Silkworm legends

In China, there is a legend that the discovery of the silkworm's silk was by an ancient empress LeiZu, the wife of the Yellow Emperor and the daughter of XiLing-Shi. She was drinking tea under a tree when a silk cocoon fell into her tea. She picked it out and started to wrap the silk thread around her finger, she slowly felt a warm sensation. When the silk ran out,womens silk pajamas, she saw a small larva. In an instant, she realized that this caterpillar larva was the source of the silk. She taught this to the people and it became widespread. There are many more legends about the silkworm.

The Chinese guarded their knowledge of silk. It is said that a Catholic priest smuggled silkworms, in a hollow stick, out of China and sold the secret to Europe