According to archaeological findings, experts speculate that in the middle of Neolithic Age five or six thousand years ago, China began to raise silkworms, collect silk and weave cloth. What really shows that the cocoon has been used is half a cocoon unearthed in Yin Xi Village, Xia County, Shaanxi Province in 1926. According to the research of archaeologist Li Ji and entomologist Liu Chongle, it is concluded that it is a mulberry cocoon. The cocoon shell is about 1.36 cm long and about 1.04 cm wide. Cut off a part of the cocoon with a sharp blade. Yin Xi village lived in Yangshao period (about 5600-6000 years ago), which provided people with material objects to study the origin of silk.
Textile tools have been found in Hemudu site, so it can be inferred that the use of silk will at least not be later than Liangzhu culture. The most influential statement is 1958, the archaeological discovery made by scientists in China, and the silk fabrics of Dawenkou culture period 5,300 years ago.
Silk technology was monopolized by China for hundreds of years. Because its weaving technology was a complicated process at that time, and people paid much attention to it because of its unique feel and luster, silk fabric became the main international trade material in the world before the industrial revolution. At the earliest time, silk fabrics could only be used by emperors, but with the rapid development of silk industry, silk culture penetrated into China culture geographically and socially. It has become an indispensable high-grade commodity for China businessmen in foreign trade.
At first, China strictly controlled the technical circulation of silk weaving and sericulture, and prohibited it from flowing to foreign countries. However, with the assistance of immigrants from China, North Korea successfully achieved a breakthrough in sericulture technology in the first 200 years. In addition, sericulture was successfully carried out in Hotan River Basin (500-300 years ago) and India (300 years ago). However, it was about 550 years before the Roman Empire got silkworm eggs and developed sericulture technology. With the great development of agriculture in Shang Dynasty, sericulture also formed a certain scale. Although the archaeological discovery of silk fabrics in Shang Dynasty is limited, jacquard silk fabrics have appeared, which shows that the weaving technology at that time has reached a considerable level.
During the Western Zhou Dynasty, the rulers had strict organization and management of industrial production, and the silk production technology was superior to that of Shang Dynasty.
The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period are the transition period from slavery to feudalism in China's history, and great changes have taken place in productivity and socio-economic forms. The sericulture and silk industry has also been paid attention to, and the development of agriculture and mulberry has become an important national policy of all countries to enrich the country and strengthen the people.
During the Warring States period, farmers who combined agriculture with handicrafts became the basic production unit of society, and handicrafts became an important part of agricultural economy. The specialization of silk production is more obvious, and some technologies have been passed down from generation to generation, reaching a fairly high level. Silk can be produced in almost all places, and the varieties of silk are also rich, which are mainly divided into three categories: silk, silk and brocade. The appearance of brocade is an important milestone in the history of China silk. It combines the excellent performance of silk with art. It is not only a noble material, but also a work of art, which greatly improves the cultural connotation and historical value of silk products and has far-reaching influence. At this time, China silk was also introduced to India. Kautilya, an Indian politician and philosopher, has a word cinapatta in his book On Politics, which means "China's bundled silk". In addition, it can be seen from many words in Sanskrit that ancient Indians had a much more accurate understanding of silk than Greeks and Romans. They know that silk is an insect spinning silk and spinning silk from cocoon (old n). The Qin and Han Dynasties were a period of initial consolidation and development of feudal society in China, and the unification of the Qin Dynasty and the establishment of centralization laid the foundation for the prosperity of the Han Dynasty. The policy of "farming with the people" in the early Han Dynasty promoted the rapid economic development. A large-scale government-run silk industry has been established, and its products mainly meet the needs of the imperial court and government; The private silk weaving industry has also developed greatly, and some workshops have formed their own product characteristics and popularity. Compared with the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, the silk producing areas were developed. During the Western Han Dynasty, the focus of silk production was in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River. Since the Eastern Han Dynasty, southwest Shu brocade has become a famous silk product in China.
