G6: Silk Road: Empress Leizu

Leizu (嫘祖), known also as Lady Hsi Ling Shih (西陵氏) is a legendary figure in Chinese history credited with the discovery of silk and the invention of the silk loom

One legend claims that Xilingshi was in her garden when she picked some cocoons from a mulberry tree and accidentally dropped one into her hot tea.

Leizu taught people from various regions how to rear silkworms and spin silk on the way migrating to the east.