USC-UCLA Joint East Asian Studies Center
ALONG THE SILK ROAD
People, Interaction & Cultural ExchangeMiddle School Unit
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Copyright 1993 by the Leland Stanford Junior University Board of Trustees
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Teacher Background Material
Change Along the Silk Road
Trade Along the Silk Road
Cultural Exchange Today Along the Silk Road
Teacher Background MaterialThe Development of the Silk Road
Despite the great distance between Asia and Europe, the two regions had contact prior to 1 A.D. Traders, pilgrims, and warriors all traveled along the Silk Road from Rome and Syria in the west to as far as China in the east. Culture spread through interaction among merchants, travelers, and conquerors. The most profound influences of all were those brought by conquering civilizations. To understand the history of cultural diffusion, one must understand the major empires of the Silk Road and the effects that they had on the exchange and spread of culture. Trade on the Silk Road flourished during three major time periods: (1) the 2nd century B.C. through the 2nd century A.D., (2) the 7th to 10th century A.D., and (3) the 12th to 14th century A.D. These were periods that saw the unification of great empires of the East and West.
The 2nd Century B.C. Through 2nd Century A.D.
The first major contact between East and West came with the conquest of Central Asia by Alexander the Great. This brought Greek influence to Central Asia. By 323 B.C. Alexander's empire stretched from Greece in the west to Egypt in the south and through Iran to northern India. As the empire grew, so did Greek influence in these new areas. In every place that Alexander conquered he set up new strategic military towns to which he imported Greek people. They brought with them their own cultural items and ideas. New plants such as the grapevine and new technologies in metal work were introduced during this era. Greek influences can be seen in the Central Asian art and architecture of this time period.
Yet because Alexander's empire was so great in size, his successors could not keep it united. Many regions revolted after his death. As the empire of Alexander the Great fell, three new powers arose to assume control of the lands Alexander had conquered. The Romans took over the western part of Alexander's empire, and the Parthians took over the eastern half. At the same time, China extended its dominance far to the west, as far as Sogdiana, the eastern-most boundary of Alexander's empire. Chinese control of this region meant that for the first time silk could be easily transported for trade with the Parthians. The Parthians acted as middlemen, trading the silks to the Romans for gold.
With these vast areas of land united under Chinese rule, trade became much more efficient and much less dangerous. As trade flourished, different people came together, and their contact led to cultural exchange and diffusion. It was during this period in the 1st century A.D. that traders and Buddhist missionaries first brought Buddhism to China.
As time went by, however, the three empires began to lose control over their territories in Central Asia, and one by one they disintegrated. Trade became more treacherous and expensive because the goods had to pass through many small states paying taxes and fees in each one. As a result, the level of trade declined until the 7th century A.D. when the Central Asian region was again unified under the Muslim Dynasty and China grew powerful and united under the Tang Dynasty.
The 7th Century A.D. to the 10th Century A.D.
In the 7th century, a new influence began to dominate the area of Central Asia-the Islam religion. This new religion, which was based on the life experiences of the Prophet Muhammad, quickly spread throughout the Middle East and Central Asia. The conquests of the Muslim Empire unified the area from Arabia in the west to Kashgar China in the east. With the safety brought by unity, the Muslim merchants traveled freely throughout these regions, trading their wares and spreading their beliefs.
At the same time, the Chinese were venturing out beyond their conventional frontiers to the west. Trade resumed, and in the Tang dynasty, China was open to ideas and goods imported from abroad. During this time Muslim merchants introduced the grapevine to the Chinese, and many technological inventions were taken from China, including the mechanical clock, printing, and gunpowder, all of which had enormous impact on the West. Yet the desire for luxury and the corrupt ways of the Tang government weakened the empire, and by 907 A.D. the dynasty had fallen. This overland trade again became difficult, and the Arabic traders relied on sea travel to bring their goods to China.
The 12th Century to the 14th Century
The next time that both Central Asia and China were unified was under the Great Mongol Empire. Genghis Khan, the leader of the Mongols, conquered all of the land from China to the Mediterranean. With one empire controlling all of the Middle East and Central Asia, the roads were the safest ever to travel. During this time Marco Polo and other Europeans made their way all the way from Europe to China. Yet because of differences between the Mongol rulers of Russia, Central Asia, and China, the Mongol Empire fell apart. With the fall of the Mongols in the 14th century and the fall of Constantinople in the mid-15th century, the Silk Road disintegrated again.
