Weaving in China

One of the most fascinating stories in the development of weaving comes from China. Several legends have been told about the discovery of silk, but there is one that has become the most noted of all. In the 27th century B.C.E., during the reign of Emperor Huang-Ti, a disease began to destroy the trees in the royal mulberry grove, so the emperor asked his empress to study the problem. Empress Hsi-Ling-shi spent time in the groves and noticed that small white worms were devouring the mulberry leaves. The worms then would crawl to the naked stems below where they would spin silvery, white cocoons. According to legend, Empress His-Ling-shi took some of the small cocoons to her apartment for closer observation, and there one of the cocoons accidentally fell into a bath of warm water. As water was absorbed into the cocoon, the tiny pocket began to unravel revealing a delicate network of fibers. The empress pulled a small filament from the network and realized the fiber was a continuous thread, hundreds of feet long. In fact, one cocoon can contain a single filament measuring over 1,000 yards. With the discovery of the silk fiber, His-Ling-shi found the secret of acquiring a very rare and exquisite thread, one that could be used without first going through the spinning process.

As weavers in China began using silk in many of their elegant garments and tapestries, and later, as fabrics began to be exported, people outside of China became envious and somewhat resentful of the discovery. Despite the interest and curiosity of others, the process of cultivating silk remained a mystery and a well-kept secret to the outside world for over 3000 years.