The Silk Road in Ancient China

The Silk Road was a historical trade and transportation route across Eurasia. China is the home of silk, in the trade through this route, China's export commodities to the most representative of the silk. the second half of the 19th century, the German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen (Ferdinand von Richthofen) will be this land transportation route called the "Silk Road," since then Chinese and foreign Historians in China and abroad have since favored this theory, which is still in use today.

After Zhang Qian passed through the Western Regions, he officially opened this land route from China to Europe and Africa. This road, from the Western Han Dynasty capital of Chang'an, through the Hexi Corridor, and then divided into two routes: one from Yangguan, through the Shanshan, along the Kunlun Mountains north westward, over the Shache, west over the Onion Ridge, out of the Dayuezhi, to the Anxii, west of Li Qiqi (jiān, now Alexandria, Egypt, 30 BC for the annexation of the Roman Empire), or by the Dayuezhi into the body of the South Poisonous. The other out of the Yumen Pass, through the Cheshi former state, along the southern foot of the Tianshan Mountains westward, out of Shule, west over the Onion Ridge, across the Dawan, to the Kangju, Am Cai (Western Han nomadic in the northwest of Kangju that is, into the sea, the northern grasslands of the Caspian Sea, the Eastern Han Dynasty belonged to the Kangju).

Maritime Silk Road

Maritime Silk Road, refers to the route of maritime transportation between China and the rest of the world. In addition to the large quantities of Chinese silk that were exported to Central and West Asia and African and European countries through the transcontinental land transportation routes, Chinese silk was also constantly sold to the rest of the world through the sea transportation routes. Therefore, in the German geographer LiHiHoFen will transverse east-west land transportation route named silk road, some scholars and then to be derived, said the east and west of the sea transportation route for the sea silk road. Later, China's famous ceramics, but also through this maritime transportation route to the countries, the West's incense through this route into China, some scholars therefore also called this maritime transportation route for the ceramic road or incense and porcelain road.

The Maritime Silk Road was formed at the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The South China Sea route, which started from China and sailed westward, was the main route of the Maritime Silk Road. At the same time, there was also a route from China to the east to reach the Korean Peninsula and the Japanese islands of the East China Sea, which played a secondary role in the Maritime Silk Road.

On the South China Sea route of the Silk Road in the Han Dynasty, the Book of Han - Geography records that the Han Wu Di sent messengers and merchants recruited to go out to the sea trade voyage, said: from the Ri Nan (now Vietnam's central) or Xu Wen (now belongs to the Guangdong Province), Hepu (now belongs to the Guangxi Province) by boat out to sea, along the east coast of the South China Peninsula to the south, arrived in the Mekong River Delta after five months of the capital (now the south of Vietnam's Dishi). Then they traveled north along the west coast of the Central and Southern Peninsula, and arrived at the mouth of the Mekong River in Yilu (present-day Foton in Thailand) after four months of sailing. From there, they traveled south along the east coast of the Malay Peninsula and arrived at Cham Lei (present-day Pasir Ris in Thailand) after more than 20 days, where they abandoned their ships and disembarked, crossed the isthmus and walked for more than 10 days before arriving at the capital city of Hufu, Loe (present-day Tanah Salim in Myanmar). Then he boarded a ship and sailed westward in the Indian Ocean, arriving at Huangzhi (present-day Kancheepuram on the southeast coast of India) after more than two months. Back to the country, by the yellow branch south to the country has not been Cheng (now Sri Lanka), and then straight east, after eight months sailed to the Strait of Malacca, moored in the Pi Zong (now Singapore's west of the Pisan Island), and finally sailing for more than two months, by the Pi Zong sailing to the Nichinan County, the territory of the Elephant Forest County (seat of governance in the present-day Vietnam Vichuan County, south of the Chacho Buckwheat).

The Silk Road is a graphic and aptly named. In the ancient world, only China was the first country to start growing mulberry, raising silkworms and producing silk fabrics. Archaeological discoveries throughout China in recent years have shown that from the Shang and Zhou dynasties to the Warring States period, silk production techniques have developed to a fairly high level. Chinese silk fabrics are still one of the most important products that China has offered to the people of the world, and they have been handed down far and wide, covering all the contributions that the Chinese people have made to the world's civilization. Therefore, for many years, many researchers have wanted to give this road another name, such as "Jade Road", "Gem Road", "Buddhist Road", "Ceramic Road" and so on, but, can only reflect a part of the Silk Road, and ultimately can not replace the "Silk Road" this name.

