Clothes

People in Qin China wore clothes made of hemp or linen, but the rich wore silk, which was soft, light, and shiny. Making silk was a secret art. Silkworms ate mulberry leaves and spun cocoons made of long, thin silk threads. Workers boiled the cocoons, unwound the tiny threads, and wove them together into smooth fabric. It took thousands of cocoons to make one silk robe!

Because silk was rare and beautiful, it became China’s most valuable trade good. Traders carried it along the Silk Road, a long path that reached all the way to Europe.

Men wore long robes with belts, and women wore graceful dresses with wide sleeves. Rich women used jade hairpins and jewelry, which were believed to bring good luck and protect their souls.