artistry of Zhuang people. The patterns vary from waves, clouds, grass and flowers to animals. Phoenix, the symbol of auspiciousness, takes a dominant role in these designs. Zhuang Brocade is durable and can be widely used in beddings, belts, bags and clothes.

Dong Brocade
Dong Brocade from Hunan features softness and neatness.

Li Brocade
Li Brocade from Hainan is firm with bold primitive designs.

Tujia Brocade
Tujia Brocade from the west of Hunan and Hubei is known for its mass, variety of designs and gorgeous colors.

Yao Brocade
Yao Brocade from Hunan is notable, too. The Brocades for bedding are neat and light in color with simple designs while those for clothes are flowery. Some of the symbols woven into Yao Brocade are regarded as the legendary "female characters", which are limited among women. Women use these special symbols or characters to convey messages. Though there is no way of telling if the female character is a branch of an ancient oracle system or that of Yao words, Yao Brocade has become a medium of such a mystery.

Hang Brocade made in Hangzhou, Jing Brocade from Jiangling, Hubei, and Ning Silk from Nanjing, Jiang Silk form Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, Hu Crape from Huzhou, Zhejiang Province all occupy outstanding roles in the history of Chinese silk.