Epilogue
Though trans-Asian trade and travel would resume from time to time, the Silk Road would never regain its original importance and grandeur. In the Age of Discovery, Western navigators like Ferdinand Magellan and Christopher Columbus would take to the sea to discover alternative routes. Traveling by sea was more economically advantageous because it removed the obstacles of passing through anyone's territory and of sharing profits with middlemen.
Through the centuries, cities such as Antioch, Baghdad, Samarkand, and Changan were forgotten by other people who lived along the Silk Road. These cities were either destroyed by war, shrank in size, or were abandoned to the sands.
A slow process of recovery occurred during the 18th century, when explorers, adventurers, scholars, archaeologists, traders, and travelers heard of the great highway that once linked the two ends of Europe and Asia. They began to explore the hidden treasures of the Silk Road. The British and the Germans led the European explorers and archaeologists who traveled to Central Asia and Changan. They unearthed centuries-old Buddhist manuscripts and statues. They even sawed many large frescoes off the walls of many Buddhist temples and brought them and other archaeological treasures back to their own countries to be displayed in museums. Today, the Chinese government wants to take back these national treasures, claiming they were stolen by these explorers and archaeologists. It is now still possible to go to some areas of the Silk Road and dig, but archaeologists can not take any of their treasures they unearth with them.
Package tours to China, India, or Turkestan afford the modern-day traveler or tourist the opportunity to see the grandeur of the civilizations that once ruled the Silk Road. However, as in the past, conflicts in Iran and Iraq, the decades-long Israeli-Arab-Lebanese clashes, the conflict in Afghanistan and Azerbaijan, and scores of other political and religious confrontations along the Silk Road prevent anyone from making the long journey across Eurasia that once marked the true, full compass of the Silk Road.
Change Along the Silk RoadIntroduction
How has the Silk Road changed over time? Where is the history of the Silk Road situated
along other major historical events?The exchange of goods and ideas along the Silk Road influenced many people and places.
Cities grew out of the need for places to trade and rest. Religions spread as monks and
believers traveled into new very distinct impact on human history. In this lesson we will
examine some of the major forces that brought about change along the Silk Road. The
timeline activity will include events up to the present. By looking at the development of
technology and of world politics, the students will begin to understand the place of the
Silk Road in the context of present-day world history.Objectives
to understand the historical development of the Silk Road
to examine how and why the Silk Road has changed
to view the Silk Road within the context of the world's historyMaterials
Handout 7A, World Events Timeline, one per student
Handout 7B, Classification of World Events, one task card per group (Groups 1-4)
Handout 7C, Classification of World Events, Group 5
Handout 7D, Resource Card, optional
Teacher Background Material, The Development of the Silk Road (Lesson 1)
Construction materials: white paper, poster board, paper, ruler, scissors, coloring
materials, glue, pasteTime One Class Period
Suggested Procedures- Part I: Setting the Context
1. Review with the class some of the major events in the history of the Silk Road. Some questions you
could ask are:a. What were the major time periods of the Silk Road?
(There were three: the first was from approximately the 2nd century B.C. to the 2nd
century A.D., when Romans ruled the western portion of the Silk Road and the Han
Dynasty ruled China; the second was from the 7th to the 10th century, when the
Muslim empire united the western portion of the Silk Road, and China under the Tang
Dynasty the eastern portion; the third was from the 12th to the 14th century, when the
Mongols ruled a large portion of Central Asia and conquered China in 1276.)b. During what periods of Chinese history did Zhang Qian, Xuan Zang, and Marco Polo
travel along the Silk Road?
(Zhang Qian first traveled in 138 B.C. during the Han dynasty. He returned to China
after 13 years. Xuan Zang set out on his pilgrimage to India from China in 629, at the
beginning of the Tang dynasty, where he spent 10 years in India studying the original
Buddhist teachings. Marco Polo left Venice 26 years later, in the year 1297. He
traveled during the time of Mongol rule in China.)2. Tell the students that with the fall of the Mongols in the 14th century and the fall of Constantinople in the mid-15th century, the Silk Road disintegrated again. Although trans-Asian trade and travel would resume from time to time, the Silk Road would never regain its original importance and grandeur. In the Age of Discovery, Western navigators like Ferdinand Magellan and Christopher Columbus would take to the sea to discover alternative routes. Traveling by sea was more economical because it removed the obstacle of passing through anyone's territory and of sharing profits with middlemen.
