According to legend, in ancient China, the leader of China's Northern Tribe, Huangdi (Yellow Emperor), beat the leader of China's Southern Tribe, Chi You (God of War). The Goddess of Silk donated the silk thread she herself spun to Huangdi as a sign of her respect for his victory. Huangdi then ordered to have the silk first woven into a cloth and finally sown into a garment. This garment was extraordinarily comfortable, so comfortable, in fact, that Leizu, Huangdi's wife, went in search of the silkworms in hopes of collecting more of the fine silk. She found the silkworms and fed them mulberry leaves for the refined silk production. After that time, thousands of years ago, mulberry leaf picking, silkworm breeding, silk thread production and silk weaving were recognized as a tradition in ancient China. Leizu came to be worshipped as the Goddess of Silkworm Breeding, and Huangdi as the God of Silk Weaving.

This is simply a legend created long ago, but as for the factual historical data regarding when silk was invented, that remains a mystery in modern times.

Some ancient weaving tools have been discovered around the Hemudu Site (a Neolithic site), demonstrating that the use of silk came no later than the Liangzhu Culture, from 5250 to 4150 years ago.

Chinese silk gained a world-wide reputation for quality even before the Han Dynasty, and huge amounts of the silk produced was sold abroad.

The famous Silk Road formed during the Qin and Han Dynasties started from the ancient city of Chang'an, passed through Gansu, Xinjiang, Central Asia and West Asia in the west, and finally ended in Europe. The prosperous silk trade promoted the rapid development of economic and cultural exchanges between the Central Plains and border areas, as well as between China and its neighbouring countries to the east and west.

Besides being used for silk-made fabrics, cocoon fibre can be processed into mulberry silk quilts, which are softer, lighter, warmer, more fitting, and more air-conductive compared with cotton and chemical fibre quilts. According to literature, China's royal courts began promoting the use of mulberry silk quilts during the glory days of the Tang Dynasty. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, cocoon fibre was popular among the upper classes; due to its costly price, it was considered as the symbol of affluence.
The advantages of cocoon fibre: cocoon fibre is a natural fibre that is light, soft and smooth. It is honoured with such nicknames as 'the second skin of human beings' and 'the queen of fibre.' Its major constituents are purely natural animal protein fibre, and its structure is very similar to human skin, with a similarity rate of 87%. The essential amino acids are contained in the cocoon fibre, thus enabling it to be wind proof, dehumidifing, nerve soothing, nourishing, and human-skin balancing. Cocoon fibre has long been considered a superior clothing material for possessing these exceptional characteristics and qualities.