Gan Ying went to the Roman

    Gan Ying went to the Roman

  In 97, Gan Ying was dispatched by Ban Chao to Daqin (the Roman Empire) for trading with Romans directly. He set out on his journey from Qiuci (Kuche), traversed inhospitable deserts, went over snow-covered Pamirs, by way of Tiaozhi (now Iraq) and the Anxi Empire (Parthia) and finally reached the Persian Gulf. Being afraid of the difficulty of crossing the boundless sea,Fantastic silk scarves, he gave up halfway. Although Gan Ying failed to finish his mission, he brought more detailed and reliable information about Central Asia.

Chinese Technologies Introduced into the West via Silk Road

 

       cultural exchange between China and the West offered mutual benefit and achieved common progress. The ,paper making,Sexy silk dresses, printing, gunpowder and compass) as well as the skills of silkworm breeding and silk spinning were transmitted to the West. This greatly sped up the development of the entire world.

Apart from Chinese exquisite goods, many Chinese advanced technologies were also exported to the west, such as the silkworms breading, silk spinning, paper making, printing with movable type and gunpowder.

In Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), China had a monopoly on silk trade by keeping the silk's production technology a secret. A Han princess smuggled silkworms and mulberry seedlings as well as skilled workmen into Yutian (now Hetian). It was not until the 12th century AD that this technology reached to West Europe.

In 750, a war between the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and the Arab Empire broke out in Bishkek City and the Tang troops were defeated. As a result, Arabs took Chinese prisoners to Samarkand along the Silk Road. Among them there were paper making workmen.

In Tang Dynasty, Printing Technique had been introduced into the Central Asia. In the thirteenth century, many European travelers reached China through the Silk Road and brought back Printing Technique to Europe. In 1444, Gutenberg, a German inventor of letterpress printing, printed the Bible using a similar printing technique.

During the early period of the thirteenth century, Mongolian hordes used gunpowder to flatten resistance against them in their westward conquests. That was equivalent to weapons of mass destructions in those days.

What's more, the technique of karez was introduced into the Western Regions in the Han Dynasty. The Han troops stationed in the West Regions used the technique to storing water under desolate conditions. From the Three Kingdoms (220-280) to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the music, dance, acrobatics and arts of West Asia and Central Asia spread into China. The Kung-hou (23-stringed instrument) and lute of Persia joined Chinese traditional musical instruments in the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD).

Material culture exchange was also underway on this long trade road. A large number of products of the West flowed into China, such as grapes, clover, walnuts, carrots, peppers, beans, spinach, cucumbers, pomegranates, rare animals, medicinal materials, flavorings and jewelry. Chinese porcelains and lacquers were traded into the West as well.

Auspicious Design on China Silk

 

   Auspicious Design on China Silk

 The auspicious design on , originated in Shang Dynasty (16th-11th century BC), developed in Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties and reached its greatest in Ming (1368 - 1644) and Qing (1644 - 1911) dynasties. The auspicious design has become the symbol of China national spirit and important part of traditional Chinese culture.

In Ming and Qing dynasties, every design is endowed with auspicious meanings. What the designs wants to express can be summed up in four meanings, "Fu, Gui, Shou and Xi". "Fu" means rich or good harvest. "Gui" symbolizes power and prestige. "Shou" is related to longevity and safety. "Xi" refers to marriage, the blessings of children and friendship. The auspicious designs on the silks in Ming and Qing dynasties have a vast range of themes: birds and beasts; flowers, grass, trees and stones; bees, bugs and fish. The deep meanings are expressed by three composition ways. The first and most commonly used one is by decorative design, the second is by euphony and the third one is by written description.

 The expression of meaning by decorative design is to extend the sense of natural properties of animals and plants, such as the use of dragon, phoenix and boa to stand power and honor. The dragon is always regarded as the totem of Chinese nation, thus the dragon patterns are widely used in arts and crafts. In Ming and Qing Dynasties, the patterns of the golden dragon with five claws were the exclusive use of royal families. The cypress tree, due to its immortal greenness, is often used in a blessing of longevity. The Silktree Albizzia leaves extend in the morning and fold in the evening, which symbolizes the harmony between couples. The many seeded fruits such as pomegranate and grapes are a wish of more sons and more blessings. Peach and crane imply a long life. 

 The expression of meaning by euphony is closely related to Chinese partial tones. The distinct feature of Chinese characters makes the existence of euphony and pun. A speech sound often corresponds to several Chinese characters. For example,Sexy silk dresses, in Chinese, the pronunciations of "bottle" and "peaceful" sound the same. The partial tone of the magpie is happiness and the partial tone of longan or sweet osmanthus is honorable.

 

 

Ban Chao

  

   Ban Chao was a famous general leader and diplomat in the  (25 - 220). Living in the Western Regions for about 31 years, he put down numerous rebellions and built diplomatic relations with more than 50 states, which guaranteed the long-lasting peace and harmony along the Silk Road.

Ban Chao was born in Pingling (present Xianyang in Shaanxi Province) in 32 AD. His father, Ban Biao, was an official compiling history. His brother, Ban Gu, was the author of Han Shu, a book about the Western Han Dynasty. However, Ban Chao was uninterested in writing history. He respected Zhang Qian and Fu Jiezi very much and wanted to live a military life.

