VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES &
INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
----------ooOoo----------
ASSIGNMENT
Class: SNHU/KTTC.20E2
Subject: HIS 259 SILK ROAD AND SAMURAI
Topic: THE SILK ROAD
Lecturer: Dr. Nguyen Tran Tien
Student: Bui Phuong Thao
Student’s card No: 20043546
Major: Economic and Finance
1
OPENING
People live in the present. They plan for and worry about the future. History,
however, is the study of the past. There are so many pressures and worries about
the present and future planning, why bother caring about history? When there are
so many other fields of knowledge that can educate you for future like math and
science, why insist on history? And why urge many students to study even more
history than they are required to? History is actually a very important subject.
History experts can have a huge impact on the world. Whenever questions are
asked about what we can learn from history, it invariably leads to philosopher
George Santayana’s oft-quoted aphorism: “Those who cannot remember the past
are condemned to repeat it”. Studying history enables us to develop better
understanding of the world in which we live. Building knowledge and
understanding of historical events and trends, especially over the past century,
enables us to develop a much greater appreciation for current events today. And if
we heed Santayana’s warning, then remembering history – and learning important
lessons from it – should help us to avoid previous mistakes and prevent previous
misdeeds from happening again.
In this course, I have learnt a lot of interesting lessons. But I extremely impressed
by The Silk Road, so I gathered all the knowledge about it. My essignment may
have many mistakes, hope you can comment so that I can improve it to make it
more perfect.
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
I – WHAT IS THE SILK ROAD?..........................................................................4
1 - General knowledge..........................................................................................4
2 – The main road of the Silk Road....................................................................5
2.1: One of the overland road is The Northern Route.........................................5
2.2: The second overland routes is The Southern Route.....................................6
2.3: The third overland routes is The Southwestern Route..................................7
II – COMMERCIAL INTEREST:.........................................................................8
III – “CHINESE DREAM” THROUGH THE SILK ROAD............................12
IV – CULTURAL EXCHANGE ON THE SILK ROAD...................................14
V – ZHANG QIAN AND SILK ROAD STUDIES.............................................17
VI – INCONCLUSION:........................................................................................18
3
I – WHAT IS SILK ROAD?
1 - General knowledge
The Silk Road is known for its long history, dating back to the years BC and
especially developing under the Han, Dang Dynasty.
1
The Silk Road was a network of ancient trade routes, formally established during
the Han Dynasty of China in 130 ( one hundredand thirty) BCE, which linked the
regions of the ancient world in commerce between 130 BCE-1453 CE. The Silk
Road was not a single route from east to west and so historians favor the name
'Silk Routes', though 'Silk Road' is commonly used.
The European explorer Marco Polo (l.1254-1324 CE) traveled on these routes and
described them in depth in his famous work but he is not credited with naming
them. Both terms for this network of roads - Silk Road and Silk Routes - were
coined by the German geographer and traveler, Ferdinand von Richthofen, in 1877
CE, who designated them 'Seidenstrasse' (silk road) or 'Seidenstrassen' (silk
routes). Polo, and later von Richthofen, make mention of the goods which were
transported back and forth on the Silk Road.
The network was used regularly from 130 BCE, when the Han Dynasty (202 BCE
- 220 CE) officially opened trade with the west, to 1453 CE, when the Ottoman
Empire boycotted trade with the west and closed the routes. By this time,
Europeans had become used to the goods from the east and, when the Silk Road
closed, merchants needed to find new trade routes to meet the demand for these
goods.
1 the basic knowledge about the Silk Road
4
Figure 1: The Ancient Silk Road
2 – The main road of the Silk Road
Overland routes: The Silk Road consisted of several routes. Among the overland
routes, the dominating ones where the Northern route, the Southern route and the
Southwestern route.
2.1: One of the overland road is The Northern Route
- The easternmost point of the northern route was Chang’an, an important city in
central China. Chang’an was the capital for more than ten different Chinese
dynasties.
- The northern route became popular around the first century BC, when the
Chiense Emperor Wu of Han, who reigned from 141 to 87 BC, used his army to
keep nomadic tribes from attacking travellers within his sphere of influence.
