Discovery of Silk

A conflicting legend attributes the discovery of Silk to HsiLing Shih , the consort of Emperor Huang Ti , China first imperial ruler ( 2640 B.C. ). The story goes that as Hsi Ling Shih sat languidly sipping her tea beneath the mulberry trees in the Imperial Gardens, a creamy colored cocoon landed in her cup. To her astonishment , it unraveled to form a long a delicate tread. Delighted with its beauty , she gathered thread from thousands of other cocoons and wove them into a ceremonial robe for the Emperor.

Evidence indicates that sericulture and silk weaving techniques originated in China four to five thousands years ago. In Shangtung province , the Imperial Court established factories to weave silk fabric both for ceremonial use and as gifts for foreign powers. Chinese emperors profited handsomely taxes levied on silk , and the fabric became so treasured that it was used as measure of currency and reward.

The art spread

For hundreds of years , the Chinese jealously guarded the secret art of sericulture. As a result , sericulture spread slowly. It reached Khotan on the Afghanistan border around 140 BC, when an Imperial princess married a prince of Khotan and smuggled out silkworm eggs by hiding them in her headdress.. According to legend , the art spread east to Japan around AD 195 , but under less romantic conditions. Two Chinese concubines were kipnapped and coerced into reveling the secret , which was then exchanged for a large reward. Western legend claims that in AD 550 , the Roman Emperor Justinian persuaded two monks to journey to China to search for the secret. Two years later they returned ; one monk carried white mulberry seeds in a pouch , and the other concealed the silkworm eggs in his bamboo cane.

The Greeks began producing silk after Alexander the Great ( 356-323 BC ) conquered Persia ; and in 330B.C. China was referred to as the "Land of Silk" by the Egyptians.

Nevertheless silk was held to be a sacred commodity in the West until the Han Dynasty ( 205 BC to AD 220 ) , when the perilous Silk Road came into existence. It began in Xi'an in Shaanxi Province and ran across the central Asian continent , through Persia to the Mediterranean sea. From there , the silk reached the other destinations by ship. Few completed the whole journey ; caravan loads were passed from trader to trader and often exchanged for commodities such as gold , jade , wool , horses and glass.

Around 1275 , the Venetian explorer Marco Polo returned to Italy after years of adventure in China and Asia , bringing with him glorious silks and sericulture knowledge. From the 14^th century , silk production thrived in Europe , and both Italy and France became important silk centers. By the 17^th century , sericulture reached the American Colonies with the early settlers and thereby had encircled the globe.

Silk in Thailand

Archaeological discoveries in the village of Ban Chiang in the north east province of Udon Thani have led experts to believe that Thailand's sericulture history may be as old as China's. An extensive burial site yielded evidence of a complex civilization dating back over 4000 years.

Excavations also revealed a cluster of unwoven and undyed silk thread. Similar silk thread remnants were found in the pre-historic area of Ban Nadi in Nong Han , Udon Thani. Both discoveries strongly suggest that sericulture existed amongst Thailand's pre-historic civilizations.

Between the 5^th and 7^th centuries , the importance of the Silk Road began to decline as sea routes were discovered that proved less hazardous , promoting trade between China , Southeast Asia , India and the West. Early trade along the silk sea route passed through Southeast Asia where Chinese silks and porcelains were highly desirable commodities. Evidence suggests that sea traders had reached the early Mon settlers of the Dvaravati Kingdom in Siam who controlled settlements along the river plains and the Gulf of Siam. It is highly probable that silk would have been one of the items traded.

Sukothai stone inscriptions record that after the harvest , men made iron implements and women wove cloth. The inscriptions also describe a five-colored cloth , believed to be silk , used for ceremonial occasions. In the early northern kingdoms collectively known as Lana Thai which evolved at the same time as Sukothai kingdom , silk appeared in the royal courts. The northern city of Chiang Mai and surrounding villages have temple paintings that depict costumes which appeared to be made of silk.

The 16^th and 17^th centuries saw Europeans voyaging throughout Asia and visiting Siam. By this time , silk cloth was firmly established as a valuable trade item , and it was bartered alongside other Thai goods including ivory , leather , acacia , sapan wood , ceramics and pepper. Siam and the neighboring courts of Burma , Laos and Cambodia were renowned for their sumptuous brocades that dazzled the eye with glittering gold and silver yarns. Many silks were woven in India based on Thai design and imported into Siam. Other silks were Japanese , Persian and Chinese.

Despite the intricate role Thai silk played in high society , a flood of imported fabrics including fabulous silks from China , Persia and Japan made it difficult for local silks to compete. Thai sericulture remained a small cottage industry , most active in the northeast around Korat until the mid-20^th century.

In 1901 , King Chulalongkorn made attempt to upgrade the local silk industry by inviting a team of Japanese experts to aid production. In 1903 , the Department Silk Craftsmen was established under the directorship of Prince Phephatanapong. These early steps marked the beginning of rapid sericultural development in Thailand. Mulberry trees were planted in the northeast , local silkworms were cross bred with the Japanese variety , modern spinning looms were replaced by more advanced ones. Sericulture courses were taught throughout the Kingdom. By 1910 , over 35 tons of silk were being exported annually.

Silk production gradually decreased over the following three decades due to a lack of government support and because of strong competition from foreign silks. An inability to improve antiquated techniques resulted in limited production.

Silk industry reborn in Thailand

Chiang Shinawatra , the founding father of the Shinawatra Silk Company , began his career in textiles as a cotton weaver in the early 1900s. Shinawatra traveled frequently to Burma , trading fabrics. During his travels , he observed that Burmese silk-weaving operations were superior to those in Thailand. Impressed by what he saw , Shinawatra decided to try his hand at silk production. Initially he purchased silk yarn from Burma. He experimented with weaving looms and dying processes , becoming so successful that in 1939 , he registered the company and established his first factory in Chiang Mai. Today , Chiang Shinawatra's descents manage one of the largest and most sophisticated sericultural operations in Thailand.

After the second world war , an American architect Jim Thompson came to Thailand with the U.S. military. His interest in silk was aroused when he collected several pieces and was delighted by the lustrous colors and textural humps and bumps. Fired with enthusiasm as he recognized the market potential of silk , Thompson started experimenting with handful of Muslim weavers. His highly successful results led to a revival of the ailing silk industry.

The efforts of Chiang Shinawata , Jim Thompson and later , Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand and others actively involved in promoting silk , have enabled Thailand to reclaim a prized art that have been practiced for centuries. Today the kingdom proudly boasts a thriving silk industry.