Silk originated in China in the Yangshao culture 4th millennium BC. The oldest silk found in China has been dated to to c. 3630 BC. This silk was found in the Henan province, an area regarded as the cradle of Chinese civilization. The origins of silk production and weaving are interwoven in legends.

According to Chinese myths, sericulture or silk farming and weaving of silk cloth was discovered by Lady Hsi Ling Shih, wife of the Yellow emperor Huangdi. It is said she was having tea under a mulberry tree, when a silkworm cocoon fell into her cup, she watched the strands unravel from the cocoon and realised it could be used to make cloth, it was discovered that it took 1000 yards of thread for the silkworm to make one cocoon. She taught the people how to raise silkworms and she even invented the loom.

So an industry arose and became a important feature in the rural Chinese economy. It is thought that silk was exported along the silk road by around c 400 BC. The silk road derived its name from the lucrative trade in silk carried out along its length. For silk had became highly sought after and so the different dynasty’s kept the method of silk production a secret for a further thousand years. Anyone found smuggling silkworm eggs, cocoons or mulberry seeds was executed.

Coconut Cocoon Baijiu Cocktail

25ml of V.I.P Jiu 8
25ml of coconut rum
2 tablespoons of coconut cream
4 ice cubes
Lemonade
A cocktail cherry

Put everything except the lemonade and cherry into cocktail shaker and shake to mix, strain into a cocktail glass, top with lemonade and garnish with cherry.