In ancient China, the Silk Road was an invaluable highway system used to transport valuable trade items and knowledge and ideas throughout Asia. Many valuable goods were shipped off and profit was made from trading with Rome, India, and China. With the Silk Road, valuable goods and ideas spread efficiently; areas were revolutionized and it allowed for cultural diffusion to occur.
Many valuables were exchanged along the Silk Road, not only were items traded, but new ideas as well. One of “the most valuable item of trade was silk, but jade, pearls, coral, glass, fine linen and wool were also brought on the road by merchants” (Cultural Exchange). China received large amounts of goods from the west. They received many fruits and nuts, rare animals, therapeutic materials, spices and jewelry. Chinese porcelains and lacquers were traded into the West as well. In exchange for these items, China introduced many advanced technologies to the west. Silkworm breeding and spinning, papermaking and printing, and gunpowder were new technologies the west has never seen. The silk worms provided the silk to be spun and sold for profit. This was a highly valued item many wanted. Papermaking and printing made communications easier with people. Printing made it easier to type the same message multiple times more efficiently and faster. Gunpowder led to the creation of guns because of its explosiveness when ignited, but it was initially used as fireworks for amusement. In addition to valuable merchandises exchanged, “the Silk Road was more than conduit for trade” (Paludan). It punctured the nomadic barrier in the west, and the gate to the rest of domain. Chinas foreign associates had been with the border people, mostly nomads whose way of life was com...
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...sically cultural melting pots that came to existence because of warmongers on the Silk Road. About half of “the Silk Road was located in Xinjiang, which was a place where the ancient Western and Oriental cultures met and many famous historical people visited such as Marco Polo” (Historical Silk Road). In Xinjiang, many sculptures and grottoes have been found and indicate the integration of Chinese, Indian, and Persian culture converged into crafts.
The Silk Road was one of the most important highways for trade in ancient China. Many used the road and obtained extensive profits from trading alongside the road. Innumerable amounts of ideas and goods have passed through spreading around cultural ideas creating cultural convergence. In conclusion, with the aid of the Silk Road, the Asian nations were able to open the doors to the east and integrate with other nations.
To begin, around 4000 B.C.E., China’s biggest seller was Silk. In fact, that’s mostly why the Silk Road was built! Everyone wanted some of China’s beautiful silk. In India, everyone traveled for spices as Christopher Columbus...attempted. But that was in the 1400’s. Around 50 C.E., the Kushan Empire started to take over these countries and the road after the Han Empire was overthrown. In the Background Essay, it says “Starting in 50 CE, another Asian Empire took shape and began profiting
Larger empires maximized long distance trade due to the demand for raw materials and luxury items. Because of this trade routes developed over land and sea to link various parts of the east. Some of the routes that formed were the Silk Roads, the Trans-Saharan caravan routes, and various sea lanes.
As empires progressed in the ancient world, trade became necessary for expansion to continue. Towns and villages developed along the trade routes and became wealthy and powerful. Two specific routes, the Silk Road and the Indian Ocean trade network, were able to spread different aspects of culture, such as religion, but they both differed in the transfer of these ideas.
