The Silk Road

Main Idea: The Silk Road carried Chinese goods as far as Greece and Rome.

Chinese merchants made vast amounts of money by shipping expensive goods to other countries, silk being their most valuable trade product. While some of their trade goods went by ship to Southeast Asia, most went overland on what is known as the Silk Road.

What Was the Silk Road?

Merchants from China began traveling far westward when the emperor Han Wudi sent out a general named Zhang Qian (JAHNG CHYEHN) to explore areas west of China. Zhang had been sent on a mission to find allies for China against its enemies, especially the Xiongnu to the north.

After a journey of about 13 years, Zhang returned to China, having failed to find allies for China. However, he had discovered a kingdom far to the west, perhaps in modern-day Kazakhstan, where there were horses of exceptional strength and size.

Emperor Wudi was delighted to hear this because the cavalry of his enemies, the Xiongnu, gave them a significant advantage over his army, which mainly was infantry. The emperor encouraged trade to get these horses so that his cavalry could defeat the Xiongnu. The result of this new trade was The Silk Road, an extensive network of trade routes stretching 4,000 miles (6,436 km) from western China to southwest Asia. By 100 C.E., the various portions of the route were completed.

Merchants used camels to carry their goods across deserts and mountains to central Asia. From there, Arabian traders carried the goods to the Mediterranean Sea. The trip over the Silk Road was challenging, dangerous, and quite expensive.

Traveling the Silk Road.

Because the terrain was arduous and changed so much over the trade route's length, the Silk Road was broken up into smaller segments, each traveled by different merchants. There were high, snowy mountains, vast deserts, and extended regions of rocky land and rivers and long plains to cross. It would have been challenging for the same animals and carts to survive the entire journey. Most merchants traveled part of the journey and then sold their goods to someone else who traveled another portion of the journey. Goods passed from one person to another until they went from China, eventually arriving in the kingdoms along the Mediterranean Sea.

Merchants had to pay taxes to the many kingdoms along the route as they moved the goods east and west. Each person who bought goods then charged higher prices to the next person. For this reason, they mainly carried high-priced goods such as silk, spices, tea, and porcelain. In return, they earned great wealth.

The Impact of the Silk Road

General Zhang also told the emperor of a mighty empire to the west with large cities full of people "who cut their hair short, wear embroidered clothes, and ride in very small chariots." Zhang was describing the Roman Empire.

The trade begun by the Silk Road brought China into contact with many other civilizations. Some merchants traveled by sea. This sea trade linked the Chinese to civilizations in Southeast Asia, southern India, and Egypt. Both the sea and land trade routes led to an exchange of many different goods and ideas.

Over the years, merchants traded many items in addition to silk, goods such as fruit, vegetables, flowers, grains, and other products that were in demand. For example, China sent peaches and pears to India, while India sent cotton and spinach to China. In time, Chinese technological advances, such as paper, would also travel to other countries along the Silk Road.