Sericulture

Timeline

1. c. -3000–-221Middle and lower Yellow River and upper Yangtze · ChinaArchaeology and legend both indicate that China completed silkworm domestication early on, forming a chain of 'mulberry planting and silkworm rearing—reeling and weaving,' with silk goods becoming important commodities for ritual, tribute, and long-distance trade.
2. c. 960–1127Liangzhe Circuit and Zizhou Circuit · JiangnanIn the Northern Song, official weaving workshops and a silk tax system were established; private sericulture became highly specialized in Jiangnan and Sichuan, with dedicated silkworm books and solar-term farming norms emerging, laying the foundation for silk exports after the court's move south.
3. 1141–1150Lin'an Prefecture and the Liangzhe sericulture region · Liangzhe CircuitAfter the 1141 peace treaty, the Southern Song established its capital at Lin'an; Liangzhe sericulture supplied court weaving, border-market trade, and maritime silk exports. Within this window, cocoon purchasing, the division of labor between official and private workshops, and river transport formed a tight industrial chain; sericulture was a key source of Jiangnan tax and foreign-exchange revenue.