THE SILK ROAD
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Table of Contents
Introduction 3
Why Silk was in Demand 3
How and Where Silk was Cultivated 3
What was the Silk Road 4
Contribution of Silk to Cultural, Religious, Agricultural, and Economic Exchange 4
Conclusion 5
References 6
Introduction
This report is aimed to talk about the history of silk and how silk shaped the ancient world trade. It further elaborates on the cultural, religious, agricultural and economical effects of silk trade on the ancient world population
Why Silk was in Demand
Silk production has been a main economic activity for a very long time. Silk is regarded as the strongest natural fabric in the world. Silk was the main source of reel for the textile
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There was a lot of exchange in cultural practices, religious practices and social interaction which included intermarriages between the people of different ethnicities. Sometimes the route was to a disadvantage in case of disease outbreaks as they were fast spread over all the regions (Silk Road Chronology, 2015). Contribution of Silk to Cultural, Religious, Agricultural, and Economic Exchange
The silk route brought traders and people in general all across Asia and Europe. This influenced interaction between different cultures and religions. There were also traditional exchange where by traditional practices initially belonging to the Chinese were spread to other regions. Budhism was initially religion which was practiced by the Hetians. Due to the Silk Road monks invaded the Chinese territory and started influencing people to adopt the Buddhism practice (Silk Road Culture Exchange, 2015).
Goods and services which came with different cultural and agricultural practices also became readily available in Asia and Europe. For example silk itself was initially reared in china and exported over to Europe and Asia. It was the silk trade which influenced some of the European and Asian population to adopt silk rearing .this was a new agricultural practice in the region which was mainly brought about by the silk
An African rhino horn for some Chinese silk, 6 iron bars for 12 Ferghana horses, or Chinese orange trees for India’s spices. Trade was encouraged by the Silk Road because it was the earliest type of compromise when wars were fought, and supplies were demanded. 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 wants some of China’s beautiful silk.
of natural silk and the artificial silks rayon and nylon are quite different. Silk yarn, extracted
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
The Major religions spread across Eurasia and Africa through trade routes and conquest. Along with the religions came ideas and practices to new and distance places, changing local populations and create new traditional beliefs and customs. 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.
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
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.
As time went on, Siddhartha wanted to find out the meaning of life and his experiences through his journey created the practice of Buddhism. His first teaching as a Buddha was based on the doctrine of the four noble truths and along with the principle of the middle way, the eight fold path. Through oral tradition, the ideas and practices of Buddhism spread across India. The teachings of Buddha spread through Asia when the trade of silk passed from one country to another along with what came to be known as “The Silk Road.”
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 Silk Road was a vital trade route spanning from Western Europe through Constantinople and the Middle East spreading to Egypt, passing the vast deserts of Central Asia and reaching into India, until finally ending at the shore of China. The Silk Road has connected Europe, Asia, and Africa for hundreds of years. The Islamic Empire, Tang and Song Dynasty, and the Roman Empire used the Silk Road trading for goods like pepper, garlic, silk, pottery, books, and more. However, after flourishing for thousands of years, the Silk Road eventually declined near the end of the Middle Ages. The Silk Roads declined at the end of the Middle Ages because of new threats like the Mongols, new technologies like ships, and most importantly new political policies
India and China’s geography helped them spread their religion to other areas. India’s religions, Hinduism and Buddhism, spread to other regions. The trade that was created due to each civilizations’ geography not only traded regions’ goods with one another, but their religion as well. According to World History: A Pattern of Interaction, Hinduism spread to Nepal and south to Sri Lanka and Borneo. A majority of the spread of Indian religion was due to Buddhist merchants and monks that converted people along the route of the Silk Road. China is similar to India’s religions, as the Chinese region believed in Buddhism because of the conversions of religion that had occurred
N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. Whitfield, Roderick, Susan Whitfield, and Neville Agnew. Cave Temples of Mogao: Art and History on the Silk Road. Los Angeles: Getty Conservation Institute and the J. Getty Museum, 2000. Print.
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 of historical books such as Horizon Book Division’s History of China, John S. Bowman’s Exploration in the World of the Ancients, and Daniel Waugh’s “THE SILK ROADS IN HISTORY”.
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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
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...