A Brief History of Chinese Silk 1 Origins and Early Development (1)

China was the first country in the world to raise silkworms and reel silk for weaving. Archaeological evidence indicates that sericulture began in China as early as the mid-Neolithic period. Silk fabrics discovered in 1958 at the Qianshanyang site in Huzhou, Zhejiang Province, date back approximately 4,700 years, while carbonized silk and hemp fabrics unearthed at the Qingtai site in Xingyang, Henan Province, date back about 5,630 years—the earliest known physical evidence of silk.