What is the silk road?
The Silk Road was an old trade route through the regions of Asia connecting the West and East from China to the Mediterranean Sea.
The Silk Road derives its name from the Chinese silk trades that began in the Han dynasty (207 BCE – 220 CE). The Chinese wanted to ensure maximum safety for their trades, so they extended the Great Wall of China. Trade on the Silk Road was very significant towards the development of China, the Indian subcontinent, Persia, Europe, the Horn of Africa and Arabia, creating long-distance economic relations between the civilisations. Silk was the major trade that China made since they had an abundance of it but many other goods were traded too, such as tea, flowers, and fine china. Religion was also passed along the Silk Road as well as diseases and various technologies.
Questions:
- Which areas/countries did the Silk Road benefit?
- China
- India
- Persia
- Europe
- Africa
- Arabia
- How was silk discovered?
- Legend has it that the wife of the Yellow Emperor, Leizu, had the idea of making silk around the year 2696 BC. The idea first came to her when she was having tea in the imperial gardens in which a cocoon fell into her tea cup and unraveled. She noticed that the cocoon is made from a long thread that was both soft and strong. She then learned how to combine the fibers into a fine thread and used the silk loom that she invented to create the threads into cloth. Soon after, she had a forest of mulberry trees for the silk worms and taught the rest of China how to make silk.
- Is there a difference to how silk was made in the 14th century compared to modern times?
- Yes, in the 14th century, everything was made by hand but now, silk is made by machines that do all the work. Technology has advanced and silk making has also advanced.
- What were the most important things that were being traded in the Silk Road in the 14th century?
- Silk
- Paper
- Precious stones
- Skill sets (e.g. grapes to make wine)
- Horses
- Camels
- Ivory, Jade etc.
- Fur
- Why did the Khans allow all religions in the Mongolian Empire?
- Genghis Khan allowed all religions in his empire because he supported diversity and some claim that the Mongols were more religiously open than any other power in the world.
- Why was the Silk Road significant?
- It’s significant because it has opened the world to different cultures and items. It has also formed relations between civilizations because the Silk Road travelled from Chang’an (Now Xi’an) in the East to the Mediterranean in the West, thus, linking China with the Roman Empire.
- Is there a modern silk road?
- There might be because according to BBC, the path of M&S suits go from UK to Australia to China to Italy to Romania to Yorkshire to Cambodia then shipped back to the UK. The question is, why would this modern Silk Road now contain Cambodia because the original Silk Road didn’t include Cambodia. The reason for this might be the low wage.
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M&S Suits Path
- Were the Mongols good or bad? Why?
- In my opinion, they were bad because they raped, pillaged, and slaughtered millions of people in their conquests where they looted and plundered. They never attempted to colonize and they didn’t spread their cultures around in the places they’ve conquered.
- What are the negative effects of the Silk Road?
- The biggest disadvantage of the Silk Road would be the spread of diseases. It spread measles, small pox, and most importantly, the Black Death which was a plague that killed off so many people it got named that. It completely wiped out half of Europe and 3/4th of England.
- Where is Genghis Khan buried?
- Legend says that when Genghis Khan was buried, he had all of the slaves that buried him killed and the people who killed the slaves were killed too and it kept spreading and killing people.
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