The cause, process and result of the Silk Road

Since Zhang Qian was introduced to the Western Regions, the commercial exchanges between China and Central Asia and Europe have increased rapidly. Through this avenue running through Asia and Europe, China's silk products, such as silk, silk, twill, satin and silk, have been continuously transported to Central Asia and Europe. Therefore, Greece, Rome and China are called "Cyrus" countries and "Cyrus" people. Richthofen, a German geologist, praised this east-west road opened by Zhang Qian as the "Silk Road". On the basis of years of research, Hurtsen, a German, wrote a monograph "Silk Road". Since then, this term [2] of the Silk Road has been recognized by the world. Generally speaking, the Silk Road is the general name of this east-west traffic route that started from East Asia and then connected Europe and North Africa through Central Asia and West Asia since ancient times. It is of great significance in the history of the world. It is the traffic artery of the Eurasian continent and a bridge for the intersection of China, Indian and Greek cultures. The Silk Road, According to its route, Xinjiang is divided into three roads: south, middle and north. The Silk Road was a commercial road that ran through China and the West in ancient times. It was named by the German geographer F. von Richthofen in 1877. However, what he meant was "from 114 BC to 127 AD, China was in Hejian area and between China and India. The so-called western region refers to the vast area from the west of Guyumen Pass and Guyangguan Pass to the Mediterranean coast. Later, historians collectively referred to the commercial route connecting China and the West as the Silk Road. Because it spanned more than 2, years of history and involved land and sea, it was divided into four periods according to history, namely pre-Qin, Han and Tang Dynasties, Song and Yuan Dynasties, and Ming and Qing Dynasties. According to the route, there were differences between land silk roads and sea silk roads. It is also divided into "Northern Silk Road" and "Southern Silk Road". The geographical landscape of the land silk road is very different, and people subdivide it into "Grassland Forest Silk Road", "Alpine Canyon Silk Road" and "Desert Oasis Silk Road". Silk is a representative commodity exported along the commercial road in ancient China, and as the main returning commodity in exchange, it is also used as another name for Silk Road. Such as "fur road", "jade road", "jewelry road" and "spice road".

The Maritime Silk Road exported a lot of porcelain after the Middle Ages, so it is also called "Porcelain Road". In short, the Silk Road has a broad sense and a narrow sense. The broad sense Silk Road is a general term for ancient Chinese and western trade routes; The narrow sense of Silk Road only refers to the Silk Road in the desert oasis in the Han and Tang Dynasties.

The starting time of the Silk Road's rise and fall has not been determined by historians, but at the latest in the 5th century BC, China silk was introduced into Persia by land and then sold to the Roman Empire. In the 4th century BC, silk was recorded in ancient western documents, and it was pointed out that "its silk goods were sold to India". Before the 3rd century BC, China was called "Seres" in the west, which means "SERES" in Latin. ~ 87 years ago) In the second year of Jianyuan (139 BC), Zhang Qian (164 BC ~ 114 BC) was sent to the Western Regions to "hollow out" the Silk Road. In the fourth year of Yuanshou (119 BC), he was sent to the Western Regions again. His envoys went to Dawan (now Fergana), Kangju (now the Amu and Sire river basins), Dayue (now the central and western Afghanistan), Daxia (now the northern Afghanistan), Rest in Peace (now Iran), Body Poison (now India), Khotan (now Hotan) and Yemi (now Tiandong). Immigrants settled in the fields. The ambassadors and businessmen from different countries in the Han Dynasty "looked at each other on the road" and "belonged to each other endlessly". Businessmen from Central Asia and West Asia "never stopped talking about business and peddling customers, and the day was filled with regret". The Silk Road was interrupted during the Xinmang period (AD 9-23). Ban Chao (AD 32-12) made outstanding achievements in reopening the Silk Road and sent Gan Ying as an ambassador.