GLOBAL CONTACTS: NEW TRADE PARTNERS
THE OPENING OF 8 THE S ILK R OAD
OUl'ing the earl y H an elynast y (20 6 G, c. E.- 220 C.E.) , Chill ese emperors began to se nel large amounts o f silk-tor both d iplomdtic and commerc ial reasons-to the nomacls of Central Asia, es pec iall )1 th e Xiongnu. Within a short time, some at th is si lk (OLllld its way, by m ea ns at a type at relay traci e, to Ro me. Modern sc ho lars reter to th e East-Wes t rOLi tes on w hich th e fabric, and oth er commoci iti es, move ci as the Sil k Road, By 100 C. E. , th e lan ci ro ute s linking China to Ro me el isa had a m aritime counterpart. Seabo ille com merce flourished betw een Rom e and Illc!ia via the Reel Sea anel the Ara b ian Sea . O ther l'O utes farth er eas t cOll llectedlllClian ports w ith harbors ill Southeas t Asia and Ch ina . A weat Afro-Eurasian comlllerc ial network ha el now come into beillg. Si lk from China (th e o nly coulltr)' thel t plOclu ceei it until after 500 C.E .), pepper and jewels Irom Inelia, an el incense tlOm A rabia were se nt to the rvled iterranean regio n on routes th at ter minel teci in Ro man c ities, sLi ch as A lexancir ia, Gaza, A ntioch, anci Ephesus. In exchange for the prec ious commociities. the Ro mans sent large amounts o f si lver, gale! , glassware eln ci oth er goods eel stw arci to destinati ons ill I\sia. Because th e long-clistan ce trael e o f th e classi ca l periocl w as mainl y in luxuries rather thall in artic les of daily use , its overall econo mic impact vvas probably li m iteel . Most pres ellt-day h is torians thin k th at th e Ro me-lllC li a- Chilla trade was sign i fi ca nt pri 111dl il ), hecau se 01 its I'ole ill plOmoting th e spreael of religions, sty les o f art, tec hno logies, ane! epidemic diseases rath er than contri buting to economic growth. The fo llowing se lec ti ons are a m ixture o f Chinese and Roman evidence. H o w does the vari ety o f mater ials in thi s chap ter suggest the growth of lo ng-distance contacts elur ing the class ica llJe rioel?
Scle u iun j {'I"()ln R i'l fj/fl\ 1)1//1(' ( ;mnrll-fj"/ol"iO I/ b) Siill({ QI(fi(: f lail D YI/({\/Y II, rC\'isccl t' d . Tr i IJ1 ~d""'lt:cl ill BurLon \ \";] L' (>II (.'\e" \'o rl;: C:olllfn iJi,l L llil c l',il\ Pre". 19()3) 2 : ~ 1- 23 :1. Se lec li on [[ "CllillC,C G ifr, o f S ilk In rhl' ,\io ng nll " ti
< ~ US ii i!' \..) E ii w E 0 c w ro c < E ro ::; 0 'c a: ro a ~ w <,] 0 0 ~ ~ 1.1 ",' a; :::I C/) C/) - 0 ~ Q; 0::: \..) c; j:::;< ~ a; 0 E "'C STUDY QUESTIONS L In what major region of the \\'orld did many of th e major trade rolltes converge' 2. How would th e est8blishment of trade rOlltes facilitate the spread of religions, technologies. and diseases) 102 Section Two I The Classical Period, 1000 B,U, La 500 CE, CHINESE AND ROMAN SOURCES 1. ZHANG QlAN'S JOURNEY WEST (JllI: rll'lmjJ/ioll 0IZ/wIIg Qilll!:, iili,mOi/ to (:l'l1lml Asill WIIII',I/mlll Sima (2ioll [145-187 1i,C.r.,], Ihr p;rmlr?,I/ oj Ihl' 1'1II!r Chill!')!' hiS/Oi/OIl), AI/hough /!lIl/will/iil/!; IiiI' P/MI'S ead) Imvelcl'j (Jisitl'd il a l/oloriOlls/r difJilull /IiO/Jlt' IiI, IllOdl'iII IPsNlIrhcrs Ihillk Iha/ Zhollg Qi(lI/ jJmbah/y jOIlIllI'),!'ri li S Pi!' liS lor/ny'l KYI~'YcSI{(17 (eliiilesl': DII)lIal7) ({lid A(g/limis/1111 (ehillne: Dosia),] lli II The king of D trouble d by im'a de rs, and the king Lh o ug h t o n lv of his 0\\'[1 enj o ym e n l. He co n sid e red the H"n too far ,,\I·a,. to both e r with and ha c! no pa n icul II. CHINESE " GIFT S" OF SILK TO THE X I O NGNU [H all Wu di itSI'd ZII({ilg ({i({11 's f/'/Jur/ to 1'"ltllt! ell iiII'SI' illililmy /)0(11('1 dl'I/) ililo Cl'lI lml r\si(l, A siring of ClllilI'St:/OI'lIPS.Il'.1 a 1111 III(,I/ij){)il//\ .111011 II'Ilt/zl'tI III i1jgl/{{ lliSlilil . DijJlllllwlit anrl C/!iltlllali({I,'t'lalioll.