That is not really asking the right question. Really, the two should not be compared. That brings up several other questions, though. What is raw silk? What is China silk? Is one a part of the other? Why can they not be compared?
China silk is simply a description of silk that is produced in China or using the Chinese style of production. Unfortunately, manufacturers seem to be unclear and inconsistent in their usage of the description. First though, I want to make sure the confusion is not in the definition of the word "silk" though, because in English, that can mean either the filament, thread, or the cloth.
"China silk" could be a finished fabric with a Chinese style, or it could also be raw silk which has been produced using the Chinese method. From what I can tell, manufacturers advertising "China silk" are most often selling the fabric or cloth, not the raw thread. I have seen both though. It would be nice if they were consistent, but they are not.
So, for clarification, raw silk is silk thread. Raw silk is actually made up of several filaments drawn from different cocoons. An individual thread of "raw silk" is made from several filaments of silk, each filament coming from a different cocoon of some poor silkworm who gave up his life for the cause.
How many filaments (that is, how many cocoons) are used to reel one thread of silk? Well, that is where different styles come in. Changing the number of filaments and the way in which they are reeled will change the style of the silk. So, not all raw silk is alike.
I have seen this difference most as I have travelled between China and Southeast Asia. I used to think the Southeast Asian silk was lower quality, but it is simply a different style, due to the methods of processing.
In Southeast Asia, many hand made types of silk cloth can be found, and much of that uses thrown raw silk. That is raw silk which has been wound together. Take two or more threads of raw silk, twist them together, and thrown raw silk is the product.
Raw silk and thrown raw silk are both measured by weight using the measurement "denier." 22 denier means 9000m of thread weighs 22g. Most of the thread produced in this area is 20/22 raw silk. That is, 20 to 22 denier silk.
So, raw silk can differ. There is certainly a default type of raw silk for the manufacturers around here, and I would only assume they are making what we are calling "China silk". If I understand correctly, the style of raw silk produced here in China can also be called crepe de chine.
So, basically, you could have both China silk and raw silk, that is, raw silk made in China using the Chinese style. You could also have raw silk not using the Chinese style or China raw silk produced in some other country...just to make it more confusing. And when "China silk" is advertised (assuming we are talking about silk thread and not fabric), that probably means raw silk using the China style of reeling.
I hope that clears a few things up. I am not the most knowledgable on the specifics of how to make silk by any means, but these are a few things I have learned while locating the exact silk buyers seek.
Just came to your site for the first time and I must say I really like it. I recently had a long e-mail discussion with a reader of my blog wherein we both bemoaned the lack of writings on China business outside the main areas for foreign companies. I confessed that when I first started writing my blog, I would make clear that I was really only talking about Shanghai/Beijing/Shenzhen/Qingdao/Dalian, etc., but then stopped saying even that becuase it was implicit.
I am really looking forward to seeing your development of this blog.
Posted by: China Law Blog | 27 Nov 2006 at 14:20
I have many of the same feelings. Still, I really appreciate blogs like yours and some of the others. Even though specifically based in the bigger, well-known coastal cities, you all still have a wealth of relavent information applicable to much of China.
As you know, many differences still remain. I am just not a big city kind of guy, and quite honestly all my experience is in provinces like Guangxi and Guizhou, especially the rural areas. So, developing rural resources is the natural fit for our company. I am thankful myself for this blog, because it is the way in which I can think out loud about business topics that pertain directly to a less developed situation. It forces me to stay thinking, stay active.
I look forward to reading more of your and other Chines business blogs.
Posted by: Cooper Strange | 27 Nov 2006 at 16:20