Impact Of The Silk Road

The Silk Road, one of the largest and most influential trade routes in the world, has had a massive effect on not only china but a large portion of the world. It stretched from china through to India, Persia, Arabia and Europe and operated from around 114 BCE to 1450 CE. Not only material goods were exchanged, as religions, philosophies, technology and diseases were traded during the length of the Silk Road’s operation. This enormous trade route opened up opportunities for technology, as inventions were created that ultimately changed the world as we know it. The Silk Road functioned as a means of cultural exchange, spreading Chinas influence across many countries, boosting their power and authority. In this way, it transformed China and the …show more content…
The small cities along the route did not protest this, as they could carry out the trade they depended on while being under the protection of Chinese garrisons . The trade was mostly carried on the backs of the two-humped Bactrian camel, which fashioned a heavy coat of hair to protect itself from harsh weather and the strength to carry 500 pounds . The Silk Road acquired its name because of the strong demand of silk from outside countries. It was considered by Europe to be an exotic, highly valuable material and ended up being a powerful asset for China. This is not to say that silk was easy to manufacture, as it is estimated that 150 pounds of silk would require 750,000 silk words, not to mention the care, time attention that these worms required . The profit and political power that china gained from the Silk Road fuelled the Han Dynasty, transforming china into an increasingly prosperous …show more content…
Buddhism originated in Nepal around 500 BCE, then integrated itself into India and other countries placed along the Silk Road, including China. Buddhism transformed China culturally, politically and socially. Confucianism and Daoism were the main ideologies that ruled China before the introduction of Buddhism. Daoism is a philosophical religion that is native to China, and focuses around living in harmony with ‘dao’, meaning “way” or “path”. Confucianism is another philosophical religion, emphasising the importance of people as a community, created in China during 500-479 BCE. Thanks to foreign influence, Buddhism was able to be introduced to China and apply spirituality and a sense of individuality, concepts which the former religions lacked. Buddhism was first introduced to china via foreign merchants, who travelled through the Silk Road, closely followed by missionaries . The translation of Buddhist texts greatly helped the religion spread through China. Large Buddhist statues were erected along the Silk Road, to spread the word of Buddhism through physical representation as well as verbal. The philosophy of Buddhism was spread through many countries, meaning that it was translated through many different languages. Buddhist beliefs eventually became the foundation for Chinese government and society, which still holds even to this