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How The Secret to Silk Was Smuggled Out of China

Everything Everywhere Daily

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The History of Silk Production in China

There is evidence of silk production in China going back 8,500 years. As silk became more important economically, Chinese emperors put restrictions on the exportations of the secrets of silk. Smuggling a silkworm out of China was a crime that could be punished by death. By the middle of the 6th century, the Roman slash Byzantine emperor Justinian was looking for a way for Rome to produce its own silk.

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