Development of sericulture and silk industry

(1) Silkworms and silk

There are many mulberry trees growing in the vast wilderness of our country, including trees and shrubs. There are several types of insects that live on mulberry trees, and they feed on the mulberry leaves or the trunks. Among these insects, there is a lepidopteran insect that spins silk and makes cocoons, which attracted the attention of ancestors. This is the silkworm. Mulberry silkworms feed on mulberry leaves, spin silk and form cocoons, then emerge from the cocoons and emerge as moths. People found that after the cocoon shell is soaked, long silver strands can be pulled out, which can be twisted into thread or woven into silk. This is much more beautiful than the hemp and kabu that were used as clothing materials at that time. As the ancestors settled down, people began to artificially raise silkworms in order to obtain more cocoons, and moved silkworms indoors for domestication.

Bombyx mori L., also called mulberry silkworm, belongs to the family Bombycidae. It is a species created by wild silkworms (B. madarina Moore) after long-term breeding by our ancestors. It is a great achievement of human beings in transforming nature. The silkworm is a completely metamorphosed insect that goes through four developmental stages in its life: egg (silkworm), larva (silkworm), pupa and adult (moth). In the process of raising silkworms for thousands of years, people have understood the living habits of silkworms, and the technology of raising silkworms has continued to improve. Over the long years, people used selection methods to select individuals with more silk and large cocoons as seeds, and also used the principle of hybridization to combine different traits in the same individual to breed new types. In this way, there are hundreds of varieties with varying cocoon colors, body shapes, and markings. The use of refrigeration to change the sex of silkworms (the number of generations of insects in a year is called sex) was a great discovery made by the working people who raised silkworms in ancient my country. They seal the silkworm eggs in jars and then refrigerate them in cold spring water or under the shade of tall trees, so that the silkworms can be raised in winter. If this were not the case, it would be impossible to raise silkworms multiple times in a year. Nowadays, people have mastered the relationship between insect hormones and metamorphosis, and have been able to artificially regulate the development of silkworms. In order to make silkworms spin more silk, seize the fifth instar stage of silkworm production of silk fibroin and sericin, and spray juvenile hormone evenly on the body of silkworms to extend the growth period of silkworms and make them eat more mulberry leaves. , prolific silk. If there is a shortage of mulberry leaves, disease spread or lack of labor, and silkworms are required to pupate early, ecdysone can be sprayed on the mulberry leaves to feed the fourth-instar larvae, which will shorten the growth period and spin silk and cocoons in advance. In addition, artificial feed can be used instead of natural feed to increase the number of silkworm rearings.

In addition to mulberry silkworms, there are also tussah silkworms, camphor silkworms, acanthus silkworms, and celestial silkworms in our country. Tussah silkworm (Antheraea pernyi Guerin-Meneville) belongs to the family Saturniidae and is native to Laizhou (Ye County), Shandong Province. It is the second most important silk-producing insect in my country after silkworms. It is now abundant in Liaoning, Henan and other provinces. Tussah silkworm silk was first seen in "Erya" (1200 BC). Tussah silkworm silk was already used as a tribute to the emperor 2,700 years ago. It was promoted by the government in the Han Dynasty. After introduction and promotion in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, it was distributed throughout the country. Many provinces. Its main forage tree species are the leaves of various species of the genus Quercus.

Eriogyna pyretorum Westwood belongs to the Eriogyna pyretorum family. It is native to Guangdong and Guangxi. It feeds on camphor leaves and maple leaves. Its silk has been used by people for thousands of years. It was recorded around 885 AD. Its silk is the finest raw material for textiles. In ancient times, camphor silk was soaked in vinegar and then drawn as bowstrings, which was extremely strong. Now exported as fishing line and medical suture.

Philosamia cynthia Walker et Felder belongs to the Philosamia family, and its breeding history is unknown. There are small-scale breeding in Shandong Province, and the feed is Chinese tallow tree and Ailanthus ailanthus. In the south there are grate silkworms.

Antheraea yamanai Guerin-Meneville also belongs to the family Antheraea yamanai Guerin-Meneville and is distributed in my country from northeast to southwest to Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan and other provinces. The hosts are various oak trees (a medium to large tree) and oak trees. Due to the unique properties of sky silk, the silk is lustrous and colored. It is a raw material for noble decorations. Its international commodity value is dozens of times higher than that of mulberry silk. It is known as "green gold" and "diamond fiber". Our country has begun to use it since the Tang Dynasty, about 1,300 years ago. Captive breeding began at least in the 17th century and was exported to foreign countries about 100 years ago.

