ASSIGNMENT class SNHUKTTC 20e2 subject HIS 259 SILK ROAD AND SAMURAI topic THE SILK ROAD

1The Silk Road was a network of ancient trade routes, formally established during the Han Dynasty of China in 130 one hundredand thirty BCE, which linked the regions of the ancient worl

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES &

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

-ooOoo -ASSIGNMENT Class: SNHU/KTTC.20E2 Subject: HIS 259 SILK ROAD AND SAMURAI

Topic: THE SILK ROAD

Lecturer: Dr Nguyen Tran Tien Student: Bui Phuong Thao Student’s card No: 20043546 Major: Economic and Finance

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People live in the present They plan for and worry about the future History, however, is the study of the past There are so many pressures and worries about the present and future planning, why bother caring about history? When there are

so many other fields of knowledge that can educate you for future like math and science, why insist on history? And why urge many students to study even more history than they are required to? History is actually a very important subject History experts can have a huge impact on the world Whenever questions are asked about what we can learn from history, it invariably leads to philosopher George Santayana’s oft-quoted aphorism: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” Studying history enables us to develop better understanding of the world in which we live Building knowledge and understanding of historical events and trends, especially over the past century, enables us to develop a much greater appreciation for current events today And if

we heed Santayana’s warning, then remembering history – and learning important lessons from it – should help us to avoid previous mistakes and prevent previous misdeeds from happening again

In this course, I have learnt a lot of interesting lessons But I extremely impressed

by The Silk Road, so I gathered all the knowledge about it My essignment may have many mistakes, hope you can comment so that I can improve it to make it more perfect

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

I – WHAT IS THE SILK ROAD? 4

1 - General knowledge 4

2 – The main road of the Silk Road 5

2.1: One of the overland road is The Northern Route 5

2.2: The second overland routes is The Southern Route 6

2.3: The third overland routes is The Southwestern Route 7

II – COMMERCIAL INTEREST: 8

III – “CHINESE DREAM” THROUGH THE SILK ROAD 12

IV – CULTURAL EXCHANGE ON THE SILK ROAD 14

V – ZHANG QIAN AND SILK ROAD STUDIES 17

VI – INCONCLUSION: 18

I – WHAT IS SILK ROAD?

1 - General knowledge

The Silk Road is known for its long history, dating back to the years BC and especially developing under the Han, Dang Dynasty

1The Silk Road was a network of ancient trade routes, formally established during the Han Dynasty of China in 130 ( one hundredand thirty) BCE, which linked the regions of the ancient world in commerce between 130 BCE-1453 CE The Silk Road was not a single route from east to west and so historians favor the name 'Silk Routes', though 'Silk Road' is commonly used

The European explorer Marco Polo (l.1254-1324 CE) traveled on these routes and described them in depth in his famous work but he is not credited with naming them Both terms for this network of roads - Silk Road and Silk Routes - were coined by the German geographer and traveler, Ferdinand von Richthofen, in 1877

CE, who designated them 'Seidenstrasse' (silk road) or 'Seidenstrassen' (silk routes) Polo, and later von Richthofen, make mention of the goods which were transported back and forth on the Silk Road

The network was used regularly from 130 BCE, when the Han Dynasty (202 BCE

- 220 CE) officially opened trade with the west, to 1453 CE, when the Ottoman Empire boycotted trade with the west and closed the routes By this time, Europeans had become used to the goods from the east and, when the Silk Road closed, merchants needed to find new trade routes to meet the demand for these goods

1 https://www.worldhistory.org/Silk_Road/ the basic knowledge about the Silk Road

Figure 1: The Ancient Silk Road

2 – The main road of the Silk Road

Overland routes: The Silk Road consisted of several routes Among the overland routes, the dominating ones where the Northern route, the Southern route and the Southwestern route

2.1: One of the overland road is The Northern Route

- The easternmost point of the northern route was Chang’an, an important city in central China Chang’an was the capital for more than ten different Chinese dynasties

- The northern route became popular around the first century BC, when the Chiense Emperor Wu of Han, who reigned from 141 to 87 BC, used his army to keep nomadic tribes from attacking travellers within his sphere of influence

From Chang’an, the northern route went northwest through the Chinese provinces Shaanxi and Gansu, before splitting into three different routes

