id	author	title	date	pages	extension	mime	words	sentences	flesch	summary	cache	txt
en-wikipedia-org-5552		History of silk - Wikipedia			.html	text/html	8383	710	70	Although silk was well known in Europe and most of Asia, China was able to keep a near-monopoly on silk production for several centuries, defended by an imperial decree and condemning to death anyone attempting to export silkworms or their eggs.[citation needed] According to the Nihongi, sericulture reached Japan for the first time around 300 AD, following a number of Koreans, having been sent from Japan to China, recruiting four young Chinese girls to teach the art of plain and figured weaving in Japan.[24] Techniques of sericulture were subsequently introduced to Japan on a larger scale by frequent diplomatic exchanges between the 8th and 9th centuries. The craftsmen in Italy proved unable to keep up with the needs of French fashions, which continuously demanded lighter and less expensive materials.[47] These materials, used for clothing, began to be produced locally instead; however, Italian silk remained for a long time amongst the most prized, mostly for furnishings and the brilliant nature of the dyestuffs used.	./cache/en-wikipedia-org-5552.html	./txt/en-wikipedia-org-5552.txt