According to Chinese legend, silk was discovered about 2700 B.C. when Emperor Huang -Ti ordered his wife, Lei-tzu, to find what was damaging his mulberry trees. She found warms eating the leaves and when she accidentally dropped a cocoon into her hot tea, a slender thread unwound . Her husband looked further into Lei-tzu's discovery and developed methods that would lead to large- scale production. Silk become so valuable that the punishment for revealing the method of silk- making to a foreigner was death. The Chinese guarded their methods for almost 3,000 years.
Silk had many uses. Rich men and women in ancient China wore long silk robes held in place at the waist. Boots and shoes were also made of silk. Important documents were written on silk scrolls. Banners and flags were made from silk. Bolts of silk were valuable commodities for trading as well.
Each cocoon may give from2,000 to 3,000 feet(610-915m) of filament. Four to 18 strands of this are reeled or twisted together to make a strong, even thread.
Silk used for commerce comes from the the Bombyx mori, or mulberry silkwarm, and other closely related moths.
It is believed that first evidence of the silk trade is that of an Egyptian mummy of 1070B.C.
The Silk Road is the name given to the major set of trade routes between Europe and Asia.
By Sharad Chandra Shukla
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