From Chang’an, the northern route went northwest through the Chinese provinces
Shaanxi and Gansu, before splitting into three different routes.
5
•
#1 followed the mountain ranges north of the Taklamakan Desert
•
#2 followed the mountain ranges south of the Taklamakan Desert.
•
#3 went north of the Tian Shan mountains through Turpan, Talgar and
Almaty in what is now southeastern Kazakhstan.
- One branch of the northern route turned off to the northwest instead of continuing
westwards. This one past the Aral Sea and went north of the Caspian Sea, before
reaching the Black Sea.
2.2: The second overland routes is The Southern Route
- The southern route went from China through the Karakoram mountains. Because
of this, it was also known as the Karakoram route. The Karakoram mountain range
spans the borders of Pakistan, India, and China, and also extends into Afghanistan
and Tajikistan in the northwest.
- West of the Karakoram mountains, the southern route had many spurs heading
south to the sea, since many travellers wished to continue by ship instead of going
overland.
- For those who did not head south to the ocean, the southern route continued over
the Hindu Kush mountains and into Afghanistan, joining the northern routes before
reaching Merv in Turkmenistan.
- From Merv, the southern route went westward in almost a straight line, through
northern Iran, Mesopotamia and the northern outskirts of the Syrian Desert, to
reach the Levant where ships were waiting to take the precious cargo across the
Mediterranean to southern Europe. Continued travel over land was also possible
from the Levant, either north through Anatolia or south to North Africa.
6
- There was also a branch of the Silk Road that went from Herat in Afghanistan to
the ancient port town of Charax Spasinu by the Persian Gulf, passing through Susa
on the way. From Charax Spasinu, the journey continued by ship to various
Mediterranean ports, such as Petra.
Figure 2: The Northern Route and The Southwestern Route
2.3: The third overland routes is The Southwestern Route
- The southwestern route went from China to India, through the Ganges Delta. This
delta region was an important trading hub, and archeological excavations have
found an astonishing array of goods from various parts of the world here, such as
ancient Roman beads and gemstones from Thailand and Java.
7
II – COMMERCIAL INTEREST:
The Silk road is the trading hub. The
regions role as a trading hub also
meant that the area served as a
currency
exchange.
Most
western
currencies never made it further east
than this and most eastern and Chinese
coins never made it further west than
this. The traders in the Ganges Delta
primarily used eastern currencies when
they traded with eastern merchants and
western currencies when they traded with western merchants. Traders would
exchange currency with each-other to have the appropriate currency when trading
with merchants from different areas. This was not strictly speaking necessary since
the coins were made out of precious metals and their worth was determined by
their gold or silver value. Many traders would none the less prefer to trade using
currencies that was widely circulated in their part of the world. IE Western traders
preferred the silver drachm of the Sasanian empire (Neo-Persian) or the gold
solidus of the Byzantine empire (Eastern Rome) and eastern traders preferred
Chinese currency.
In addition to silk, a wide range of other goods was traded along the Silk Road, and
the network was also important for migrants and travellers, and for the spread of
religion, philosophy, science, technology, and artistic ideals. The Silk Road had a
significant impact on the lands through which the routes passed, and the trade
played a significant role in the development of towns and cities along the Silk
Road routes.
8
2
Many merchants along the Silk Road were involved in relay trade, where an item
would change owners many times and travel a little bit with each one of them
before reaching its final buyer. It seems to have been highly unusual for any
individual merchant to travel all the way between China and Europe or Northern
Africa. Instead, various merchants specialized in transporting goods through
various sections of the Silk Road.
These goods included:
Horses, Camels
Saddles and Riding Tack
The grapevine and grapes
Dogs and other animals
Animal furs and skins
Glassware from Egypt.
Woolen blankets, rugs, carpets
Gold and Silver
Slaves
Weapons and armor
Myrrh and frankincense from
Somalia
Figure 3: Some goods traded along the Silk Road
2 (19/8/2021) some goods traded along the Silk Road.
9
Caravan trade on the routes of the Silk Road was connected not only with high
profits but also with huge risks. That is why merchants tried to find companions, to
form big caravans consisting of hundreds and even thousands of armed people.
