Notes on the Silk Road

Author: Lin Meicun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: The term "Silk Road" was proposed by the German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen in 1877. He dated the opening of the Silk Road to 114 BC, marking its beginning with Zhang Qian's two missions to the Western Regions. As a diplomatic envoy, Zhang Qian's two journeys to Central Asia did not achieve their original objectives. However, as a geographical explorer, Zhang Qian's Central Asian expeditions held epoch-making significance. It was precisely because Zhang Qian's Central Asian exploration altered the course of world civilization's development, directly bringing Chinese civilization into contact with Mediterranean culture in Central Asia. Subsequently, Chinese civilization, symbolized by silk, rapidly spread westward, reaching as far as the Roman Empire. Those ancient Western regions with millennia of civilization history and sacred religious sites are either perched atop the 6,000-meter-high Pamir Mountains or submerged beneath the vast yellow sands of the Taklamakan Desert. Our Silk Road exploration can be described as "searching high and low." Although it sometimes involves immense risks, it is filled with endless allure.