However, the rivers flowing down from the snow-capped mountains standing on the edge of the desert irrigate and moisten the oasis in the desert, fill the "biological vacuum" of the quicksand world, and provide an intermediate station on the way between China and the West. Our ancestors were not isolated from the world because of unfavorable geographical conditions. Because of the need of communication, people began to explore the outside world very early.
Archaeological data unearthed in the East and the West reveal the existence of communication between the East and the West in the pre-Qin period. For example, the Neolithic ceramic nude statue found in Dongshanzui, Kazuo Mongolian Autonomous County, Liaoning Province, which is the so-called "Venus statue" in western archaeology, is very similar to the isomorphic statues unearthed in Central Europe, southern Russia and Siberia. The Shang Dynasty Hetian jade unearthed from Fu Hao's tomb in Yin Ruins in Anyang, Henan Province, and the bronze mirrors and silks of China from the 5th century BC to the 4th century BC found in Pazrik's tomb in the western foothills of Altai Mountain in Russia indicate that nomadic people in the north and northwest, such as Huns, Yues and Scots, have long played a leading role in cultural exchanges between the East and the West.
Qin and Han Dynasties unified China and accumulated the strength of the Central Plains dynasty. In the second century BC, in order to defeat the Xiongnu, a nomadic kingdom that dominated the desert and harassed the farming residents in the Central Plains, the wise emperor sent Zhang Qian to the western regions to contact the Dayue people who were driven out of Hexi by the Xiongnu and settled in the Amu Darya region. Zhang Qian experienced difficulties and obstacles. Although he did not move to Dayue, he had a comprehensive understanding of the political and geographical situation in the Western Regions. Later, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian to the Western Regions for the second time. There were as many as 300 delegations this time, and Zhang Qian and his party traveled more widely, reaching Dawan (Fergana), Kangju (a nomadic kingdom centered on present-day Tashkent), Dayue's family, Rest in Peace (the ancient kingdom of Parthia in Persia), Body Poison (India) and other countries. Zhang Qian's two voyages to the West broke the monopoly of nomadic people on the Silk Road trade and established direct trade relations between China and countries in Central Asia, South Asia and West Asia. The report brought back by Zhang Qian and others is also the first insight of China people into the outside world, which was recorded in Dawan Historical Records and Hanshu Biography to the Western Regions by Sima Qian and Ban Gu respectively, thus ending China's mythical hearsay to the West in ancient times. It is precisely because of the historical importance of Zhang Qian's development that people call the communication between Zhang Qian and the western regions "hollowing out".
The direct consequence of Zhang Qian's Western Expedition was to urge the Han Dynasty to defeat the Huns. As a result, the Han Dynasty not only established the four counties of Wuwei, Zhangye, Jiuquan and Dunhuang in the Hexi Corridor, but also sent troops to the West Bay in the jungle, and obtained the heavenly horse that Emperor Wu dreamed of-the blood horse. By 60 BC, the Han Dynasty had established the Western Regions Duhu House in the Western Regions and controlled the Tarim Basin. Ambassadors of the Han Dynasty can get supplies from oasis kingdoms in the western regions, and it is easier to travel to the west. Ambassadors face to face on the road, and the communication is endless.
At the end of the Western Han Dynasty, the relationship between the Central Plains and the Western Regions was once interrupted by Wang Mang's dictatorship. At the beginning of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Han Ming sent Ban Chao to govern the Western Regions and restore the rule of the Western Regions to the Tarim Basin. At the same time, the Xiongnu was divided into two parts, and the northern Xiongnu moved westward to the northern shore of the Black Sea under the joint attack of the southern Xiongnu and the Han Dynasty, which caused the migration of many ethnic groups in West Asia and Europe. In the history of the Silk Road, Gan Ying's voyage to the West was another feat of the people of China. In 97 AD, Gan Ying, a subordinate of Ban Chao School, the capital of the Western Regions, was sent to Daqin (Roman Empire). Gan Ying came all the way to Antioch, where the Euphrates and Tigris rivers originated in the Persian Gulf, and prepared to cross the sea to the west. However, in order to monopolize the trade between the East and Rome, the others exaggerated the danger of sailing in the Arabian Sea to Gan Ying, and prevented Gan Ying from further westward and returning on its own. Although Gan Ying didn't reach his original destination, he can still be said to be the first messenger of China and a revered hero of the times. He personally traveled more than half of the Silk Road and learned about the route from Tezinan to the Persian Gulf and bypassing the Arabian Peninsula to the Roman Empire.
From the 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD, there were four empires along the inland transportation trunk line of Eurasia from west to east, namely Rome in Europe (30 BC-284 AD), Rest in Peace in West Asia (Parthia, from the middle of the 3rd century BC to 226 AD), Guishuang in Central Asia (45 AD-226 AD) and Han Dynasty in East Asia (206 BC-226 AD) Around A.D., the four empires were in a prosperous period and actively expanded outward. For example, when the Roman Empire was in Trajan (98- 1 17), it extended its territory to the upper reaches of the Euphrates River. For another example, Guishuang Empire once extended its influence to Tarim Basin. The Han Dynasty successfully defeated Xiongnu, controlled Hexi Corridor and entered Tianshan South Road. Zhang Qian's hollowing out and Gan Ying's long journey directly linked the eastern and western worlds, which was the pioneering work of the heroes of the times and the inevitability of historical development. As a result, China, India, West Asia, Greece and Rome, four ancient civilizations, had direct exchanges and influences. Since then, the development of any civilization is no longer relatively isolated.