But nothing could protect merchants from arbitrary rules of governors and attacks
of nomad tribes. Therefore, trying to save their lives, merchants seldom passed the
Silk Road from one end to the other. More often they exchanged the goods in some
of the intermediate trade cities.
However, both the states and nomads were interested in preservation of trade
routes. Governors received income from collecting customs duties in the cities
standing on caravan routs. To avoid losses governors of Asian countries passed the
strict laws aimed at merchants’ protection. In fact, trade was an exchange; money
served only as a tally. Merchants valued their goods in money and exchanged it for
other goods with equivalent price.
Judging by the road’s name silk was the main commodity in the list. Thanks to its
light weight, compactness, enormous demand and high price it was ideal for trade
and long-distance transportation.
Figure 4: Silk Road map - Major Silk Road trading routes
10
At the initial stage of the Silk Road development Chinese received expensive
horses and the seeds of lucerne and grapes. The ancient world had cultivated
grapevine and made wines from time immemorial. But for Chinese, separated from
other civilizations, grapes were a novelty. Moreover, Chinese envoys were very
surprised when they found that it was possible to make wine not only from rice but
also from berries unknown to them. Later Chinese discovered for themselves other
agricultural crops – string beans, onions, cucumbers, carrots, pomegranates, figs
etc.
Various woolen goods, carpets, curtains, blankets and rugs, came to China from
Central Asia and East Mediterranean. They made huge impression upon Chinese
who were unfamiliar with methods wool and flax processing, carpet manufacture
and weaving. Highly appreciated in Ancient China were Parthian tapestries and
carpets.
Central Asia exported camels which were very appreciated in China, military
equipment, gold and silver, semi-precious stones and glass items. Samarkand made
glass was especially valued due to its high quality. It was considered as luxury
goods. Other goods were skins, wool, cotton fabrics, gold embroidery, exotic fruits
– water-melons, melons and peaches; fat-tailed sheep and hunting dogs, leopards
and lions.
From China caravans carried the well-known Chinese china – snow-white vases,
bowls, glasses, and dishes with graceful patterns. Only Chinese owned the secret of
making the thinnest and resonant porcelain, therefore, it was very expensive in
European markets. Bronze ornaments and other products from this metal, ornate
bronze mirrors, umbrellas, products from the well-known Chinese varnish,
medicines, and perfumery were also popular. Chinese paper, one of the most
remarkable inventions of Chinese technical genius, was highly appreciated too.
11
Gold, skins and many other things were exported as well. Merchants also carried
tea and rice, woolen and flax fabrics, corals, amber and asbestos. The sacks of
merchants were filled with ivory, rhino horns, turtle shells, spices, ceramic and iron
items, glaze and cinnamon, ginger, bronze weapons and mirrors.
India was famous for its fabrics, spices and semi-precious stones, dyes, and ivory.
Iran – for its silver products. Rome received spices, fragrances, jewels, ivory, and
sugar and sent European pictures and luxury goods.
Eastern Europe imported rice, cotton, woolen and silk fabrics from Central Asia
and exported considerable volumes of skins, furs, fur animals, bark for skin
processing, cattle and slaves to Khoresm. Northern Europe was the source of furs,
skins, honey and slaves.
III – “CHINESE DREAM” THROUGH THE SILK ROAD
The ―Seidenstrassen means communication between China and the Roman
cultural area. To prove the route of dissemination of silk, Richthofen not only
focused on geographical substantiality, based on the routes of the Chinese Zhang
Qian and the Roman Ptolemy, but also on historical, and religious sources. In fact,
his Silk Road concept has the trade of silk as well as the humanistic ideas of
cultural exchange.
The first of these themes is that while the term “Silk Road” is relatively new in
origin, having been coined by the geologist Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen
(1833–1905) in 1877,1 the Silk Road itself, defined collectively from the Chinese
perspective as the various overland routes extending from China’s north-western
and western frontiers to Central Asia and beyond, was a corridor for the exchange
of goods and the transfer of information dating back to prehistoric times
12
The second theme is that beginning with the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE),
China’s stat expansion into the north-western and western frontiers tended to be
sporadic, with military expeditions and the establishment of protectorates
undertaken by ambitious emperors during the early years of strong dynasties, such
as the Han and Tang, when there was ample wealth to support these operations
Third, because China’s northern and north-western borders were susceptible to
attack by nomadic raiders and other foreign invaders, the frontier regions to the
north, north-west and west came to be seen as potential sources of danger to the
empire’s peace and security, particularly at times of disorder, division and
weakness at home.