The vast Silk road had people of different ethnicities travel itself, and even document it. Faxian was a Chinese Buddhist monk that had traveled the Silk Road. (Source 3) According to Faxian, their were “ a multitude of monks and a succession of very many monasteries”, this indicates that Buddhism spread across the Silk Road. Faxian even told us that “when stranger monks arrive at any monastery”, then older monks meet and receive them. Additionally Friar John of Montecorvino, a wealthy italian priest who wrote about his travels on the Silk Road. (doc 5) It is documented that the “wherein stands the church of St. Thomas the Apostle, for thirteen months”, this proves that catholicism traveled from italy all the way to India through the Silk Road. While in the excerpts the Mongols (led by the
Beliefs and religions ebbed and flowed through the Silk Roads that was “an artery that for nearly a thousand years was the primary commercial network linking East Asia and the Mediterranean world. This trade route extended over 5000 miles and took its name from the huge quantities of precious silk that passed along it.” Nomads, monks and traders survived on these open roads selling goods, services, and ideas to other people and traders to pass on. These people were wide and diverse since commerce went in between the “Mediterranean and South Asia reinforced frenetic rise in commercial activity within each region. Over land and across the seas, traders loaded textiles, spices, and precious metals onto the backs of camels and into the hold of oceangoing vessels destined for different markets. Trade thereby strengthened the political, intellectual, and spiritual shift.” Spirituality was an active invention as monks of all major beliefs (mostly Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and Zoroastrianism) spread the new ideas that were based in new religions and acts of missionary work was greatly encouraged. These groups should have been widely torn apart based on the challenging of each other’s beliefs but nomads had no desire to “undermine local cultural traditions” instead presentations of new cultural “ingredients” kept the peace especially the introduction of equestrianism trading along the road which creating having a horse a status symbol in the eyes of many foreign nations the pride at being from a horse tribe went so far as to despite the temperature it was a status symbol clans like the Kushans showed pride by wearing the clans trade mark clothing despite the climate. The Kushans made had such reverence to horses that became horses were a prestigious status symbol of the ruling elite.
Particularly, the Silk road brought wealth to many civilizations. In fact, many of these civilizations would not be known without this trading route. Because of the riches the Silk road brought the empires.
The Mongols conquered and then united China. This created peace among the country and led to other great things. One of these great things is the Silk Road. The Silk Road is a long trading route that was created when China was united as they had started
(www.discovery.com) By extending the Great Wall they opened China up to great expansion of trade. Trade of ideas, knowledge, and physical goods.
The Great Wall of ancient China aided trade of ideas and protected traders along the Silk Road. The Great Wall was extended further along the Silk Road (Doc D). This extension of the wall made the section of the Silk Road unprotected by natural elements safe from the Xiongnu and other threats. The rest of the Silk Road was within the Taklamakan Desert (Doc A), a miserable place to travel within if you’re not on a commonly taken pathway. Imports from the western world included important ideas such as the religion Buddhism and the idea of a irrigation system (Doc D). Religion is often a rallying point for people, especially if they’re in threat. If China had stood divided, they would have fallen to the Xiongnu, united they were able to save themselves, with the help of the Great Wall. Chin...
One of these actions included the use of trade routes in Greece. Since Greece did not consist of fertile land and soil, trading with Phoenicia and other civilizations became a way for the country to obtain important resources they did not have in order for them to thrive (9). America also exchanges goods.They do this by importing and exporting them to and from other countries to also be able to acquire goods that cannot be found in the United States. In addition, Rome also possessed a complex network of roads. The roads in ancient Rome allowed for people to travel from naval base to naval base and transport legions (11). Likewise to Rome, the United States uses roads and highways to travel farther distances more efficiently. Also, America has figured out ways to transport their army, navy, and military to other countries more quickly than ancient Rome was able to. Moreover, the Romans had currency in the form of coins (7). Since the Greeks used coins, they inspired Rome to also use a form of coinage and this allowed Greece, Rome, and other countries along the Mediterranean Sea to exchange resources within one another’s empires. Although Rome did not possess many natural resources, the currency they used enabled them to obtain natural resources from other countries in order to
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
Eurasian trade when conditions along the Silk Road were unfavorable. For this reason, the geographical context of the Silk Road must be thought of in the broadest possible terms, including sea rout...
Jones-Leaning, Melanie, and Douglas Pratt. "Islam in China: From Silk Road to Separatism." Muslim World 102, no. 2 (April 2012): 308-334. History Reference Center, EBSCOhost (accessed April 8, 2014).
This essay gives an overview of early civilization in China and the different periods within this era. Also, it includes political and cultural pursuits of the people within this time period and the struggles of the Asian peoples and their religious beliefs and community uniqueness and differences.
There were 3 different routes to the Silk Road covering many different countries and civilizations. This cultural diversity was bound to start mixing with so many different people and beliefs mingling every day. They exchanged music, art, architecture and as people settled along the road different cultu...