During the Qin and Han Dynasties, the silk industry not only got great development, but also the trade and export of silk reached unprecedented prosperity with the large-scale expansion of China in the Han Dynasty. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Huns were attacked in the north and the Hexi Corridor leading to the Western Regions was controlled. Zhang Qian sent two missions to the Western Regions, which connected the Central Plains to the Western Regions and connected Eurasia. The promotion of trade further developed the economic and cultural exchanges between the Central Plains and the border areas, and between China and its eastern and western neighbors, thus forming the famous "Silk Road". This road starts from Chang 'an, passes through Gansu and Xinjiang to the west, passes through Central Asia and West Asia, and finally reaches Europe. 126 years ago, under the westward policy of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, China's silk and silk were exported to Central Asia and West Asia continuously and reached Europe through the Silk Road. A large number of silk fabrics unearthed along the Silk Road were the physical evidence of the prosperity of trade at that time. China's silk production technology also spread to Central Asia during this period. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, wars continued, the country was divided for a long time, and political power changed frequently. Severe social unrest, complex political structure, constant ethnic blending and extensive international exchanges make it difficult to develop silk production, but it is rich in connotation and diverse in appearance. During this period, the north is still the main producing area of silk products, and the silk industry in Chengdu, Sichuan has been very developed. Due to the relevant policies in the Three Kingdoms period, the development of Jiangnan silk industry has been improved, and it has been further developed after the governance of the Southern Dynasties, which laid the foundation for the rise of Jiangnan silk industry after the mid-Tang Dynasty.
The long-term war between the Three Kingdoms, the Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties caused serious damage to the economy of the Yellow River basin. In the Sui Dynasty, the focus of sericulture and silk industry in China shifted to the Yangtze River valley. Sui and Tang Dynasties was the peak of the development of feudal society in China. Generally speaking, the country is strong, the economy is developed, the business is prosperous, and especially the culture is open, which shows the generosity and eclectic style of this era. On the basis of this society, the silk industry has also experienced a development climax. At that time, there were three important silk producing areas: first, the Yellow River valley, mainly Hebei and Henan; Two, Sichuan Bashu area, Jiannan Road and Shannan Road to the west can be included in this area; Third, the southeast region below the Yangtze River has basically formed a situation in which the three strong forces stand in balance. After the Anshi Rebellion, the importance of Jiangnan area was greatly enhanced. In addition, the development of silk in northwest China is second to none in remote areas and shows strong local characteristics.
The Tang Dynasty was the heyday of silk production, and the output, quality and variety reached an unprecedented level. Silk production organizations are divided into three types: palace handicraft, rural sideline and independent handicraft, and their scale is greatly expanded compared with the previous generation. At the same time, the foreign trade of silk has also been greatly developed, not only the number of channels of the "Silk Road" has increased to three, but also the frequency of trade has reached an unprecedented height. The production and trade of silk made great contributions to the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty.
The silk trade in the Tang Dynasty was very developed, and the land silk trade route used circuitous roads to go north. The Maritime Silk Road also rose during this period. Silk products are exported to the Korean Peninsula, Japan and Southeast Asia, India, and even spread to Europe by Arab businessmen through the East China Sea Line and the South China Sea Line. The prosperity of silk trade led to the spread of silk technology. In the 7th century, silk originated from Japan in the east, Europe in the west and India in the southwest, which basically laid the pattern of silk producing areas in the future. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, with the progress of sericulture technology, China silk had a brief glory. Not only have the varieties of silk colors increased obviously, especially three new varieties with their own characteristics, such as Jin Song, silk and gold decorative cloth, but also a major breakthrough has been made in the summary and popularization of sericulture production technology.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, the Yellow River valley, Jiangnan area and Sichuan area were important producing areas, and the production focus shifted to Jiangnan area in the middle and late period, but the north still maintained the advantage of producing high-grade silk products. During the Southern Song Dynasty, silk producing areas were basically concentrated in the Yangtze River valley, and silk production in the south of the Yangtze River occupied an absolute advantage. Zhejiang has become a veritable "Silk House". After seizing sixteen states, Liao began to develop sericulture and silk production. Although the silk industry in Jin Dynasty was destroyed, it still maintained a certain scale.
In the Song Dynasty, the official silk workshops were quite large. There are Jin Ling Academy, Dyeing and Weaving Academy, Siwen Academy and Wenxiu Academy under the jurisdiction of Shaofu, and official weaving institutions have been set up in important silk producing areas. There were more than 400 looms in Tokyo during the Zhenzong period, and the annual output of weaving services in Runzhou was 1 10,000. Wuzhou, an emerging central city of silk industry, is known as "clothes all over the world". Taihu Lake Basin "cocoon stands on the mountain and rickshaws are heard". The folk silk industry in Song Dynasty was very developed. In addition to the traditional handicraft industry in rural areas, a large number of silk weaving workshops have emerged in cities, and the power of folk machine users has been growing. In terms of foreign trade, due to the blockade of the land Silk Road, the maritime silk trade has developed greatly, and China's raw silk and silk are exported to all parts of the world through the maritime Silk Road.
