China has a long and rich history related to weaving and loom. Legend has it that the bride of a king of the Khotan oasis in far western China on the Silk Road smuggled silkworms and mulberry seeds to her new home and husband. This is a personal history of my experience with silk on my life’s journey taking me from my birthplace of Macclesfield England to Suzhou China,where I learned the the history of silk and the process’s of weaving and embellishing silk for my designer garments.. Silk was even used as money during some Ancient Chinese dynasties. Membership of the association is open to all those involved in the UK silk industry. Plain silks, products of peasant households, were used as the main form of tax paid to the government. Her entourage was taught as well and thus the advent of the silk industry. The silk in Huzhou is exported to the world's five continents, and deeply loved by people of all countries. But the history of silk in Lyon also saw dark moments during the revolt of the “Canuts” silk workers. Silk Production in Huzhou has a long history for over 4700 years. That rule stayed in power for over millennia. Popularity was such that laws were made to regulate and limit use of silk to the members of the imperial family. In time other classes of Chinese society were allowed to wear silk. So the Empress thought of weaving the thread. This is also the time when weaving technology reached its historical peak. According to the Chinese legend, the technology of raising silkworms was invented and introduced by Leizu, the wife of Huangdi, which indicates the long history of Chinese sericulture. SILK WEAVING . The Yellow Emperor, encouraged his wife to study the life of silk worm, and so she learned the art of raising silk worms or what is called sericulture. During the epoch of Han dynasty (3rd century BC – 3rd AD) silk became the universal equivalent in China: peasants used it for paying taxes, the state paid officials in silk. Silk is a thin, but strong fiber that silkworms produce when they are making their cocoons. In Warring States Period (475 - 221 BC) silk and silk products became accessible to the population masses. These weavers, concentrated in the Croix-Rousse district of Lyon, were employed by the great silk merchants. A HISTORY OF SILK with robes from my Chinese Textile Collection by Jenny Lewis. CHINA. Four distinctive styles, or schools, of embroidery emerged at that time, though each would reach their pinnacle after the blossoming of the Silk Road trade created a demand for Chinese goods.. This is much more than the rest of the world combined producing 78% of the world's silk. Fancy silk textiles were worn or displayed by … 3000 BCE. In China, only women farmed silk worms. History for Kids >> Ancient China What is silk? It can be woven into a very soft and smooth fabric. In 1831, they revolted against the prices set for silk weaving … Many women were employed on the farms of silkworms. Of all Chinese inventions, silk (絲 sī) is perhaps the oldest. Hangzhou, which is known as the home of silk, is an essential thread that has globally weaved itself into this historical development. Silk was considered a luxury item and silk became very popular among high society.