\ INlwel'll Ihl' elllill'SI' Itllt! III!.' itOIIWr/S II/(I'erm,d. ,II till' lli'(/lillj'tllt'sl' (OilifliiS 100S l/il' {,'t/trlll!!,'!' of Ito/se.1 jiolil Iht' I/Oil!lIr/S (1(llled "ll'iulIll' " by IiiI' CI/lIII'.I(') jor sill: jimlt Chilla ((({/lffl "gi(ls" by Ihl' Cit illl'se) , TIll' rii'gllill'(/ I ratil' 0/111)1 :11'1./01 sill: alollg iVIIII'.1 Ilewly s{'(l/ ml uy IItI' Cit iIII)SI' IIlfllk\ IItI' oj!t'llillg o/IIiI' Sil/: ROil/I. 0111' mjil'l l o( Ihil lilllll' i I' illl/simied ill IIt(' la/;ll',] Year (B .C,E.) Silk Floss (catties) Silk FabrIcs (pieces) 51 (i, (jO(j R,OO(l 49 8,000 ~ ) ,1)(J 0 3::\ 10. 000 lB,OOO 25 '2 0, ( 01) '2 0, 000 30, 000 3D ,() OD 104 Section Two / The Classical Period, 1000 B.C.£. to 500 C.E. III . SILK IN ROME A. Caesar's Canopies, ca. 50 B.C.E. [A j!assage(i-olll Ihe hislorian Cassills Dio (164-224 C./o.) desmbes Iii I' huge celebralion Ihal Julills Cal's(lrslagal in his oTU7IllOlIor((lOllnd 50 R.C.L.] If I mention one fea ture of his [Caesar's] extravagance at that time, I shall thereby g ive an idea of all the rest. In order that the sun might nor an no), a ny of the specta tors, he had curtains stretc hed OI'er th em made ofsilk, according to some accounts. Noll' thi s fabri c is a device of barbariall lu xur )', a nd has come down fro m them even [0 us [0 gratify the fas tidious taste of fine ladies, B, Sen eca on Silk and Gender [The exreljJl jim/l Sencm, (/ leading wliler of IIII' hI cenllll)' c./:;, , I),/)Ij/('s 111111.11 ROil/ali wriling ab01l1 silk. } I see there raime nts of sil k- if thal can be called ra ime nt, whic h provides nothing th at could possi bly afford protection for the bod)', 0 1 indeed modesty, 50 that, when a woman wears it, she can scarceh', with a cJeClr conscience, Sll'e;) r th;)[ she is not naked. These are imported at I'ast expense from nations Ilnknown even [0 trade, in order that OUI married women ma), not be ;)l)le to sholl' more of their pe rsolls, even [0 th eir paramours, in a bedroon1 than they do on the street. C An Emperor Wears Silk [Suelollius, a leading ilisloriall of Ih e 211d (1'11111 ry C£., dl'srrilies IIII" (Iolhi IIg 71'Om by EII/fieror Goius (lIiell/Wliled "Caliglll(/ "), who Ie/gilI'd In ie(1y ill lile lsI (('111111).] Caligul,] paid no attention to traditional or current fashions in h is dress; ignoring male cOl1l'enrions and elell the hUJ1l,tll decencies. Often he made pl\blic appe IV. SAILING FROM SRI LANKA TO CHINA THE HOMEWARD JOURNEY OF A BUDDHIST MONK [Around 400 C.L., a Chillese lIlon/( named Foxiail Iwul'leil Ihmugh Cmlml Asia 10 [ndia ill ordN to uisit the Buddhisl holy plMes, After sj}('nriillg 11/01/' Ihnn a derarll' moa)' fmlll hOllie, Ihe mall/{ derider/lo rellll11 10 ChiI/O by Sf'({. Dej'{/ilillgji'Olll n pO),1 ill Sri LOllka, lie (I/1r1 his slli/)))l(IleS ('rlco/1l1leml 510 1'111)' S('{/S. Frnir/i1's /;001: 0/;011 1 IllS Imve/s is IIIe e(lrliesl fil5llwlld acco/l l/I of Ihe sea 1011 11:' fl'O l7I [I/dia 10 [/iina.} Faxian remained in this coumr)' [Sri Lanka] for twO years; a nd after repeated search h e obtained a copy of the Disc ip lines according [0 th e sc hool of "The Faith Prevailing"; a lso copies of the long Aga1l1as [Bliddhist teachings] on cosmogony, Chapter 18 I Glob;)1 Contacts:The Opening of the Silk Road 105 and of the l11i~cellaneou s Ag<1 Ill Ancl so the;' Il'enl on for m o re than ninety clays tlntil the), reached ;J count]';' namecl ]<11<1 , whe re heresies and Brahmanism Il'ere flourishing, while the Faitl) of Budciha was in a \el)' uIIsa[isfaeto l'l' conclition, After 11 a\'ing rentainecl in this CO llntl'\' for fi H: m o nths or so, Fa xirt ll again shipped on board another large merchant-I'esscl Il hi c h <1 150 carried OI'e r [11'0 hun dred persons, They took wirll rhe m provisions for fi fty cl ays a ncl set sail on th e J6 th c1(1 )' of (he 4tli 111 00n, ancl Faxian Il'ent into relreat 0 11 board the lessel. A. north-east course Il'as set ill oreler (0 reach Can ton [rocl;1I"s Guang7 110u ill Chilla]; ,lllcl o\'er get into this