The man who became First Emperor, Qin Shi-huang, was just 13 years old when he became ruler of the Kingdom of Qin in central-west China. Although only a boy, he was determined to succeed and to make his mark in history.[...]
First Emperor of All China
Posted on January 16th, 2012
China’s written history goes back thousands of years but weʼll begin just 2200 years ago with the man who first united China. He began the Great Wall and built the biggest tomb in history for himself, complete with an army of 7000 clay soldiers. He said his Qin Dynasty would last 10,000 generations. It ended three years after his death[...]
The start of silk production in Constantinople
Posted on January 9th, 2012
Around 550AD, two visiting monks took the risk. They returned from China to the Byzantine Emperor Justin’s court with silkworm eggs hidden in their hollow bamboo walking sticks. That was the start of silk production in Constantinople (present day Istanbul)[...]
The Story of Silk (Cont’d 4)
Posted on January 2nd, 2012
Because the silk trade was so valuable, Chinese methods of silk production were a closely guarded trade secret. Anyone smuggling silkworm eggs out of China was punished by death[...]
The Story of Silk ( Cont’d 3)
Posted on December 26th, 2011
Silk was greatly valued and often used as currency or money. A man’s salary would be a certain length of silk per year. Silk garments were worn by Roman emperors, who called the Chinese Seres (Silk people). The clothes are beautiful, light and comfortable, being cool in summer and warm in winter[...]
