Silk

Silk is an important symbol of traditional Chinese culture. The fabric, which can be made from natural silk or synthetic fibers, boasts distinct features including a soft luster, a comfortable texture, and excellent moisture regain and release properties.

China is the birthplace of silk. The ancient Chinese are credited with bringing this material to the world and putting it into mass production. Based on archaeological discoveries and assumptions, it is believed that the Chinese started to cultivate silkworms and weave silk around 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, during the middle of the Neolithic period. According to legend, Leizu, the wife of Huangdi (the Yellow Emperor), discovered the technique of raising silkworms and weaving silk fabric over 4,000 years ago. China's dominance in silk production tech- nology continued until the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - A.D. 220), cementing the place of silk as a crucial symbol of Chinese civilization. Export of Chinese silk in large quantities started in the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.- A.D. 25) and found re- ceptive consumers throughout the world. Before the Industrial Revolution, silk became a major commodity in international trade, facilitating the emergence of an extensive trade network connecting the East and the West that was the first of its kind. The ancient Silk Road connecting China to the West came into being, which played a huge role in facilitating the exchange of cultures between the East and the West.

For centuries, Chinese silk products have been renowned for their exceptional quality, exquisite colors, and rich cultural connotations. China's sericulture techniques, silk reeling meth- ods and jacquard weaving technology also played a significant role in spurring the modern European textile industry revolu- tion, resulting in technological advances and innovations, especially the use of new machines in textile production.

絲綢

絲綢是中國(guó)優(yōu)秀傳統(tǒng)文化的重要標(biāo)識(shí)。這種用蠶絲或人造絲織造的紡織品，具有光澤柔和、穿著舒適、吸放濕性好等特性。

中國(guó)是絲綢的故鄉(xiāng)，中國(guó)古代勞動(dòng)人民發(fā)明并大規(guī)模生產(chǎn)絲綢制品。據(jù)考古學(xué)發(fā)現(xiàn)和推測(cè)，在距今五六千年前的新石器時(shí)代中期，中國(guó)先人們就開始養(yǎng)蠶取絲、紡織絲綢。傳說(shuō)4000多年前，黃帝的妻子嫘祖就發(fā)明了"養(yǎng)蠶取絲"的技術(shù)。在漢代以前，中國(guó)是唯一能生產(chǎn)絲綢的國(guó)家，絲綢成為華夏文明的重要標(biāo)志物。從西漢時(shí)期開始，中國(guó)絲綢大量運(yùn)往國(guó)外，受到當(dāng)?shù)厝藗兊膹V泛歡迎，成為工業(yè)革命前國(guó)際貿(mào)易的主要物資，并由此開啟了世界歷史上第一次東西方大規(guī)模商貿(mào)交流，形成中國(guó)通往西方的古代絲綢之路，促進(jìn)了東西方文明交流。

幾千年來(lái)，中國(guó)絲綢產(chǎn)品以其卓越的品質(zhì)、精美的花色、豐富的文化內(nèi)涵聞名于世。中國(guó)的蠶桑技術(shù)、繅絲和絲織提花技術(shù)還對(duì)西方的紡織技術(shù)和近代歐洲紡織工業(yè)革命產(chǎn)生了重大的影響，促進(jìn)了歐洲紡織技術(shù)的提升和機(jī)械生產(chǎn)的革新。