For more than five thousand years, silk was an integral part of life in China, composing an illustrious chapter in the history of Chinese civilisation and global cultural interaction. Strong yet soft, silk is woven from the fibre produced by silkworms. Its natural lustre adds to its appeal. China, the birthplace of silk, was known as Serica (State of Silk) by ancient Greeks and Romans, and China remains the world’s largest silk producer today. Sericulture, which includes mulberry cultivation, silkworm breeding, silk reeling, and silk weaving, was a remarkable creation of the ancestors and served as an important step in the origin and development of Chinese civilisation. Silk production has played a key role in the livelihood of the Chinese people, as well as in socioeconomic developments and technological innovation in China.
Silk not only helped connect diverse ethnic groups and vast regions across China but also bridged China and the rest of the world. Silk was a highly sought-after luxury good, as precious as gold, and was also a form of currency that facilitated vibrant exchanges between China and many parts of the world along the trade routes known as the Silk Roads. Silk has made unique contributions to world art: it has been widely used as a support for Chinese paintings and calligraphic works, as a canvas for artistic experiments in colour and decoration, and as a fabric for clothing.
Drawing on the Chris Hall Collection at the Hong Kong Palace Museum, this exhibition is a survey of the history of silk in China from the perspectives of technological advancement and artistic achievement. It features over one hundred spectacular textiles from the Neolithic period up to the early 20th century. The exhibition’s five sections, presented in chronological order, weave a rich and colourful tapestry of China, its society, its clothing culture, and its interactions with the world.
