The Silk Road Influenced Literature

People have always traveled, moving from place to place, taking with them goods, which they found they could exchange with others as they traversed. They learned to exchange goods, but they also exchanged skills and ideas (SILK ROAD Dialogue). But how could these exchanges influence literature? According to Dictionary.com, literature refers to “writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biographies and essays” (Literature, Dictionary). One of the great poets of the twentieth century, T.S. Eliot, used to talk about a dead poets society, it was his way of expressing that each poet was influenced by works of the past and each would influence works of the future. This would not only be true for poetry, but for all literary styles, constantly evolving into new forms, impacted by the past (D’Loughy). An author’s literary influence comes from everything he or she has seen firsthand, heard, read, touched or even tasted. The Silk Road was a dynamic catalyst that impacted cultures from the east to the west by providing the instrument by which combinations of different philosophical or religious beliefs and practices merged, consequently impacting literary influences. The purpose of this paper is to answer the question how the historical development of The Silk Road influenced literature from 200 BCE to 1400 CE.
The Silk Road started in second century BCE. However, this vast network of ancient pathways was not called The Silk Road. It really did not have a name. It didn’t start being called “The Silk Road” until around the 19th century when, in his book China, the German historian Ferdinand von Richthofen na...

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...gly popular genre of the travel narrative” (The Silk Road). His adventures are still talked about today, and you can often here his name repeated as they play a game at the local swimming pool, “Marco,” “Polo.”
Throughout history, the Silk Road complex increased the lines of trade, communication, interaction and exchange of ideas, the foundation of cultural writings. These routes have shaped the history of Eurasia, its languages, arts, sciences, traditions, and religions, leaving a lasting intellectual and artistic legacy (SILK ROAD Dialogue). “The Silk Road in our time has become a metaphor for cultural exchange among people of diverse societies, distant places, and different religions” (Silk Road and Beyond) and continues to be a source of international cross-fertilization, influencing literary fields through archeological travels, curiosities, and discoveries.