In 73 AD, Ban Chao joined the army led by General Dou Gu to fight against the Northern Huns (Xiongnu). During the war, he and other soldiers successfully made a sneak attack on Yiwu (now Hami). The emperor admired his talents and sent him to the Western Regions to carry out a diplomatic mission. Ban Chao set out on this journey with 36 attendants. They killed the Hun's envoys in Shanshan (Qargan), persuaded the king of Yutian (Hetian) to kill the Hun's envoys there and subjugated the king of Shule (Kashgar), who united with the Huns to attack the Han Empire. Therefore, Shanshan, Yutian and Shule established friendly relationships with the Han Empire and agreed to be under its dominion.

In 75 AD, Qiuci (now Kuche or Kuqa) and Gumo (in Aksu) frequently attacked Shule. Ban Chao held on to the country for about three years. In 78 AD, leading the soldiers of Shule and Yutian, he fought against Gumo and vanquished it. During the following years,Sexy silk pajamas, Ban Chao defeated Shache (Yarkand), Da Yuezhi, Qiuci, Gumo, Wensu (west of now Yanqi), Yanqi (Qarashar, the ancient state in the Tarim Basin), Weixu and Weili (in the northeast of Korla). In 94 AD, more than 50 states of the Western Regions were under the control of the Eastern Han. In order to trade with the Roman Empire directly, Zhang Qian dispatched Gan Ying to Rome in 97 AD, but he only reached the Persian Gulf. In 102 AD, Ban Chao returned to Luoyang and before long he died there.

Come Home and the Travels of Marco Polo

 

 

In 1292, Kublai Khan agreed to let Marco Polo, his father and uncle return home, after they convoyed a Mongolian princess Kokachin to marry a Persian king. In 1295, they finally reached Venice by sea via the Black Sea and Constantinople. The information about China and some Asian states they brought back, aroused great interest among the Venetians. In 1298 AD, Marco Polo joined in the war between Venice and Genoa. Unfortunately he was captured and put into a Genoese prison, where he met a writer, Rustichello da Pisa. The writer recorded the story of his travels, well-known as The Travels of Marco Polo. The book has detailed descriptions of the wealth of China, a Japan filled with gold,womens silk pajamas, and the exotic custom of Central Asia, West Asia and Southeast Asia soon made it a bestseller.

Afterwards, the book became very popular in Europe and paved the way for the arrivals of countless westerners in the following centuries.

Silk Road on the Sea

 

     In order to distinguish it from the traditional Silk Road, this maritime trade route linking the East and West was given the name 'Silk Road on the Sea' by a Japanese scholar in 1967. The two most favored courses followed by trade ships were those of the East China and South China Sea Routes.

East China Sea Route

The East China Sea Route enjoys a long history of about 3,000 years. It was during the Zhou Dynasty that Ji Zi, a court official, was sent on a journey east, setting off from Shangdong Peninsula's Bohai Gulf and navigating his way across the Yellow Sea, which led to the introduction of sericiculture (silkworm farming), filature and silk spinning into Korea.

When  united China, many Chinese fled to Korea and took with them silkworms and silkworm breeding technology. This sped up the development of silk spinning in Korea. These new skills and the technologies were subsequently introduced into Japan during the Han Dynasty. Since the Tang Dynasty, the silks produced by Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces were directly shipped to Japan. Many Japanese envoys and monks were also able to travel to Chang'an (now Xian) along this sea route.

South China Sea Route

Guangzhou represented the starting-point of the South China Sea Route, which extended across the Indian Ocean and then on to various countries situated around the Persian Gulf. The types goods dispatched for trade consisted mainly of silk, china and tea, while imported merchandise included a variety of spices, flowers and grasses – hence it being commonly referred to as the sea's 'China Road' and the sea's 'Flavor Road' .

The route was first used in the Qin and Han Dynasties, and increased in popularity from the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280) to the Sui Dynasty (581–618). Up until the Tang Dynasty Anshi Rebellions (755–762), this route was viewed as a secondary alternative to the Silk Road, However in the latter half of the eighth century,womens silk pajamas, owing to the scourge of wars in the vast Western Regions, trade volumes along the Maritime Silk Road boomed as those on its overland counterpart steadily declined.

Technologic advances in shipbuilding and navigation led to the opening of new sea-lanes to the Southeast Asia, Malacca, areas in the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf. Guangzhou became the first great harbor in China around the time of the Tang and Song Dynasties, although it was later substituted by Quanzhou in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) as the most important trade port.

The Naval Expedition to the West by Zheng He in the early part of the Ming Dynasty demonstrated the great importance of the Silk Road and was to represent the peak of its popularity. The governments of the Ming and Qing Dynasties issued a ban on maritime trade, contributing to massive decline in its use. As the Opium War broke out in 1840, the Silk Road on the Sea totally disappeared.

 

How to Visit the Families of Ethnic Groups

 

 

When traveling along the Silk Road, you may be fortunate enough to be invited to visit families of other nationalities. Different nationalities have different customs, taboos and living styles. Remembering the saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do..." can ensure you a smooth and pleasant visit.

The best time to visit is in the afternoon; however the busy festival period should be avoided. Orderly and clean clothing is a symbol of politeness. Short trousers, waistcoat and hats are impolite. Before your visit a culture, get some knowledge about their religion, habits, living styles and especially taboos. Some gifts should be prepared at the first visit. Don't bring things that they would consider taboo and don't touch the utensils in their houses. When the hosts treat you with their local food, it is considered impolite to refuse it. If you are really reluctant, thank your host and offer some a reasonable explanation. When the hosts toast you,mens silk pajamas, you should receive the cup and first offer your thanks to the hosts. Then you can drink it or let other people help you if you cannot bear the whole cup of wine yourself.