Legend and Silk History
According to Chinese legend, silk was first discovered in 2640 BC by XiLingJi, the fourteen year old wife of China's third Emperor -the so called "HuangDi".
It is said that XiLingJi was having tea beneath a mulberry tree in the palace gardens, when a cocoon fell from the tree into her cup of hot tea. She and her handmaidens were astonished to see the cocoon start to unravel, revealing a long delicate thread. XiLingJi was so delighted by its beauty and strength that she collected thousands of cocoons and then wove them into a robe for the Emperor.
Silk has been regarded by the Chinese as the ultimate luxurious cloth for over 4000 years. Originally only the Basilica Gentry could wear it. Later high officials at court were granted the privilege. As production techniques improved, so its usage spread.It was once be used as currency due to its high value. China started to trade silk westward when the trading route we now call The Silk Road opened in the 2nd Century AD. The secret of how to make silk was successfully kept on pain of death in China for nigh on 2500 years. Eventually it got out to Khotan, an oasis just north of the Tibetan Plain, in the 5th century. A Chinese princess was betrothed to the King of Khotan. She smuggled cocoons and mulberry seeds in her headdress.
Then around AD 550, two Nestorian monks appeared at the Byzantine Emperor Justinian's court with silkworm eggs hid in their hollow bamboo staves. Under their supervision the eggs hatched into worms, and the worms spun cocoons. Byzantium was in the silk business at last. The Byzantine church and state created imperial workshops, monopolizing production and keeping the secret to themselves. This allowed a silk industry to be established in the Middle East, undercutting the market for ordinary-grade Chinese silk. However high-quality silk textiles, woven in China especially for the Middle Eastern market, continued to bring high prices in the West, and trade along the Silk Road therefore continued as before. By the sixth century the Persians, too, had mastered the art of silk weaving, developing their own rich patterns and techniques. It was only in the 13th century he time of the Second Crusades Italy began silk production with the introduction of 2000 skilled silk weavers from Constantinople. Eventually silk production became widespread in Europe.
Silk and its trade
silk duvet -filling Long Mulberry Silk floss
Silk became a precious commodity highly sought by other countries at a very early time, and it is believed that the silk trade was actually started before the Silk Road was officially opened in the second century BC. An Egyptian female mummy with silk has been discovered in the village of Deir el Medina near Thebes and the Valley of the Kings, dated 1070 BC, which is probably the earliest evidence of the silk trade. During the second century BC, the Chinese emperor, Han Wu Di's ambassadors traveled as far west as Persia and Mesopotamia, bearing gifts including silks. A Han embassy reached Baghdad in AD 97, and important finds of Han silks have been made along the Silk Road. One of the most dramatic finds of Tang silks along the Silk Road was made in 1907 by Aurel Stein. Some time around 1015, Buddhist monks, possibly alarmed by the threat of invasion by a Tibetan people, the Tanguts, sealed more than ten thousand manuscripts and silk paintings, silk banners, and textiles into a room at the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas near Dunhuang, a station on the Silk Road in north-west Gansu.
From about the fourth century BC, the Greeks and Romans began talking of Seres, the Kingdom of Silk. Some historians believe the first Romans to set eyes upon the fabulous fabric were the legions of Marcus Licinius Crassus, Governor of Syria. At the fateful battle of Carrhae near the Euphrates River in 53 BC, the soldiers were so startled by the bright silken banners of the Parthian troops that they fled in panic. Within decades Chinese silks became widely worn by the rich and noble families of Rome. The Roman Emperor Heliogabalus (AD 218 - 222) wore nothing but silk. confined to the nobility has now spread to all classes without distinction, even to the lowest." The craving of silk continued to increase over the centuries. The price of silk was very hight in Rome. The best Chinese bark ( a particular kind of silk) cost as much as 300 denarii (a Roman soldier's salary for an entire year!). Many sources quote that Roman citizens' demand for imported silks was so great as to be damaging to the Roman economy.
Silk was even beginning to have a civilizing effect on the barbarians. In 408 AD when Alaric, a Goth, besieged Rome, his price for sparing the city included 5000 pounds of gold, 3000 pounds of pepper, 30,000 pounds of silver and 4000 tunics of silk.
Silk Today
Silkworms, being flightless, are totally reliant on highly skilled humans, and are therefore extremely labour-intensive. 1 Kg of silk is produced by 6000 silkworms, after consuming 200 Kg of mulberry leaves. A filament from a silkworm can be over a mile long; although half a mile is more normal. Between 5 and 8 of these filaments are twisted together to make a thread.
Today silk is grown mainly in Asia, with China steadily regaining her traditional major market share by increasing production. The demand for silk has increased steadily over time, despite the inroads made by much cheaper man-made fibres. The fact is that people prefer silk over almost any other fibre when circumstances allow. As prosperity spreads, so does the demand for silk.
Many layers of Long Silk floss are pulled out by hand to the dimensions of the duvet until the right weight is reached to reflect the correct Tog Value. Each layer takes on the appearance of gossamer as it is stretched out. This is why Long Silk can not bunch up inside the duvet and remains evenly distributed throughout its life.
