Silk rugs

oriental rugs

Long before other countries learned the art of cul­tivating silkworms, China was at work weaving fabrics of silk. Chinese historians claim that the origin of reel­ing silk and putting it to use was discovered by a woman, — Se-Ling-She, wife of Hwang-te, third Emperor of China, — and for that reason she has always been re­garded by them as the " goddess of silkworms."

The date of this discovery is about 2640 b. c. For about two thousand years the Chinese kept secret their methods of reeling and weaving silk, but finally Japan, Persia, and India learned the art, Persia having for many cen­turies transported raw silk between China and the West.

Very slowly grew the process of silk-weaving. Greece, Spain, and Sicily by degrees attained the knowl­edge. In a. d. 550 it was introduced into Constanti­nople, and in 1148 silk manufacture was carried into Italy, and the cultivation of mulberry trees was enforced by law. The industry soon spread into the south of France, where it rapidly advanced.