The Role of Grassland Route and Desert Route of the Silk Road

张子兮

Introduction

One of the world's most ancient and historically important trade routes， the Silk Road conjures up exotic images of camel caravans， windswept deserts. Extending as far as the Indian kingdoms in the west， to present-day Xian in China in the east， the Silk Road was already a crossroad of Asia by the third century B.C. Recent archaeological discoveries across China indicate that silk production technology has developed to a fairly high level from the Shang Dynasty and warring states periods. Nowadays， China's silk goods are still one of the most important products that China has devoted to the people of the world.

The Silk trade road serves as a highway connecting China， Southern， Western and central Asia， in the Han Dynasty . According to new archaeological data， further spread to the west Mediterranean and Asia minor， determines the basic connotation of the silk road， i.e. it is the ancient China through nearly the whole ancient world， the land trade communication channel paving a lot of Chinesegoods， is so called" silk road ".

The Grassland Silk Road

One of the most significant roads， is called “The grassland silk road”， refers to the Mongolian Steppe zone to communicate with the Eurasian Continent of the great trade channel， which is an important part of the silk road. As the artery of nomadic culture exchange at that time， it crossed the Great Wall along the ancient Yin Mountain from the central plains to the north， crossed the almost the whole Eurasia.

The formation of the grassland silk road is closely related to the natural ecological environment. According to environmental archaeology， only in the middle latitudes between 40 and 50 degrees north could Eurasia facilitate east-west transportation for human beings， and this area was the location of the grassland silk road. This was the core area where nomadic culture and farming culture meet， and it was an important hub of the grassland silk road.

For the Grassland Silk Road， the demand for Commodity Exchange originates from the diversification of labor between agriculture and animal husbandry in the primitive society， is also called "fur road" and "tea road" because of its characteristics.

Historical Significance of the Silk Road

From the perspectives of Chinese history， the Silk Road opened by the Han Dynasty was sometimes interrupted by political opposition， ethnic contradictions and even wars. The development of civilization， the expansion of power， the activity of the commercial nation， and the interdependence between the nomadic people of the grassland and the settled people of agriculture have made the spiritual and material cultural exchanges between the east and the west lasting for more than two thousand years.

At the end of the Eastern Han dynasty， there were frequent wars and chaos in the central plains. As the throat of traffic between China and the west， Dunhuang， even for more than 20 years， was not guarded too much. In 1907， the British archaeologist Stein in the northwest of Dunhuang wall beacons， found a group with millet， Central Asian text written by millet， this is the Liangzhou of millet businessmen to hometown and Maicon （Samarkand， Uzbekistan） people's letters， for some reason， buried in Dunhuang at the foot of the Great Wall. According to the letter， these groups， which were based in Liangzhou， operated from Luoyang in the east to Dunhuang in the west and handle long-distance sales of Chinese silk and other goods.

Tang Dynasty as A Critical Role of the Development

In Tang dynasty， the further integration of ethnic groups， the broader expansion of territory and the integration of political system and ideology and culture brought the Tang Dynasty together with great strength， production development， commercial prosperity and cultural prosperity. From Tang Taizong to Wu Zetian periods， the forces of the Tang Dynasty not only directly and firmly controlled the western kingdoms of the Tarim Basin， but also became the patriarchal states of various kingdoms in the vast area north of Tianshan Mountain and west of Qingling Mountain.

Conclusion

The main route of the Silk Road which across the grassland of the North-west Asian has acted as the most significant role in the system of the trade route. Han Dynasty established the origin of the Silk Road， Chinese from central plains took great interest in the safety of their trade products and extended the Great Wall to ensure the protection of the trade route， afterwards Tang Dynasty as the platform of reopens the route and promotion.

Though silk was the major trade item exported from China， many other goods were traded， as well as religions， syncretic philosophies and technologies. In addition to economic trade， the Silk Road was a route for cultural trade among the civilizations along its network.

張子兮 Leona

年龄：18

城市：广东省广州市

就读学校：广州外国语学校

年级：11

目标专业：哲学

我从小就热爱中国历史，特别是汉史，因此我阅读了很多相关的历史书籍，以便更多地了解中国的学术性历史。关于丝绸之路的研究无疑是汉代历史上最重要的组成部分之一。我认为以完成这篇论文来了解丝绸之路的一种很好的方式，从而更深入地挖掘我对于中国历史的热情。我进一步了解了整个事件的来龙去脉，包括它的来龙去脉，它是如何发展的，以及它在中国几乎每一个方面的巨大影响，直到我写这篇文章的当代。为了完成这篇文章，我有必要了解尽可能多的历史资料，我很高兴在完成这篇论文的过程中，我能够了解大量相关的的知识，并且为这篇论文付出了更多的努力。