DID YOU KNOW THAT 90% OF SILK PRODUCTION TAKES PLACE IN ASIA?

Silk production is traditionally associated with regions in Asia, particularly China, India, and some parts of Southeast Asia. The first place in the podium goes to China, which is by far the largest producer of silk globally, producing several thousand metric tons annually. The second-largest producer of silk is India, with a significant silk industry. The country produces a substantial amount of both mulberry and non-mulberry silk.

What about Europe? The silk industry in Europe, historically centered around countries like Italy and France, is more focused on silk processing and manufacturing rather than silk farming.

If one were to weave the captivating history of silk into a narrative, it would unfold as follows:

In the quiet shadows of a royal palace in Central Asia, the air was thick with anticipation. A Chinese princess, cloaked in the finest silks, prepared to leave her homeland to marry the king of Khotan. Her delicate fingers traced the intricate patterns of her headdress, knowing that it carried more than just the weight of tradition; it held the secret of an empire.

For centuries, the Chinese had guarded the secret of silk with unparalleled diligence. The process was sacred, known only to those within the empire, and the punishment for revealing it was death. Silk was more than fabric—it was a symbol of power, wealth, and mystique. The entire world coveted it, yet none could replicate its luxurious softness and shimmering beauty.

As the princess embarked on her journey to Khotan, she bore with her more than the expectation of a new life. Hidden within the elaborate folds of her headdress were tiny silk eggs and mulberry seeds. She knew that with these, her new home could cultivate the treasure that had enriched her people for generations.

Upon her arrival in Khotan, the princess presented the secret gift to her new husband, the king. Under her careful guidance, the Khotanese planted the mulberry trees and nurtured the silk worms. Over time, the small kingdom became a new center of silk production, and the secret began to spread across Central Asia.

ANASPERO is a world of silk where art meets elegance and luxury.

A century later, two monks on a mission to the Byzantine Empire learned of this precious secret. The Byzantine emperor, Justinian, eager to free his empire from the dependency on Chinese silk, persuaded the monks to smuggle the silk eggs and mulberry seeds back to Byzantium. The monks, with ingenuity and devotion, hid the precious cargo within the hollowed canes they carried, successfully transporting it back across treacherous terrain to the heart of the Byzantine Empire.

When the emperor received the eggs and seeds, he immediately ordered their cultivation within the empire. Byzantium soon became the first European center of silk production, breaking the Chinese monopoly and forever altering the course of history.

Thus, through the determination of a princess, the cunning of monks, and the
ambition of an emperor, silk was finally woven into the fabric of Europe’s history. The secret, once held so closely by the Chinese, now flowed through the hands of European weavers, a treasure no longer hidden but shared with the world.

DID YOU KNOW THAT 90% OF SILK PRODUCTION TAKES PLACE IN ASIA?

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