The Silk Road: Two Thousand Years in the Heart of AsiaThe Silk Road, a series of ancient trade routes stretching across Central Asia to Europe, evokes exotic images of camel trains laden with bales of fine Chinese silk, spices, and perfume, of desert oases surrounded by snow-capped mountains, of bustling markets thronging with travellers buying and selling grapes, coriander, Baltic amber, and Mediterranean coral. Along this route, silks were sent from China to ancient Rome; princesses were dispatched in marriage alliances across the deserts; bandits and thieves launched attacks throughout history. Covering more than 5,000 years, this book, lavishly illustrated with photographs, manuscripts, and paintings from the collections of the British Library and other museums worldwide, presents an overall picture of the history and cultures of the Silk Road. It also contains many previously unpublished photographs by the great explorers Stein, Hedin, and Mannerheim. More than just a trade route, the Silk Road witnessed the movement of cultural influences. Frances Wood traces the story of the civilizations and ideas that flourished and moved along its vast geographical expanse. Indian Buddhism was carried into China on the Silk Road, initiating a long history of pilgrimages along the lonely desert routes; Manichaeism, Nestorian Christianity, and Islam also made their way eastwards along its route. The nineteenth century saw a new interest in Central Asia and the Silk Road, as Russia and Britain vied for power on the frontiers of Afghanistan. A new breed of explorer, part archaeologist, part cartographer, part spy, was seen on the Silk Road, while some of the ancient cities, long buried in sand-blown dunes, began to give up their secrets. This book brings the history of the Silk Road alive--from its beginnings to the present day, revealing a rich history still in the making. |
From inside the book
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Contents
A ceaselessly flowing stream of life | 9 |
Coiled dragons and filmy fleeces jade and silk | 26 |
From Greece and Rome to China and back again | 36 |
A people abandoned by Heaven the Xiongnu and trade during the Han dynasty | 48 |
The spread of trade and religions Tocharians and Sogdians | 61 |
The fashion for all things Central Asian | 75 |
The Caves of the Thousand Buddhas Buddhism on the Silk Road | 88 |
Tanguts Mongols Nestorians and Marco Polo | 111 |
Trophies and tiger entrails bunting and theorising on the Silk Road | 180 |
Securing specimens Aurel Stein | 191 |
An end to excavation Pelliot von Le Coq and Warner | 208 |
The Baby General travel on the Silk Road in the 1930s | 223 |
The Silk Road today | 243 |
References | 247 |
List of Illustrations | 255 |
Acknowledgements | 259 |
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Common terms and phrases
ancient Asian Bokhara British Library British Museum Buddhist camel caravan caves Central Asia century Cherchen China Chinese Clavijo collection consul crossing described desert Dunhuang early East emperor empire envoys expedition explorers Faxian Ferghana foreign Gansu Geographical Gobi Guanyin Heavenly Horses Helen Espir Hopkirk India inhabitants Islam jade journey Kashgar Khan Kharakhoto Khiva Khotan Kucha London Loulan Macartney Maillart manuscripts Marco Polo merchants Mildred Cable Mongol Mongolia monks mountains Nestorian oases oasis towns painting Pamirs paper Peking Pelliot Persia Peter Fleming Photograph Przhevalsky Rabban Sauma river route ruler Russian Samarkand sand script sent Silk Road silkworms Sir Aurel Stein Sogdian southern Silk Road St Petersburg sutras Sven Hedin Taklamakan Tang dynasty Tangut Tartary temple texts Thousand Buddhas Tibet Tibetan Timur trade translated travellers Turfan Turkestan Uighur Urumqi wall-paintings walls Warner Western whilst Xinjiang Xiongnu Xuanzang Yarkand yellow Younghusband Yuezhi Zhang Qian