How Did China Influence The Development Of Silk

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Chang’an was the capital of what was a vast, strong and successful empire compared to others of its time in the 5th century (618-907). Trade was abundant and flourished that merchants from around the world would travel to get items that the Chinese produced. There were a variety of items including porcelain, cotton, and others that were being sold and bought from them, but one of the most significant of these goods was silk. Silk was vast and it had many uses within the empire by the people themselves, but overtime its uses would grow, and it would spread to far parts of the globe. Their development of silk through its cultural purposes made it possible for an expansion in the economy where Chinese merchants were able to introduce this treasure …show more content…

Since there was plenty of silk and it was still very much considered valuable, and so thought that the value of these silk textiles could be interchangeable as money especially in the payment of taxes. The way that they were able to determine this was based on the silk’s density and the width of the fabric. Though the skills in making the silks have improved it was still appreciated and this showed its worth. Silk would even be given as symbols of tribute to the emperor himself that he would then redistribute among his supporters. The realization that silk within the empire and city itself was very valuable could mean that people on the outside may see its worth as well and demand for it. Seeing that silk was a commodity that they had plentiful of and were already using it as a form of currency themselves, they could make more of a profit by selling it to traders outside of the empire who have yet to discover the many benefits of silk. Amongst all the development in producing the silk, finding new ways to use them, all helped the progression of its economy which would eventually expand, attracting regions farther west of