• #1 followed the mountain ranges north of the Taklamakan Desert

• #2 followed the mountain ranges south of the Taklamakan Desert

• #3 went north of the Tian Shan mountains through Turpan, Talgar and Almaty in what is now southeastern Kazakhstan

- One branch of the northern route turned off to the northwest instead of continuing westwards This one past the Aral Sea and went north of the Caspian Sea, before reaching the Black Sea

2.2: The second overland routes is The Southern Route

- The southern route went from China through the Karakoram mountains Because

of this, it was also known as the Karakoram route The Karakoram mountain range spans the borders of Pakistan, India, and China, and also extends into Afghanistan and Tajikistan in the northwest

- West of the Karakoram mountains, the southern route had many spurs heading south to the sea, since many travellers wished to continue by ship instead of going overland

- For those who did not head south to the ocean, the southern route continued over the Hindu Kush mountains and into Afghanistan, joining the northern routes before reaching Merv in Turkmenistan

- From Merv, the southern route went westward in almost a straight line, through northern Iran, Mesopotamia and the northern outskirts of the Syrian Desert, to reach the Levant where ships were waiting to take the precious cargo across the Mediterranean to southern Europe Continued travel over land was also possible from the Levant, either north through Anatolia or south to North Africa

- There was also a branch of the Silk Road that went from Herat in Afghanistan to the ancient port town of Charax Spasinu by the Persian Gulf, passing through Susa

on the way From Charax Spasinu, the journey continued by ship to various Mediterranean ports, such as Petra

Figure 2: The Northern Route and The Southwestern Route

2.3: The third overland routes is The Southwestern Route

- The southwestern route went from China to India, through the Ganges Delta This delta region was an important trading hub, and archeological excavations have found an astonishing array of goods from various parts of the world here, such as ancient Roman beads and gemstones from Thailand and Java

II – COMMERCIAL INTEREST:

The Silk road is the trading hub The regions role as a trading hub also meant that the area served as a currency exchange Most western currencies never made it further east than this and most eastern and Chinese coins never made it further west than this The traders in the Ganges Delta primarily used eastern currencies when they traded with eastern merchants and western currencies when they traded with western merchants Traders would exchange currency with each-other to have the appropriate currency when trading with merchants from different areas This was not strictly speaking necessary since the coins were made out of precious metals and their worth was determined by their gold or silver value Many traders would none the less prefer to trade using currencies that was widely circulated in their part of the world IE Western traders preferred the silver drachm of the Sasanian empire (Neo-Persian) or the gold solidus of the Byzantine empire (Eastern Rome) and eastern traders preferred Chinese currency

In addition to silk, a wide range of other goods was traded along the Silk Road, and the network was also important for migrants and travellers, and for the spread of religion, philosophy, science, technology, and artistic ideals The Silk Road had a significant impact on the lands through which the routes passed, and the trade played a significant role in the development of towns and cities along the Silk Road routes

Many merchants along the Silk Road were involved in relay trade, where an item would change owners many times and travel a little bit with each one of them before reaching its final buyer It seems to have been highly unusual for any individual merchant to travel all the way between China and Europe or Northern Africa Instead, various merchants specialized in transporting goods through various sections of the Silk Road

These goods included:

 Horses, Camels

 Saddles and Riding Tack

 The grapevine and grapes

 Dogs and other animals

 Animal furs and skins

 Glassware from Egypt

 Woolen blankets, rugs, carpets

 Gold and Silver

 Slaves

 Weapons and armor

 Myrrh and frankincense from Somalia

Figure 3: Some goods traded along the Silk Road

Caravan trade on the routes of the Silk Road was connected not only with high profits but also with huge risks That is why merchants tried to find companions, to form big caravans consisting of hundreds and even thousands of armed people But nothing could protect merchants from arbitrary rules of governors and attacks

of nomad tribes Therefore, trying to save their lives, merchants seldom passed the Silk Road from one end to the other More often they exchanged the goods in some

of the intermediate trade cities

However, both the states and nomads were interested in preservation of trade routes Governors received income from collecting customs duties in the cities standing on caravan routs To avoid losses governors of Asian countries passed the strict laws aimed at merchants’ protection In fact, trade was an exchange; money served only as a tally Merchants valued their goods in money and exchanged it for other goods with equivalent price

