Chapter 5 Section 3 The Famous Silk Road

Here we will focus on the famous Silk Road.From the 2nd century BC to the 13th and 14th centuries, the Silk Road was a major land transportation route across Asia and an important channel for economic and cultural exchanges between China and India, ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt and other countries. Many countries in history called China the silk country.Silk from before the 5th century BC has been found in Europe, indicating that Chinese silk had entered Europe at that time.Both ancient Egypt and Rome regarded Chinese silk as a treasure that is "dazzling and ingenious".According to historical records, the famous Roman Julius Caesar once wore a Chinese silk robe to watch a play in the theater, which caused a sensation in the audience and was regarded as a peerless luxury.Around BC, due to the massive import of silk, there was a large outflow of Roman currency.

In ancient China, silk was mainly transported to the west through the "Silk Road" opened during the Han Dynasty.During the Han and Tang dynasties in my country, a large number of high-quality silk from Shandong in the east and Jiangsu and Zhejiang along the southeast coast were concentrated in Chang'an City by water or land.A considerable part is transshipped to the west by land.Since the trade of silk occupies a large proportion on this land route, it is called the Silk Road.Later, a route leading to the west via the ocean was opened up—the Maritime Silk Road, so this land route is also called the Land Silk Road.It is generally believed that the land silk road originally started from Chang'an (now Xi'an) in China in the east, traveled westward along the Wei River, crossed the Loess Plateau, and reached Dunhuang through the Hexi Corridor.From Dunhuang to the west, it is divided into two north-south roads: the south road goes out of Yangguan, along the southern edge of the Tarim Basin, the northern foot of Kunlun Mountain, passing through the ancient Loulan (now Ruoqiang area of ​​Xinjiang), Qiemo, Minfeng, Yutian, Hetian, Mo Jade, Pishan, Yecheng, Shache, arrived in Kashgar.The North Road leaves Yumen Pass, along the northern edge of the Tarim Basin, the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains, passing through Turpan, Korla, Kuqa, Baicheng, Aksu, and Bachu to Kashgar.After the north-south road converges in Kashgar, continue westward to the Pamirs, which is the most difficult part of the road.Then it passes through Afghanistan, Iran and Central Asian countries, then the Mediterranean Sea, and finally reaches the end of the Silk Road: Rome, the capital of ancient Rome, and Venice.Later, a new Beixin Road was opened up, from Dunhuang via Hami, along the Junggar Basin north of the Tianshan Mountains, crossing the Ili River westward to the ancient Roman Empire.

Under the conditions of the ancient means of transportation, Chinese and foreign businessmen and envoys walked on the Silk Road, and the journey was very difficult.Near Lop Nur, Xinjiang, there is a precipitous hilly area called "Yadan". 1700 years ago, Faxian, an eminent monk of the Jin Dynasty, went to India to learn Buddhist scriptures. He passed by here and almost died.He described the itinerary here in an extremely terrifying style, saying: "There are many evil ghosts and hot winds in the sand river. If you encounter them, you will die. There is no one who is whole. There are no birds above, and no animals below. If you look everywhere, if you want to cross the place, then I don’t know why, but the bones of the dead are used as signs.” Li Bai, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem describing the harsh weather on the Silk Road: “In May, there is snow in the Tianshan Mountains, and there are no flowers but cold.” Next, the ancient pioneers of our country had already opened up this passage with worldwide significance more than 2,000 years ago.

In the history of the development of this more than 7,000-kilometer Silk Road, there are two outstanding figures who made outstanding contributions, namely Zhang Qian and Ban Chao.Zhang Qian was from the time of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty. He made two missions to the Western Regions in 138 BC and 119 BC.The Western Regions at that time referred to the vast area west of Yumen Pass in Gansu, including Xinjiang, Central Asia and Europe.On his first mission, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty entrusted Zhang Qian with the task of contacting the Da Yuezhi (in the former Soviet Union Central Asia and Afghanistan) countries in the Western Regions to jointly resist the Huns in the north, so as to open up the passage between the Central Plains and the Western Regions.He and more than 100 subordinates were captured by the Huns as soon as they left Yumen Pass.The Huns held them for more than 10 years.In the end, only Tang Yifu, a member of the Huns, remained with him.Relying on their wit, they secretly left the Huns' barracks one night, went through untold hardships, endured hunger and hunger, and finally escaped from the territory controlled by the Huns.They traveled in the Western Regions for more than a year, returned to the Han Dynasty, and reported to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty the conditions of the countries in the Western Regions they were familiar with.A few years later, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions for the second time.This time Zhang Qian went to Wusun (now south of Yining, Xinjiang) and became good friends with King Wusun.He also sent 300 envoys to Dawan, Kangju (all in the Central Asia of the former Soviet Union), Da Yuezhi, Daxia (in today’s northern Afghanistan), Anxi (today’s Iranian Plateau and Mesopotamia), Shenyang Poison (now India, Pakistan) and Khotan (now Hotan, Xinjiang).Zhang Qian and his subordinates received a warm welcome in the Western Regions.When Zhang Qian returned home, King Wusun sent dozens of good horses to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.After Zhang Qian’s mission to the Western Regions, the exchanges between the Western Regions and the Han Dynasty became more and more frequent. Every year, a large number of envoys came and went on the Silk Road, ranging from hundreds to more than a hundred people, and there was an endless stream of private caravans.So far, the cradles of several major civilizations in the world have been connected. Ancient Rome, ancient Egypt, ancient Arabia, ancient India, etc., all had close contacts with ancient China.Not long after Zhang Qian made two missions to the Western Regions, the central government of the Han Dynasty set up military and political institutions in present-day Xinjiang, appointed the Governor of the Western Regions, and implemented effective political governance and economic development.Since then, Xinjiang has become a sacred territory of our country and an important gateway for our country to connect with the Western world.

Ban Chao was born in the Eastern Han Dynasty.He went on a mission to the Western Regions in 73 AD.Ban Chao was a very decisive and brave military general. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, he was appointed as the Sima of the Marching Army and took only 36 people to the Western Regions.At this time, the power of the Huns became stronger again.The king of Kucha (now Kuqa, Xinjiang) turned to the Xiongnu, opposed the Han Dynasty, and bullied the neighboring country Shule (now Kashgar, Xinjiang), and sent people to kill the king of Shule. Le Wang.Ban Chao settled down 90 miles away from Shule City, and then sent his men to Shule. Taking advantage of his unpreparedness, he suddenly rushed forward and tied him up.This action frightened all Douti's subordinates, and fled in panic.After Banchao came to Shule, he immediately summoned Shule's civil and military ministers to explain his intentions, and publicly announced that the old man of the Shule royal family would still be king, which was supported by the Shule people.Ban Chao also released the Kucha natives according to the policy.These righteous actions made his prestige in the Western Regions higher and higher.Later, when the Han government wanted to transfer him back, many people refused to let him go, and even hugged the horse's legs and knelt to persuade him to stay.

The opening of the international channel of the overland Silk Road has far-reaching significance.It passes through Central Asia and West Asia, and can be connected with the traffic lines of southeast Europe and North Africa, forming a world-wide East-West business route.Not only in the Han Dynasty, but also in the Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, it always played an important role and became the main link between the ancient Eastern and Western civilizations.