3. According to Chinese legend, silk was
first discovered in 2640 BCE by the
consort of the Yellow Emperor, Huangdi
(reigned from 2698 BC to 2599 BC). Her
name is variously given as Xi Ling Shi or
Lei Zu, and there are differing accounts of
exactly how she discovered that
silkworms made silk.
4. The most common
version of the legend is
that while drinking tea
beneath the mulberry
trees in the Imperial
Gardens she
accidentally dropped a
silkworm cocoon into a
cup of hot water which
unraveled to form a
long delicate thread.
She discovered that
by twisting together
silk fibers from
several cocoons, she
could make a soft
thread that was
strong enough to be
woven into a
ceremonial robe for
the Emperor.
