Literary sources such as The Book of History, and The Book of Rites give further information about sericulture. Reeling silk and spinning was always considered household duties for women, while weaving and embroidery were carried out in workshops as well as the home. In every silk-producing province the daughters, mothers and grandmothers of every family devoted a large part of the day for six months in a year to the feeding, tending and supervision of silkworms and to unraveling, spinning, weaving, dyeing and embroidering of silk. By the fifth century BC, at least six Chinese provinces were producing silk, Each spring, the empress herself inaugurated the silk-raising season, for silk production was the work of women all over China. The technique and process of sericulture were guarded secrets and closely controlled by Chinese authorities. Anyone who revealed the secrets or smuggled the silkworm eggs or cocoons outside of China would be punished by death.

Silk became a precious commodity highly sought by other countries at a very early time ,and it is believed that the silk trade was actually started before the Silk Road was officially opened in the second century BC. From about the fourth century BC, Within decades Chinese silks became widely worm by the rich and noble families of Rome. The Roman Emperor Heliogabalus (AD 218-222 ) wore nothing but silk. By 380 AD, Marcellinus Ammianus reported, “The use of silk which was once confined to the nobility has now spread to all classes without distinction, even to the lowest. “ The craving of silk continued to increase over the centuries. The price of silk was very hight in Rome. The best Chinese bark (a particular kind of silk ) cost as much as 300 denarii (a Roman soldier’s salary for an entire year! ). Many sources quote that Roman citizens’ demand for imported silks was so great as to be damaging to the Roman economy.