1st century CEReputable sourceWell documented
Silk: China's Great Secret
On the timeline · around 1st century CE ·
What happened
Silk, produced from the cocoons of silkworms, was China's most prized export and a jealously guarded state secret. Light, beautiful, and immensely valuable, it traveled the length of the trade routes and reached the Roman Empire, where the wealthy paid fortunes for it — to the alarm of Roman moralists who decried the drain of gold to the East.
Why it matters
Silk gave the trade routes their name and their allure. The Roman craving for Chinese silk shows how, even in antiquity, distant civilizations were bound together by trade in luxury goods.
Sources
- World History Encyclopedia. Silk in Antiquity · Reputable source
Related timelines
- History of China → — Silk, one of China's great inventions