The Ancient Chinese: Bronze and Silk

Chinese legend says that silk was discovered in about 3000 BC by the wife of the mythical emperor Huang-di. A silkworm cocoon accidentally fell into some boiling water and when emperors took it out, she found that it was made of an enormously long and very delicate thread.

Whatever the truth about its origin, by the time of the Han dynasty the Chinese were weaving silks of a high standard, with many colored abstract designs and patterns of birds, trees and flowers.

The same sort of care was applied to other arts. Craftsmen made multicolor lacquerware bowls covered with intricate floral patterns; they painted on silk, and carved friezes on tombs and ornaments from jade.

Their glazed pottery was a forerunner of the porcelain of later dynasty. As early as the 16th century BC the Chinese had mastered the art of bronze making, and they excelled in making vessels to hold food and wine.

They were made in a variety of forms – some stood in three legs and others were shaped like animals. All were highly decorated and some were inlaid with gold and silver. Later bronze craftsmen made mirrors by giving bronze discs a highly polished surface and plaques decorated with animal figures.

Around the 5th century BC, Chinese metalwork turned their attention to iron. In the Han years iron was so important that for a time its manufacture was a state monopoly, with 48 foundries staffed largely by forced labor.

The Chinese made cast iron 15 centuries before it was possible in the West and even produced steel by combining pieces of iron with different carbon levels. Their success with cast iron came from their knowledge of bronze working, and the invention of a bellows that gave very high furnace temperatures.
The Ancient Chinese: Bronze and Silk