In the 1980s, Chinese scientists excavated some ancient textile fabric pieces, which could be traced back to the period between 3,500 and 3,300 BC, from the Qingtai relics in Central China's Henan Province. The evidence indicated a history of over 5,000 years of Chinese raising silkworms and building up a silk-producing country.

Until now, silk is still a worldwide favorite for its striking colors and delicate and soft touches.

Since its beginnings, the fabric has combined advanced technologies with aesthetic pleasures, and economic activities with cultural values. It links the East with the West, the past with the present, which makes silk an indispensable study object for textile scholars and researchers around the world.

Recently, a book, entitled "The General History of Chinese Silk," came off the press by the Suzhou University Press in East China's Jiangsu Province.

The book systematically details the development of Chinese textile production in a dynastic list.

Divided into 10 chapters, it illustrates three phases the historical silk industry has gone through, including the earliest period of the classic handicraft system from the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BC) to the middle of the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), the following traditional handicraft time which ended in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), and the establishment of the modern machinery industry.

The book highlights in each chapter introductions of specific technologies, textile species and artistic styles of different dynasties, along with in-depth analysis of interactions between the social transformation and textile productions, as well as profound effects on economic and cultural exchanges between China and the world in the long term.

Moreover, the book embodies abundant archaeological resources to enrich its content, deriving from both major discoveries and recent excavating achievements, such as precious textile fabrics out of the Han tomb at the Mawangdui relics in Hunan Province in the 1970s and the latest Liao tomb in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in 2003.

To enhance its readability, the editorial committee has carefully selected at least 1,000 colored pictures with bilingual captions in Chinese and English, a large part of which make their first appearance before the public.

It takes almost four years to ultimately complete the book's editing and publishing process. The editorial board is led by Professor Zhao Feng, vice-director of Hangzhou-based China National Silk Museum, who has devoted himself to the research into Chinese textiles for nearly three decades.

It has also teamed up dozens of renowned scholars and practitioners in the silk industry from across the Straits, and museums and institutions from both home and aboard.

(China Daily December 29, 2005)