SILK

 Silk

  

   Silk, animal fiber used as a building material for cocoons and nets by some insects and archnids, some of which can be used to make fine fabrics.  In commercial use, silk is almost exclusively confined to the cocoons of silkworm insects (caterpillars of several insect species belonging to the genus Bombyx).  See also Sericulture.

   Silkworm cocoon

   Commercial silk is made from the fibrous cocoon of silkworm caterpillars (Bombax species).

   Silk thread

   Key people: Jim Thompson, Samuel Knullf Lester, First Baron Mesham

   Related Topics: Silkworm Insects Insects Raw Silk Silk Thread Wool Silk

  

   Source in China

   The origins of silk production and weaving are ancient and are shrouded in myth.  The industry probably originated in China, where, according to local records, it existed sometime before the middle of the third century BC.  It was discovered at this time that about 1 km (1,000 yards) of yarn, which forms the silkworm cocoon, could be re-cut, spun and woven, and silk farming initially became an important feature of the Chinese rural economy.  ۔  A Chinese legend says that she was the wife of the legendary Yellow King Huangdi, who taught art to the Chinese people.  Throughout history, the Empress has been formally associated with sericulture.  Damascus architecture probably existed in the Shang dynasty, and tombs from the 4th-3rd century BC were excavated in 1982 in Mishan, near Jiangling (Hubei Province).  Are  As the first complete dress.

   Silk embroidered with dragon, phoenix and tiger patterns, Mashan Tomb No. 1, 4th-3rd century BC, from the Chow family;  In Jingzhou Museum, Hubei Province, China.

   Kang Lihang / China Stock Photo Library

   The most important achievement of the Song family in the production of silk was the completion of Casey, a fine silk tapestry woven on a small loom with a shuttle as a needle.  The technique appears to have been invented by the Sogdians in Central Asia, improved by the Uyghurs, and adopted by the Chinese in the 11th century.  Casey's term (literally "cut silk") is derived from the vertical space between areas of color, which is why weft threads do not fit well in width.  It has also been suggested that the word is a corruption of the Persian qazaz or Arabic khaz, which refers to silk and silk products.  Casey was used to translate textiles, silk panels, and scroll covers and paintings into tapestry.  In the Yuan family, Casey's panels were exported to Europe, where they were incorporated into cathedral vests.

   Silk weaving has become a major industry and one of the main exports of China to the Han family.  The caravan route in Central Asia, known as the Silk Road, carried Chinese silk to Syria and Rome.  In the 4th century BC, the Greek philosopher Aristotle mentioned that Siri culture was practiced on the island of Kos, but this art was clearly lost and was reintroduced from China to Byzantium in the 6th century AD.  Chinese textiles of Han history have been found in Egypt, in graves in northern Mongolia (Naveen Ola) and in Lulan in Chinese Turkestan.  Silk was used by the Han rulers to buy diplomatic gifts as well as to intimidate the nomads by giving them a taste of luxury.

   Early Han textiles from Mwangdui show the further development of the existing weaving traditions in Mishan at the end of Xiao, including brocade and embroidery, goose, plain textures, and Damascus.  Later finds elsewhere, however, are primarily confined to Damascus, very finely woven with patterns in many colors that are usually repeated every 5 cm (2 inches).  These designs are either geometric, zig zag loosing is the most common, or consists of cloud or mountain scrolls associated with magnificent creatures and sometimes happy characters.  The rectangular patterned material was transferred to Luoyang bronze mirrors and appeared in paintings on both oil and silk.  And the patterns of the curves, which are not natural to weave, may have been adapted for embroidery from the rhythm conventions of line painting, which also provided scrolling images for bronze and paintings inlaid with silk.  Thus, there was an interaction between the different mediums of the Han family art, which led to the unification of their style.

   Ming and Qing Textiles show a complete love of Chinese pantry, color, and fine workmanship.  The woven textile pattern features prominent flowers and dragons against the backdrop of geometric shapes dating to the late Xiao (1046-256 BC) and Han.  There are basically three types of clothing.  Chafu was a very broad court formal dress;  The emperor's robe was adorned with the 12 suspicions described in the ancient formal text, while princes and high officials were allowed nine or fewer symbols, depending on their rank.  Kifu ("colorful dress"), or "dragon rob", was a semi-formal court dress in which the dominant element was the imperial five-toed dragon (long) or four-toed dragon (ming).  Despite repeated laws issued during the Ming and Qing seasons, five-toed dragons were rarely reserved exclusively for royal use.  The symbols used on the dragon's clothing included eight Buddhist symbols, the Dust at Immortals (Boxin) symbol, eight valuables and other auspicious instruments.  "Mandarin Square" was added to the front and back of Ming's official attire as a symbol of civil and military rank, and was adapted by Manchester in its distinctive attire.

   Elsewhere

   According to legend, along with silk, silk had spread from China to India in about 140 BC.  Until the second century AD, India was sending its raw silk and silk cloth to Persia.  (Japan also acquired and developed a thriving culture a few centuries later.)

   Under the Parthians (247 BCE-224 CE), Persia became the center of silk trade between East and West.  In Syria, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, silk dyeing and weaving became a craft.  The workers there used some raw silk from East Asia, but they got most of their yarn from the East by untying the silk cloth.  Silk culture has largely remained a secret in Asia.

   Persian hunting carpet

   Kashan, Iran, Details of a Persian silk hunting carpet dating from the 16th century, showing hunters attacking leopards.  Österreichisches museum f angr angewandte Kunst, in Vienna.

   Courtesy Osterreichisches Museum Fur Angewandte Kunst, Vienna;  Photos by Eric Lessing - Magnum

   Eventually there was a strong demand for local raw silk production in the Mediterranean region.  Justin I, the Byzantine emperor from 527 to 565, persuaded two Persian monks who were based in China to return and smuggle the silkworms to Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) in their bamboo huts (c. 550).  Christian).  These few hard silkworms were the beginning of all the species that housed and supplied European silk agriculture until the 19th century.

   Silkworm

   Domestic silkworms on mulberry leaves

  

   Silk culture flourished for centuries in Europe, especially in the Italian city-states and France (since 1480).  In 1854, however, a destructive silkworm plague appeared.  Louis Pasteur, who was asked to study the disease in 1865, discovered the cause and developed a means of controlling it.  Italian industry revived, but French industry never did.  Japan, meanwhile, was modernizing its cultural practices, and soon was supplying a large portion of the world's raw silk.  During and after World War II, the replacement of man-made fibers, such as nylon, in the manufacture of hosiery and other garments greatly reduced the silk industry.  Nevertheless, silk remains an important luxury material and a major product of China, Japan, South Korea and Thailand.