The fourth theme is that certain commodities tended to be encountered on Silk
Road travels or traded along that route, such as grape-wine, jade and horses, and by
virtue of their mention in poetry and historical accounts these became associated
with and incorporated into the Chinese imagination of the Silk Road.
Final theme: They each had their own reasons for travel, whether on a military
or diplomatic assignment, for religious purposes or commercial profit. The prose
accounts and poems left behind by these individuals, and others inspired by them,
13
are repositories of the images of the Silk Road and are responsible for their
transmission down to the present. All these images, including stories of legendary
figures, exotic products, geographic features and the emotions associated with
distant travel such as fear, loneliness, and hardship, help us trace the historical
roots of China’s imagination of the Silk Road.
Nowadays, this “new Silk Road” is the single-largest overland route connecting
China to Central Asia on its way into Europe. This is what Chinese President Xi
Jinping wants to take advantage of to re-establish trade routes through Central
Asian countries with a focus on European customers. By doing so, Mr. Xi Jinping
hopes to aim to enhance economic development while cooling the separatist
movement in Xinjiang, protect environmental resources with neighboring countries
and reduce dependence import and export of goods by sea.
Mr. Brown warned the Beijing government said "The Silk Road will likely be the
destination of narrow pragmatism rather than romantic beauty over the next
decade, and China's ambition to develop its economy too quickly, too far will be
something that China needs to be cautious about. ”
IV – CULTURAL EXCHANGE ON THE SILK ROAD
CULTURAL BRIDGE BETWEEN EAST AND WEST
The Silk Road did not only promote commodity exchange but also cultural. For
example, Buddhism as one of the religions of the Kushan kingdom reached China.
Together with merchant caravans Buddhist monks went from India to Central Asia
and China, preaching the new religion. Buddhist monuments were discovered in
numerous cities along the Silk Road.
14
In the first centuries of Christian era Manicheism (originated in the 3rd century in
Iran and was a synthesis of Zoroastrism and Christianity) and Christianity
penetrated from the Near East to Central Asia and further to China. The first wave
of Christianity is connected with the activity of Nestorians. In the 13th century the
Silk Road was the route for the new wave of Christian doctrine dissemination
connected with the activity of Catholic missions.
Figure 5: Cross cultural exchanges on the Silk Road
Severe warriors of Arabian caliphate brought Islamic doctrine in the 7th century. If
originally it was spread by force by the armies of Arabian caliphate its distribution
along the Silk Way was carried out peacefully.
The Silk Road was not only the source of goods but also information on their
making, i.e. technologies. In particular, the ways of silk, stained glass, paper,
books, gunpowder and guns production.
Sericulture and silk weaving, which for a long time had been monopolized by
China, first came to Khotan and then to the Central Asia, Iran and Byzantium in the
15
5th – 6th centuries. And, on the contrary, the art of glass making got from the
countries of the Mediterranean to Iran and Central Asia, and in the 5th century it
reached China.
Under the influence of China sericulture and paper making started to develop in
Central Asia. Paper production outside the Celestial was first introduced by
Chinese handicraftsmen in Samarkand time in the 8th century. Then it went to the
West and drove out the former writing materials, parchment and papyrus.
Huge influence was rendered by international dialogue carried out along the Silk
Road on architecture and town-planning. Several proofs to it are in Central Asia:
Timur's structures in Samarkand, Ak-Serai palace in Shahrisabz, the Timurids
tombs at Gur-Emir, the mosques in the city of Yassy (Turkestan).
They combine architectural styles, shapes, building techniques from various
countries. They were erected not only by Middle Asian architects but also by
masters from Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Iraq, Syria, Asia Minor, and
India.
For centuries caravan routes were often used by scientists, researchers the most
known of whom is the Venetian merchant Marco Polo.
