Sericulture, orsilk farming, is the cultivation ofsilkworms to producesilk. Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, the caterpillar of thedomestic silkmoth is the most widely used and intensively studied silkworm. This species of silkmoth is no longer found in the wild as they have been modified through selective breeding, rendering most flightless and without defense against predators. Silk is believed to have first been produced inChina as early as theNeolithic period. Today, China and India are the two main producers, with more than 60% of the world's annual production.
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According toConfucian text[which?], the discovery of silk production dates to about 2700 BCE, although archaeological records point to silk cultivation as early as theYangshao period (5000–3000 BCE).[1] In 1977, a piece of ceramic created 5400–5500 years ago and designed to look like a silkworm was discovered inNancun, Hebei, providing the earliest known evidence of sericulture.[2] Also, by careful analysis of archaeological silk fibre found on Indus Civilization sites dating back to 2450–2000 BCE, it is believed that silk was being used over a wide region of South Asia.[3][4] By about the first half of the 1st century CE, it had reached ancientKhotan,[5] by a series of interactions along the Silk Road. By 140 CE, the practice had been established in India.[6] In the 6th century CE, thesmuggling of silkworm eggs into the Byzantine Empire led to its establishment in the Mediterranean, remaining a monopoly in the Byzantine Empire for centuries (Byzantine silk). In 1147, during theSecond Crusade,Roger II of Sicily (1095–1154) attackedCorinth andThebes, two important centres of Byzantine silk production, capturing the weavers and their equipment and establishing his own silkworks inPalermo andCalabria,[7] eventually spreading the industry to Western Europe.
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The silkworms are fed withmulberry leaves, and after the fourthmoult, they climb a twig placed near them and spin their silkencocoons. The silk is acontinuous filament comprisingfibroinprotein, secreted from twosalivary glands in the head of each worm, and a gum calledsericin, which cements the filaments.The sericin is removed by placing the cocoons in hot water, which frees the silk filaments and readies them for reeling. This is known as the degumming process.[8] The immersion in hot water also kills the silkmoth pupa.
Single filaments are combined to formthread, in a process called "throwing", which is drawn under tension through several guides and wound onto reels. This process of throwing produces various yarns depending on the amount and direction of the twisting.[9] The threads may be plied to formyarn (shortstaple lengths are spun; seesilk noil). After drying, the raw silk is packed according to quality.
The most popular substitute for traditional silk is peace silk, also known asahimsa silk. The primary factor that makes this form of silk more ethical is that moths are permitted to emerge from their cocoons and fly away prior to boiling. It denotes that no pupa is ever cooked alive during manufacture. However, domesticated silkworms used to make silk have undergone thousands of years of selective breeding and are not "manufactured" to emerge from their cocoons. They are unable to defend themselves against predators since they cannot fly or see clearly. They typically die soon after emerging from their cocoons as a result.[10]
The cocoons of Tussar silkworms, which are found in open woodlands, are used to producewild silk, also known asTussar silk. Compared to conventional silk, their cocoons are typically picked after the moths have emerged, making it a more ethical option. Because wild silkworms consume a variety of plants, their fabric is less uniform but more robust. Wild silk production, especially that of Tussar silk, typically involves fewer chemical treatments than conventional silk because it is often processed without degumming or bleaching, processes commonly used in mulberry silk production. Thepupae are still inside the cocoons when they are harvested by certain enterprises that employ "wild silk", though.[11]
The stages of production are as follows:
Mahatma Gandhi was critical of silk production based on theAhimsa philosophy "not to hurt any living thing". He also promoted "Ahimsa silk", made without boiling the pupa to procure the silk and wild silk made from the cocoons of wild and semiwild silkmoths.[13][14][failed verification]The Human League also criticised sericulture in their early single "Being Boiled". The organisationPETA has also campaigned against silk.[15]
The conventional method of silk production results in ~8 kg of wet silkworm pupae and ~2 kg of dry pupae per kilogram of raw silk.[16] This byproduct has historically been consumed by people in silk-producing areas.[16][17]
1977年在石家庄长安区南村镇南杨庄出土的5400–5500年前的陶质蚕蛹，是仿照家蚕蛹烧制的陶器，这是目前发现的人类饲养家蚕的最古老的文物证据。
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