trouble, We ought to land th e relig ious me ndicant o n some island; it is no t rig ht to endanger all our li\es for o ll e man, " r\ "religious protecto r" of Faxian 's replied, saying. "If :'O ll put this religio lls mendicant ashore, l'O ll shall also land me with him ; if not, YOll had better kill me, for su pposi ng that you Jand him, whe n J reach China I will report IOU to the king \\ho is a reverent belieler in the Buddhist faith and 1101101llS relig ious lllendicallts, " At this the merchants wa\'en:d and did no t da re to land hillljllst the n, ~Jean\\'hile, the sky was consta ntl" darkened and the captain lost his reckoning, So th e)' I\'em o f fo r se\'enty cla ys until the prm'isions ancl water were nearly exhallsted, a nd the), had to lise seall'iner fo r cooking, di"icling tlte fresh water so that each man got about CI\ O pints, When all lI'as nead )' consu m ed, the merchan ts con sulted together and said, 'The ordinary time fo r the I'o)age to Canton is exactly fift)' d ays, We hal'e no\\' exceeded that limit bl' many days; n11l st we no t h,l\'e gone Ollt of our COl\rse~ " Therellpon the), proceeded in a northwesterly direction, seeking for land; a nd aCte r twelve days and nights ,llTil ed sOllth of th e Lao mOllntain [on lhe Shanclo ng Penimllla in China] at the bounda)'\' of th e Prefectme of Changguang, where they obtained fresh \\';J. ter ,md I'egetables, And no\\', aft er haling passed throug h much danger, difficulty, 5011'0 1\', a nd fear, sudden I)' reaching this shore and seeing the ole! famili;J.r I'egetables, they knell' it \\' STUD Y QUESTIONS 1. Wh\' c! id Emperor Han Wucli honor Zhang Qian Clncl G anfu~ 2. \\,'h )' cliel Chinese e lllperors imist on eli sg uisillg rlIe trad e with the Xiong nll as g il'ing "gi h," (Ind lece il'i 11 g "tribule "~ 3, For the Romam, ho\\' did rile we ,lring of ~ i1k seem to be relarecllo concep ti ons of Illa,ullinitl' alld feminillit;,: In I\'hat I\'a)'s does tbe Romal1 I\l'iting about silk suggest broader politi cal , economical, ,me! social changes undel wm' a t the beginning of the Commo l1 E r a~ 4. HoII' clo es F'l:-.:ian's hOl1lel\'a rd I'oyage illustrate m a lirime connections between India, Sotltileast As ia , a nd China as \\'ell Th e compli ca ted process ot produci ng tin e cloth from th e substance secreted by a liny domesticated worm Wombyx marl) w as invented by the Chinese thousands of yea rs ag o. Called "seri cu lture," th e process remained a Chinese monopoly un til th e end of the clas si cal peri od, wh en the tec hnique spreacl to other Eas t Asian countries an d then w estvv'ard toward the Mediterran ea n. Chines e 'Nomen were probably th e world's earli es t producers or silk. Th ey rem ained in ch arge of production thmllghout th e classiGll period and beyo nd. Th e women worked at home, usu all y as sisted by their children. Steam ing th e cocoons killed th e silkworms before th ey could chew throu gh the fib er (thu s destroying 01' greatly red uc ing its va lue) anci also se rved to loosen the tiber in preparat ion for reeling and tw isting It into a sturdy yarn. Th e Chinese produced many grades o f si lk. Lesser grades were inex pens ive and worn by ordinary people; silk padding (call ed "fl oss") was a good insul ator agai nst Ihe winte r cold. In co ntrast, the silk that rea ch ed Rom e was hi gh-end material and always rega rded as a luxury. ',> } \ J I 1 , ) __w / FI'a glllent o f wa ll painting; Fr o m John E. Vollmer, EJ. I 107 JOB Section 1\vo / The Classical Period. 1000 S.C.E. to 500 C.E. STUDY QUESTIONS 1. In what ways does the woodblock print illustrate both technical skill and proper (i.e., Confucian) behavior? 2. H ow might the Rom an painting have contributed to th e anxiety expressed by Seneca and other male writers of his time? 3. Taken together, what do the two images suggest about the differing codes of behav ior for women in China and Rome?