In BC 139, Zhang Qian was ordered by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to make his first trip to the Western Regions, which opened the famous "Silk Road". After the development of later generations, it has become an important channel for commercial and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, among which silk is a very important commodity. In A.D. 1405, Zheng He went to the Western Ocean for the first time on the orders of Judy. By 1433, he had made seven voyages to the Western Ocean.
Zheng He's voyage to the Western Ocean is the famous "Maritime Silk Road", which is enough to show the position of silk in ancient China. Although ordinary people can't afford to wear silk, they often wear coarse cloth, while nobles, especially aristocratic women, basically wear silk, so there is a great demand for silk.
In the Tang dynasty, because of the developed economy, people with slightly better family circumstances could afford to wear silk. At that time, foreign commercial exchanges were also very developed, especially Chang 'an in the Tang Dynasty, which was the most developed city in the world at that time! According to ancient records, an Arab businessman was invited to the home of an official. While drinking tea in the living room, he saw a mole looming above the official's chest.
Arab businessmen can't help sighing, why do you wear two clothes, but you can't hide them. While marveling at the exquisiteness of silk, the official told him that he actually wore five pieces of silk, which surprised Arabs more and more. In fact, it is no wonder that it is difficult for foreigners to see such clothes as thin as cicadas when they were young.
Europe is not without silk, but it was basically acquired through commercial exchanges with China in the early stage. The famous Julius Caesar wore a silk coat when he ascended the throne in 49 BC. When he appeared in front of people, people's eyes were attracted by his thin silk When the ministers saw it, they all asked Caesar where he got this treasure, only to know that the silk came from China in the Far East.
After Caesar "brought goods", there was a silk fever in the whole city of Rome, which made the price of silk, which was already very expensive, turn several times, and even more expensive than gold at the most expensive time. Since then, the Roman Empire also bought a lot of silk from China through the Silk Road. Although there was no so-called "patent" in ancient times, China people kept the manufacturing method secret. Foreigners need to spend a lot of money to get a silk. Of course, they want to make their own silk to break China's monopoly.
Rome once sent people to investigate the secrets of silk manufacturing in China. They found that this kind of silk comes from silkworms, but there is no such silkworm in China, so they made a bad idea and wanted to steal some back. Naturally, the China government won't let them bring back silkworms. When entering and leaving the country, strict examination was conducted, so the Romans used bamboo to hide silkworms in it, and then escaped the official screening in China.
In this way, the Romans gradually learned how to make silk. However, there is a saying that "one side of the soil and water can support one side." Although the Romans stole the manufacturing process, due to the soil and water, the silkworms they raised and the silk they spit out were far less than those native to China, and the raw materials were not good. The fakes they make are naturally less than the real silk in China. Nevertheless, the sales of European-made toast in China are still good. It's not hard to imagine that if they hadn't stolen China's silk craft, I'm afraid China would have earned tens of billions more in foreign exchange.