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The Silk Road, referred to as Silk Road for short, generally refers to the land Silk Road, which is broadly divided into the land Silk Road and the maritime Silk Road.
The overland Silk Road originated in the Western Han Dynasty (202-8 years ago), starting from the capital Chang 'an (now Xi 'an), passing through Gansu and Xinjiang, reaching Central Asia and West Asia and connecting Mediterranean countries. The starting point of the Silk Road in the Eastern Han Dynasty was Luoyang. Its original function was to transport silk produced in ancient China.
1877, German geologist Richthofen named the "Silk Road" from BC 1 14 to AD 127 as "the traffic road between China and Central Asia, and between China and India", which was quickly accepted by the academic circles and the public.
The "Maritime Silk Road" is a maritime passage for transportation, trade and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries in ancient times, mainly centered on the South China Sea, so it is also called the South China Sea Silk Road. The Maritime Silk Road was formed in the Qin and Han Dynasties, developed from the Three Kingdoms to the Sui Dynasty, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties and changed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. This is the oldest known sea route.
Hexi Corridor is the main road of the Silk Road, but why is there a "Yumen" in Hexi Corridor instead of a "Silk Gate"? As early as 2,000 years before the Silk Road was documented, the route of cultural exchange between the East and the West was opened, but not for exporting silk, but for importing Hetian jade? [6]。 The name "Silk Road" was invented by German scholars.
At the end of 19, Richthofen, a German geologist, named the "Silk Road" as "the traffic road in the western regions between China and Central Asia, China and India from BC14 to AD 127" in his book China, which was quickly accepted by the academic circles and the public. Later, in the book "The Ancient Silk Road between China and Syria" published at the beginning of the 20th century, German historian Herman further extended the Silk Road to the west coast of the Mediterranean and Asia Minor based on newly discovered archaeological data, and determined the basic connotation of the Silk Road, that is, the passage of ancient China to South Asia, West Asia, Europe and North Africa through Central Asia.
The traditional Silk Road starts from Chang 'an, the ancient capital of China, passes through Central Asian countries, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Syria, reaches the Mediterranean Sea, and ends in Rome, with a total length of 6,440 kilometers. This road is considered to be the intersection of ancient eastern and western civilizations connecting Asia and Europe, and silk is the most representative commodity. For thousands of years, nomads or tribes, businessmen, Christians, diplomats, soldiers and academic researchers have been moving around along the Silk Road.
With the development of the times, the Silk Road has become the general name for all political, economic and cultural exchanges between ancient China and the West. There is the "Northwest Silk Road", and Zhang Qian in the Western Han Dynasty opened the official passage of the western regions; There is a "Prairie Silk Road", which goes north to the Mongolian Plateau, then west to the northern foot of Tianshan Mountain and enters Central Asia. There is a rugged "Southwest Silk Road", from Chang 'an to Chengdu, and then to India. There is also a maritime trade "Maritime Silk Road" from coastal cities such as Guangzhou, Quanzhou, Hangzhou and Yangzhou, from Nanyang to the Arabian Sea, and even as far as the east coast of Africa.
In the pre-Qin period, China already had a channel connecting the East and the West. The formal introduction of silk into the West began in the Western Han Dynasty, and the real formation of the Silk Road began in Zhang Qian in the Western Han Dynasty. During this period, the source, destination and route of silk spread were very clear, well documented and recorded in history, and the spread volume was also very large. The silk trade between the East and the West was planned and even organized, so the Silk Road was really opened in the period of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty.
In the Western Han Dynasty, the west of Yangguan and Yumenguan, which is today's Xinjiang and beyond, was called the Western Regions. At the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty, the passage connecting East and West was blocked by Xiongnu. During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Mesoproterozoic people were connected with the Western Regions and began to strengthen the management of the Western Regions. The Western Regions were originally composed of 36 countries, and later split into more than 50 countries, all located in the west of Xiongnu and south of Wusun.
Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty heard that the Yue family who had been invaded by Xiongnu and moved westward had the intention of revenge against Xiongnu, so he sent someone to contact them to attack Xiongnu. Zhang Qian, a native of Hanzhong, Shaanxi, was recruited by Lang. In the second year of Jianyuan (139 BC), Zhang Qian led more than 100 people to the western regions, but he was captured by the Huns on the way, stayed for 10 years, and finally managed to escape and stayed in Dawan in the west for dozens of days.
At this time, the Yue family did not want to attack the Huns and continued to move westward. Zhang Qian didn't achieve his goal. He stayed in the western regions for more than a year and was detained by the Huns for more than a year. After that, it coincided with the death of Xiongnu Khan and the chaos in the country. In the third year of Yuanshuo (before 126), Zhang Qian flew back to Dahan, where he was warmly received by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and was named Doctor Tai Zhong. Journey to the West lasted 10 years. Although it didn't achieve its goal, it got a lot of information about the western regions. Historian Sima Qian called Zhang Qian's behavior "hollowing out".
After Zhang Qian returned to China, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent envoys to explore a communication line from Rome to Daxia, but without success. Later, the Han army defeated the Huns, gained the Hexi Corridor, and opened the passage between the Western Han Dynasty and the Western Regions. After Huo Qubing defeated Xiongnu in Qilian Mountain, Zhang Qian suggested contacting Wusun, a powerful country in the western regions, to break Xiongnu's right arm.
In the fourth year of Yuanshou (before 1 19), Zhang Qian sent another mission to the western regions, with the purpose of attracting Wu Sun to his hometown in Hexi and contacting other countries in the western regions. Zhang Qian arrived in Wusun, but failed to achieve his goal. In the second year of Ding Yuan (1 15), he returned to Chang 'an with Wu Sun's envoys, and Zhang Qian's envoys sent to other countries in the Western Regions also returned home one after another. Wu Sun's emissary saw that the big fellow was rich and generous. After returning to China, Wusun gradually became close to Dahan. In the following years, Zhang Qian went to Summer. From then on, the Western Han Dynasty began to have frequent contacts with northwest countries. Zhang Qian hollowed out the Western Regions and the Silk Road was officially opened. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty named him Prince Bo for his exploits.
However, the western countries did not completely get rid of the control of Xiongnu. Under the instigation of Xiongnu, Loulan, Cheshi and other countries often plundered the envoys and caravans sent by the Western Han Dynasty to the Western Regions. In order to ensure the access to the western regions, in the third year of Yuanfeng (BC 108), the general of the Han Dynasty, Wang Hui, led the cavalry to break Loulan, and Zhao Ponu led the army to break the coachman.
In the sixth year of Yuanfeng (BC 105), the Western Han Dynasty also married King Wusun and jointly captured the Huns. At the same time, in order to break the Xiongnu's control over Dawan and obtain the excellent blood horse of Dawan, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Li Guangli to attack Dawan (now Uzbekistan) many times. After paying a heavy price, he broke the capital of Dawan, greatly boosting the prestige of the Western Han Dynasty in the western regions and ensuring the traffic safety of the western regions. The "Silk Road" leading to the western regions has been unblocked.