The legend and history
According to Confucius, it was in 2640 B.C. that Princess Hsi Ling Shi was enjoying a cup of tea in the shade of a mulberry tree, when a cocoon dropped into her cup. As she fished it out, the cocoon unravelled in a single thread, mesmerizing her with its shimmer and luster.
The Princess's amazement led her to discover the Bombyx mori silkworms happily eating the mulberry leaves above her, which led her to uncover the most zealously guarded secret in history: the cultivation of silk worms, the reel and the loom. Chinese authorities were so protective of sericulture, the crime of smuggling sericulture secrets out of the country was punishable by execution.
Silks were originally considered a royal luxury and reserved exclusively for the Emperor and his close relations. It is said that the Emperor wore a robe of white silk in the palace, and yellow silk when he left the palace grounds. Gradually, silk spread through various strata of society, used primarily for clothing and decoration. As the benefits of silk were uncovered, so the uses expanded and silk was put to industrial use - for fishing lines, musical instruments, paper, paintbrush bristles and so on.
Before long, silk became so valuable it was a commodity: farmers paid their taxes in grain and silk. Silk became the wages for government servants and the reward for community services. The basic unit for measurement of silk was Length, that is, the lengths of silk took over pounds of gold. Before long it became a currency used in trade with foreign countries, and the Silk Road was created.
China had the monopoly on silk production for nearly 3000 years, but the secret eventually escaped. It is said that a Chinese princess smuggled cocoons out of the country by hiding them in her elaborate hairdo as she left China to marry a foreign prince. And soon after two monks appeared at the Byzantine Emperor Justinian's court with silkworm eggs hid in their hollow bamboo staves. Under their supervision the eggs hatched into worms, and the worms spun cocoons, and Byzantine silk was born.
Silk textiles, from China, and now the Middle East, continued to bring high prices in the West, and trade along the Silk Road continued. By the sixth century the Persians, too, had mastered the art of silk weaving, developing their own rich patterns and techniques. It was only in the 13th century, the time of the Second Crusades, that Italy began silk production with the introduction of 2000 skilled silk weavers from Constantinople. Eventually silk production became widespread in Europe.
Acknowledgements: Facts and information in this article was developed from various sources such as Encyclopaedia Brittanica. Images on this page from Wiki Commons.