A Short History of the Silk Road
Published on 31. March 2017
Book
Paperback/Softback
220 pages
978-1-909961-37-1 (ISBN)
Description
The Silk Road is a route from the edges of the European world to the central plains of China. For thousands of years, its history has been a traveller's history, of brief encounters in desert towns, snowbound passes and nameless forts. It was the conduit that first brought Buddhism, Christianity and Islam into China, and the site of much of the 'Great Game' between the empires of Britain and Russia.
The 'Silk Road' is a modern term, dating from 1877. Only a handful of men and women ever travelled the entire length. For many, the 'road' led only to the next town or oasis. Artefacts and articles meandered along the route from China to the Mediterranean, but only in stops and starts, traded back and forth, buffeted by changing conditions and markets.
Jonathan Clements takes the reader through the trackless wastes of the Taklamakan Desert, its black whirlwinds and dead lakes, its shimmering mirages, lost cities and mysterious mummies. He explains the truth behind odd tales of horses that sweat blood, defeaced statues, missing frescoes, and Marco Polo's tales of black gold that seeps from the earth.
The 'Silk Road' is a modern term, dating from 1877. Only a handful of men and women ever travelled the entire length. For many, the 'road' led only to the next town or oasis. Artefacts and articles meandered along the route from China to the Mediterranean, but only in stops and starts, traded back and forth, buffeted by changing conditions and markets.
Jonathan Clements takes the reader through the trackless wastes of the Taklamakan Desert, its black whirlwinds and dead lakes, its shimmering mirages, lost cities and mysterious mummies. He explains the truth behind odd tales of horses that sweat blood, defeaced statues, missing frescoes, and Marco Polo's tales of black gold that seeps from the earth.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 199 mm
Width: 126 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
283 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-909961-37-1 (9781909961371)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Clements Jonathan Clements
History of the Silk Road
E-Book
01/2014
Haus Publishing
€24.49
Available for download
Person
JONATHAN CLEMENTS is an author and TV presenter specialising in the history and cultures of the Far East. He speaks both Chinese and Japanese, and has been a consultant and talking head on numerous TV programmes, including New Secrets of the Terracotta Warriors (Channel 4), Koxinga: Sailing into History (National Geographic), China's Jade Empire (Channel 4), and TheChinese Chariot Revealed (PBS). Since 2016, he has fronted the award-winning series Route Awakening (National Geographic Asia). His most recent documentary as presenter is Shandong: Land of Confucius, also for National Geographic.
Content
1. The Invention of the Silk Road // 1
Beginnings and Endings // 4
Geography and Topography // 7
Names and Naming // 16
Barbarians, Minorities and the Historical Record // 19
2. From the Tarim Mummies to the Early Han Dynasty (Prehistory to AD 6) // 30
The Discovery of Silk // 35
Moths and Worms // 39
Horse-riders and Horse-traders // 42
3. The Western Regions: From Han to Tang (AD 6-618) // 53
Armies Reach Kashgar // 57
Silk Reaches Khotan // 66
Buddhism Reaches China // 68
4. The Tang Dynasty (618-907) // 76
Tripitaka // 80
The Christians // 84
The Jewelled Surnames // 87
The Tragedy of Yang Guifei // 93
5. The Uyghurs and the Mongols (907-1408) // 103
Barchuq Switches Sides // 107
Marco Polo // 116
The Muslims // 122
6. The New Frontier (1408-1912) // 128
Kazakhs, Kyrgyz aand Kalmuks // 131
Yaqub Beg and Kashgaria // 140
The Tomb Raiders // 144
7. Autonomy and Hegemony (1912-2012) // 155
The Republic of China // 158
The 'Republics' of Xinjiang // 167
The People's Republic of China // 171
Whose Song is it Anyway? // 176
8. The Silk Road Today // 181
Ecology and Erosion // 184
Religion and Races // 188
Tourism and Tradition // 190
History and Heritage // 193
Further Reading and References // 203
Chronology of Major Events // 216
Index // 221
Beginnings and Endings // 4
Geography and Topography // 7
Names and Naming // 16
Barbarians, Minorities and the Historical Record // 19
2. From the Tarim Mummies to the Early Han Dynasty (Prehistory to AD 6) // 30
The Discovery of Silk // 35
Moths and Worms // 39
Horse-riders and Horse-traders // 42
3. The Western Regions: From Han to Tang (AD 6-618) // 53
Armies Reach Kashgar // 57
Silk Reaches Khotan // 66
Buddhism Reaches China // 68
4. The Tang Dynasty (618-907) // 76
Tripitaka // 80
The Christians // 84
The Jewelled Surnames // 87
The Tragedy of Yang Guifei // 93
5. The Uyghurs and the Mongols (907-1408) // 103
Barchuq Switches Sides // 107
Marco Polo // 116
The Muslims // 122
6. The New Frontier (1408-1912) // 128
Kazakhs, Kyrgyz aand Kalmuks // 131
Yaqub Beg and Kashgaria // 140
The Tomb Raiders // 144
7. Autonomy and Hegemony (1912-2012) // 155
The Republic of China // 158
The 'Republics' of Xinjiang // 167
The People's Republic of China // 171
Whose Song is it Anyway? // 176
8. The Silk Road Today // 181
Ecology and Erosion // 184
Religion and Races // 188
Tourism and Tradition // 190
History and Heritage // 193
Further Reading and References // 203
Chronology of Major Events // 216
Index // 221