Judging by the road’s name silk was the main commodity in the list Thanks to its light weight, compactness, enormous demand and high price it was ideal for trade and long-distance transportation

Figure 4: Silk Road map - Major Silk Road trading routes

At the initial stage of the Silk Road development Chinese received expensive horses and the seeds of lucerne and grapes The ancient world had cultivated

grapevine and made wines from time immemorial But for Chinese, separated from other civilizations, grapes were a novelty Moreover, Chinese envoys were very surprised when they found that it was possible to make wine not only from rice but also from berries unknown to them Later Chinese discovered for themselves other agricultural crops – string beans, onions, cucumbers, carrots, pomegranates, figs etc

Various woolen goods, carpets, curtains, blankets and rugs, came to China from Central Asia and East Mediterranean They made huge impression upon Chinese who were unfamiliar with methods wool and flax processing, carpet manufacture and weaving Highly appreciated in Ancient China were Parthian tapestries and carpets

Central Asia exported camels which were very appreciated in China, military equipment, gold and silver, semi-precious stones and glass items Samarkand made glass was especially valued due to its high quality It was considered as luxury goods Other goods were skins, wool, cotton fabrics, gold embroidery, exotic fruits – water-melons, melons and peaches; fat-tailed sheep and hunting dogs, leopards and lions

From China caravans carried the well-known Chinese china – snow-white vases, bowls, glasses, and dishes with graceful patterns Only Chinese owned the secret of making the thinnest and resonant porcelain, therefore, it was very expensive in European markets Bronze ornaments and other products from this metal, ornate bronze mirrors, umbrellas, products from the well-known Chinese varnish,

medicines, and perfumery were also popular Chinese paper, one of the most

remarkable inventions of Chinese technical genius, was highly appreciated too

Gold, skins and many other things were exported as well Merchants also carried tea and rice, woolen and flax fabrics, corals, amber and asbestos The sacks of merchants were filled with ivory, rhino horns, turtle shells, spices, ceramic and iron items, glaze and cinnamon, ginger, bronze weapons and mirrors

India was famous for its fabrics, spices and semi-precious stones, dyes, and ivory Iran – for its silver products Rome received spices, fragrances, jewels, ivory, and sugar and sent European pictures and luxury goods

Eastern Europe imported rice, cotton, woolen and silk fabrics from Central Asia and exported considerable volumes of skins, furs, fur animals, bark for skin

processing, cattle and slaves to Khoresm Northern Europe was the source of furs, skins, honey and slaves

III – “CHINESE DREAM” THROUGH THE SILK ROAD

The ―Seidenstrassen means communication between China and the Roman cultural area To prove the route of dissemination of silk, Richthofen not only focused on geographical substantiality, based on the routes of the Chinese Zhang Qian and the Roman Ptolemy, but also on historical, and religious sources In fact, his Silk Road concept has the trade of silk as well as the humanistic ideas of cultural exchange

The first of these themes is that while the term “Silk Road” is relatively new in origin, having been coined by the geologist Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen (1833–1905) in 1877,1 the Silk Road itself, defined collectively from the Chinese perspective as the various overland routes extending from China’s north-western and western frontiers to Central Asia and beyond, was a corridor for the exchange

of goods and the transfer of information dating back to prehistoric times

The second theme is that beginning with the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), China’s stat expansion into the north-western and western frontiers tended to be sporadic, with military expeditions and the establishment of protectorates undertaken by ambitious emperors during the early years of strong dynasties, such

as the Han and Tang, when there was ample wealth to support these operations Third, because China’s northern and north-western borders were susceptible to attack by nomadic raiders and other foreign invaders, the frontier regions to the north, north-west and west came to be seen as potential sources of danger to the empire’s peace and security, particularly at times of disorder, division and weakness at home

The fourth theme is that certain commodities tended to be encountered on Silk Road travels or traded along that route, such as grape-wine, jade and horses, and by virtue of their mention in poetry and historical accounts these became associated with and incorporated into the Chinese imagination of the Silk Road

Final theme: They each had their own reasons for travel, whether on a military

or diplomatic assignment, for religious purposes or commercial profit The prose accounts and poems left behind by these individuals, and others inspired by them,