Shen Yun Performing Arts
  • Shen Yun
    Spektakl
    Dopiero poznajesz Shen Yun?
    9 cech Shen Yun
    Chiński taniec klasyczny
    Orkiestra symfoniczna
    Factsheet
    Zespół
    Nasza historia
    Życie w Shen Yun
    Napotykane wyzwania
  • Artyści
  • Wideo
  • Co nowego
    Co nowego
    Wiadomości
    Blog
    W mediach
  • Komunikaty prasowe
  • Często zadawane pytania
  • Opinie widzów
  • 5000 lat Newsletter Wyszukaj
    Polski
  • English
  • 中文正體
  • 中文简体
  • 日本語
  • 한국어
  • Česky
  • Deutsch
  • Español
  • Français
  • Indonesia
  • Italiano
  • Nederlands
  • Português
  • Latviski
  • Pусский
  • Română
  • Svenska
  • Việt
  • Melayu
  • עברית
  • Norsk
  • Bilety I Informacje
    Menu
    Shen Yun Logo
    Bilety
    Co nowego
    Menu
    • Shen Yun
      • Dopiero poznajesz Shen Yun? 9 cech Shen Yun Nasza historia Życie w Shen Yun Fakty o Shen Yun Napotykane wyzwania Chiński taniec klasyczny Orkiestra symfoniczna
    • Artyści
    • Wideo
    • Co nowego
      • Co nowego Wiadomości Blog W mediach
    • Komunikaty prasowe
    • Często zadawane pytania
    • Opinie widzów
    Shen Yun 9 Characteristics Link Image

    Co czyni nas wyjątkowymi?

    ODKRYJ 9 CECH
    • 5000 lat
    • ZAPISZ SIĘ
    • Wyszukaj
    Language
    • English
    • 中文正體
    • 中文简体
    • 日本語
    • 한국어
    • Česky
    • Deutsch
    • Español
    • Français
    • Indonesia
    • Italiano
    • Nederlands
    • Português
    • Latviski
    • Pусский
    • Română
    • Svenska
    • Việt
    • Melayu
    • עברית
    • Norsk
      Blog
      Back Blog > The Story of Silk
    Empress Leizu and the Yellow Emperor.

    The Story of Silk

    GOOOOONG—with a wave from the conductor, the house curtain whisks away and a magical scene opens to the audience. This is the special moment when the dancers and the audience see each other for the first time. It’s calm, but pulsing with energy. In the orchestra pit the violins swell, and I breathe in deep to fill my lungs in time with them. As the music crescendos and peaks, SWOOSH, I cast double rainbows of silk into the sky.

    Shimmery and flowing, my trusty ribbons are a credit to the silk they’re made of. With a few flicks of my wrists, twenty-foot loop-de-loops and figure eights are spiraling on the stage. Then as I exit into the wings, the long silk ribbons billow in my wake. And I watch most satisfyingly as they trail smoothly in the twirling path I guide them through.

    In the 2018 season, I was one of the silk ribbon-wielding fairies in the opening piece—From Heaven to Save All. Speaking of silk, did you know that the history of silk is almost as old as Chinese civilization itself?

    Once Upon a Time

    One breezy afternoon around 3000 B.C.E., Empress Leizu, consort to the great Yellow Emperor, sat down for a cup of tea in her garden. Under the shade of a mulberry tree, she lifted the cup to her lips when—plink—a small object dropped (narrowly missing her royal nose) into her drink. The empress lowered her cup in surprise. A moth’s cocoon, hard, oblong, and pasty white in color, had fallen from the swaying mulberry branches overhead. With royal composure, she plucked the blob from her tea and was about to cast it aside when she noticed it was curiously soft. The cocoon was not encased in a hard shell but in a sort of fiber, which a quick soak in her hot tea had further softened. Pulling on a loose strand, Leizu unraveled it until it stretched the length of her garden, over 600 meters. Intrigued, she gathered more cocoons from the tree to unravel, and worked the strands into cloth. When she finished, she had woven a soft and shimmery fabric that was cool to the touch.