The basic direction of the Silk Road was formed in the two Han periods after BC. Its eastern starting point was Chang'an (now Xi'an), the capital of the Western Han Dynasty, or Luoyang, the capital of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and it traveled westward through Longxi or Guyuan to Jincheng (now Lanzhou), and then passed through the four counties of the West Corridor of the Hexi River, namely, Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan, and Dunhuang, and then exited the Yumen Pass or Yangguan Pass, and passed through the Bailongdui to the Loulan area of the Lop Nur region. During the Han Dynasty, the Western Region was divided into the South Road and the North Road, and the bifurcation point of the North and South Roads was in Loulan. The North Road traveled westward through Quli Li (present-day Korla), Guzi (present-day Kuqa), Gumo (present-day Aksu) to Shule (present-day Kashgar). South Road from Shanshan (now Ruoqiang), through the and the end, Jingjie (now Minfeng Niya site), ü-Tepan (now Hotan), Pishan, Shache to Shule. From Shule westward, across the Onion Mountains (now Pamir) to Dawan (now Fergana). From there, it was possible to travel westward to Daxia (in present-day Afghanistan), Sut (in present-day Uzbekistan), Anshi (in present-day Iran), and as far as Lixian (also known as Lixuan, in Alexandria, Egypt) in Daqin (the eastern part of the Roman Empire). The other road was to travel southwest from Pisan, across the Hangdu (present-day Dahlir, Pakistan), through the Sympathetic Republic (present-day Kabul, Afghanistan), Wuyishanli (present-day Sistan), and southwest to Jiaozhi (at the head of the present-day Persian Gulf). If you travel southward from Sydney to the mouth of the Indus River (present-day Karachi, Pakistan), you can also turn to the sea to reach Persia and Rome and other places. This is the basic artery of the Silk Road formed since Zhang Qian's two missions to the West during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, in other words, the Silk Road in the narrow sense refers to this road mentioned above.

The Silk Road is not static in history. With the changes in geography and the evolution of the political and religious situation, some new roads have been opened, and the direction of some of them has changed or even been abandoned. For example, the Bailongdui between Dunhuang and Lop Nur is a piece of Yadan terrain that often makes travelers lose their way. When the Eastern Han Dynasty defeated the northern Xiongnu on the Mongolian Plateau in the early years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, forcing them to move westward, and the Central Plains Dynasty firmly occupied Iwu (present-day Hami), after the opening of the "Northern New Road" from Dunhuang north to Iwu. From Iwu through Gaochang (now Turpan), Yanqi to Guzi, and the original Silk Road North Road. During the period of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the north and south of China were in a state of confrontation, while the east and west of the north were also merging at times. In such a situation, the four dynasties of Song, Qi, Liang and Chen in the Southern Dynasties and the western region, most of the interaction is along the Yangtze River up to Yizhou (now Chengdu), and then north of Longdian (now Songpan), through the Tugukhun city on the shores of the Qinghai Lake, the west through the Qaidam Basin to Dunhuang, and the main Silk Road; or more westward across the Altun Mountain pass into the Western Shanshan area, and the Silk Road South Road, this road is called " Tugukhun Road " or " Tugukhun Road " or " Tugukhun Road" or " Tugukhun Road", or "Tugukhun Road", or " Tugukhun Road", or " Tugukhun Road". This road was called the "Tugukhun Road" or "Henan Road", and today people also call it the "Qinghai Road". There is also from the northern part of the Central Plains or the Hexi Corridor to the north to the Mongolian plateau, and then westward to the northern foothills of the Tianshan Mountains, across the Ili River to the Shiba (near present-day Tokmak), and into the Central Asian region. This road was also known as the "Northern New Road", which flourished during the Mongol Khanate and the Yuan Dynasty.

In addition to the overland Silk Road, the Chinese opened shipping lanes from Guangdong to India during the Han Dynasty. After the Song Dynasty, with the further development of southern China and the economic center of gravity to the south, from Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Hangzhou and other places of the sea routes are increasingly developed, more and more far away, from the South China Sea to the Arabian Sea, and even as far as the east coast of Africa. People to these maritime trade routes, commonly known as the "Maritime Silk Road".

