Part A
Plan of Investigation This investigation attempts to analyze the Silk Road’s impact on cultural diffusion. The Silk Road was a trade route connecting Eastern China to the Mediterranean regions. It was incredibly important because it brought Europe, Asia, and the Middle East together in trade, and allowed them to trade goods and ideas. The parameters are the cultural diffusion east meets west and the spread of religion. It will focus on the time period between the 2nd and the late 17th centuries and the places investigated will be the west, (made up of Europe and the Middle-East) and the east (which refers to most of Asia, although in this investigation it will focus mostly on China). This will be accomplished through a thorough examination
…show more content…
The origin of this source was book written by C.P. Fitzgerald, an Australian historian, in 1969 in the United States. It is a secondary source. The purpose of it was to inform Westerners about Chinese history in a detailed and engaging way. This book is a valued resource because it contains specific information about the Silk Road, especially in China. The book also includes many primary sources and images of Chinese art work. Additionally, the author C.P. Fitzgerald is “one of the world’s most respected scholars and writers on China”. He was previously a professor for Far Eastern History at Australian National University, and studied and lived in China for around 27 years (between 1923 and 1950). Aside from that, the book doesn’t have any other sources, which is a …show more content…
The origin of this source is that it was written by John. S Bowman in 2005 in the United States. It is a secondary source. Its purpose was to inform people about the unknown subject of exploration and travel in the ancient world. The author himself says, “One of the goals of this book, in fact, is to convince readers that the true story of discovery and exploration in the ancient world is at least as fascinating as those claims.” The value of this source is that it gives a quick but insightful overview of the Silk Road. Additionally, it has an extensive range of sources used, including book sources, websites, and movie sources, although all of them are Western. Unfortunately, the only primary sources are art sources. The author, John S. Bowman went to Harvard, where he received a B.A. in English literature. He has worked with Facts on File’s America at War series as the general editor and has editor many other historical works. He is the author of more than 10 books. One limitation is that the sources used, although of wide variety, are mostly of American and European origin. Another is the absence of textual primary sources. A third is the fact that the author does not seem to have any experience or previous background knowledge with the Silk Road or the countries associated with the Silk
The Silk Road made sure if you didn’t trade items you can hold, then you can trade items you can cherish. Finally, in the western civilizations (Rome), it was accessed by boat. Boats could carry a ton more items and it was less of a walk for the merchants/traders. However, the Silk Road did lead a small backup path up north of Parthia. Around 27 B.C.E., the Roman Empire had only begun, but the silk road had been a thing for a very long time before that.
Through analyzing the five given documents, factors affecting cultural exchange through civilizations during 1000 and 1400 A.D. are noticeably those which result in the bringing of new ideas to a different area, such as missionary work, commerce, war, and travels. As new religions sprouted throughout Europe on other expansive areas, missionaries were sent out to foreign lands. Document 1 comes from the viewpoint of a Roman Catholic missionary attempting to spread his faith by presenting a letter from the pope to the emperor of the Tatars. This shows that by converting a powerful leader to your faith, such as an emperor, it is easier for others to follow said faith. Documents 2 and 4 also emphasize how travel can be accountable for the exchange of ideas between cultures. Both Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo traveled extensive distances, stopping in various cities. Throughout their journeys, they carried their ideas with them, but were also introduced to the ideas of the people in the places they were visiting. Document 3 presents what is most likely the culprit for the increase in cultural diffusion during 1000 to 1400 A.D. War is often the reason for major cultural diffusion because, as new lands are conquered and the people of that land are put under the rule of a different people, the beliefs, traditions, and cultures of the conquerors mesh with those of the conquered. Document 5 also introduces a driving force in cultural diffusion – commerce. During this time period, many people were traders. Products made by a people are characteristics of their culture, whether it is the skill, intelligence, cleverness, or religious inclination of those people. As traders made their way to foreign lands to conduct business, whole empires were int...
During the early Ming Dynasty, China was one of the most economically and technologically advanced countries in the world. As Ebrey pointed out, “Europe was not yet a force in Asia and China continued to look on the outer world in traditional terms.” China was regarded as the center of Asia at the beginning of 15th century and the idea of “Middle Kingdom” (Zhong guo) began to take off at that time. The early Ming Emperors were not interested in promoting commercial trade at all. Emperor Hongwu, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, implemented the Hai jin policy which forbade maritime shipping and private foreign trade outside of the tributary system (Ebrey, p. 209). Emperor Yongle, the son of Emperor Hongwu, lifted this policy to a certain extent when he ordered his eunuch Zheng He’s voyages. However, he was only intereste...
3. Jackson J. Spielvogel. Western Civilization Third Edition, A Brief History volume 1: to 1715. 2005 Belmont CA. Wadsworth Publishing
Nagle, Brendan D. (1979). The Ancient World: A Cultural and Social History. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Howe, Helen, and Robert T. Howe. A World History: Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Volume 1. White Plains, NY: Longman, 1992. 533.
Hause, S., & Maltby, W. (2001). The Ancient Near East: Mesopotamia, Egypt, Phoenicia and Israel. Essentials of Western Civilization (pp.7-15). California: Wadsworth.
Wills, John E., Jr. "Canton System." History of World Trade Since 1450. Ed. John J. McCusker. Vol. 1. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2006. 98-100. Gale World History In Context. Web. 9 Oct. 2010.
The Silk Road got its name from the amount of silk used for trade during the Han dynasty. This route was used to travel from West to East on land they traveled to India, Persia, Arabia, and Europe, while traveling by sea they traveled through Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. These paths were used by merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, nomads, and urban dwellers.... ... middle of paper ...
With very little textual information available from this time period, archaeologists knew very little about the items that were traded, cultures that traded with each other, and the trade routes. The Ulu Burun shipwrecks acts as a time...
The Silk Road was a colossal interconnected networked generated by established trade routes that spanned the whole Eurasian continent as told by religious travelers, historians, and merchants.
The Mongols influenced the world in many great ways, one of them was their vast trade system. They relied quite heavily on trade, not only to gain resources, but also to get their inventions and objects to the Europeans and then hopefully spread from there. The Mongols enhanced the trading system by composing the “Silk Road”. The Silk Road was a path/road that the Mongols had control of and it was a trade route that many travelers and traders took. Along the Silk Road, the main resource that was traded was silk, hence the name “Silk Road.” The
The term Silk Road does not refer to a single, clearly defined road or highway, but rather denotes a network of trails and trading posts, oasis and markets scattered all across Central Asia. All along the way, branch routes led to destinations off to the side of the main route, with one especially important branch leading to northwestern India, and thus to other routes throughout the subcontinent. The Silk Road network is generally thought of as stretching from an eastern station at the old Chinese capital city of Chang'an to westward stations at Byzantium (Constantinople), Antioch, Damascus, and other Middle Eastern cities. But beyond those end points, other trade networks distributed Silk Road goods throughout the Mediterranean world and Europe, on one end, and throughout eastern Asia on the other end.
Nagle, Brendan D. The Ancient World: A Cultural and Social History. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1979.
Damrosch, David, and David Pike. The Longman Anthology of World Literature. The Ancient World. Volume A. Second Edition. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2009. Pgs. .656-691. Print.