    Excited by her discovery, the empress didn’t stop there. She studied the worms that produced the cocoons and noticed that they ate nothing but mulberry leaves. Leizu persuaded the Yellow Emperor to procure a grove of mulberry trees so she could domesticate these silkworms. She invented a reel to spin their cocoon fibers into thread, and a loom to weave into cloth. Then she passed on what she learned to her entourage, and the sericulture tradition was born.

    From a disrupted afternoon tea, the empress’ new discovery became intertwined with China’s next five thousand years of history. From then on, Leizu also became known as the goddess of silk.

    A Tradition Begins

    Silk was an instant hit. Soft but strong, light and elegant, silk is very adaptable and possesses many virtues that make it extremely valuable. It keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It wicks moisture. And dyed silk-woven items hold their color for centuries.

    In the first thousand years of its discovery, silk was produced exclusively for the emperor and his close relations or as gifts to dignitaries. In time, as silk production increased, other classes of society were allowed to own silk as well. However, specific colors, accessories, and motifs were exclusive to each social stratum and position. Yellow, for example, was reserved for the emperor. Men from different military ranks also sported different silk headpieces to distinguish themselves.

    Other than clothing and decoration, silk was used to make musical instruments, archery bowstrings, fishing lines, and the world’s first (luxury) paper. In fact, much ancient knowledge has been preserved and passed down through silk scrolls. During the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E.–220 C.E.), silk could even be used as a type of currency in trade.

    Throughout the centuries in China’s silk-producing provinces, families of daughters, mothers, and grandmothers would tend to their silkworms for half the year, then harvest, unravel, spin, weave, dye, and embroider during the remaining months.

    Spread to the West

    Since silkworms were endemic to China and kept a secret from outsiders, foreigners were clueless about how silk was made. But silk quickly became one of the most sought-after fabrics in the world, and many countries were extremely eager to trade for it. This rapid growth in popularity led to the rise of the Silk Road. Although silk products could pass beyond China’s borders, Chinese authorities forbade the secrets of sericulture from leaving the empire. Anyone caught smuggling silk moths or eggs was executed.

    After two thousand years of successful border security, however, sericultural knowledge began to trickle into Korea and India with immigrants. In 440 C.E., it reached beyond China's western border when a Chinese princess—dispatched to marry a tribal prince as part of diplomatic matrimony—stowed silkworms eggs inside her elaborate updo. Unfortunately for silk lovers in Europe, the tribal peoples also kept the secret among themselves. The West still had to wait.

    At last, in 550 C.E., two monks working for Justinian the Great made it home with the precious eggs hidden in their staffs, and the long-sought knowledge finally arrived in Byzantium. Before then, Romans used to believe that silk was harvested by “removing the down from leaves with the help of water” (Pliny’s Natural History). From there, sericulture gradually spread throughout Europe.

    However, the ideals of the orient that lie within silk have never faded. Silk is timeless. After five thousand years, silk has woven itself through China’s dynasties and made its way onto the Shen Yun stage. Thinking back to the last season, I can still feel my long silk water sleeves flowing gracefully around me as I dance in Han Dynasty Sleeves. A few quick-changes later, I’m in heavenly robes (and the inspiration for Tang Dynasty attire) amidst the clouds. Fast-forward to the last millennium, and I’m a Manchurian princess of the Qing Dynasty, flitting my silk kerchief in play inside the palace gardens. And the show's not over yet.

    Today, silk is an international commodity, yet remains a symbol of the ancient Chinese civilization. But thousands of years ago, it all began with a cup of afternoon tea.

