Cultural Authenticity of Silk and China

Anyi Li

When I came to the U.S., my parents directed me to bring gifts such as silk handkerchiefs, folding fans,  ties, and scarves to my American host family and high school teachers. Upon receiving them, my host sister proudly showed off pictures of her silk wallet on Instagram with the label: "look at my Chinese wallet!" 

In reality, the clothes she wore, the bed she slept on, the chair she sat on, and the phone with which she posted her Instagram were all made in China. Nonetheless, she and the rest of my host family all believed that the chair, the phone, the bed, and clothes do not represent the Chinese culture, but the silk items I brought to them do. This understanding is well-founded in the Chinese history of globalization. The earliest evidence of silk production in the world was dated to as ancient as 3630 B.C.E. in the Chinese Henan province during China's Shang Dynasty. From as early as 400 B.C.E., the Silk Roads were trade routes that connected the East and the West. Today, China still produces about three-quarters of the world's silk and continues to pledge efforts in building modern trade routes that enable economic globalization between China to even as far as the Arctic regions. To the world and us, fancy silk represents China. 

Globalization has made silk production techniques no longer exclusive to China. Americans don't even have to go to Chinatown. They can find silk products in probably any mall. With modern technology, my host family can also just sit in their house, purchase the silk products I brought them on Amazon, and three days later, they will receive the same items. However, they and I still consider what I brought them was the original Chinese silk. It is clear that in my host family's and my mind, there is a sense of authenticity on the cultural emphasis of silk being the practices and commodities of the Chinese.

Work Cited

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4 Mar. 2021, www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/culture/chinese-silk.htm. 

Accessed 7 Mar. 2021.

Stanway, David. “China Pledges to Build 'Polar Silk Road' over 2021-2025.” 

Edited by Shri Navaratnam, Msn.com, Reuters, 5 Mar. 2021, www.msn.com/en-us/news/

world/china-pledges-to-build-polar-silk-road-over-2021-2025/ar-BB1efVsx?ocid=uxbnd

bing. Accessed 7 Mar. 2021.