Banner Image: Chinese women processing a sheet of silk cloth.
Historical Context
“Sometimes journeys begin long before their first step is taken”
-Colin Thubron, To a Mountain in Tibet
What was the Silk Road?
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The Silk Road is the term used to describe the series of trade routes that linked China and eastern Asia to Europe and the western world. The exact dates of the Silk Road's existence are nebulous, but historians estimate that the route lasted from around 200 BC to around 200 CE. Even so, trade routes between Asia and Europe did exist and prosper for centuries onward, but they were significantly less encompassing and impressive than those of the Silk Road.
"From the time of the decline of the Chow dynasty, the barbarians of the North and West had dwelt intermixed on the north of the King and Wei rivers. When Che-hwang of the Ts'in appropriated the interjacent countries, he built the Great Wall to form the boundary of China...The Han succeeded, and in the time of the Emperor Wu-ti, the barbarians on all sides were invaded, the dignity of the empire was extended, and Chang K'ien first opened up the way into the Western regions." China's Development of ResourcesAs early as 5000 years ago, China developed the practice of breeding silkworms and harvesting the precious material produced from their cocoons. During this time, China was the only known civilization with knowledge of this practice, and therefore silk harvesting was a carefully guarded secret,
However, the reputation of silk and its beauty spread across Eurasia, and soon neighboring civilizations were traveling to China, eager for the silken riches she possessed.
"the Son of Heaven had such a fancy for the horses of Ta-Yuan, ambassadors sent to procure them followed upon one another's heels all along the route. Such missions would be attended by several hundred men" [bearing lavish gifts, although] "later on, when they [the gifts] had ceased to be a novelty, they were made on a smaller scale. As a rule, rather more than ten such missions went forward in the course of a year, and at the least five or six. Those sent to distant countries would return home after eight or nine years." Exploration, Encounter, and ExchangeIt is a given fact that the Silk Road is an important event in the realm of trade, encounter, and exploration, However, its magnitude and the development of such a magnitude are often neglected. The fact that a commodity of mere insects led to the creation of the most expansive trade route of its time, illustrates the prosperity and power of the Silk Road, and its impact on civilizations, socially, politically, and economically.
"I was sent by [the Emperor of] China to the Yue-chi, and was made prisoner by the Hsiung-nu. I have now escaped them and would ask that your king have some one conduct me to the country of the Yue-chi; and if I should succeed in reaching that country, on my return to China, my king will reward yours with untold treasures." |
The Silk Road was a series of extensive trade routes linking East Asia to Western Civilizations. The term was coined by a German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen in the late nineteenth century, and was used essentially as a simplification for the multitude of routes that spanned Eurasia. Although the Silk Road was certainly a turning point in history, it was the result of a culmination of events, and was not necessarily "founded" or "discovered".
The "silk rush" led to several resulting effects on the classical world, including the development and expansion of the Silk Road. In addition, the domestication and trading of pack animals allowed for expansive travel and efficient cross-continental journeys, elements that essentially streamlined trade among civilizations.
Gunpowder was a prominent commodity that was traded along the Silk Road, and served to stimulate new technologies, such as fireworks
Fireworks, which were developed as a result of China's discovery of gunpowder, also provided incentive for other civilizations to trade with her; Marco Polo is credited with having first brought gunpowder to Europe after his travels in China.
Other Chinese innovations such as paper had resounding impacts upon reaching Europe and the west. China's development of resources essentially sparked the cross-continental trade that led to what is now known as the Silk Road.
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A map depicting the numerous routes the Silk Road took, as well as key items and goods that were shipped from regions along such routes.