A Brief History of Silk
Comfortable to wear whether the weather is hot or cold, silk is as popular today as it was 5,000 years ago when it was first manufactured. However, the history of silk has not always been as smooth as the fabric (织物) itself.
Today’s basic silk-production process has changed very little since it first began. The fabric comes from silkworms which, although tiny when born, grow rapidly in size. Indeed, on a strict diet of mulberry leaves, it is estimated that they increase in weight by 10,000% over the first six weeks of their life. When they are fully grown, the silkworms create a cocoon—a protective shell made of silk. They then crawl inside in order to prepare for their next stage of development. However, for commercial silk production, these cocoons are then boiled, killing the worm inside, to ensure that the silk is not damaged. After this, the silk is gathered and prepared. A single cocoon can produce between 300 and 900 metres of silk thread.
Although today silk is both grown and worn worldwide, the original production of silk was restricted to China. Likewise, in the sixth century, two monks managed to take some eggs all the way back to their native Byzantium (modern-day Istanbul, in Turkey). This was an event of great importance, since Europe was form that point able to manufacture its own silk.
Before the monks’ success in bringing the silkworms out of China, Europeans were dependent on merchants bringing the fabric from East Asia across the mountain roads of Central Asia and the Middle East. Indeed, so much silk was transported that this trade route became known as Silk Road.
Although man-made fibres (纤维) are cheaper and easier to manufacture, the beauty of silk is difficult to match, and there is always likely to be a large international market.
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