Table of Contents
Silk became a prized export for the Chinese. Nobles and kings of foreign lands desired silk and would pay high prices for the cloth. The emperors of China wanted to keep the process for making silk a secret. Anyone caught telling the secret or taking silkworms out of China was put to death.
Why did the Chinese guard the secret of silk production so carefully quizlet?
1c Why did Chinese keep making Silk a secret? They didn’t want other people to know about it because it was a valuable trade good in distant lands. If other people know about it, then it wouldn’t be so valuable.
How did the secret of silk get out of China?
The West finally cracked the secret in 552 CE when the Byzantine emperor Justinian sent two Nestorian monks to central Asia. The monks hit the eggs in their hollow bamboo staves. The eggs hatched into worms which then spun cocoons.
Who found silk?
According to Chinese legend, Empress His Ling Shi was first person to discover silk as weavable fibre in the 27th century BC.
Why did the Silk Road begin?
Initiation in China (130 BCE) The Silk Road was initiated and globalized by Chinese exploration and conquests in Central Asia. Others say that Emperor Wu was mainly interested in fighting the Xiongnu and that major trade began only after the Chinese pacified the Hexi Corridor.
How did wheelbarrows help farmers quizlet?
How did wheelbarrows help farmers? They allowed farmers to carry larger loads than before by themselves. How was silk made in ancient China? Silkworm cocoons were unwound, the silk thread was prepared for dyeing and weaving, and then woven into fabric.
Do silkworms die in the making of silk?
There’s no getting around this: Silkworms die to produce silk. These processes make the cocoon easier to unwind in a single, unbroken filament that can be woven into silk thread. But when you dip the cocoon in boiling water or bake it with hot air, you’re killing the pupa inside.
Is making silk cruel?
Some must immerse their hands in vats of scalding water to palpate the cocoons, causing their skin to become raw and blistered. Children who wind the silk into strands often suffer from cuts that go untreated and can become infected.
How did China lose its monopoly on silk production?
Knowledge of silk production eventually left China via the heir of a princess who was promised to a prince of Khotan, likely around the early 1st century AD. The princess, refusing to go without the fabric that she loved, decided to break the imperial ban on silkworm exportation.
What was the importance of silk in ancient China?
During some dynasties in ancient China, silk was even used as a form of money. Silk was used to make beautiful clothing. But it was also used to make silk canvas for painting and strong fishing line. It was even used to make the most expensive and sought after paper.
Where did the Silk Road begin and end?
Abstract : It is generally believed that the Silk Road started from Chang’an and the end of the Silk Road was in Daqin, the ancient Chinese name for the Roman Empire. The Silk Road was the main transportation route connecting ancient China with Western Europe, which is as long as more than 14,000 miles.
Which country produces the best silk?
According to the International Sericulture Commission, China is the largest producer and supplier of silk in the world. While, India is the second largest producer of silk and silk products.
What was the Silk Road and why was it so important?
The Silk Road was important because it helped to generate trade and commerce between a number of different kingdoms and empires. This helped for ideas, culture, inventions, and unique products to spread across much of the settled world.
Why did the Chinese guard the secret of silk production so carefully the process was not perfected and not ready to share with others the knowledge would create too much bickering between silk manufacturers?
Why did the Chinese guard the secret of silk production so carefully? The knowledge would create too much bickering between silk manufacturers. The Silk Road would most likely collapse without silk production. The production generated great wealth for China as long as it was not shared.
How did silk affect the world?
During the Han and Tang dynasties, silk was used as measure of currency and reward, and as trade currency or as a gift for foreign powers. Silk became a staple of international trade prior to the Industrial Revolution. For nearly 30 centuries the Chinese had a global monopoly on silk production.
Who benefited the most by the Silk Road the East West or everyone?
Who do you think benefited the most by the Silk Road: the East, West, or everyone? Why? Everyone (East and West) benefited from the Silk Road. It opened up trade, communication, different ideas, culture, and religion to the entire world.
How do you know Silk was a valuable trade good?
silk was China’s most valuable trade good because, at first, the Chinese were the only people who knew how to make it. Silk was the perfect trading good because it was light and valuable. A Roman trading product that was new to the Chinese was glassware.
How did China’s geography contribute to the country’s isolation quizlet?
How did China’s geography contribute to the country’s isolation? There was the harsh Gobi desert, several mountain peaks that were 26,000 feet high, the Himalayan mountains, and the Pacific Ocean that only let people with boats to come.
What is the best silk in the world?
Mulberry silk is the highest quality silk available for purchase. The unique thing about Mulberry silk is how it is produced. The resulting cocoons are spun into raw silk fibers. Because the silkworms of the Bombyx mori moth are fed only Mulberry leaves, the resulting silk is some of the finest available in the world.
How was silk made in China?
The ancient Chinese bred special moths to produce the quality silk they wanted. The cocoons are steamed to kill the growing moth inside. The cocoons are rinsed in hot water to loosen the threads. Women would unwind the cocoons and then combine six or so fibers into silk threads.
How was silk created?
The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoons. Silk is mainly produced by the larvae of insects undergoing complete metamorphosis, but some insects, such as webspinners and raspy crickets, produce silk throughout their lives.
What made silk so valuable?
Silk is a fabric first produced in Neolithic China from the filaments of the cocoon of the silk worm. It became a staple source of income for small farmers and, as weaving techniques improved, the reputation of Chinese silk spread so that it became highly desired across the empires of the ancient world.
