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Historical roots of the silk road essay
The silk road history essay
The silk road history essay
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In the year 598 C.E, a child was born in the county of Wugong, China. The father, a general of the Sui Dynasty, named the child Li Shimin in hopes that his son would bring change and prosperity to a troubled and tumultuous country, as Shimin is a shortened version of the phrase “jishi anmin”, or “to save the earth and pacify the people”. The name was a perfect fit for the child, as he grew up to become the most influential and admired ruler in Chinese history, Emperor Tang Taizong. Although Taizong is regarded as the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty, the first being his father Li Yuan, he is officially considered the founder of the Tang Dynasty, as his brilliance in military and political strategies was instrumental in the victory against …show more content…
Through the Silk Road, Chinese goods such as silk and porcelain were transported to places such as Persia in exchange for foreign exotic goods . Furthermore, the Silk Road supported the influx of culture and religion to further enforce Taizong’s embracing attitude of a cosmopolitan society. The Silk Road was also a major factor in introducing Buddhism to China, as during the seventh century, Xuan Zhuang used it to travel to India to obtain Buddhist scriptures . The capital of the Tang, and the beginning of the Silk Road, Chang’an, was the most populous and diverse city in both religion and culture in the world at the time , hosting Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, and high ranking officials and citizens from many countries in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East . Under Taizong’s guidance, China created close foreign relations with many foreign nations, and the Silk Road became a major component of trade and revenue for China’s economy. Correspondingly, his capital city of Chang’an became the greatest city in the
Since the introduction of Buddhism into China, it was not well received by the population as its foreign beliefs clashed with pre-existent principals of Confucianism and Taoism. On top of that, it was alienated by the Confucianism-based government in the late Han Dynasty. All in all, Buddhism was not a common nor a popular religion throughout China at first. Nevertheless, this all changed after the rise of the Tang Dynasty. There is no doubt that Buddhism and the Tang administration under Wu’s reign formed a critical symbiotic relationship with one another. Buddhism played a pivotal role in justifying Empress Wu’s rule. She enthroned herself as the monarch of China, an extraordinarily difficult achievement for a woman in a male-dominant society, by associating herself with Buddhism: proclaiming herself as the Maitreya and that she will bring an utopian era for the Chinese. (Smarr, 17 Feb. 2012) At the same time, Buddhism benefitted handsomely from government support, as monasteries are exempted from tax and that they are financially supported by the state, as seen in A Pilgrim’s Visit to the Five Terraces Mountains, which ultimately resulted in the substantial growth in attraction of Buddhist converts and Buddhism itself. Wu’s extensive support of the religion with ostentatious gifts and donations contributed to the rapid proliferation of Buddhism. Evidently, the mutually benefitting relationship between Buddhism and the state are crucial to each other’s survival during Wu’s sovereignty, but to what extent did her financial support (donations to monasteries) of Buddhism bettered the government overall?
The Han dynasty: The Han dynasty was one of the longest of China’s major dynasties. In terms of power and prestige, the Han dynasty is the East rivaled it’s almost contemporary Roman Empire in the West, it lasted a span of four centuries and was considered a golden age in Chinese history, especially in arts, politics, and technology.
Due to trade from India, the religion of Buddhism took root. Indo-European migrations provided connections among Eurasian cultures. Through trade with Indo-European groups China learned of vehicles and weapons as mentioned earlier. The connections made with Central Asia also helped the development of China through Asia's technological advancements. China gained iron and military power from Asia. They were able to produce shields and daggers which they could arm their soldiers with. Iron was more abundant than the copper which bronze is made of. Iron plows created from the influence of Central Asia helped to enhance China's agricultural production. Interactions with the nomads as China expanded lead to a transformation of Chinese warfare. It is from the nomads that they adopted horseback riding which was faster and more practical than large difficult to control
Ch’in Shih Huang Ti is known as a tyrant and as a national hero. He is also known as the founder of China and he was the first emperor of China. Many people believed that he was a tyrant and I believe he is as well.
Sima Qian (145-86 B.C.E.) was the son of the Grand Historian of China and assumed that title himself in the imperial court of the Han Dynasty in 107 C.E. He is most famous for writing a monumental work on Chinese history known as Shi Ji, The Records of the Grand Historian. Shi Ji consists of 130 chapters in five volumes. In it, Sima Qian presents biographies of the Chinese rulers from the first legendary Yellow Emperor to the emperor of his time, as well as well-known feudal families and famous men. He also treats various subjects such as ritual practice, music, and general history. Shi Ji is considered to be the greatest history writing of Classical China, and Sima Qian the greatest historian of all time. Sima Qian's portrait of the Qin Shihuang was the most vivid and truthful record in understanding both the Qin Dynasty and its ruler.
