"The desert is lonely and the sun is setting." "Advise the jun to make a cup of wine, and the west out of the Yang Pass has no reason." The geographical scenes and locations described in these two Tang poems may be familiar to you. That was the Silk Road.
The Silk Road is a term that has been frequently mentioned in recent years. Don't look at the word people often say, but if someone asks you which road the Silk Road refers to, do you know?
Don't rush to check Baidu, even if you check, you can only get an inaccurate answer. Why? Because, Baidu can only tell you, "from 114 BC to 127 AD, this western communication route between China and Central Asia, China and India through the silk trade as the medium" was named "Silk Road". This is the definition given by the German geogeographer Richthofen in his book China in 1877.
The German, who was more than a hundred years ago, only gave the answer to one road, and the Silk Road, more than one, not only the land Silk Road, but also the Maritime Silk Road. The Silk Road on land and sea still has several routes, and it is not a fixed two routes.
In this way, are you being distracted by me? In fact, like you before, I only had a superficial or general understanding of the "Silk Road", and at most I could think of deserts, western regions, camels, caravans, or some other similar and vague concept. It wasn't until I saw this book, "The Great History of the Silk Road", that I had a three-dimensional and comprehensive understanding of the Silk Road.
The ancients said, "Walk thousands of miles, read ten thousand books." The book "The Great History of the Silk Road" was written by the writer Guo Jianlong on the basis of traveling through the areas along the Silk Road and reading through the ancient books related to the Silk Road. It is precisely because of this that what the author presents to us is not just an empty definition, but a living history and a clear context.
Opening the "Great History of the Silk Road", the desert dust and sand wrapped around that long history came to the fore. Through a long time and space, the author stretches our thoughts to the Two Han Dynasties more than two thousand years ago. The "Silk Road" began with the author's "Era of Conquest".
In Chinese history, when it comes to conquerors, the militaristic Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty must be among them. Yes, the earliest Silk Roads were opened at his behest. Emperor Wu of han sent Zhang Qian on an envoy to the Western Regions in order to unite the Yue clan and attack the Xiongnu.
Zhang Qian and his delegation headed west to look for the Yue people. I didn't think about it, this went, it was thirteen years. Why did it take so long? Because, when Zhang Qian crossed the Xiongnu territory, he was caught by others. The Xiongnu did not kill Zhang Qian, but only detained him. Zhang Qian remained in the Xiongnu territory for a full decade. During this time, he also married and had children. In the end, Zhang Qian still found an opportunity to escape with his people, and then went all the way west to the Ili River Valley to find the Yue people.
However, when Zhang Qian and his party arrived in Ili, they found that the Yue clan had disappeared. It turned out that in the years when Zhang Qian was trapped, the Yueshi people were once again driven out of Ili by the Xiongnu.
Zhang Qian was not reconciled, and continued to walk west, passing through Dawan, Hezhong, Kangju, and finally, to Tocharo. Here, he finally found the Yueshi people who settled here.
When Zhang Qian made it clear to the Yue people that he had intentions, the Yue people's answer disappointed him greatly. It turned out that the Yue people lived and worked in the rich Tocharian, happy and happy, "no longer miss the hometown located in the Ili River and the Chu River, and even more forget the earlier hometown of the Hexi Corridor." Nor were they willing to go back to fight the Huns. More importantly, since the Tocharians did not border the Xiongnu, which were separated by the Sogdians, Dawan, Kangju, and Wusun people, even if they wanted to unite, there was no offensive basis. ”
In other words, Zhang Qian's purpose of sending out to the Western Regions was not achieved. Isn't that disappointing? However, when we extend the line of sight of history, we will find that Zhang Qian's westward journey has changed China's perception of the world and the fate of the Han Empire.
He opened up the "Silk Road" that flourished for millennia. Isn't that another surprise? However, the parties did not feel surprised. Because, this surprise is given by history.
"Lost in the east, harvested in the mulberry elm". Zhang Qian inadvertently became the first person on the Silk Road.