(2) The myth of the origin of silkworm domestication

The domestication of silkworms is a fact that unknown working people in ancient my country mastered the laws of nature and utilized them in practice. However, after all, the history is too long to be traced back to its earliest origin, so there are various legends and myths. One of the legends is that sericulture was invented by Leizu, the concubine of the Yellow Emperor. In "Tongjian Waiji", it is said that "Leizu, the daughter of the Xiling family, was the emperor's concubine. She first taught the people how to raise silkworms... Later generations worshiped them as the first silkworms." This statement is relatively common. Before liberation, the silkworm god The temple also enshrines the Xiling clan, the ancestor of silkworms. In addition, there is a myth in "Sou Shen Ji". According to legend, there was a father and a daughter in ancient times. The father went out to work, leaving only the daughter and a horse at home. My daughter raises this horse herself. Due to poverty and loneliness, she missed her father who was working outside very much, so she said to the horse: "If you can bring my father back, I will marry you." After hearing this, the horse broke away from the reins and ran straight away. The place where my father worked. The father was very surprised when he saw the horse, so he took it and rode it. The horse looked in the direction it came from and howled in agony. Seeing this, my father guessed that something was going on at home, so he rode back home. Animals have special feelings, so the father feeds them more carefully. But the horse refused to eat, and would beat his hooves with joy and anger every time he saw his daughter coming and going. The father felt strange and asked his daughter quietly. The daughter had no choice but to tell the truth. The father thought this was a disgrace to the family, so he shot the horse to death with an arrow, peeled off the horse's skin and dried it in the courtyard. Father went out again. The daughter and her neighbor's girlfriend came to the horsehide and laughed at the horsehide and said, "Why do you, a beast, marry a woman? Why bother to risk your life!" As soon as he finished speaking, the horsehide suddenly flew up and flew towards the horsehide. The daughter was swept away. The girlfriend next door was so frightened that she didn't dare to rescue her, so she had to tell her father. After my father returned, he searched everywhere but could not find it. They were found a few days later on a large tree branch. The daughter and the horsehide turned into silkworms at the same time, living on the tree, and their cocoons were thick and large. The neighbor girl takes it and raises it. Because the tree is a mulberry tree, and because mulberry has the same pronunciation as mourning, it was named silkworm. Common people generally raised it, which is today’s silkworm.

(3) Development of silk industry

According to documentary records and cultural relic research, our ancestors began planting mulberry and raising silkworms as early as the Neolithic Age more than 5,000 years ago. The utilization of silk began at the end of the fishing and hunting era, while sericulture began at the beginning of the agricultural era, that is, the Huangdi era. During the Zhou Dynasty (1066-256 BC) sericulture production had become professional and came under official supervision. By the Warring States Period (476 BC to 221 BC), it reached a high level of development, and silk had become the daily clothing of the poor and a free trade material. There are many silk fabrics from the Warring States Period unearthed in various parts of our country, including Luo, damask, cotton, yarn, crepe, qi, brocade, embroidery and other products. The beauty of their patterns and colors has reached an astonishing level. The silk production and silk weaving industry reached another peak during the Song and Yuan Dynasties (AD 960-1368). The annual output of silk in the Song Dynasty reached 3.4 million pieces. The rulers paid equal attention to the silk industry and farming. There are often records in ancient Chinese books about “promoting both agriculture and mulberry trees”. The idiom "A woman without silkworms may suffer from cold" reflects the ancient people's high understanding of sericulture.

The clothing in ancient Chinese society was distinguished by silk, cotton and linen. Officials and rich people are all proud of their rich clothes, and the idiom "returning to their hometown in rich clothes" came into being. Working people wore cotton and linen clothes. Before the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), silk and grain were both paid in kind by the people, and the court or government used silk as a reward for meritorious subjects. Today, Tibetans and Mongolians use silk (hada) to express respect and congratulations in greetings, gifts, worshiping gods, and daily interactions.

The development and popularization of the silk industry has also affected our country's cultural life. In addition to many beautiful poems describing mulberry picking and silkworm rearing, the idiom "making a cocoon to bind oneself" is used to metaphorize oneself and restrain oneself, and also metaphorically refers to people who originally hope to benefit themselves when doing things. , the result is that you suffer a loss. In the Tang Dynasty, Bai Juyi wrote, "Whoever saves the candle moth, the silkworm cocoon will tie itself up."; in the Song Dynasty, Shi Tao originally had a poem that said, "Sravakas and law enforcers sit in meditation, like silkworms spinning silk to tie themselves up." Because silkworms only eat mulberry leaves throughout their lives, but spin out all their soft, smooth, and white silk when they grow old, the poem "The spring silkworm will not run out of silk until it dies" is used to praise those people who are dedicated.

The development of silk in ancient my country promoted foreign trade and cultural exchanges. As early as the 11th century AD, silkworm breeding and sericulture technology were introduced to Korea, to Japan in the 2nd century BC, and to Turkey, Egypt, Arabia and countries along the Mediterranean Sea in the 6th century AD. The technology of raising silkworms was introduced to Europe in the 6th century AD, so silk represents ancient Eastern civilization and plays a very important role in cultural exchanges between the East and the West. Silk is a popular commodity. It and silkworm breeding technology spread westward through the Silk Road, passing through grasslands, deserts, oases and mountains, and a number of famous towns emerged along the way, such as Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, Dunhuang, Guizhou, etc. Hereby, Shuqin, etc. From the 3rd year of Jianyuan (138 BC) to the 3rd year of Yuanshuo (126 BC), Zhang Qian set out from the west of my country on the order of Emperor Liu Che of the Han Dynasty. He visited some countries west of the Pamir Plateau and established contacts. Silk is an important product of our country. Therefore, in ancient times, the West called the ancient capital of Chang'an the Silk City and our country the "Silk Country". There is another Silk Road in the south, reaching Myanmar and India via Chengdu, Baoshan and other places; on the eastern coast, there are ports such as Xuwen (Guangdong), Hepu (Guangxi), Penglai (Shandong), and Ningbo (Zhejiang) leading to the Pacific islands. and region.

At present, silkworms are raised in Asia, Africa, Europe, Latin America, Oceania and many other countries and regions, with an annual output of about 8 million tons of silkworm cocoons and about 50,000 tons of silk. my country's cocoon production and silk production both rank first in the world. Sericulture is distributed in all provinces, cities, and autonomous regions except Qinghai, Tibet, and Ningxia. Farmers in Zhejiang have always called this insect that has made great contributions to mankind "silkworm baby." The silk it spins out has the light of pearls. , even today with the rapid development of chemical fibers, silk fabrics are still known as the "Queen of Fibers". It has some clothing properties that other fibers cannot match. With the development of society and the improvement of living standards, sericulture has a very bright future.

animal tags： silkworm silk