Teacher: 	China has given the world many gifts. Everybody knows the big four: gunpowder, compass, paper and printmaking. Actually, the list is vast and ranges from primal gifts: paper money and wheelbarrows, kites, whiskey and chess to contemporary contributions: hybrid rice and agricultural techniques, cast iron, parachutes, decimal mathematics and laser technologies. But truly, the Middle Kingdom's most ancient and most valuable gift to the world was and in many people's minds, still remains silk. Our lesson today is on the history of silk and how it was brought to Europe. 
<br/>When silk was first discovered in China about 3000 years BC, it was used only by the emperor and his close family. As you all know, silk is a very beautiful and fine material, but its long and interesting history is unknown to most people. The Silk Road linking northern China with the West played a vital role in moving trade goods, people and ideas for 2,000 years. 
<br/>In 70 BC the Roman historian Pliny, wrote that silk was obtained by removing soft hair from the leaves with the help of water. Of course, now we know that this is not true and that silk was produced by using silkworms. We know that silkworms weave webs, like spiders, that became a luxurious clothing material for Roman women at the time. Legend has it that around 500 A.D., Holy Roman Emperor Justinian, desperate to learn the secrets of silk, hired two Persian monks to do a little undercover work in China. Many months later the monks reappeared in the Holy Roman capital Constantinople dressed in rags and carrying only their bamboo staffs. But hidden inside each hollow stick were silkworm eggs and shoots of the mulberry tree, the worms' favorite food. Soon after this, the first Silkworm farms appeared in Europe.
<br/>At the time of the fall of the Byzantine Empire Lyon became a silk manufacturing centre. 
<br/>Anna: 		Sir? The history is fascinating, but how was the silk produced by the silkworms?
<br/>Teacher: 	That's an interesting question Anna. What happened was that the caterpillar or silkworm built a cocoon around themselves until they looked like fluffy white balls. After eight or nine days the cocoon was unwound and then it was baked to kill the worms. The cocoons were then taken out of the ovens and were dipped into hot water to loosen the threads. These threads were then put on to a spool.
<br/>Brian: 		Sir... Why were they put onto a spool?
<br/>Teacher: 	Well, Brian, amazingly, each cocoon was made up of a thread which was between 600 and 900 metres long so the spool was used to roll up the thread. 
<br/>Colin: 		And how was the thread made into silk?
<br/>Teacher: 	Good question. Each thread of silk was very fine and so it was very easy to break so between five and eight of the threads were twisted together to make one big thread. 
<br/>Anna: 		Sir... How was the silk cloth made?
<br/>Teacher: 	Okay, Anna. These threads were then woven into cloth. When this process was finished the cloth was dyed to give it beautiful colours. Apart from being very beautiful it is also a tough material and it was used during the Second World War in Europe to make parachutes.
<br/>Brian: 		Is it produced by silkworms today, Sir?
<br/>Teacher: 	No, Brian. The process is very different today but I shall talk about that at another time. As for what silk is used for today, we can include many things including bed sheets which you can find on many beds around the world. 
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