The Silk Road
I. Introduction – What was the Silk Road?
The Silk Road refers to a historical network of interlinking trade routes that connected East, South, and Western Asia with
the Mediterranean region. Extending 4,000 miles, the Silk Road got its name from the Chinese silk trade, which began
during the _____________ Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE). Along the route, resources, information and innovations were
_____________________ between many cultures. The Silk Road remained popular in use up until about the year 1500 CE.
Why? _____________________________________________________________________________________________
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II. The Geography of the Silk Road
1. Study the Silk Road route map and list some of the geographic challenges faced by travelers as they would
travel from Xian in China all the way to Damascus in modern-day Syria.
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2. Although there was one main route, why did other routes (known as Silk Road tributaries) also form?
Answer: ____________________________________________________________________________
3. If you were a Silk Road traveler, list some tools/resources that would be important to have on the journey.
Tool/Resource #1: _____________________
Reason: _______________________________________
Tool/Resource #2: _____________________
Reason: _______________________________________
Tool/Resource #3: _____________________
Reason: _______________________________________
III. Cultural Exchange on the Silk Road
Cultural Exchange
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Category
Technologies/Ideas
Sports/Games
Art
Belief Systems
IV. Conclusion
1.
What is a modern day example of the Silk Road? Why did you choose this?
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Belief Systems of the Silk Road
The religious beliefs of people along the Silk Road changed dramatically over time. The peoples along the Silk Road in its early stages
followed many different religions. In the Middle East, people worshiped either the gods or goddesses of the ancient Greeks or Romans;
others followed the ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses, while others practiced Judaism. In Central Asia, many people followed a
religion called Zoroastrianism, founded by the Persians. In India, Hinduism and to a lesser extent, Buddhism, were followed. Ancient
China itself had no official religion but records show that they had a polytheistic system that emphasized the Mandate of Heaven.
The religious beliefs of the peoples of the Silk Road changed radically due to the effects of travel and trade. Traders who used the Silk
Road built temples of their own faiths wherever they went to maintain their own beliefs while they were away from home. Religious
officials of many faiths accompanied caravans of traders on the Silk Road, trying to make converts.
Buddhism was the first religion to take advantage of the mobility provided by the Silk Road to extend its reach far beyond India.
Buddhist priests and monks traveled the Silk Road and preached to local populations and passing travelers, spreading Buddhism rapidly.
Buddhism’s message—that the painful cycle of birth, death, and rebirth could be ended, had wide appeal. Most of modern-day East and
SE Asia, are still dominated by Buddhism due primarily to its use of the Silk Road
When Christianity came onto the scene in the 1st Century CE, it spread eastward along the Silk Road to Persia, India, and China.
Eventually, churches were found along the Silk Road, though there were many fewer Christians than Buddhists.
In the 7th Century CE, Islam started to gain popularity in the Middle East. Muslim traditions, teachings and influences also flourished
along the Silk Road. At present, almost half of all Muslims in the world live along or in the general vicinity of the Silk Road.
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Sports & Games of the Silk Road
The horse game known as polo originated in the Middle East and made its way to China along the Silk Road. Polo gained immense
popularity in China starting the late 600’s CE. Polo was played not only by emperors and nobles but by military men and scholars, not
to mention women, the young, and the old. Further, it spread beyond Xian to other areas throughout northern and southeastern China
along the Yangtze River. There were donkey-back versions as well and it was also played on foot, probably to accommodate restrictions
of space, equipment, and possibly the strength of the participants.
Strategic board games such as Chess and backgammon were first mentioned in Middle Eastern texts dating from the early CE centuries.
Both are believed to have spread east and west via the Silk Road.
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Art of the Silk Road
Artistic styles and techniques also traveled in both directions along the Silk Road. Chinese landscape paintings were brought to the
Middle East - its techniques were copied and then applied to Persian art. Chinese blue-and-white porcelain was also produced and
transported by caravans along the Silk Road to other areas, where it was sold and used.
The Chinese were exposed to many new artistic designs from the west as well. The Chinese had no knowledge of glass-working, so
glassware (a specialty of the Middle East) found an enthusiastic market in China. The glazed tile work of Muslim mosques, which
stresses the use of geometric shapes, was also made popular and made its way to China. Gold and silver metalwork, another Middle
Eastern specialty, was also imported into China in great quantities. Many gold and silver cups, bowls, jugs, and other fancy utensils have
been found in Chinese tombs often decorated with Middle Eastern designs.
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Technology & Ideas of the Silk Road
Good ideas travel easily and far along trade routes, and the Silk Road was no exception to that rule. A famous example of a Chinese
invention that helped to transform the world is paper. Paper was invented during the Han Dynasty, probably just at the time the Silk
Road trade was beginning to flourish. Paper became the writing material of choice throughout China, Eurasia and the Middle East.
Another invention that spread along the Silk Road and its tributaries was the noria, or irrigation waterwheel. This simple device,
invented in the Middle East, consists of a vertical waterwheel to the rim of which are attached a series of pots. As the current of a river
rotates the wheel, the pots fill with water at the bottom of the cycle and empty into a chute at the top.
Food also counts in the category of the travel of ideas and techniques. Oranges traveled from China to the Mediterranean world; grapes
went from the Middle East to China.
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