Ep. 179 | The Ancient History of Silk
This particular topic might have been one of the first ten topics I came up with when I began writing the original list back in 2010. The history of silk is really an amazing testament to humankind’s ingenuity and the randomness of life since Neolithic times. I hope you enjoy this episode. It turned out to be a much greater story than I was ever aware of.
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Terms in Episode
Pinyin/Term | Chinese | English/Meaning |
---|---|---|
Cháng’ān | 长安 | Present day Xian in Shaanxi Province |
Chéngdū | 成都 | The capital city of Sichuan province |
Cán | 蚕 | a silk-worm |
Cán Nǎina | 蚕奶奶 | The Goddess of Silkworms |
Dèng Xiǎopíng | 邓小平 | Chairman of China Bridge Association and great Chinese leader during 20th century |
Fújiàn | 福建 | Province in China |
Huángdì | 黄帝 | The Yellow Emperor |
Huāxià | 华夏 | The collective tribes that made up ancient core Han Chinese civilization |
Hàn Wǔdì | 汉武帝 | Great Western Han Dynasty emperor |
Hétián | 和田 | Formerly called Khotan…a great trading kingdom in present day Xinjiang |
Jìn Dynasty | 晋朝 | Dynasty in China: 265-420 CE |
Kǒngfūzǐ | 孔夫子 | Confucius |
Léi Zǔ | 嫘祖 | Other name of Xi Ling Shi by which she is more commonly known |
Lǐ Jì | 礼记 | Book of Rites |
Míng Dynasty | 明朝 | Second to the last dynasty…1368-1644 |
Nánjīng | 南京 | Capital city of Jiangsu province |
nǚgōng | 女红 | the feminine arts |
Qiánlóng | 乾隆 | Emperor during the heyday of the Qing Dynasty, 1735-1796 |
Qiánshānyàng | 钱山漾 | town at the south end of Lake Tai near Húzhōu |
Qīng Dynasty | 清朝 | The last imperial dynasty in China – 1644-1911 |
Qīngtaí | 清台村 | Village in the northwest corner of Zhengzhou on the south bank of the Yellow River |
Shén Nóng | 神农 | The Divine Farmer, god of agriculture and many other things |
Shāng Dynasty | 商朝 | China’s first “official dynasty,” lasted from 1600 to 1046 BCE |
Shānxī province | 山西省 | Province in China |
Shǐ Jì | 史记 | Records of the Grand Historian |
Suí | 隋朝 | Dynasty in China from 581-618 |
Sòng Dynasty | 宋朝 | Dynasty in China….960-1279 |
Sūzhōu | 苏州 | City in Jiangsu Province |
Táng | 唐朝 | Dynasty in China 618-907 |
Wǔyí Mountains | 武夷山 | Mountains in northern Fujian where some of the best tea in the world comes from |
Xià County | 夏县 | County in south Shanxi on the border with Henan |
Xī Líng Shì | 西陵氏 | The discoverer of silk and the primary wife of the Yellow Emperor |
Yángshuò County | 阳朔县 | One of the great sightseeing centers of China, near Guilin |
Yǎngsháo Wenhua | 仰韶文化 | Yangshao Culture in China..5000 to 3000 BCE more or less |
Zhèngzhōu | 郑州 | City in Henan |
Zhāng Qiān | 张骞 | Great Western Han Dynasty adventurer, instrumental in getting the Silk Road up and running |
Ānhuì | 安徽 | Province in China |
Back in 1890, with the aim of protecting American companies from foreign competition, tariffs were jacked up significantly. With all the advances in transport, logistics, and new technologies, world trade was shifting into a higher gear.