The story of silk

Silk—the very name itself evokes delicate feelings! Till date, no fabric in the world has conquered this Queen of Textiles. It has been intermingled with the culture and tradition of the mankind and Indians in particular. While this royal fabric bestows that extra grace and charm to the wearer, its fabulous furnishings turn your ordinary living room into a royal suite! And that is the magic of silk! Its exquisite qualities, like elegance, natural sheen, softness, affinity for dyes, vibrant colors, lightweight, excellent drape, have made it the perfect choice of the connoisseurs.

But you know, for centuries, the secret of silk had been a shrouded mystery. No one knows for sure when exactly silk was discovered. A number of fictions /stories and legends surround it like a mile long filament spun around a pupa. That is one of the reasons why silk always arouses curiosity.

According to a Chinese legend, it was discovered about 2640 B.C by siling-ti (also written as Hsi Ling-shi or le-ling-she. It was during 2800 B.C. when Chin Nong, the successor of the emperor Fo-hi, invented the plough and other agricultural appliances.)

The innovative king taught his subjects the art of growing mulberry. Probably, mulberry was grown then for its juicy and tasty fruits. The cultivation continued during the regime of emperor Huang-ti as well. Once the emperor asked his wife Siling-ti to find out what was damaging his mulberry crop. The empress observed some tiny insects feeding on the leaves of mulberry. After a few days, she observed that these worms were growing in size. The 14-year-old curious empress continued to watch this process till the shining cocoons were spun by these worms.

She preserved the cocoons till moths emerged. But one day accidentally she dropped a cocoon into a tea pot containing hot water. When she tried to pick it out, a delicate, cobwebby tangled separated from the cocoons. She pulled it out and found that a slender thread was unwinding from the cocoons. And yes, she had discovered silk.

She convinced her husband to give her a grove of mulberry trees where she could rear these wonder worms that spun such beautiful cocoons. It is also said that Siling-ti later invented the silk reel which joined these filaments in to a strong thread to suit weaving and using it to make beautiful garments.

This empress is also credited with the invention of the first loom by 2640 B.C. The deep devotion of the empress towards development of silk industry had such a wide impact on the public that temples were raised in her memory and she was worshiped as the Goddess of the silkworms.

During the sixth century, Emperor Justinian sent two Persian monks as Christian missionaries to the lands beyond the Caspian Sea. These monks came to Khotan and learned the techniques of silk production and smuggled the silkworm eggs and mulberry seeds, hiding them in their pilgrim staves (clubs).

Another story tells how sericulture spread to other parts of Asia and to India. According to it, during 400 A.D., a Chinese princess married to the king of Khotan carried silkworm eggs and seeds of mulberry by hiding them in the lining of her headgear.

A Buddhist monk is credited with bringing the Chinese techniques of silk reeling to India during the Gupta period, i.e. 400 to 600 A.D.

In Assam, the Bodo tribe, who originally migrated from Central Asia, is said to have brought the art of silk reeling with them to India.

In one of the ancient books of Japanese history, there is mention of four concubines employed in the emperor’s court to teach the intricate art of silk weaving to the people.

By the middle of the first century A.D., writers in Rome were complaining about the silk garments that rendered women naked in the street.

Virgil thought that the silk thread was derived from combing the fuzz of leaves.

A legend in England says that some people used to believe that silk was produced from the worms that emerged from the meat of the calf which was allowed to fester for some days.

The ancient Dutch Botanist Rumphous was taken to surprise when he dissected a fruit (Tasar cocoons) to find a chrysalis inside

Once, when one of my U.S. based relative told me that some of his colleagues still think that silk is produced by plants and directly picked like cotton, I had just hushed it off with a big laughter. But now I guess what might have made them think like that? It appears pictures of harvesting of Tasar silk cocoons from the Tasar plant might have created such a confusion. Doesn’t it appear like that? The famous silk cotton (Cochlospermum religiosum L.) plant may be yet another culprit!

Too abstract to determine the particular? But that is how the queen of textiles came into being!

Thanks to Siling-ti for her greatest discovery ‘silk’.