Suggested Procedures- Part II: World Events Timeline
In this section, students will be creating a world events timeline. You may wish to add other events to the timeline or to delete some of the events included. Decide this before class begins.
One group of students will create the actual timeline, listing dates and some events. Other students will create symbols representing events to be placed on the timeline.
1. Distribute Handout 7A, World Events Timeline. Briefly discuss some of the major events in human history. Communicate the time scale under which change is taking place. Notice the rapid technological and social changes in the 20th century.
2. Divide the class into five groups:
1. Important People
2. Rise and Unification of Empires
3. Wars and Fall of Empires
4. Important Inventions and Discoveries
5. Other Major World Events3. Distribute Handout 7B, Classification of World Events, one task card to each group. Also distribute sheets of white paper and the coloring materials. Instead of white paper, give Group 5 the poster boards. Distribute the scissors, tape or glue, ruler, and coloring pens.
4. Instruct the students of Group 1-4 to think of an idea/concept/object that would symbolize their particular cluster of events. For example, the group "Rise and Unification of Empires," might use the symbol of a crown. Once each group has decided on its symbol, ask the students to make one symbol for each date and event. Below the symbol they should write the date and event. They could also have a different symbol for each event. For example, because "Rise and Unification of Empires" group has seven events, they would need to draw seven crowns or seven different symbols. You may want to add or subtract events in each classification.
Explain to Group 5 that they will be creating a timeline of all the events on Handout 7A. Give to them Handout 7C and tell them to write down the highlighted information on the timeline. Make sure that they leave enough space for the symbols of the other groups to be pasted on later.
5. After they have finished drawing, ask each group to stick their symbols on the timeline created by Group Five. After all the symbols have been places, engage the students in a short discussion of the historical events along the Silk Road. Some questions you can ask them are
a. Who were the major ethnic groups in the history of the Silk Road? Are they still influential today? (The Greeks, Romans, Persians, Turks, Mongols, Italians, Chinese, and several nomadic and ethnic groups were some of the major players in the different periods of the Silk Road.)
b. Compare the time when paper was first invented in China and the time when it was manufactured in Europe. How long did it take for the Europeans to start producing paper? When did silk production start in Europe? (The gap between China and Europe in the use of paper is 1,000 years. The exact date of silk production in China is unknown. Legend has it that during the reign of the Yellow Emperor, which is traditionally dated at 2697-2597 B.C., his wife accidentally dropped a silkworm cocoon into her tea, and discovered that she could pull a long white filament from it. Historical records show that China was engaging in silk production by 2000 B.C., and kept the secret of silk production for the next 2,000 years. Silk production became known in Europe only in the mid-6th century.)
c. How fast does modern technology travel these days? Can an invention these days be kept a secret for a long time like the Chinese did with silk production? What prevents other countries from possessing the knowledge to produce a certain product?
d. What brought about the rise or fall of empires? (A series of wars, invasions, or conquests brought about the unification and rise of empires. Increasing corruption in the government, inability to govern effectively by the ruler, widespread discontent among the people, or invasion by a stronger force were some of the reasons for the fall of empires.)
At this point, you may want to distribute Handout 7D to show students the effects of war and of the remains of some of the former cities along the Silk Road. The picture of the Buddhist manuscripts could be related to letter h found below, as treasures and valuable historical artifacts continue to be discovered along the Silk Road.
e. What effect did the unification or disintegration of empires have on the Silk Road? (The unification of empires brought about economic prosperity and cultural interaction and exchange. The disintegration of empires hampered the trade among different people and the exchange of their cultures.)
f. What are the other ways by which nations or empires can be united? Can unification be achieved peacefully?
g. What simultaneous events happened in other places? (Direct the attention of the students to the timeline and let them point out simultaneous events in the history of the Silk Road.)
h. What brought about modern-day interest in the Silk Road? (Fascinated by the stories of Marco Polo, the desire to explore new places and discover hidden treasures, and to understand the stories and legends of the Silk Road, European explorers, archaeologists, and historians began to travel through Central Asia in the late 19th century. This led to the "rediscovery" of the Silk Road, a name that was coined by German explorer Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen.)