     

    Other Cool Facts

    • Archaeologists have discovered a half-unraveled silkworm cocoon from 2600 B.C.E. 
    • Seres, the ancient Greek word for China, means “the land of silk.”
    • Silk trade took place before the establishment of the Silk Road, and the earliest evidence of trade is an Egyptian mummy from 1070 B.C.E. wrapped in silk.
    • Peasants couldn't wear silk until the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911).
    • Tradycyjna chińska kultura
    • Historical Anecdotes
    • Shen Yun Dances
    • Artist Perspectives
    • Myths & Legends
    • Gods & Goddesses
    • Ancient History
    • Słynne postacie historyczne
    Daniella Blogger Profile

    Daniella Wollensak

    Dancer

    Zobacz wszystkie wpisy

    August 16, 2018

    Treści powiązane
    • Header Costumes
      Consummate Couture
    • 老子出关 Laozi Shenyun Thumb
      Bestowing the Tao – the Story of Lao-Tzu
    • Postures 3
      Ancient Lifehack: Shipshape Posture for Tiptop Health
    • Thumb Hairstyle
      Ancient Lifehack: Haute Coiffure—Fashion Dos & Don’ts
    Komentarze
    verification

    Poprzedni

    Israeli Charms

    Dalej

    Lunar Or Solar—Why The Chinese And Western Calendars Differ So Greatly
    Najnowsze
    • Najlepsze rzeczy w życiu
      Emily1thumb
    • Wszystko dobre, co się dobrze kończy
      Jared1 Thumb
    • Starożytne porady: Nie daj się chłodowi
      Lifehack Header
    • Człowiek z Księżyca: Legenda o Festiwalu Środka Jesieni
      Change JadeRabbit SYWeb 嫦娥 玉兔 Thumb
    • Potrawy na jesień
      Autumn Leaves Header
    Najczęściej odwiedzane
    • Wszystkie
    • Wiadomości
    • Blog
    Pokaż więcej
    Pokaż więcej
    Pokaż więcej

    Tagi

    • Tradycyjna chińska kultura
    • Historical Anecdotes
    • Shen Yun Dances
    • Artist Perspectives
    • Myths & Legends
    • Gods & Goddesses
    • Ancient History
    • Słynne postacie historyczne
    Shen Yun logo golden
    Shen Yun logo golden

    Shen Yun Performing Arts to wiodący chiński zespół taneczno-muzyczny, założony w Nowym Jorku. Wykonuje chiński taniec klasyczny, taniec etniczny i ludowy oraz taniec fabularny przy akompaniamencie orkiestry, występują w nim również wykonawcy solowi. Przez 5000 lat w Chinach kwitła boska kultura. Za pomocą zapierającej dech w piersiach muzyki i tańca Shen Yun ożywia na scenie tę wspaniałą kulturę. Nazwę Shen Yun, 神韻, można przetłumaczyć jako: „Piękno tańczących boskich istot”.

    O zespole
  • Dopiero poznajesz Shen Yun?
  • Orkiestra Symfoniczna Shen Yun
  • Życie w Shen Yun
  • Fakty o Shen Yun
  • Napotykane wyzwania
  • Shen Yun & Spirituality
  • Poznaj artystów
  • Często zadawane pytania
  • Wideo
  • Najnowsze
  • Shen Yun
  • Artyści
  • Recenzje
  • W mediach
  • Co nowego
  • Wypowiedzi
  • Wiadomości
  • blogi
  • Recenzje
  • W mediach
  • 5000 lat
  • Chiński taniec
  • Muzyka
  • Muzyka wokalna
  • Kostiumy Shen Yun
  • Animowane tło
  • Rekwizyty Shen Yun
  • Historie i legendy
  • Shen Yun i tradycyjna chińska kultura
  • Wejdź z nami w interakcję:
    Śledź nas na Gan Jing World
    Podpisz naszą księgę gości
    Dowiedz się więcej o Shen Yun
    na naszej platformie streamingowej
    Arts Proficiency Assessment Center
    Pamiątki i kolekcje premium
    zainspirowane Shen Yun
    Shen Yun Dancer
    Shen Yun Performing Arts Official Website Prawa autorskie ©2025 Shen Yun Performing Arts. Wszelkie prawa zastrzeżone.
    Kontakt Warunki Polityka prywatności Mapa strony
    Strona korzysta z plików cookies w celu realizacji usług i zgodnie z polityką prywatności Możesz określić warunki przechowywania lub dostępu do plików cookies w Twojej przeglądarce.

    Na stronie ShenYun.com, używamy ciasteczek. Wchodząc na naszą stronę, akceptujesz naszą Cookie Policy.