Transcript The Silk Road

•The Silk Road was one of the
reasons the Han dynasty
prospered with a network of
smaller trade routes that
stretched more than four
thousand miles.
•The Roman empire dominated
the Mediterranean, but the silk
road connected both powerful
empires and linked the people of
the east and the west for over a
thousand years.
 The expansion of the Han
Zhang Qian father of
Silk Road
empire made the Silk road
possible by opening up trade
routes.
 A Chinese explorer named
Zhang Qian is often called the
father of the Silk Road.
 Zhang Qian was sent to make
an alliance with the Huns,
which was never successful. He
did however learn about crops
such as grapes, a more powerful
horse for combat, and
established trade relationships.
 Silk was a valuable trade
good because it was a
cloth that was strong,
warm, light, and soft.
 It was valuable because at
the time only the Chinese
knew how to make it.
 Under Han rule revealing
the silk making process
was punishable by death.
 When people of other
culture learned about silk,
it was a highly prized
material.
 The roman wanted silk
and it was considered
luxury item.
 The Roman traded
glassware and gold
something the Chinese
really wanted.
 The Silk road was not one
continuous route, but a series of
shorter trade routes so the goods
could change many time before
reaching the final destination.
 From Luoyang , the silk road led
west along the Gobi Desert to
Dunhuang in Northwestern
China. Travelers rode a Camel on
the eastern silk road.
 From Dunhuang travelers choose
either a northern or southern
route across the Takliman desert
to Kashgar.
 Travelers faced many problems
such as bandits often attacking
sandstorms, and lack of water.
 Silk was the perfect trading
good, because it was light and
valuable. Goods had to be easily
carried so that merchants could
transport more goods on fewer
animals.
 Besides silk, the Chinese also
traded fine dishware,
ornaments, jewelry, cast iron
products, and decorative boxes.
 The Chinese received a variety
of trades for their goods such as
horses, jade, furs, gold, cotton,
spices, pearls, and ivory.
 Kashgar was the central trading
point and they traveled Westward.
Instead of carrying goods by camel
they carried goods by Yak.
 The Western Silk road went through
mountains, deserts, and then finally
reached the Mediterranean ports.
 The dangers of the Western Silk
road were treacherous Mountains
know as “Trail of bones.” In the
Syrian Desert traders were
threatened by tigers, lions, and
scorpions.
 Rome sent a number of products
to be exchanged for Chinese silk
such as vases, trays, small
bottles, asbestos, and gold.
 Tiberius the emperor of Rome
passed a law where it was illegal
to wear silk.
 It was believed that Tiberius
though it would make the
Romans look soft and weak, but
many believed it was because of
the shortage of gold.
 The trade between east and west
created cultural diffusion.
 By 500 B.C.E. the West and east had
learned to make new products from
each other such as glass and silk.
 With the sharing of cultures such
as India, Buddhism spread
throughout china and other
surrounding civilizations.
 Food were also brought throughout
the silk road. China imported new
food such as grapes, figs,
pomegranates, and walnuts. The
West imported oranges, peaches,
pears, and different flowers such as
chrysanthemums.