History of the Silk Road
Papermaking, printing, the compass and gunpowder – the four great inventions of ancient China – enhanced the world’s cultural development upon entry into Western countries. Papermaking and printing dramatically reduced the cost of books, making education accessible to the common people. The compass, brought to Europe in the 12th century, was of immense use in navigation and hence the voyages of Columbus and Magellan.
Chinese people, in turn, had the chance to explore foreign cultures. Buddhism, conjuring and sculpture went eastward along the road. Musical instruments, as well as music and dance, from Central Asia influenced traditional Chinese music. Persian musical instruments like the konghou and pipa have long been mainstays of the Chinese folk orchestra.
China, moreover, adopted the Islamic calendar and medical practices. In 961, the Song court invited Ma Yize, an astronomer from the Asia Minor Peninsula, to China to take up the post of chief official at the astronomical observatory, and to compile an official calendar. The astronomical observatory was still in use in the following Yuan Dynasty.
Religion is another important aspect of the foreign culture that spread to China. Buddhism entered the Central Plains area around the 3rd century after the Silk Road had been established. The influence of Buddhism in China cannot be overstated, its having been absorbed into the main Chinese belief systems of Confucianism and Taoism. Buddhism is one of three major religions in China.
Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Judaism and Christianity were also introduced into China but did not spread so widely. Islam is the only other religion to have gained a substantial presence.
Prophet Muhammad founded Islam in 622. Muslims who arrived in the Central Plains area in the 8th century are the ancestors of today’s Hui ethnic group whose present population is more than 10 million.
Passage for Ethnic Migrations
In certain villages in Yongchang County, Gansu Province you may come across a group of inhabitants that stands out from other locals. They have deep-set green eyes, defined noses, fair hair and olive skin. Their villages are also in the so-called fish-scale formation habitually used by Roman troops in ancient times. Historical records show that some captured troops from the Western Regions settled in Gansu Province.
Are these Western-looking villagers the descendants of Roman centurions? In 2007, DNA tests that the School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University carried out confirmed that all 91 of villagers’ blood samples prove that they are indeed of Central and West Asian origin. Their ancestors, therefore, were soldiers that had been recruited in Afghanistan and joined Rome’s eastward expansion.
Ancient Romans were not the only group that migrated via the Silk Road, however. During the Tang Dynasty, large numbers of Arabs and Persians migrated and settled in China. Trade zones were set up in Chang’an especially for these foreign merchants, who conducted such businesses as jewelry stores and pharmacies.
As the Song Dynasty encouraged the development of trade with foreign merchants, numbers of those from Central and West Asia continued to swell. Consequently hundreds of thousands of Arab and Persian merchants settled in China’s eastern coastal cities at that time.
People also carried out reverse migrations via the Silk Road. For instance, during the Tang Dynasty Turkic people living in Greater Hinggan Range in Northeast China split into two groups. One pledged allegiance to the Tang government; the other moved westward and eventually reached the Asia Minor Peninsula.
The Huns have a similar history. Some surrendered to the Eastern Han Dynasty, and others migrated along the Silk Road to the north bank of the Black Sea in the 4th century.
The Uygur ethnic group originally established a khanate. One of its branches later crossed over Congling and entered Central Asia.
Men and the Road
Of the notable personages associated with the Silk Road, Zhang Qian, the Silk Road pioneer, is the most important.
In 138 BC, Emperor Wudi (156 BC-AD 87) sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions, his aim to form an alliance with Indoscythae to fight the marauding Huns. Unfortunately, they captured Zhang Qian, along with more than 100 others in his entourage. Although held prisoner for 11 years, Zhang Qian never abandoned his mission and eventually seized a chance to escape to Indoscythae.
On his return to Chang’an, Zhang Qian reported the situation in the Western Regions to Emperor Wudi and expressed Indoscythae’s desire to cooperate with the Han Dynasty. This was the first delegation the Chinese government sent to the Western Regions.
In 119 BC, the second delegation led by Zhang Qian was sent to the West Regions. It visited Wusun (in the area of today’s Ili River), Farghana, Sogdiana (between the Amu Darya and the Syr Darya), Indoscythae, Bactria, Arsacid (on the Iranian Plateau) and Sindu (today’s India). These countries also sent envoys to Chang’an, so promoting communication between the Han government and countries in the Western Regions.
Marco Polo (1254-1324), like Zhang Qian, was an adventurer. Born in Venice, he traveled at the age of 17 to China via the Middle East with his father and uncle. He spent 17 years there and recorded what he had seen. His book aroused Europeans’ curiosity about China – the richest Oriental country at that time. His pioneering journey inspired Christopher Columbus and many other travelers. His book also influenced European cartography, leading to the introduction of the Fra Mauro map.
Xuanzang the Buddhist monk is another household name in China. He set off from Chang’an in AD 627 and traveled to India via the Silk Road. He lived in India for several years in different places. After returning to China in AD 645, Xuanzang devoted himself to translating the 75 Buddhist sutras that he had brought with him from India. Xuanzang also wrote a book about the Western Regions and the Silk Road. His experience inspired the novel Journey to the West wherein his perseverance and bravery inspired generations of readers.
Kumarajiva (344-413) contributed much by preaching Buddhism at the eastern end of the Silk Road. He became a monk at the age of seven and was later a missionary in countries in the Western Regions. In 382, Kumarajiva came to Chang’an to preside over the translation of Buddhist sutras. Until then, only fragments had been translated into Chinese. Under Kumarajiva’s supervision, 35 sutras were translated accurately in both language and style.
