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  The
Silk Road was named by the German geographer, Barn Ferdinand von Richthofen,
as the greatest East to West trade route between China, Central Asia and
Byzantium. This ancient route between East and West was established during
206 BC to AD 220 in Han Dynasty of China for the political contact with
the many Kingdoms of Central Asia. Since then, the Silk Road has also
become the trading routes between China and West. In fact the term "Silk
Road" has vividly described the complex reality happened along the
long way between these two continents politically and economically.
The Silk Road
consists of a network of both land and sea routes. Many caravans and ship
had successfully made their ways to Eurasia over the centuries, adapting
various function according to different political situation, economic conditions,
geographic environments, taste and demand of many different races for particular
products, religious belief, their artistic aspects as well as development
of technology and skills.
The flourish
of Silk route not only had brought the precious price "silk" from
China to West also established many other trades between goods. Eastbound
caravans brought gold, precious metals and stones, ivory, coral, spices,
tea, paper, textiles, and chinaware, while westbound caravans transported
furs, ceramics, incense, cinnamon bark and rhubarb as well as bronze weapons.
Of course, on the top of the exchanges of merchandises, the different religious
belief of Buddhism and Nestorianism had gotten the chance to explore their
way to other areas.
Across the
multiplicity of trades along the routes, silk was the most prominent products
of all because it was used by Chinese as the basic currency to the neighbor
countries of the North and West, a means of exchange. The silk also paid
off by Chinese government to ensure the pace at the far west borders with
nomadic neighbors and to guard against the invaders to destroy their agricultural
development. Time by time, the exchanges of supplies had expanded from far
East, China through middlemen in Central Asia to the far West, Roman Empire.
As the result, the demands of the silk grew rapidly in the West.
In fact, the
great demands of merchandise exchanges between East and West had made the
great network of Silk Road, linking Europe, India, and the Far East, not
only was the important paths for traders but also the significant tracks
of missionaries, monks, mendicants, and military men. The "exchanges"
across the Eurasia were not limited by the merchandises. Along with the
bartering of supplies, we often could find the various myths and legends
accommodate with the supplies. These myths and legend spanned across the
eighth through the tenth centuries with the greatest trade route also lively
depicted divers religious belief, different live styles through out various
classes in many countries, as well as the social structures and political
relationships between countries at different times during this period.
This well development
of the network of the Silk Road is the precious wonder of mankind in our
history. It enabled people in the past to interact with each other that
results in the exchanges of culture, religion, technology, skills of art
and so on. Because this great interactivities happened along the Silk Road,
now today's' archaeologists and art historians will be able to excavate
the properties in the influences of the multicultural under the ground to
work together in order to reveal the true stories in the past. Let us take
a close look of the art along the Silk Road in the past to deconstruct the
history of the route through the careful examinations of the wonderful features
embraced in the art.
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