Judging from the historical development of China, the Silk Road opened in the Han Dynasty was sometimes interrupted by political opposition, ethnic conflicts and even wars. The development of civilization, the expansion of power, the activity of commercial nationalities, and the dependence between grassland nomads and those who have settled in agriculture have made the cultural exchanges between the East and the West never stop for more than 2,000 years.
At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were frequent wars and disorder in the Central Plains. Dunhuang, as the throat of communication between China and the West, can't even be a satrap for more than 20 years. Zhang Xiong's local strongmen annexed the land, which made the villain have no place to stand, and the western businessmen who came to do business were also defrauded. During 227-233, Cang Ci became the magistrate of Dunhuang, which effectively suppressed the merger and extortion of powerful people, provided various conveniences for businessmen in the western regions to buy and sell in the mainland, and made Dunhuang an international city for exchanges and trade between Han people and people of all ethnic groups in the western regions. 1907, the British archaeologist Stan found a group of letters written in the script of the Central Asian Sogdians under the beacon tower of the Great Wall in northwest Dunhuang. These letters were written by Sogdian merchants in Liangzhou (Wuwei) to the nobles in their hometown of Samarkand (present-day Uzbekistan), and were buried at the foot of the Great Wall in Dunhuang for some reason. As mentioned in the letter, these Sogdian commercial groups based in Liangzhou operate long-distance sales of China silk and other commodities from Luoyang in the east to Dunhuang in the west. This group of letters was written at the end of the Western Jin Dynasty (around 3 12), which truly reflected the commodity trading activities on the Silk Road at that time.
During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Central Plains was in chaos, and many big families and literati moved to Hexi to avoid the war, which promoted the unprecedented improvement of the culture of Hexi Corridor, a communication channel between China and the West. The successive establishment of the Liang dynasty also gathered a large number of talents. The improvement of cultural level and the existence of a large number of scholars provide a knowledge base for local people to accept foreign cultures, and also provide convenience for transporting foreign cultures to the Central Plains. Moreover, whether it was the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the Five Lakes and Sixteen Countries, or the later Northern and Southern Dynasties, there were always messengers from the East and the West on the Silk Road. For example, in 3 10, Tianzhu (India) monk Buddha Tucheng arrived in Luoyang; In 399 AD, Fa Xian, a monk of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, went west to learn from the scriptures. In 437, the Northern Wei sent Dong Wan and Gao Ming to the western countries. In 468, the Northern Wei sent Hanyangpi to Persia and sent all the envoys back to Persia. In May18, Song Yun and Sheng Hui set out from Luoyang and went west to learn from the scriptures. In 530, Persia sent envoys to the Southern Dynasties; In addition, there are a large number of messengers who have not left their names and deeds.
The Sui Dynasty unified the north and the south, and the feudal society in China began to flourish. When Yang Di was in Sui Dynasty, Pei Ju, assistant minister of Huangmen, traveled back and forth between Zhangye and Dunhuang, and made contact with leaders of various countries through merchants in the western regions. From the preserved Preface to the Western Regions by Pei Ju, we can know the situation of the Silk Road leading to East Rome, Persia and India.
Entering the Tang Dynasty, the further integration of nationalities, the broader development of territory, and the integration of political system and ideology and culture enabled the Tang Dynasty to gather great strength, develop production, prosper commerce and culture, and accept a large number of foreign cultures with a broad mind, so as to integrate them into the whole China culture. From Emperor Taizong to Wu Zetian, the forces of the Tang Dynasty not only directly and firmly controlled the western vassal states in the Tarim Basin, but also became the suzerain of the vassal states in the vast areas north of Tianshan Mountain and west of Conglin Mountain. The communication between China and the West was more unimpeded, and the cultural exchange at that time also showed a dazzling scene. Western rare birds and animals, jewelry and spices, glassware and gold and silver coins followed. The lifestyles of clothing, food, music, dance and other cultural and recreational activities in Central Asia and West Asia have all flowed into the Central Plains. While Buddhism became more popular, Zoroastrianism, Manichaeism, Nestorianism and the emerging Islam were officially introduced into Chinese mainland at this time. Chang 'an and Luoyang, the two capitals of the Tang Dynasty, and some big cities along the Silk Road, such as Liangzhou. While absorbing foreign cultures, with the help of the powerful political power of the Tang Dynasty, the Central Plains civilization was also introduced to the West, which had different degrees of influence on western countries.
After the middle of the tenth century, the Song Dynasty was in a hostile state with Liao, Xixia and Jin in the north, which affected the communication between China and the West on the overland Silk Road. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Hangzhou was established in the southeast, and the economic and cultural center of China moved to the south, making the Maritime Silk Road more prosperous. Relatively speaking, the Silk Road on land declined, but it was also frequently used in some specific periods, such as the Yuan Dynasty before and after Kelpolo came to China. These are beyond the scope of this book and will be discussed later.