Silk Road
The Silk Road was a crucial trade network that connected China to Europe, spanning over 7,000 miles (11,260 kilometers) and facilitating the exchange of goods, culture, and ideas. Established around 138 BCE under the Han Dynasty, it began with General Zhang Qian's mission to Central Asia, aimed at forming alliances and exploring trade opportunities. The route allowed for the exchange of silk, horses, wool, precious metals, and various other commodities, often facilitated by middlemen from regions like Northern India and Parthia.
As trade flourished, so too did the exchange of religious and cultural ideas, notably Buddhism which traveled from India to China along these routes, prompting the establishment of monasteries and the translation of texts. The Silk Road reached its peak during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) when cities like Ch'angan became vibrant international hubs. However, geopolitical changes and environmental challenges led to a decline in activity, though trade saw a resurgence during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368 CE). Notably, Marco Polo's travels in the late 13th century further highlighted the Silk Road's significance as a conduit for cultural exchange. The legacy of the Silk Road continues to be recognized for its impact on trade and the dissemination of ideas across civilizations.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Silk Road
Related civilizations: Han Dynasty, Tang Dynasty, Central Asia, Persia, Parthia, Syria, India, Imperial Rome.
Date: traditionally opened in second century b.c.e., possibly in use as early as 2000 b.c.e.
Locale: From Ch’angan (later Xi’an, Shaanxi) in central China west to the Black Sea on the Northern route; west to Persia (now Iran), Mediterranean Sea, and Rome on the Central route; west to Afghanistan, Persia, and Northern India on the Southern route
Silk Road
The Silk Road was the main caravan route from China to Europe, bringing horses, wools, silver, and gold to China in exchange for silk and other goods. Buddhism and Christianity also traveled over the road to China. The route, more than 7,000 miles (11,260 kilometers), had a number of branches, and people rarely traveled the whole distance. Trade was usually conducted by middlemen, including Northern Indians and Parthians.
In 138 b.c.e., Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty (206 b.c.e.-220 c.e.) sent General Zhang Qian and his one-hundred-man caravan from the capital city of Ch’angan to make contact with the Yuezhi and other desert tribes of Central Asia and to forge an alliance against the Xiongnu, who were raiding China. Although the Chinese general was captured by the Xiongnu and held for ten years, he continued through Kashi (Kashgar) and Fergana, eventually reaching the Yuezhi in Central Asia. He returned using what became the Southern route and was captured by a Tibetan group. He returned to Ch’angan thirteen years after he left. Intrigued by Zhang’s reports of various kingdoms and powerful horses, Emperor Wudi sent additional missions to forge alliances, creating the Silk Road.
The Romans reportedly came into contact with silk in 53 b.c.e., when the Parthians waved banners of the shimmering material during a battle. The Parthians became middlemen in the trade of silk between the Romans and Chinese, venturing to Dunhuang and Loulan in the desert, and carrying the fabric to Persian, Syrian, and Greek traders. Other items included furs, ceramics, and cinnamon. In return, the Chinese received precious stones and metals such as jade, gold, and silver as well as ivory and coral. The oasis towns of the Taklamakan Desert through which the caravans passed became wealthy as a result of the trade.
The Silk Road was also a medium for the exchange of ideas, including Buddhism. A Han Dynasty emperor sent envoys to India to learn about the religion and bring it back to China. Along with the religion came paintings and sculpture. Monasteries and large Buddhist cave complexes were built in and near the desert oasis towns on the Silk Road. In c. 399 c.e., the first Chinese pilgrim, Faxian (c. 337-422 c.e.), traveled through Dunhuang and Khotan and crossed over the Himalayas to India, where he studied Buddhism. He visited as many as thirty countries, returning to China by sea fifteen years later.
China’s most renowned religious pilgrim, Xuanzang (c. 602-664 c.e.), traveling at night on foot and by horseback, set out on the Silk Road in 629 c.e., studied in Indian monasteries for fourteen years, and returned to Ch’angan in 645 c.e. with more than five hundred sutras (Buddhist scriptures) and relics. He translated numerous Sanskrit sutras and other works into Chinese and wrote Datang Xiyouji (629 c.e.; Buddhist Records of the Western World, 1884), the story of his travels and a description of Buddhism. The Big Wild Goose pagoda, which still stands in Xi’an, housed his souvenirs, and the sixteenth century Xiyou ji (c. 1570-c. 1580, oldest surviving edition, 1592; Journey to the West, 1977-1983), a fictionalized account by Wu Cheng’en in which the Monkey King accompanies the pilgrim, has immortalized his journey. Manichaeanism and Nestorian Christianity also traveled the Silk Road, although they never reached the popularity of Buddhism.
The Silk Road flourished during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 c.e.), and Ch’angan became an international city. However, after the fall of Rome and the increase in Islamic power in the Levant, portions of the Silk Road became dangerous, and trade had declined by the end of the Tang Dynasty. At the end of the eighth century, the water supplies began drying up in many oasis towns. The spread of Islam also led to the destruction or abandonment of many Buddhist towns along the Silk Road. Trade revived somewhat during the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), when the Mongols controlled China. In the late thirteenth century, Marco Polo used the Silk Road to travel to China. His route took him over the Karakorams from Afghanistan into the Xinjiang Uighur region to the trading capital of Ürümqi, then from Kashi at the far west of China through high mountain passes to Samarkand in Central Asia.
Bibliography
Arutyunyan, Soren. The Silk Road. Naples, Italy: Electa Napoli, 1994.
Bonavia, Judy. The Silk Road: From Xi’an to Kashgar. New York: Passport Books, 1993.
Elisseeff, Vadime, ed. The Silk Roads: Highways of Culture and Commerce. New York: Berghahn Books, 2000.
Foltz, Richard. Religions of the Silk Road: Overland Trade and Cultural Exchange from Antiquity to the Fifteenth Century. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1999.
Hopkirk, Peter. Foreign Devils on the Silk Road. London: Oxford University Press, 1986.
Whitfield, Susan. Life Along the Silk Road. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
Yu, Ying-Shih. Trade and Expansion in Han China: A Study in the Structure of Sino-Barbarian Economic Relations. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967.