Week 5

2/23/24 “The Merchant’s Tale” Silk Road

● Prior impressions
○ that it was 1 road
○ that the main good was silk
● Which part was influential
○ difficulties of traveling
○ various languages
○ some routes are open/closed for different seasons
○ transportation - horses and camels
● Diversity
○ languages
○ goods being transported - gems
○ religion
○ ecological
■ desert or mountain
● Tang Dynasty
○ cultural prosperity
○ Chang’an - infrastructurally and technologically developed
■ Wasn’t just between Europe and Asia, was also with Central Asia
■ China had the majority of trade
■ already so many Buddhist monasteries and nunneries and all in a cluster
● Why this perspective
○ get the ideas of an outsider rather than just a single viewer lense
● Misconceptions
○ Not 1 single route
○ Silk wasn’t the only good sold
○ that people go through trade routes and continue moving
○ not just economic, mix of culture and politics - armies and wars and conflicts
● Conflicts
○ lots of respect towards Tang
○ battles and wars for the same land
● Would you recommend this book
○ Good amount of specificity but knowing the background about geography and the Silk
Road is necessary
○ the details and names might be unfamiliar to most