Along with spreading goods, cultural samples in the applied art, architecture, wall
painting, the countries of the West and the East exchanged music and dances,
theater performances.
It is well-known fact that music of Eastern Turkestan and Central Asia was the
most popular in China. Music traditions of Kashgar, Bukhara and Samarkand,
India under official protection merged with Chinese musical tradition. Iranian,
Sogdian and Turkic actors made significant contribution to the choreographic
16
culture of China. For example, actors from the East often performed in
Constantinople.
Numerous material proofs were found to testify on intercultural enrichment on the
Silk Road: the collection of Tan terracotta dancers, actors in masks, musical groups
riding camels. The faces of these actors belong to the representatives of people of
Central Asia. The steppe frescos which have survived in the halls of Pendzikent,
Varakhsha, Toprak -Kaly and the cities of Eastern Turkestan depict musicians and
actors.
V – ZHANG QIAN AND SILK ROAD STUDIES:
One of the people who researched and laid the foundation for the Silk Road was
Zhang Qian
Zhang Qian is a Chinese official and
diplomat who served as an imperial envoy
to the world outside of China in the late 2nd
century BC during the Han dynasty. He
was one of the first official diplomats to
bring back valuable information about
Central Asia, including the Greco-Bactrian
remains of the Macedonian Empire as well
as the Parthian Empire, to the Han dynasty
imperial court, then ruled by Emperor Wu
of Han. Zhang Qian (Trương Khiên) passed
Dàwǎn and Dàyuèzhī to reach and then
returned home to report to the emperor.
Figure 6: Zhang Qian
17
He went through places like: 3Cháng‘ān → Lǒngxī → Wǔwēi → Yīnshān →
Khara-khoto → Hami → Chēshī → Kucha → Kashgar → Dawan (Fergana) →
Guìshānchéng → Marakanda (Samarkand) → Yuèzhī → Baktra → Yútián
(Khotan) → Yūmí → Wǔwēi → Yīnshān → Tàiyuán → Cháng‘ān.
After reaching Dàwǎn beyond the Terek Pass, Zhang Qian began his return
journey through the upper reaches of the river. It seems that he had already
mastered the two routes because he went first from Dàwǎn to Dàyuèzhī, and
then from there to Dàxià, and to Yútián ( 于于, Khotan). The first caravan in 114 BC
also crossed the Pamir Pass in order to get directly to Par thia (Ansi), and it seems
that because of this, Dàwǎn, which wanted to trade with China for a while, was not
mentioned at all in the records of expeditions in Chinese history books
By his travel, Zhang Qian brought China to the existence of other kingdoms to
the west in which they had arrived at that time unknown. These include the
Kingdom of Fergana whose horse Han China will seek and eventually succeed in
acquiring Samarkand, Bokhara, Balkh, Persia, and Li-Jian.
VI – INCONCLUSION:
The greatest value of the Silk Road was the exchange of culture. Art, religion,
philosophy, technology, language, science, architecture, and every other element of
civilization was exchanged along these routes, carried with the commercial goods
the merchants traded from country to country. Along this network disease traveled
also, as evidenced in the spread of the bubonic plague of 542 CE which is thought
3 (19/8/2021) some information about the studies of
Zhang Quian about The Silk Road
18
to have arrived in Constantinople by way of the Silk Road and which decimated
the Byzantine Empire.
The closing of the Silk Road forced merchants to take to the sea to ply their trade,
thus initiating the Age of Discovery which led to world-wide interaction and the
beginnings of a global community. In its time, the Silk Road served to broaden
people's understanding of the world they lived in; its closure would propel
Europeans across the ocean to explore, and eventually conquer, the so-called New
World of the Americas initiating the so-called Columbian Exchange by which
goods and values were passed between those of the Old World and those of the
New, universally to the detriment of the indigengous people of the New World. In
this way, the Silk Road can be said to have established the groundwork for the
development of the modern world.
This assignment has helped us understand the Silk Road: about its history,
geographical location, commercial interests, cultural exchange, especially is the
"Chinese dream", also learn more about Zhang Qian and his Silk Road discoveries.
So that is the end of my assignment. I hope that you can some useful information
to broden your horizon.
19
