Information on the Silk Road

The Silk Road, or simply the Silk Road. It refers to the land passage opened by Zhang Qian in the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-8 AD), starting from Chang 'an (Jin 'an) and connecting Mediterranean countries through Gansu and Xinjiang (this road is also called the "Northwest Silk Road" to distinguish it from the other two traffic routes named "Silk Road" in the future). Because silk products have the greatest influence on the goods transported from the west, we got this name (and a lot of silk was shipped from China). Its basic trend was set in the Han Dynasty, including three routes: South Road, Middle Road and North Road.

The Silk Road is a historically trans-Eurasian trade transportation line, which promoted friendly exchanges between Europe, Asia, Africa and China. China is the hometown of silk. In the trade through this route, silk is the most representative commodity exported by China. /kloc-In the second half of the 9th century, German geographer Richthofen called this land transportation route "Silk Road", which has been accepted by Chinese and foreign historians ever since.

The term "Silk Road" originated from China published by German geographer Ferdinand von richthofen in 1877, sometimes referred to as the Silk Road for short. Although the Silk Road is the product of the economic and trade development promoted by countries along the route, many people think that Zhang Qian in China has opened a new era of Sino-foreign exchanges twice. And successfully opened the last bead curtain between East and West. Since then, this route has been stepped out of the "national highway", and ambassadors and businessmen from all countries have poured in along the road opened by Zhang Qian. From princes and nobles to beggars and prisoners, they all left footprints on this road. This east-west passage closely links the Central Plains and the Western Regions with Arabia and the Persian Gulf. After centuries of continuous efforts, the Silk Road extended westward to the Mediterranean Sea. Broadly speaking, the eastern section of the Silk Road reached South Korea and Japan, and the western section reached France and the Netherlands. Italy and Egypt can also be reached by sea, becoming the road of friendship for economic and cultural exchanges between Asia, Europe and Africa.

(1) Western Regions: During the Han Dynasty, people called the Western Regions the west of Yumenguan and Jiayuguan in Gansu, that is, today's Xinjiang region and beyond. Before Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, there were many small countries there, and some small countries north of Tianshan Mountain were controlled and enslaved by Xiongnu.

(2) Zhang Qian's first mission to the Western Regions:

Objective: Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty recruited envoys to the Western Regions, and prepared to contact Dayue, who was driven to the Western Regions by the Xiongnu from Hexi, to attack the Xiongnu with * * *. Zhang Qian, eager to contribute to the country, resolutely subscribed.

What happened: In BC 138, he traveled westbound from Chang 'an with more than 100 followers, and was caught by Huns on the way and detained for 12 years. He did not forget his mission, but managed to escape and arrive in Da Yue. At that time, Da Yue had already moved westward, and had no intention of fighting Xiongnu again. Zhang Qian returned to Chang 'an and reported to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty what he had seen and heard in the Western Regions and their desire to communicate with the Han Dynasty.

(3) Zhang Qian's second mission to the Western Regions:

In BC 1 19, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions for the second time. Zhang Qian led a delegation, with thousands of cattle and sheep and a lot of silk, to visit many countries in the western regions. Western countries also sent envoys to visit Chang 'an. Since then, the exchanges between the Han Dynasty and the Western Regions have become more frequent.

(4) the establishment of the western regions:

2. Countries in the western regions joined the Han Dynasty one after another. In 60 BC, the Western Han Dynasty established the Western Regions Duhu, which was in charge of the affairs of the Western Regions. Since then, Xinjiang has been under the jurisdiction of the central government and has become an inseparable part of China.

3. Ban Chao manages the western regions;

In 73 AD, the Eastern Han Dynasty sent Ban Chao to the Western Regions. He helped the western countries get rid of the control of the Huns and was appointed as the protector of the western regions by the Eastern Han Dynasty. He has governed the western regions for 30 years and strengthened the ties between the western regions and the mainland. Ban Chao sent Gan Ying to Daqin and Gan Ying to the Persian Gulf. /kloc-in 0/66, the emissary of Daqin came to Luoyang, which was the first direct contact between European countries and China.