In Susan Whitfield’s Life Along the Silk Road, she takes primary sources from the Dunhuang Manuscripts to create conglomerate characters, proving the inaccuracy of the popular phrase “Silk Road, ” a label for popular trading networks that stretched all the way from Rome, Africa, India, and China.In her introduction, Whitfield makes it clear to her readers of the origin of the term “Silk Road.” The first to coin this phrase was a German geographer, Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen. Many students throughout the years learn of the Silk Road as a single route from Rome to China, exchanging goods, especially the Chinese silk. This is, however, is a false narrative and extremely limiting definition of the trading network, itself.
The Silk Road transport was more than just objects, as well as, more than China. Some scholars have argued recently for a complete rejection of the term because of these simplifications and its …show more content…
Inventing composite characters by combining several real people creating an “average” artist or an “average” merchant to give us see into the lives of these everyday people. We can validate that using this method of writing is helpful for the reader by being a window that there were millions of people traveling the Silk Road, for one purpose or other; the Soldier was stationed at a fort for militaristic purposes, the monk Chudda had vowed to dedicate his pilgrimage to peace and the flourishing of Buddhism in his country. Every chapter Whitfield provides for the reader is a different reason as to why her characters were on the Silk Road. In conclusion, Life Along the Silk Road, depicts the dangers and wonders of the world 1000 years ago and how the everyday person lived. Limiting this route to just trade and silk does it an injustice to the many lives who crossed the roads, and which was ultimately an open door for future exploration and
The Silk Road transport was more than just objects, as well as, more than China. Some scholars have argued recently for a complete rejection of the term because of these simplifications and its …show more content…
Inventing composite characters by combining several real people creating an “average” artist or an “average” merchant to give us see into the lives of these everyday people. We can validate that using this method of writing is helpful for the reader by being a window that there were millions of people traveling the Silk Road, for one purpose or other; the Soldier was stationed at a fort for militaristic purposes, the monk Chudda had vowed to dedicate his pilgrimage to peace and the flourishing of Buddhism in his country. Every chapter Whitfield provides for the reader is a different reason as to why her characters were on the Silk Road. In conclusion, Life Along the Silk Road, depicts the dangers and wonders of the world 1000 years ago and how the everyday person lived. Limiting this route to just trade and silk does it an injustice to the many lives who crossed the roads, and which was ultimately an open door for future exploration and