第1段

Silk is a fine, smooth material produced from the cocoons – soft protective shells – that are made by mulberry silkworms (insect larvae). Legend has it that it was Lei Tzu, wife of the Yellow Emperor, ruler of China in about 3000 BC, who discovered silkworms. One account of the story goes that as she was taking a walk in her husband’s gardens, she discovered that silkworms were responsible for the destruction of several mulberry trees. She collected a number of cocoons and sat down to have a rest. It just so happened that while she was sipping some tea, one of the cocoons that she had collected landed in the hot tea and started to unravel into a fine thread. Lei Tzu found that she could wind this thread around her fingers. Subsequently, she persuaded her husband to allow her to rear silkworms on a grove of mulberry trees. She also devised a special reel to draw the fibres from the cocoon into a single thread so that they would be strong enough to be woven into fabric. While it is unknown just how much of this is true, it is certainly known that silk cultivation has existed in China for several millennia.

丝绸是一种细致、光滑的材料，由桑蚕——一种产自桑蚕（昆虫幼虫）茧中的软保护壳——生产而成。传说黄帝的妻子嫘祖在公元前约3000年发现了桑蚕。据说她在丈夫的花园里散步时发现桑蚕破坏了几棵桑树。她收集了一些茧，坐下来休息。恰巧当她品茶时，她收集的一个茧掉进了热茶中，开始变成一根细线。嫘祖发现她可以把这根线绕在手指上。随后，她说服丈夫养蚕在桑树林中。她还设计了一种特殊的卷轴，将茧中的纤维拉成一根强大到足以织成织物的线。虽然不清楚这些故事的真实程度，但可以肯定的是，丝绸的种植在中国已经存在了几千年。

第2段

Originally, silkworm farming was solely restricted to women, and it was they who were responsible for the growing, harvesting and weaving. Silk quickly grew into a symbol of status, and originally, only royalty were entitled to have clothes made of silk. The rules were gradually relaxed over the years until finally during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911 AD), even peasants, the lowest caste, were also entitled to wear silk. Sometime during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), silk was so prized that it was also used as a unit of currency. Government officials were paid their salary in silk, and farmers paid their taxes in grain and silk. Silk was also used as diplomatic gifts by the emperor. Fishing lines, bowstrings, musical instruments and paper were all made using silk. The earliest indication of silk paper being used was discovered in the tomb of a noble who is estimated to have died around 168 AD.

最初，养蚕业是受限于女性，她们负责种植、收获和织造。丝绸很快成为一种地位的象征，最初只有皇室才有资格穿丝绸衣服。这些规定逐渐放宽，直到清朝（1644-1911年）期间，即使农民，最低等级的人也有资格穿丝绸。在汉朝（公元前206年至公元220年）期间，丝绸如此珍贵，以至于它也被用作货币单位。政府官员以丝绸作为工资，农民用谷物和丝绸支付税款。丝绸还被用作皇帝的外交礼物。钓线、弓弦、乐器和纸张都是用丝绸制成的。最早使用丝绸纸的迹象发现于一位估计在公元168年左右去世的贵族的墓中。

第3段

Demand for this exotic fabric eventually created the lucrative trade route now known as the Silk Road, taking silk westward and bringing gold, silver and wool to the East. It was named the Silk Road after its most precious commodity, which was considered to be worth more than gold. The Silk Road stretched over 6,000 kilometres from Eastern China to the Mediterranean Sea, following the Great Wall of China, climbing the Pamir mountain range, crossing modern-day Afghanistan and going on to the Middle East, with a major trading market in Damascus. From there, the merchandise was shipped across the Mediterranean Sea. Few merchants travelled the entire route; goods were handled mostly by a series of middlemen.

对这种外来的面料的需求最终创造了如今被称为丝绸之路的利润丰厚的贸易路线，将丝绸运往西方，带来黄金、白银和羊毛到东方。丝绸之路以其最珍贵的商品而命名，它被认为比黄金更值钱。丝绸之路全长6000多公里，从中国东部一直延伸到地中海，沿着中国的长城，翻越帕米尔山脉，穿过现代阿富汗，前往中东，在大马士革有一个主要的贸易市场。从那里，商品被运往地中海。很少有商人走过整条路线；货物主要由一系列中间商处理。

第4段

With the mulberry silkworm being native to China, the country was the world’s sole producer of silk for many hundreds of years. The secret of silk-making eventually reached the rest of the world via the Byzantine Empire, which ruled over the Mediterranean region of southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East during the period 330-1453 AD. According to another legend, monks working for the Byzantine emperor Justinian smuggled silkworm eggs to Constantinople (Istanbul in modern-day Turkey) in 550 AD, concealed inside hollow bamboo walking canes. The Byzantines were as secretive as the Chinese, however, and for many centuries the weaving and trading of silk fabric was a strict imperial monopoly. Then in the seventh century, the Arabs conquered Persia, capturing their magnificent silks in the process. Silk production thus spread through Africa, Sicily and Spain as the Arabs swept through these lands. Andalusia in southern Spain was Europe’s main silk-producing centre in the tenth century. By the thirteenth century, however, Italy had become Europe’s leader in silk production and export. Venetian merchants traded extensively in silk and encouraged silk growers to settle in Italy. Even now, silk processed in the province of Como in northern Italy enjoys an esteemed reputation.

由于桑蚕原产于中国，中国是世界上数百年来唯一的丝绸生产国。制丝的秘密最终通过拜占庭帝国传播到世界其他地区，该帝国在公元330年至1453年统治着地中海地区的南欧、北非和中东地区。根据另一个传说，为拜占庭皇帝查士丁尼（现代土耳其的伊斯坦布尔）工作的僧侣们于公元550年偷运了桑蚕卵，藏在空心的竹手杖里。然而，拜占庭人像中国人一样守口如瓶，数个世纪以来，丝绸织造和贸易一直是严格的帝国垄断。然后在第七世纪，阿拉伯人征服了波斯，夺得了他们壮丽的丝绸。因此，丝绸生产在非洲、西西里岛和西班牙的传播。西班牙南部的安达卢西亚在十世纪是欧洲的主要丝绸生产中心。然而，到了十三世纪，意大利已成为欧洲丝绸生产和出口的领导者。威尼斯商人在丝绸贸易中扮演了重要角色，并鼓励丝绸种植者在意大利定居。即使到现在，意大利北部Como省加工的丝绸享有很高的声誉。

第5段

The nineteenth century and industrialisation saw the downfall of the European silk industry. Cheaper Japanese silk, trade in which was greatly facilitated by the opening of the Suez Canal, was one of the many factors driving the trend. Then in the twentieth century, new manmade fibres, such as nylon, started to be used in what had traditionally been silk products, such as stockings and parachutes. The two world wars, which interrupted the supply of raw material from Japan, also stifled the European silk industry. After the Second World War, Japan’s silk production was restored, with improved production and quality of raw silk. Japan was to remain the world’s biggest producer of raw silk, and practically the only major exporter of raw silk, until the 1970s. However, in more recent decades, China has gradually recaptured its position as the world’s biggest producer and exporter of raw silk and silk yarn. Today, around 125,000 metric tons of silk are produced in the world, and almost two thirds of that production takes place in China.