The cloth art of China refers to cloth handicrafts made by Chinese people using traditional cloth and threads as raw materials. These are tailored, sewn and adorn the different cloths. Cloth handicrafts come in such forms as embroidery, Gesi tapestry, hand stitching, embroidery paste, barbola, brocade and batik.
Chinese people were the first to raise silkworms and from the cocoons they made silk thread which was used to weave silk fabrics. Yuanfei, the concubine of the Yellow Emperor, personally raised silkworms and called on all other women to do likewise. The emperor himself personally took part in tilling and popularized silkworm raising technology among the people. In this way a traditional system was introduced for the raising of silkworms. This, plus the system introduced some 4,000 years ago for people of different social strata to wear garments with different colors and designs, prompted the fast development of the weaving and embroidering technologies in China. Using only needle and thread the Chinese quickly learned to make decorative garments. This helped to make peoples lives more colorful and satisfied the people's need for a better quality of life. This, in turn, contributed to the development of civilization in China.