Say it too:

Silk Road, refers to the Western Han Dynasty (202 years before -8 years), by Zhang Qian mission to the Western Regions opened up from Chang'an (now Xi'an) through Gansu, Xinjiang, to Central Asia, West Asia, and the Mediterranean countries associated with the land route (this road is also known as the "Northwest Silk Road," in order to distinguish). (This road was also called the "Northwest Silk Road" to distinguish it from the other two transportation routes that would later bear the name "Silk Road"). It was so named because silk products were the most influential of the goods transported westward along this route. Its basic direction was set in the two Han dynasties, including the South Road, the Middle Road and the North Road.

Broadly speaking, the Silk Road refers to the long-distance commercial trade and cultural exchange routes that have been formed one after another since ancient times, covering the Eurasian continent and even including North and East Africa. In addition to the above routes, it also includes the Maritime Silk Road, which was formed during the North and South Dynasties and played a great role in the late Ming Dynasty, and the Southern Silk Road, which appeared at the same time as the Northwestern Silk Road and replaced the Northwestern Silk Road as a channel of communication at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, and so on.

The term Silk Road (German: die Seidenstrasse) first came from the German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen's 1877 book China, and is sometimes shortened to Silk Road.

While the Silk Road was a product of the countries along the route **** together to promote economic and trade development, many believe that China's Zhang Qian opened a new era of Sino-foreign exchanges when he twice passed through the Western Regions. And succeeded in lifting the last pearl curtain between East and West. From then on, this route was stepped out as a "national highway", and emissaries and merchants from various countries came and went along the road opened by Zhang Qian. On to the princes and nobles, down to the beggar prison inmates, the most famous to be counted Banchao again through the Western Regions and Xuanzang from India to take the scriptures back to the country. They have left their footprints on this road. This east-west access road, the Central Plains, the Western Region and Arabia, the Persian Gulf closely linked together. After centuries of continuous efforts, the Silk Road stretched westward to the Mediterranean Sea, broadly speaking, the eastern section of the Silk Road has reached Korea and Japan, the western section to France and the Netherlands. By sea it also reaches Italy and Egypt, and has become a friendship road for economic and cultural exchanges between Asia and European and African countries.

The Maritime Silk Road is the main artery of transportation of the ancient sea lanes. Since the beginning of the Han Dynasty, China and the Malay Peninsula has been in contact, especially after the Tang Dynasty, more closely, as the way to and from, of course, the most convenient is sailing, and the Chinese and Western trade is also the use of this channel for the transaction of the road, which is what we call the Maritime Silk Road.

Sui-Tang Dynasty, the road is mainly centered on the South China Sea, the starting point is mainly Guangzhou, so also known as the South China Sea Silk Road.

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, Guangzhou became the largest port in China and a world-famous oriental port city. The route from Guangzhou through the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean to the Persian Gulf countries was the longest ocean route in the world at that time.

After the opening of the Maritime Silk Road, before the Sui and Tang dynasties, i.e., from the 6th to 7th centuries A.D., it was only a complementary form of the land-based Silk Road. However, during the Sui and Tang dynasties, the land-based Silk Road was blocked by wars in the western regions. Instead, it was the Maritime Silk Road. To the Tang Dynasty, along with China's shipbuilding, the development of maritime technology, China's access to Southeast Asia, the Strait of Malacca, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, and to the African continent of the opening of the shipping routes and the extension of the Maritime Silk Road finally replaced the land-based Silk Road, China's foreign relations as the main channel.

According to the "New Tang Book - Geography" records, the Tang Dynasty, China's southeastern coast of Southeast Asia, the northern countries of the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea coast, Northeast Africa and the Persian Gulf countries of the sea route, called the "Guangzhou through the sea barbarians", which is the earliest name of China's Maritime Silk Road. At that time through this channel to the export of goods mainly silk, porcelain, tea and copper and iron four major; back to the input is mainly spices, flowers and plants for the court to enjoy some of the exotic treasures. This situation has continued to the Song and Yuan Dynasties. To the beginning of the Ming Dynasty Zheng He went to the West, the development of this maritime silk road to the peak state. Zheng He after the Ming and Qing dynasties, with the implementation of the policy of sea ban, the decline of China's maritime industry, this has made great contributions to the East-West exchanges on the Maritime Silk Road, with the increasingly severe ban on the gradual demise of the sea.

Sea passages in the Sui and Tang dynasties transported the main bulk of goods is silk, so everyone called this sea road connecting the East and West as the Maritime Silk Road. To the Song and Yuan dynasties, the export of porcelain gradually become the main goods, so people also called it "sea ceramics road". At the same time, also due to the import of goods has always been mainly spices, so it is also called the "sea spice road".