I think there are three main channels for China silk to spread to the west: one, as you know from China's history books, China gave a lot of gifts to the surrounding ethnic minorities during the Han and Tang Dynasties, which is a very important channel; The other is the Sima trade between the then China government and the surrounding ethnic minorities. This trade volume is also very large, because it is connected to the grassland area of Eurasia from the north. Therefore, it has something to do with why the early silk can be passed on, and of course, the later spread also plays a role; Another problem is that China introduced silk as a commodity and currency. In addition, when the Sogdians and Persian merchants came to China to purchase. Some documents are clearly recorded. For example, when you were in the Western Jin Dynasty, the documents found in Xinjiang and Dunhuang were the Sogdian Commercial Group. They are a very large business group, that is, they purchase in China in an organized way. This business group not only purchased in Xinjiang, but also went to Chang 'an, Luoyang and the mainland. They mainly exchange their silver coins, their woolen goods, some of their hemp products and specialty products to buy, which is also very large, and it has a whole system. Besides, it was also this kind of business at that time. The Sogdians live in Xinjiang and Dunhuang, and even have their settlements in the mainland, which means that they buy many things. These are the main channels.
When did the Silk Road have this name? According to the current research, that is to say, at the end of 19, German scholar Richthofen published a book called China in 1877. In this book, he first put forward the name of the Silk Road, and later he was Herman, a German in 19 10. He also published The Ancient Silk Road between China and Syria, which improved Richthofen's viewpoint and extended the Silk Road to Syria. Now, generally speaking, the ancient Silk Road, that is, from Chang 'an to Syria, has been gradually accepted by academic circles since it was put forward. In China, this name has been accepted and really widely used for decades. Because if you look at the works of some scholars who study the relationship between the East and the West in China, you will know. At that time, these scholars mainly used the name of east-west traffic, or east-west traffic. At that time, the name Silk Road had not been used. Because the name of the Silk Road is limited. Because this road is not just a silk trade, it is just one of them, it is not the Silk Road. The connotation of this traffic line cannot be completely summarized by the Silk Road. The east-west traffic and the east-west traffic discussed at that time included both traffic lines and various exchanges, including culture, art, science and technology, religion and so on. Therefore, it is actually a subject of cultural exchange between the East and the West. Today, the academic circles have basically accepted the name of the Silk Road. In fact, it is not limited to silk and transportation, but also focuses on communication, which is its rich connotation.
The Silk Road didn't exist at first. So let me talk about the opening, development and end of the Silk Road. First of all, let's talk about the general situation of east-west traffic. East-west traffic is in Central Asia. Now Stan's concept of Central Asia is that the former Soviet Union joined five republics, and now Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, which we now call Central Asia. This central Asian region was originally a corridor of Eurasia, a corridor of east, west, north and south. In ancient Central Asia, it was very developed with the West Asia and South Asia subcontinent in the north, South Siberia and grassland areas. However, before the Han Dynasty communicated with the western regions, the traffic in this Xinjiang region was closed, which was related to the local situation. Everyone knows that Xinjiang is surrounded by mountains, and they are all very high. In addition, the deserts and Gobi in Xinjiang are both large and there are many small countries, so they are relatively closed to each other. So there was no large-scale traffic. Judging from some historical records recorded in the west, we are not clear about Xinjiang now. At that time, it was the area north of Tianshan Mountain, and it was the migration route of nomadic people such as Wusun and Da Yue. But it was later blocked by the Huns, saying that it was basically impassable. So at that time, China and Central Asia and the West were separated by Xinjiang, which is now Xinjiang. This traffic line was impassable at that time. Therefore, before the Han Dynasty, it was impossible for silk to be transported abroad in large quantities, and it was also impossible. So this traffic line was opened in the Western Han Dynasty. During the Western Han Dynasty, there was a well-known Zhang Qian and Zhang Qian, which had a lot to do with the opening of the western regions and the Silk Road. At that time, Zhang Qian hollowed out, mainly twice. Why do you have to ask him to pass through the western regions? In other words, at that time, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty wanted to beat the Xiongnu, because Wusun and Yueshi were originally in Hexi Corridor of Gansu. After being expelled by the Huns, they moved to Central Asia. He wanted to fight Xiongnu with Wusun and Yueshi, that is, he was attacked from both sides. For this political purpose, he sent Zhang Qian to see Zhang Qian for the first time, and it didn't achieve much effect. Wu Sun and Yue Shi don't want to come back. Later, he said that Emperor Wu would not give up. The second time, he was sent to Usun and neighboring countries. This time, he sent envoys to many small countries in ancient Xinjiang. After Zhang Qian came back, he made a detailed report to the Han government, including the surrounding traffic lines, local customs, local products of various countries and so on. So this report is the later historical records? Biography of Dawan is mainly based on the report, which is very important for Emperor Wu and the Han government to understand the situation west of the Western Han Dynasty, and plays an important role in Emperor Wu's determination to communicate with the western regions. Therefore, the later Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty decided to send troops to the Western Regions and finally unified them. Everyone may know this western region, but this understanding is different. There are broad and narrow definitions now.
Broadly speaking, the area west of Yumenguan and Yangguan can be called the Western Regions. The narrow sense of the Western Regions refers to the west of Yumenguan and Yangguan, and Xinjiang includes the area before imperialism and Russia invaded our territory, collectively known as the Western Regions. However, China had different views on the Western Regions. After Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty decided to communicate with the Western Regions, because of the needs of military politics, he opened the closed communication lines at that time. As a whole, the communication lines between countries affected Central Asia, including Wusun and Da Yue, and were closely related to him. That is to say, the traffic lines in Xinjiang are connected with those in Central Asia. In this way, the Silk Road will be really smooth. So it was the Han Dynasty in China that really opened up the Silk Road. In the past, they all had their own traffic lines, and they were not really connected.
After the opening of the Silk Road, there was a development process. The Silk Road was basically developed in the Han Dynasty, but by the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, China was in civil strife. In 395, the Roman Empire also split and Persia declined. So at this time, the Silk Road is a relatively short period. In the Tang dynasty, it can be said that it was the most prosperous time for the Tang dynasty to govern the western regions. Not only did it directly rule the whole Xinjiang region, but it also established the 16 viceroy in Central Asia until the nominally controlled eastern border of Persia. Therefore, in other words, their transportation lines and organizations in the Tang Dynasty were also the most complete, and they developed to a very high stage at this time. However, Milos was defeated by the Arab Empire in the Tang Dynasty. Later, after the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty withdrew from Xinjiang around 790 AD. So at this stage, the Silk Road is in a period of slow decline, right? By the end of the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, the overland Silk Road was replaced by the Maritime Silk Road, completing its historical mission. That is to say, by the end of the Five Dynasties and the beginning of the Song Dynasty, the overland Silk Road, as its main historical mission, had ended. But in the Yuan Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty, the whole Silk Road on land was connected again because it passed through various khanates. At this time, it was relatively developed, but it was a brilliant sunset, but it lost its function with the demise of the Yuan Dynasty. So the Silk Road is a historical category. Everyone is also very concerned about the current Silk Road traffic line. The current traffic lines of the Silk Road are relatively clear in Central Asia, West Asia and Rome, because they are well studied. From Chang 'an to Hexi Corridor, it is generally clear, and the most unclear area now is Xinjiang. Why do you say that? Because Xinjiang is mainly Gobi and desert, there is no fixed communication line between Gobi and desert, as long as the general direction is right. If you go to Xinjiang, you will know this situation.