Silk Thread Art Weaves Chinese Culture

Silk Thread Art — A Brief History

The history of silk is a common thread running throughout most of Chinese history. It will be difficult to tell the long story of China without focusing on the impact of silk. Sericulture, the raising of silk worms for the production of raw silk, dates back to about 2640 BCE in ancient China. Legend has it, the Chinese Empress Hsi Ling Shi (the Goddess of Silk) gave her royal patronage to the silk industry. She invented the loom and applied it to the weaving of highly prized silk fabric.

For nearly 3,000 years the secrets of silk production were closely guarded by the Chinese. Silk thread is not easy to produce and quality silk fabric in exciting colors is even more difficult. Somewhere around 300 CE a secret Japanese mission succeeded in unraveling the Chinese silk mystery. Members of that mission secured silkworms and brought four Chinese girls back to Japan to teach the art of sericulture and other secrets of silk to the Japanese.

The Silk Legend Continued

The silk industry spread to India when a Chinese princess was given in marriage to an Indian prince. She carried silkworm eggs and mulberry seeds, the favorite food of silkworms, concealed in her headdress. The silk industry spread into Persia and Central Asia and trickled into the lands along the Mediterranean Sea.

Early in the 2nd century BCE, caravans traveled back and forth along the Silk Road, a 6,400 kilometer (4,000 mile) trade route connecting China and the West. It gets its name from the lucrative Chinese silk trade, which began during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE). The Silk Road trade played a significant role in the development of the great civilizations of China, India, Egypt, Persia, Arabia and Rome. As a conduit spreading knowledge, ideas and cultures, it helped lay the foundations for the modern world.

Chinese Culture Is Woven In Silk Thread Art

Over the centuries, silk was the most important medium in Chinese painting, if not all Chinese fine art. Woven from threads processed from the one-half mile long strands unraveled from the cocoons of silkworms, silk fabric is still one of the most luxurious textiles. Painters preferred different types of silk, ranging from raw, hard silk to soft silk and edged silk. Embroiderers stitch wondrous images in silk thread on silk substrate.

Silk Thread Art Thrives Today

Whether traditional painting pigment or painting silk threads on silk fabric, Chinese cultural traditions continue to perfect the silk art form. Silk Thread Art endeavors to bring to you a compendium of fine silk art, as well as the culture and history behind it. We welcome and encourage your comments. If you want to know more, please, contact us at once.

May fortune smile on you today and forever. And may silk thread art bring a little joy into all lives.