A Brief History of Silk Creation and Trade

A luxurious and desirable fabric for thousands of years, silk has a long history. It originated in ancient China over 4,000 years ago when an empress, Hsi Ling Shih, observed the unraveling of a cocoon that had fallen into her cup of tea.

Enchanted with the cocoon made of a long translucent thread, her curiosity inspired the creation of the first silk cloth. The emperor had the first silk loom created, and silk-making began slowly.

Because silk was very difficult to make and the fabric so exquisite, it had a high value, and only emperors could wear it. Centuries later, dignitaries began to wear it. Eventually, silk became a tradeable asset. The Chinese state paid stipends in silk, and people paid taxes with it, opening it to the general public.

As more people got access to the fabric and external trade routes with China opened, silk made its way to foreign lands. Greek rulers and Roman emperors loved it, as did Egyptian royalty, including Queen Cleopatra. Even Persian and Indian dignitaries wore silk. China’s empire grew significantly off the trade of its prized fabric. The process of creating silk, however, kept a closely guarded secret for thousands of years.

In 200 BC, Chinese immigrants in Korea began making silk. Around 400 AD, production moved south to Japan. In 500 AD, the silk-making craft reached India and then the Byzantine Empire. After the Ottomans conquered the Byzantine Empire, silk-making spread further East to Europe. By the 1500s, silk-making reached Italy and France. Years afterward, the silk trade expanded across the Atlantic Ocean into the Americas, though production never caught on.

Cleaning Drapes, David Raminfard

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