The Way of Chinese Silk: Silk History and the Silk Road

China, the home of silk, was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as “Seres”, the “Land of Silk”. Sericulture, or silk making, including the cultivation of mulberry trees and silkworms, and the techniques of reeling, weaving and dyeing, was practiced in China thousands of years ago. Silk, including the products, technology and art, has long played a major role in Chinese civilization and was a key factor in the creation of the Silk Road, which brought the textiles from both sides to each other and made a great contribution to the exchange of civilizations of East and West.

Image © China National Silk Museum.