Industrious Chinese used the silk not only as a new means of employment but also as a most valuable commodity in world trade. Caravans all over the world were exchanged for this precious fabric. The world went crazy about silk. It was bartered for gold. In a nutshell, it greatly influenced the economy of China and made her prosperous. And not surprisingly, this art of ‘making silk’ was guarded as a top most secret for more than 3000 years.

By the period of the Han dynasty (founded in 200 A.D.), China had established a flourishing silk trade with the western countries. The countless caravans made their route (most popularly known as silk route) across Asia, bringing silk from China to Damascus – the then world market centre. From there, it was taken to Rome, and further. Others bought it paying fabulous sums.

While China was the source of silk, Damascus turned into a world silk market, where East and West exchanged their goods. The Persians took the lead of bringing silk from China. And naturally, they rose to a commanding position in this trade and controlled all the silk that came from China. They exploited the people’s craze for silk into gold coins. The legendary fabric was sold by them at such fabulous prices that the price itself turned into a legend! But who was the sufferer? Ultimately, it was the Romans. They had to pay by their nose. The Roman emperor Justinian had to file objections for paying such exorbitant prices to Persians, but in vain.

During the sixth century, the determined emperor even tried to find out a new trade route to China via Constantinople, keeping away Persia. For different reasons, it was not successful. But he did not lose his heart. He sent two Nestorian monks to China (who had earlier lived there) to ‘smuggle’ the secret of ‘silk making’. In a most astonishing way, these intelligent monks brought back this ‘secret’ to Constantinople, risking their lives.

In the history it has been regarded as one of the greatest ‘successful spying mission’. Along with the ‘secret’, these monks also had brought with them some mulberry seeds and silkworm eggs hidden in their hollow clubs. This greatest industrial espionage. Alas! it ended the monopoly of both China and Persia as producer and trader of silk, respectively. During the next few centuries, people from various countries learnt the art of ‘silk making’. Italy turned into an epicenter of the western silk market by 1200. The enterprising French took up silk weaving during 1500. The first silk weaving factory was built in Mansfield, England, in 1810.

Now let us see how silk entered India. It is said that during 400 A.D., a Chinese princess who got married to an Indian prince, brought with her some seeds of mulberry and silkworm eggs by hiding them in the lining of her headgear. Sericulture was first established in the tract which lies between the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. Though there is no recorded document available regarding the origin of silk in India prior to 400 AD, one can find the mention of silk in the Indian epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata, which adds mystery to the history of silk in India. However, one cannot deny the fact that the sericulture and silk have been a part of Indian tradition and culture.

In case of Japan, it is a different story. Sericulture reached Japan by Korea during the early part of the fourth century. Sericulture was not practised there till 300 A.D. Others smuggled the secret of silk to their countries. Four Chinese concubines were brought to Japan to teach them the making of woven silk. With time, the Japanese perfected the art so much so that they had been in number two position in the world in silk production, till recently.

The silk route in reality was an all purpose trade route traversing to the West from the Orient, and to East by the Middle East. Commodities like amber, rugs, glass, spices, cobalt, tea and silks were carried along this route. It was called the Silk Route because silk was the most expensive and valuable commodity then.

The silk route was highly hazardous, treacherous to anyone, especially the traders. Starting from Xian of Shaanxi province of China, it traversed through mountains and deserts; Central Asia to Tyre; to Europe and Egypt, and further to port cities by sea. From the Mediterranean it spread to Spain, Latin America, North America. California seems to be the end point of this famous route. It almost stretched round the globe!

Except for a few adventurous people, no one had traveled the entire route! The famous explorer Marco Polo (1256-1323) was one among them. The commodities/loads were exchanged at a number of places. With each exchange, the silk price shot up. It was a Midas touch. Silk made everyone prosperous. Be it a producer or a trader.

Today, silk and silk making are no more a secret! The whole world knows about it. Presently, sericulture is being practised in dozens of countries across the world. Countries like India, Japan, China have international institutions/training centres to teach sericulture. However, with all these, China has not allowed any other country to surpass its first position in silk production. The modern world should remain grateful to those two anonymous monks who came, saw, and conquered the secret of making silk. Veni, vidi, vici. The Chinese’s loss was gain to other countries.