One of the most popular and influential sayings is that "Lei Zu began to silkworm". Luo Zu was the princess of Xuanyuan (2550 BC), a legendary northern tribal leader. According to Sui Shu. According to the Book of Rites, the Northern Zhou Dynasty (557-58 1) honored Luo Zu as the "first silkworm" (the god of the first silkworm). The biography of Tong Jian records: "Luo Zu, the daughter of Xiling family, is the princess of the emperor and began to teach the people to raise silkworms and treat cocoons to make clothes." "History of Taoism" said: "Fuxi turned silkworms into silkworms, and the Xiling family began to raise silkworms, so the Huainan Silkworm Classic said that the Xiling family advised silkworms to breed crops, and it was close to silkworms." This statement became popular after the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Until the 1950s, almost all Chinese and foreign literatures were basically recognized when talking about the origin of sericulture in China. During the period of 1926, archaeologists in China discovered a half-cut cocoon at the Neolithic site in Yin Xi Village, Xia County, Shaanxi Province. This incident has aroused great interest in academic circles at home and abroad. Some people use the theory of "Luo Zu Begins Silkworm" to prove this semi-cocoon, thus inferring that sericulture existed in the Yellow River basin during Yangshao culture period.
However, since 1950s, many historians have raised objections to the theory that Luo Zu began to raise silkworms. Their main reason is that this statement appeared late. Although it is mentioned in Historical Records that the Yellow Emperor married Luo Zu, the daughter of Xiling family, there is no mention of "starting silkworms", which shows that this statement has not appeared in the early Han Dynasty, and Biography as a Mirror is a work in the late Northern Song Dynasty; The history of Lu was written by people in the Southern Song Dynasty. It was mentioned in the history of this road. Huai Nan Zi is generally regarded as a fake book. Although the Northern Zhou Dynasty regarded Luo Zu as the first silkworm, before that, the Northern Qi Dynasty (550-577) also offered sacrifices to the Yellow Emperor as the first silkworm god. At the same time, some famous archaeologists questioned half a cocoon in Yin Xi Village, believing that this discovery is an unreliable isolated evidence and is likely to be confused by later generations. For example, Xia Nai put forward: "In the cultural layer of Neolithic sites in the loess area of North China, silk can't be preserved so well;" In the Neolithic Age, what sharp blade could cut or cut the cocoon to make it have a' very straight' edge? " (See Cultural Relics No.2 1972 for the history of ancient sericulture in China) Although there are many supporters, these objections and queries are far from being endorsed by all relevant researchers. Some people think that although the saying that "Luo Zu began to raise silkworms" comes from the speculation of later generations, as the embodiment of the times, the sericulture industry in China as early as the Yellow Emperor era is basically credible. The authoritative History of Textile Science and Technology in China (Ancient Part) (edited by Chen, Science Press, 1984) holds this view. For Chennai's point of view, someone has published a rebuttal article. For example, Japanese scholar Shunlang Bumu believes that silkworm cocoons can be preserved for more than four or five thousand years in the loess plateau with little rainfall; He claimed that he experimented with thin stone chips and bone chips (simulating the production tools of people at that time), and the cut cocoon really had straight edges.
On the other hand, since the late 1950s, the archaeological discoveries of a series of Neolithic sites in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River have complicated the debate on the origin of sericulture. 1958, a batch of silk fabrics was unearthed in Qianshanyang, Xing Wu, Zhejiang Province, and its absolute age was identified as four or five thousand years ago. 1963, black pottery embroidered with silkworm patterns appeared in Meiyan, Wujiang, Jiangsu. 1977; Textile tool components and tooth carved cups decorated with silkworms and woven patterns were unearthed in Hemudu, Yuyao, Zhejiang Province more than 6,000 years ago. Many scholars believe that the appearance of silkworm patterns on pottery and tooth carvings shows the degree of human understanding of silkworm at that time and the close relationship between silkworm and human beings. Silkworm patterns, weaving patterns and textile tools were unearthed together, which shows the application of silk in textile. According to these findings, it is proved that the southeast region is also the birthplace of sericulture, and the time to start sericulture here is even earlier than that represented by the legendary Yellow Emperor Luo Zu. However, some people think that the ancient culture of Zhejiang lags behind that of the Central Plains, and the lower Yang layer of Qian Shan may contain relics of different times, and may even be partially disturbed. So at that time, the comrades who participated in the archaeological excavation in Qian Shan Yang carefully recalled the excavation process and basically ruled out the possibility of disturbance. However, it is difficult to determine some details because of the long time between recollection and excavation. Some people think that the silk unearthed in Qian Shan is not necessarily silkworm fiber, but also wild silk such as tussah silk. Relevant personnel in the textile industry re-identified the silk spilled from Qian Shan by means of paraffin section and micro-projection, and confirmed that it really belonged to domestic silk raised artificially. However, they also admit that due to the large number of unearthed silk fragments and serious carbonization, the analysis work is limited. In addition, there are still different opinions about whether the decorative patterns on the unearthed objects in Hemudu and other places are the images of silkworms or other insects.