The discovery of silk

By 3000 B.C. the Chinese had discovered that the filament covering a silkworm cocoon could be unwound and woven into fabric. China guarded the secret of sericulture until about A.D. 300 by then, through Korean weavers migrating from China, Japan had learned the technique and soon mastered weaving and dyeing. Traders had also carried silk into Europe along the 4000 –mile Silk Road; Roman law forbade men from wearing the fabric perceived as too feminine. Two Persian monks smuggled silkworms to Constantinople in the sixth century, and the art of silk production came to Europe . it flourished there until World War II, after which China and Japan regained their domination of silk production. Silk remains a mark of luxury and status. 
By 3000 B.C. the Chinese had discovered that the filament covering a silkworm cocoon could be unwound and woven into fabric. China guarded the secret of sericulture until about A.D. 300 by then, through Korean weavers migrating from China, Japan had learned the technique and soon mastered weaving and dyeing.
Traders had also carried silk into Europe along the 4000 –mile Silk Road; Roman law forbade men from wearing the fabric perceived as too feminine. Two Persian monks smuggled silkworms to Constantinople in the sixth century, and the art of silk production came to Europe . it flourished there until World War II, after which China and Japan regained their domination of silk production. Silk remains a mark of luxury and status.