Chinese Silk in China,Chinese Chinese Silk

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There are many myths of how silk was discovered in China. It has been used as one of the best and richest materials for clothing. In myth, some Chinese women were picking fruit from a tree when they discovered a white hard fruit they hadn't seen before. After they couldn't eat it even when it had been boiled, they began to beat it with sticks to break the fruit, before they realised that it was the cocoon of the silk worm!

The Chinese developed ways of making clothes with the new material, as the technology developed to keep up with demand. Silk was a richly coveted material, and it soon became necessary to build a road to trade with other countries. The ancient Silk Road, running from Chang'an (Xi'an) across Middle, South and West Asia, and even connecting Europe in some places.

Because of the trade into Europe, Chinese silk was hugely popular amongst the Romans, especially women. Prior to the trade along the silk road, the Romans had used clothes made of linen, animal skins or wool, so the luxury material of silk was highly prized as a display of wealth and social status.

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Chinese Silk