Gods and Heroes by Korwin Briggs

Author:Korwin Briggs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Workman Publishing Company
Published: 2018-07-13T16:49:28+00:00

leizu

Tradition: Chinese

Home: The Heavenly Court

Also Known As: Lady Silkworm, Can Nü

One of China’s most unique goddesses is tied to one of China’s most unique and treasured materials: silk.

There are a few competing stories about where Leizu, or Lady Silkworm, came from and who she is. In one story, she is a goddess of the night sky. In another, she’s the wife of the mythical Yellow Emperor, Huang Di.

The Emperor’s Wife

According to this story, Leizu is the wife of the Yellow Emperor, a legendary Chinese deity. One afternoon, she discovered some cocoons in a mulberry tree. Curious, she took some with her as she went for her afternoon tea. When she went to drink, she accidentally dropped one into her cup. The hot water made the cocoon unravel, and she pulled and pulled at the string until she had unwound it all from the worm inside.

She then convinced her husband, the emperor, to give her some mulberry trees to experiment with. She learned to domesticate the worms and invented many of the tools the ancient Chinese used to make silk thread and fabric.

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