Silk in History
Go to: Previous Article Next Article
Silk's history begins in 27 Century BCE. Silk was mainly used throughout China until the Silk Road route was opened during 1 BC. Silk continued to be used in China for another millennium. Silk was used for clothing, writing and in other forms. Silk was considered luxurious and if you had a piece of the fabric, that meant you were in a high social class. It was an indicator of high social status during the Tang Dynasty.
Silkworm cultivation spread through Japan in 300 CE and in 522 BC, the Byzantines obtained the technique. During the same time period, the Arabs began manufacturing silk. Since the spread of the sericulture, Silk exports from China became less significant. Western Europe (particularly Italy) began exporting silk, which boosted their economy. Manufacturing techniques changed during the 16th century. Another European country, France, began to trade silk with Italy but other European nations were unsuccessful in developing a successful silk trading industry.
During the Industrial Revolution in Europe, the spinning wheel came to into wide usage, which ended up resulting cheaper manufacturing across the board for cotton, though silk production became more expensive. Silkworm disease epidemics took vast tolls on French silk production, while Japan began exporting a great deal of silk, the same way that China had centuries ago. China was still the largest produce of fabric in the world, though with the advent of nylon and other modern fibers, silk was no longer as rare or as highly prized as it once was.
After Europe suffered such a set back with its sericulture, Japan began to take steps to modernize their own silk industries, at which point they became the world's largest producers of silk. Italy recovered from the epidemic in a way that France never did, and European silk manufacture ceased exporting its goods to other countries. In turn, Japan started importing raw silk as Europe halted production, and in general many Eastern countries started to export more silk clothes
During the second World War, Japan did not export silk and the Western countries needed to find replacements. This is when fabrics like nylon started to see more use, and after the events of World War II, Japanese silk production never improved.
With new technology creating improvements in silk production in general, and with new and exciting fabrics coming up, Japan was still the world's leader in raw silk exports after the Second World war. By the seventies, however, product had declined and Japan stopped exporting raw silk.
Today, China is the world's larges silk producer. For instance, in 1996, they produced upwards of 58,000 tons of silk, followed by India with 13,000 tons of silk. Japan only produced 2,500 tons. However, during the nineties, there was an increasingly low demand for silk on a global level, though the production of silk was still fairly strong in India and in the United Kingdom. Silk did have some issues where there were problems with low quality examples tarnishing its image.
At this point in time, more than 125,000 tons of silk are being produced all over the world, and though China is the main producer, it is far from alone. The United States, Thailand, India, Korea, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Brazil also produce silk and the Unites States is the world's largest silk importer.
Article Source: Articlelogy.com
- Credit Cards A big selection of Cards in all flavors: Bad Credit Cards, Secured Cards, Prepaid Cards, Credit Cards for Canada, Low Interest Cards, etc -
Word Count: 556
Reduce Your Debts Without Bankruptcy. See How Much You Can Save. Free Debt Analysis
