Silk Road

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Silk Road

The origin of Silk Road

Baron Ferdinand Von Richthofen a German geographer coined the term Silk Road ' in 1877 . Silk road is regarded as the greatest route that was linking China with central and southern Asia and India . Zhang Qian a renowned explorer and diplomat was the first to travel this route when he was sent to establish diplomatic relations with the western regions Zhang was on a diplomatic mission on behalf of Han Wudi a great emperor who reigned

in the Han dynasty between 202B .C-220AD

Initially the route was established not for trade but for military purposes . Emperor Han Wudi was seeking allies in the western regions to fight against Xiongnu 's invasions that had become frequent . That is when Zhang Qian was sent . On the way to the western regions however , he was captured by Xiongnu and was detained for 10 years . He later escaped and continued his central Asia journey . The rulers during this time were quite satisfied with their status and refused to have any relationship with the Han Empire

Therefore the mission failed on its initial purpose but the kind of information that Zhang Qian relayed about to central Asia to China and vice versa , played a significant role because people on either side desired the goods produced by either of them . The Romans and the Persians were very interested in the silk , marking the inauguration of the trade along the now famous Silk Road

The mulberry plant that raises silk worms was first cultivated in China in the whole of the ancient world the silk could then be used in the production of silk items . Even today silk is the greatest offering that China has to the world and remains the greatest item in terms of scope that China has continued to distribute . On its first establishment silk was not the main commodity in this route . The profit that the Han Dynasty made from it was very little . This was until the Romans came into the picture and profits started streaming in . the Romans came to love silk so much to an extent that they exchanged silk equally with gold . During the Tang dynasty 30 of the trade on the route was made of silk

Numerous geographical regions comprising of deserts and lands through various civilizations of Africa , Asia and Europe made up the route that the Silk Road passed through . Through the Silk Road , the four great inventions by the Chinese were spread to the rest of the world . These inventions included the gunpowder , making , the printing and the compass . Other productions that included silk , Chinese tea and porcelain had the opportunity to be diffused to the rest of the globe . The trade established in the Silk Road route also brought other products from Europe to China and there was an unprecedented introduction of various new food crops and plants

The Silk Road with its origin in the Chinese interior provided other extensive economic , political...