Silk in Yuan Dynasty has distinct characteristics of the times. Silk production was destroyed by war in the early Yuan Dynasty, but the production areas still had a certain scale, with the "belly" area under the jurisdiction of Zhongshu Province and the lower reaches of the Yangtze River where Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces were located being the most prosperous. The first official agricultural book "Nong Sang Yao Ji" in history was also distributed nationwide. After the mid-Yuan Dynasty, the pattern of producing areas changed greatly, and silk production in the northern region declined, with Jiangnan region becoming more important. On the one hand, the cold climate makes the north unsuitable for sericulture production, on the other hand, the cultivation of cotton also makes the sericulture industry tend to be concentrated. Due to the special interest of Mongolian nobles in precious handicrafts, a large number of government-run workshops were set up in the Yuan Dynasty, and a large number of excellent craftsmen from all over the country were concentrated to recruit silk raw materials for unprecedented large-scale production. The huge government-run weaving system is an important feature of silk production in Yuan Dynasty, which has a certain inhibitory effect on folk silk production. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, due to the germination and development of capitalism, the production and trade of silk have also undergone great changes: the commercialization trend of silk production has become increasingly obvious, and silk overseas trade has developed rapidly. Su Hu area in the south of the Yangtze River has become the most important silk producing area, and a number of typical professional silk towns have been developed, and government-run weaving is becoming more and more mature. At this time, China silk has developed to the most active period.
In the early Ming Dynasty, a series of measures were taken to emphasize agriculture and thrift, and the producing areas of sericulture and silk industry decreased, but regional intensive production centered on the south of the Yangtze River was formed, among which Suzhou, Hangzhou, Songsong, Jiaxing and Huzhou were the five major silk towns. After the mid-Ming Dynasty, the social atmosphere gradually became extravagant. Under the condition of commodity economy and specialized division of labor, silk industry and commerce in Jiangnan area has achieved great prosperity.
The government-run weaving industry in Ming Dynasty was large in scale. In addition to setting up central dyeing and weaving institutions in Nanjing and Beijing, local dyeing and weaving bureaus have been set up in Suzhou, Hangzhou and more than 20 places across the country to supply the cloth needed by the imperial court and government every year. There are two modes of production: "local weaving" and "foreign leading weaving". The local weaving is a shift corvee system, and the leading weaving is the folk machine repair shop. The personal attachment of craftsmen is looser than that of Yuan Dynasty. In the Ming dynasty, the maritime ban was implemented, and foreign trade was a tribute trade under the control of the government. Silk products flow into neighboring countries and regions in the form of imperial rewards. After the mid-Ming Dynasty, the maritime ban was gradually opened, and China's raw silk and silk were sold to Japan and Europe via Macau.
The silk industry suffered heavy losses in the war in the early Qing Dynasty. When Kangxi took encouraging measures, silk production developed rapidly and further concentrated in Taihu Lake and Pearl River Delta, especially in the south of the Yangtze River, becoming the center of the national silk industry in scale and level.
The official weaving system in Qing dynasty abolished the craftsman registration system in Ming dynasty, and the raw materials were mainly purchased. The overall scale is smaller than that of the Ming Dynasty. Among them, Jiangning Weaving Bureau, Suzhou Weaving Bureau and Hangzhou Weaving Bureau, collectively known as "Jiangnan Three Weaving", are responsible for supplying all kinds of silk products needed by the court and the government. The production scale of folk silk weaving industry has expanded, and the professional division of labor and regional division of labor have become more obvious. A number of prosperous professional silk towns have emerged, with a wide variety of products and a prosperous domestic market. In terms of foreign trade, the Qing dynasty strictly enforced the sea ban, strengthened the restrictions on foreign trade and implemented one-stop trade. Nevertheless, China's exports of raw silk to Japanese and raw silk and silk products to European countries have reached a considerable scale.
In the late Qing Dynasty, China silk industry fell into a very miserable situation under the double blow of exorbitant taxes and foreign thick dumping.