QUESTION:
Silk has been important to China's domestic and international trade for around 5,000 years. Making silk from the mulberry-leaf eating silkworms was pioneered in China and is still done the traditional way in many of the silk manufacturing provinces in China.

Chinese silk makers have long protected the precise methodology used to make silk. What used to happen to anyone found to have revealed the silk-making secret:

A. They were made to feed mulberry leaves to silk worms for 50 years;
B. They were executed in public;
C. They were banished from their hometown and had to spend the rest of their days walking around other provinces;
D. They had to eat 2 jin (one kg) of mulberries in less than 60 seconds;

ANSWERS:
If you said B, you are an ace at China trivia. Although it may seem a little harsh in this day and age to kill someone for revealing the silk-making secret, at the time, it was thought such a highly precious technique. Many Chinese believed that if others could make silk they would lose their commercial advantage, a potential disaster for the local economy.

When buying silk look for a smooth, cool, frictionless texture. Gently pinch the silk between your thumb and forefinger and rub it together. If it is soft and friction-less it is good quality silk. Be wary of polyester and other fabrics that are "almost" silk.