Silk Road Overview and Arrival of the Chinese
Core Readings:
Silk Road Timeline a 2-page list of important events
“The Silk Roads in History,” by Daniel C. Waugh 14 pages include extensive illustrations. https://www.penn.museum/sites/expedition/the-silk-roads-in-history/
Zhang Qian – Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhang_Qian
Map: Eurasian Steppes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_Steppe#/media/File:Eurasian_steppe_belt.jpg
Map: Main Silk or Spice Routes between 500 BCE and 500 CE https://www.ancient.eu/uploads/images/8327.jpg?v=1521123900
Recommended but not Required:
YouTube: “The Silk Road” – with Colin Thubron 45 minutesSee: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2qhUbJJ5XE
This video is a terrific introduction to the landscapes travelled by Xuanzang and Stein, as well as to the ethnic groups they encountered.
For Further Reading:
"Han Emperor Wu-ti's Interest in Central Asia and Chang Chien's (Zhang Qian)” - Expeditions Magazine 3 pages, including illustrations http://www.silk-road.com/artl/wuti.shtml
The War of Heavenly Horses - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_Heavenly_Horses
Open Source Civilization and the Unexpected Origins of the Silk Road http://longnow.org/seminars/02018/feb/26/open-source-civilization-unexpected-origins-silk-road/
In this video, archeologist Michael Frachetti reports on his many years of research and excavation in the majestic Altai Mountains, home of nomads since prehistory. His central finding: 75 percent of the hundreds of mountain and desert trails that became known as the Silk Road were originally travelled by sheep-herders migrating from summer grazing areas in the highlands to winter havens in the lowlands. A sound-only version of this can be heard at: http://podcast.longnow.org/salt/salt-020180226-frachetti-podcast.mp3