The Legend of Lei Tsu discovering silk

The legend of the silk discovery is narrated in China within the following method:

Greater than 4000 years in the past on the royal courtroom of the chinese language Emperor.

One younger concubine, named Lei Tsu, takes the cocoon of some worms, which she finds on the mulberry tree and begins enjoying round with them. In her playfulness the younger concubine drops the cocoon in a pot stuffed with boiled water. As she tries to get the cocoon out of the recent water, she discovers {that a} lengthy yarn could be extracted from the cocoon, when they’re within the boiled water. For her astonishment the yarn is not only lengthy but in addition very stunning and powerful.

Along with her newly earned data the younger concubine decides to weave a colourful costume for the chinese language Emperor, who could be very impressed by the grace and fantastic thing about his new costume. From there on the silk manufacturing began and got here to massive fame all around the globe for the colour and smoothness of its weavings.

That is essentially the most well-known legend concerning the discovery of silk. Nonetheless it isn’t the one one and on reflection it’s tough to say how true this story actually is.

However one factor is for certain. The silk, which is described because the smoothest and most colourful textile identified to mankind, was within the early levels of the silk manufacturing solely worn by the royal courtyard of the chinese language Emperor.

After a while silk was additionally used as diplomatic items and to bribe nomadic tribes who threaten the chinese language Empire.

The data of the silk manufacturing was a effectively stored secret within the chinese language Empire. The export of silk worms or mulberry cuttings was strictly forbidden and smuggling these secrets and techniques was punished by loss of life sentence.

Lastly all these efforts had an finish, when a chinese language princess smuggled mulberry cuttings and the silk worm to Khotan (as we speak Afghanistan) in 140 BC, as a result of she needed to marry and to migrate from China and couldn’t picture a life with out silk.

From there the key of the silk manufacturing made it to India and one century later to Korea, Japan and Thailand.

A brand new principle questions that Thailand needed to collect the silk secret from different international locations. It argues that silk was cultivated by the mysterious individuals of Ban Chiang in northeastern Thailand 5000 years in the past. This principle is predicated on archaeological findings, which found unweaven rests of silk on a plateau that was as soon as settled by the individuals of Ban Chiang.

However that is only a principle and primarily based on indicators with out clear proof. Nonetheless the silk weaving remains to be a commerce primarily practiced within the northeast of Thailand. From these villages within the northeast thai silk got here to world fame within the 1960´s.