 |
| During the Period of Spring and Autumn, In order to enrich the state and subordinates, Emperor Goujian of Yue Dynasty advocated the idea of agriculture and mulberry planting. It went around the state that Xishi washed the yarn and the queen of Yue plaited herself. Peasants lived on the silk and mulberry. At that time, the silk made in Yue and Wu, a kind of cotton mattress made in Yue were all the gifts tributed to the Emperor of the Central Government. Shi Mao¡¯s wife, who was charming and bright, was good at weaving and making clothes. Their mill named the Palace Mill was responsible for the tribution of the silk cloth. Till the prosperous Tang Dynasty, officials and bureaucracies of the high rank all favored the silk and made it to the peak prosperous. The production and the trade of silk grew. The silk woven by the Shis was famous throughout the country. At the Chongzhen time of Ming Dynasty, Shi Kun, the offspring of the Shis, set up a shop, which was called Hangzhou Silk Mill,at the Evening Trade Market of Beiguan, presently Gongchengqiao in Hangzhou, to weave and produce Yue Mattress. |
