Origin of silk in China
The production of silk, a natural protein fibre, typically made out of cocoons of silkworms, is believed to have originated in China a few thousand years ago, in early neolithic age, before reaching Japan and other parts of the globe.
Legends of silk production
Among the popular legends about the origin of silk is that a silkworm cocoon fell into the teacup of a queen in China, who stumbled upon the lustrous fibre when a long thread began to unroll from the cocoon that she was trying to extricate from her drink.
History of silk in India
Though Chinese are believed to have kept silk as a secret from the rest of the world for a long time, traders introduced silk cloth to India, where it gained immense popularity among the royalty and aristocracy.
Sericulture in Karnataka
While sericulture is known to have come to India through Buddhist monks, it was the 18th century ruler of Mysore Tipu Sultan, who introduced sericulture in Karnataka. Today, Karnataka is the country’s highest producer of silk with Mysore Silk even protected by a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
Global spread of sericulture
Though sericulture remained a secret confined to China for several centuries after its discovery, historical accounts indicate that the technology to manufacture silk first reached Japan around 300 CE before spreading to other parts of the world, including the then Byzantine empire, Arab countries, and Western Europe.
