Chi Ling Zi: The Goddess Of The Silk

Silk, an important textile that changes the world through its trade in ancient times. Because of the attraction of its profits, it inspired people to journey through unknown lands, which played an important role in the diffusion of culture, religion, technology, and societies among civilizations. Historically, China guarded its secrets of processing silk (sericulture) that was controlled by Chinese authorities. But around 550 AD the secrets of China methods for domesticating wild silk were revealed, allowing silk to be used in many forms in today’s society. Around 3000 BC in China, it is said, a mythical ruler, the Yellow Emperor wife, Chi Ling Zi, was known as the Goddess of the Silk. According to the story, the Empress spent long hours roaming the palace gardens. But one day a cocoon fell into her hot tea, and as she removed it the cocoon unraveled a long thin soft piece of thread. After this, she started weaving beautiful fabric from many silkworm cocoons. Even though she is considered as the inventor of the loom and introducing the silkworm, artifacts have been found …show more content…
First in raising the silkworm and cocoons and second the reeling. To produce high quality of silk the environment needs perfection, preventing the moth from hatching and feeding the silkworm a faultless diet. Eggs need to be kept at 65 degrees with a steady increase to 70 degrees when ready to hatch. All the baby worms are fed night and day with mulberry leaves until they have stored enough energy to enter the cocoon stage. The silkworm takes three to four days to spin a cocoon around them. Silkworm secretes a silk thread from its spinneret that has two strands of fibroin and serein (a protein) that is produced by a pair of silk glands. Through this whole process the worms are protected from noises, drafts and strong smells. Before the cocoons hatch, about nine days in a warm dry place, they are ready to be