SILK MARKETS & SILK TRADE IN CHINESE HISTORY
Emperor Justinian first developed the means of silk production in the 6th century AD.
According to ancient legends, The emperor had two monks smuggle some silk eggs out of China as well as pinched a few seeds of a mulberry tree for the potential silk worms to feed on.
Up until Emperor Justinian, the Chinese had carefully protected the secret to silk production for years.
The technique was discovered by Si-ling-chi (aka Leizu), the wife of the “Yellow Emperor” Huang-ti, roughly around the year 2,700 BC when apparently a silk worm fell into her cup of tea, sparking her interest and curiosity.
She was later given the name, Seine-Than, meaning Goddess of Silk Worms.
According to ancient legends, The emperor had two monks smuggle some silk eggs out of China as well as pinched a few seeds of a mulberry tree for the potential silk worms to feed on.
Up until Emperor Justinian, the Chinese had carefully protected the secret to silk production for years.
The technique was discovered by Si-ling-chi (aka Leizu), the wife of the “Yellow Emperor” Huang-ti, roughly around the year 2,700 BC when apparently a silk worm fell into her cup of tea, sparking her interest and curiosity.
She was later given the name, Seine-Than, meaning Goddess of Silk Worms.
EMPEROR JUSTINIAN
|
HUANG-TI
( AKA THE YELLOW EMPEROR ) |
SI-LING-CHI
( SEINE-THAN ) |
Silk became so crucial to international trade, that it lent its name to the great East-West route, the Silk Road.
When silk was first discovered, it was exclusively used for royalty, meaning only the rulers or emperors had access to it. As time when on silk became one of the principal elements of the Chinese economy however silk trade had actually began before the official Silk Road was opened in the second century BC.
When silk was first discovered, it was exclusively used for royalty, meaning only the rulers or emperors had access to it. As time when on silk became one of the principal elements of the Chinese economy however silk trade had actually began before the official Silk Road was opened in the second century BC.
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Chinese emperor, Han Wu Di's traveled as far west as Persia and Mesopotamia bearing gifts of silks during the second century BC, exposing lands further west of silk production. Around 1015, Buddhist monks sealed more than ten thousand manuscripts and silk paintings, silk banners, and textiles into a room near Dunhuang, a station on the Silk Road in north-west Gansu, to secure the secret of silk production and to protect against any threat of an invasion by the Tibetan people. |
Despite all the efforts to reduce the exposure of silk production, Chinese silks became widely worn by the rich and noble families of Rome. Around 60 CE the west had become aware that silk was not grown on the trees in China but was actually spun by silk worms.