History and Origins of Silk

We thought we would educate you a little on the History and Origins of Silk.  Elegant Beginnings, Inc. has a variety of natural textiles that are made into table linens, chair covers, napkins and more.  Weddings and Receptions, along with Wedding Planner and Consultants deserve fine fabrics to decorate and enhance their events.  Today's bride is more educated than the average 'bear'.  Newly married couples and families are choosing fabrics and textiles that can be custom made for reuse later in their new homes.  Although these adornments seem expensive at first,  using them over and over again for personal and family events off-sets the upfront cost.

Below are some excerpts from some websites that discuss the Silk Road and the History and Origin of Silk:

ORIGIN OF SILK - LEGEND OF LADY HSI-LING-SHIH
Chinese legend gives the title Goddess of Silk to Lady Hsi-Ling-Shih, wife of the mythical Yellow Emperor, who was said to have ruled China in about 3000 BC. She is credited with the introduction of silkworm rearing and the invention of the loom. Half a silkworm cocoon unearthed in 1927 from the loess soil astride the Yellow River in Shanxi Province, in northern China, has been dated between 2600 and 2300 BC. Another example is a group of ribbons, threads and woven fragments, dated about 3000 BC, and found at Qianshanyang in Zhejiang province. More recent archeological finds - a small ivory cup carved with a silkworm design and thought to be between 6000 and 7000 years old, and spinning tools, silk thread and fabric fragments from sites along the lower Yangzi River – reveal the origins of sericulture to be even earlier.

HISTORY:

The Silk Routes (collectively known as the 'Silk Road') were important paths for cultural, commercial and technological exchange between traders, merchants, pilgrims, missionaries, soldiers, nomads and urban dwellers from Ancient China, Ancient India, Ancient Tibet, Persia and Mediterranean countries for almost 3,000 years.^[4]
Extending 4,000 miles, the routes enabled people to transport goods, especially luxuries such as slaves, silk, satin and other fine fabrics, musk, other perfumes, spices, medicines, jewels, glassware and even rhubarb, as well as serving as a conduit for the spread of knowledge, ideas, cultures and diseases^[5] between different parts of the world (Ancient China, Ancient India, Asia Minor and the Mediterranean). Trade on the Silk Road was a significant factor in the development of the great civilizations of China, India, Egypt, Persia, Arabia and Rome, and in several respects helped lay the foundations for the modern world. Although the term the Silk Road implies a continuous journey, very few who traveled the route traversed it from end to end. For the most part, goods were transported by a series of agents on varying routes and were traded in the bustling mercantile markets of the oasis towns.^[5]

The ruins of a Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) Chinese watchtower made of rammed earth at Dunhuang, Gansu province

The central Asian sections of the trade routes were expanded around 114 BCE by the Han dynasty,^[6] largely through the missions and explorations of Zhang Qian,^[7] but earlier trade routes across the continents already existed.^{[citation needed]} In the late Middle Ages, transcontinental trade over the land routes of the Silk Road declined as sea trade increased.^[8] Though silk was certainly the major trade item from China, many other products were traded, and various technologies, religions and philosophies as well as the bubonic plague (the so-called 'Black Death') also traveled along the Silk Routes.india played a vital role in the trade,virtually by the centre of the route as well as its unique products such as spices ,precious stones and hand crafted goods.

History and Origins of Silk