The Tang Dynasty (618 -907 A.D), also known as China’s glorious revelation, was a time of major change both politically and economically in the Chinese Empire. During this time period, trade became greater than ever. The military power strengthened. The population also increased during this time period from fifty million to eighty million in just two centuries with its large population base, the dynasty was able to raise professional and conscripted armies of hundreds of thousands of troops to contend with nomadic powers in dominating Inter Asia. The Tang also has a strong influence on its neighboring states such as Korea (which was at the time made if of three kingdoms) and Japan. During this time period the Silk Road expanded and trade
During this time in China the Han dynasty was responsible for the greatest expansion of China, to what is now southern China, northern Vietnam, and parts of Korea and had trade with Central Asia, India, Persia. Because of the expansion of the territory they were able to trade with more countries. This was furthered by the discovery of the Silk Road in 2nd century BC. The Silk Road, discovered by a Chinese ambassador Zhang Qian, was a series of trade routes from China to the Mediterranean Sea. 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, pilgrim, monks, soldiers, nomads, and urban dwellers.
recover these lands so they were forced to make peace with the Khitans and the
What do most 16 year olds think about today? Maybe a phone, car, or a job. Well, how about your entire kingdom being destroyed by your enemy? This is what 16 year old Emperor Wu faced. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty is important to history because he started Confucianism, one of the first religions in China. However, not many people practice it anymore. He also brought southern China and Central Vietnam together.
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
With deserts and the Himalayas running along most of the border, it was extremely difficult to cross over one of the most dangerous mountain ranges in the world and a few other scorching deserts with the little transport they had during that time. The only way merchants could come into the country was the southeastern coast of China, where most of the prosperous cities resided. What led China to become conceited was because they had an abundance of goods that most of the world wanted. In the 1760-1830s, China was famous for its porcelain (rich Europeans loved it), silk, and of course, tea. Since this Eastern Powerhouse’s goods were so popular, therefore, there were only a few things that interested them to trade with.
Today we can look around ourselves and see thousands of technical innovations that make life easier; But if we take a step back and ask ourselves “How?” we will soon realize that most often, these technological advancements did not just “poof” into existence, but are usually the outcome of building upon yesterday’s technology. If we follow this cycle back into time, we can attribute almost any modern day invention to an ancient civilization during its golden age. China was no exception. China’s Song and Tang dynasties fostered scientific advances comparable to Rome’s during its Pax Romana. The most significant and impacting of these were the development of primitive gunpowder and porcelain of the Tang and paper money, and the magnetic compass of the Song Dynasties. Although these may seem very far off, if you look hard enough, you can see traces of their impacts in society today because most of the advancements today we owe to them.
Xuanzang was a highly educated Buddhist monk from China, who in 629 C.E. made the long and treacherous journey along the Silk Road to India. His main objectives in his sixteen years away from home were fundamentally religious; he only wanted to study more complete scriptures to answer questions he had, which he deemed unsolvable in his own country. It is important to understand Xuanzang’s own position within the Chinese society and the type of situation it was in: Chinese Buddhists had many disagreements
The four hundred years between the collapse of the Han dynasty (206 B.C.E.- C.E. 220) and the establishment of the Tang dynasty (618-906) mark a division in the history of China. During this period, foreign invasion, transcontinental trade, and missionary ambition opened the region to an unprecedented wealth of foreign cultural influences. These influences were both secular and sacred. Nomads, merchants, emissaries and missionaries flooded into China, bringing new customs, providing exotic wares, and generating new religious beliefs. Foremost among these beliefs was Buddhism, born in India, but which now took root in China. These new influences entered China by a vast network of overland routes, popularly known as the Silk Road
Chu Yuan-chang was the youngest of the Yuan dynasty and due to the collapse of the dynasty; Chu never got to rule, and was left as a peasant. So after the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, Chu created the Ming dynasty. Chu’s new name, Hongwu, was made to describe the new government that he wanted to create. The name Hongwu means, Vast Military and it reflects the increased prestige of the military during his reign.