The "Silk Road" opened by Zhang Qian was divided into northern and southern provinces. When he went, he took the north road, which is called the "steppe silk road" in modern times, and when he returned, he took the south road. Again and again, he broadened the boundaries of the Silk Roads. On his return, Zhang Qian also found his wife who was left behind in the Xiongnu territory and brought her back to Chang'an.
Zhang Qian records the places he has been to from the perspective of an oriental. Through his records, Chinese learned about a Western world known as the "Greek period" or "post-Alexander period."
Writing this, the author switches a perspective, the perspective of a Westerner. Before Zhang Qian's mission to the Western Regions, Westerners represented by Europe had long since come to Central Asia and Afghanistan. When Zhang Qian extended the tentacles of the Chinese to the west, Westerners had been waiting for a long time.
East and West met on the Silk Road. The age of conquest has begun.
This era is rife with blood and killing. How many countries and ethnic groups have risen in this era and withered away in this era. The author uses a plain writing style to calmly describe the vicissitudes of two thousand years ago. Those thrilling battlefields, in the author's pen, from stick figure sketches, to three-dimensional statues, and finally, return to the bustling "Silk Road".
As we said earlier, the "Silk Road" has not only land, but also sea routes. The maritime "Silk Road" was also ordered by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty to explore. This road, as far as present-day India, was then called the "Yellow Branch State". The reason why Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty wanted to open up the Maritime Silk Road was because in that era of conquest that advocated force, the overland Silk Road was often blocked by the conquerors.
Conquest is a painful process. Faith can soothe people's hearts. Walking through the era of conquest of jingo iron horses and dust and wolf smoke, the author takes us along the "Silk Road" to the "era of faith". The era of faith originated in the Two Han Dynasties, and entered the prosperous stage during the Wei and Jin Dynasties and the Southern and Northern Dynasties. This is an era of integration and exchange of religions and cultures between the East and the West.
At the beginning of this era, the author tells about a senior monk named Faxian. Because of the fragmentation of the Vinaya in the domestic Buddhist scriptures, the Dharma asked several other monks to go to Tianzhu, which is today's India, to seek the precepts. We call this kind of behavior today "taking the scriptures." From Chang'an, Faxian embarked on the long "Silk Road" to the west. The author refers to the monks who went to the Western Heavens to learn the scriptures as "backpackers." Indeed, these people share some of the same characteristics as today's "backpackers." However, most of today's "backpackers" are tourists, and the Dharma is to seek the true scriptures. In addition, their equipment is too far behind today's backpackers. It is also doomed that their westward journey will be bumpy and fraught with risks.
Faxian and others did not exactly follow the "Silk Road" opened by Zhang Qian in the Eastern Han Dynasty. The roads they took, parallel to or crisscrossed with the Silk Road, were all headed west. Of course, no matter how they walk, the desert is a dangerous place that they cannot bypass. In a desert area called the Shahe River, Faxian travels through the past by relying on the white bones of dead people as a symbol.
Fa Xian proves with practical actions that the power of faith is infinite. After experiencing a series of tests such as the heat of yellow sand, the coldness of the snowy mountains, the invasion of diseases, the death of partners, and so on, the Dharma manifested to the country where the Buddha was born and obtained the true scriptures.
On the way back, Faxian did not return by the original route, but took the road of trade by sea. The author believes that the term "Belt and Road" is perfectly combined here in Fa xian. Yes, the ancestors of thousands of years ago, with the light of their lives, lit up for us one "Silk Road" after another connected to the outside world.
Seeing this, I think you should have a general understanding of the context of the Silk Road. However, the author's account of the great history of the Silk Roads has only just begun. After the age of conquest and the age of faith, there was also the age of trade, the age of empires, and the age of post-empire.
So, in these three eras, what changes occurred on the Silk Road, and what stories happened on the road? Or please open the "Great History of the Silk Road" yourself, follow the author's brushstrokes, and take a journey of discovery.
A good book must have its positive ideas and views, so as to arouse the reader's interest in reading. In the author's pen, the light of the "Silk Road" penetrates the obscure historical time and space and illuminates our way forward today.
The Great History of the Silk Road departed from China and arrived in the world, anticipating the future from a historical perspective. Thank you to the author for writing such a good book.