In ancient legends, Huangdi’s wife Leizu invented "silk sericulture", but in reality when silk was invented is still controversial.
Experts speculate based on archaeological findings that in the middle of the Neolithic period five or six thousand years ago, China began to raise silkworms, take silk, and weave silk. What really shows that the silkworm cocoons are used is the half of the silkworm cocoons excavated in Xiyin Village, Xia County, Shanxi Province in 1926. According to the research of archaeologist Li Ji and entomologist Liu Zhenle, it is determined to be a silkworm cocoon. The cocoon shell is about 1.36 cm long and 1.04 cm wide. The part of the cocoon is cut away with a sharp blade. Xiyin Village was in the Yangshao period (about 5600-6000 years ago), which provided people with physical objects for studying the origin of silk.
Four Weng coffins at the Wanggou site in Xingyang, Henan Province, were found to be about 5,500-year-old silk remains.
Weaving tools have been discovered in the Hemudu site, from which it can be inferred that the use of silk is at least not later than the Liangzhu culture. The most influential argument is the archaeological discovery of Chinese scientists in 1958, the silk fabrics of the Dawenkou culture period 5300 years ago.
Silk fabric technology was monopolized by China for hundreds of years. Because its weaving technology was a complicated craft at the time, and because of its unique feel and luster, it attracted people's attention. Therefore, silk fabrics became the world's main international trade materials before the industrial revolution. . The earliest silk fabrics could only be used by emperors, but the rapid development of the silk industry allowed silk culture to continuously penetrate into Chinese culture geographically and socially. And it has become an indispensable high-end item in the foreign trade of Chinese businessmen.
At first, China strictly controlled the spread of silk weaving and sericulture technology, and prohibited its flow to foreign countries. However, with the assistance of Chinese immigrants, North Korea successfully achieved a breakthrough in sericulture technology in the previous 200 years. In addition, the Western Region Hetian River Basin (the first 500 years-the first 300 years) and India (300 years ago) successfully realized sericulture. However, the Roman Empire only obtained silkworm eggs and developed sericulture technology in about 550 years.
