What Is The Silk Road

What is the Silk Road?

In the strictest sense the answer would be of the form - the name given to a series of trade routes across Asia. This may be more accurate than the name actually is but it fails to explain the derivation and completely loses the romanticism that has developed around the term since it was first coined. Let's look for a fuller explanation.

The term Silk Road was first used by Baron Ferdinand von Richtofen, uncle of the notorious WWI pilot, Manfred von Richtofen, better known as the Red Baron.

Ferdinand was a scientist in the widest sense with a deep interest in geology especially, and travel. He visited China several times in the late 19th century, using the term Seidenstraße (and its plural) for the first time in 1877.

It is important that the originator of this simplifaction recognised already that there was not just one Silk Road (or route) but many, and that these varied in importance over time. Silk was also only one of the important goods traded along these routes though, being for a long time, only available from China one which succinctly conveyed the true unifying theme - trade with the otherwise isolated China.

To many the Silk Road is a one-way route between Xi'an (previously Chang'an) and Rome.

The start-point in China is valid enough since that was the capital during the heydays and, though silk and other goods were produced elsewhere, much did pass through Chang'an before heading west. This should also be considered an end-point as goods also returned by the same trade routes. Obviously - otherwise there would have been no trade.

Rome was one of the more famous destinations for silk in that this fabric became very popular, to the point of disrupting the empire's economy. Overland trade generally ended at Antioch or Tyre, with goods being taken from these ports by sea to their final destination.

Of course, some of the goods never actually travelled the whole length of this route. Much would have been consumed or exchanged in the grand cities en-route.

There is a general consensus that a branch of this route south from Yarkand over the mountains and on into India constitues another najor Silk Road. No doubt there were many minor ones serving small independent staes that no longer exist.

The Southern Silk Road was actually the first route to be put into regular use in what is now (the People's Republic of) China. This will now be described using the modern place names.

The southern silk route took the standard path from Chang'an through Lanzhou to Dunhuang in Gansu Province. This was the last outpost for much of the relevant period and those that passed through the Yumenguan (Jade Gate Pass) left the civilized world and entered barbarian lands. Worse still, the terrain was as evil as the few inhabitants being mostly desert.

It was, in fact, the terrain that decided the feasibility of any route. The southern route took advantage of snow melt from the mountain ranges to the south to sustain traders and pack animals along their journey. The route clung to the southern edge of the desert where land was relatively flat but where water was never too far away.

Life is still hard in this region and still dominated by the need for water. There are few settlements between Dunhaung and Ruoqiang (Qarkilik) and then only a few more between there and Hetian (Hotan) despite there being a good road.

In later times the northern Silk Road became more popular. This followed the same necessity as the southern route and skirted the Taklamakan Desert on its northern side where a ring of mountains from Hami allowed this alternate route to Kashgar (Kashi).

The major stops on this route were Turpan (Turfan), Korla, Kuqa (Kuche) and Aksu.

Some traders ventured through other passes into Kyrgyztsan and Kazakhstan - perhaps initially to avoid bandits or other troubles on the 'normal' routes.

So, in fact, the Silk Road consists of many routes, for many reasons - though mostly trade related.

The historical significance of these routes may only have become widely known in the late 19th century but actually the routes themselves were probably in use for thousands of years before that.

Silk was one of the more famous items traded from China. China also exported furs, ceramics and medicinal items such as cinnamon and rhubarb. In return they sought precious metals and stones (especially jade), ivory, coral and wool carpets.

These routes also caused the passing of information and ideas. Buddhism almost certainly came to China from India via the Silk Road - with the many Buddhist Grottoes along the route now being one of the biggest attractions for tourists.

Sheep and cattle are believed to have been brought to China from the west (although dating those events is difficult) and dogs are believed to have originated from China.

Many aspects of the Silk Road story manage to amaze historians and lay-people alike and, perhaps, therein lies the lasting appeal of one man's inaccurate but poetic label.