Suggested Procedures- Part III: Reflection
In their travel logs under the heading "Things I've Learned," ask students to imagine what life would be like without certain technological inventions. Ask them also to write the benefits of these inventions. Can they think of inventions that are not helpful to the world? Ask them to explain why some inventions are beneficial or not beneficial to the world.
Or
Under the same heading, ask students to imagine that they are living in China under the Tang Dynasty at approximately 907 A.D. There is political and economic chaos all around, with a lot of fighting among the powerful families. Ask them to describe what was going around them, and what they feel. How does the chaos around them affect their lives?
Trade Along the Silk RoadIntroduction
What was traded along the Silk Road and what were some of the dynamics of trade?
Students will do a jigsaw activity that will enable them to understand the dynamics of the
Silk Road trade. They will break up into smaller groups to discuss an important section of
an article. Then, the small groups will form large groups to engage in an activity in which
they visually express their understanding of the trade along the Silk Road.Objectives
to better understand the dynamics of trade along the Silk Road
to examine particular aspects of trading and share that understanding with classmates
to recreate visually the different aspects of the Silk Road Trade
to gain a greater understanding of the hardships that traders met along the Silk Road
to connect trade along the Silk Road with present -day commercial activitiesMaterials
Examples of goods traded along the Silk Road, for example, spices, silk, food
(Chinese, Italian, Central Asian)
Handout 3A,The Dynamics of Trade Along the Silk Road, one reading and instruction
card per group
Large poster board or butcher paper
Crayons, colored pencils, markers
Teacher Reference Copy,The Dynamics of Trade Along the Silk RoadPronunciation Guide
Changan-chahng-an (pronounced separately)
Yuan-u-yanTime One-and-half class periods
Suggested Procedures: Part One- Setting the Context
1. Prepare for this lesson by asking students if they have done some "bartering" in their lives. Have they traded one of their possessions (e.g., shirt, baseball cards, candy) for something they wanted from someone (e.g., baseball cap, stamps, stickers)? Examine the process undertaken to barter successfully. While the Silk Road traders also engaged in bartering, their experience in trading along the Silk Road involved a lot more preparation and risk taking, risks that were tied not only to their money but also to their lives.
(Or)
Ask students to take out a sheet of paper. Ask them to write down the origins of the following items as far back as possible.
a cotton shirt
paper
cerealFor example, milk can be traced back to the carton, to the refrigerator, to their mother who brought it from the grocery, to the factory, and to the cows.
2. Tell the students that trade along the Silk Road resembled a chain, in which products passed through several hands. The original product might change shape several times as people adapted it to suit their or other's needs. For example, silk was traded in the form of undyed, sewn, and finally sold as robes in Rome.
Suggested Procedures- Part Two: Jigsaw Activity
1. Pass around examples of some of the goods that were traded along the Silk Road. Make this a multisensory experience for the class by allowing students to smell, taste, and feel the goods.
2. Tell the students that they are going to do a jigsaw activity. In a jigsaw, each piece is important to complete the bigger picture. Explain to them that they will be divided into smaller groups and that each group will receive a piece of an article to discuss and later share with a bigger group. Divide the class into three groups of 12 or more students. Each group will be called a Home Group.
3. Tell each Home Group to divide themselves into six smaller groups (two students per group). These new groups will be called the Expert Groups. Give each Expert Group their reading and instruction cards from Handout 3A, The Dynamics of Trade Along the Silk Road. Each Expert Group is to read, discuss, and answer the questions pertaining to their section of the article relating to trade along the Silk Road. Instruct the Expert Groups to highlight the major points of the section, cite examples, and discuss ways to share and explain the material to their Home Group. After 10 minutes, reconvene the Home Groups and
ask each Expert Group to share with the rest of the group what they have learned. By coming together and sharing what they have learned, they will be piecing together the article.Note: Tell students the may want to refer to previous maps in map cases.
4. Distribute poster boards and drawing materials to each Home Group and ask them to create a six-section "portrait" of the dynamics of trade along the Silk Road. Make sure they incorporate in their drawings the information read and discussed in the jigsaw. This should take about 30 minutes. (To facilitate drawing, you may want to cut up the poster boards into six sections and put them back together for the group presentation.)
5. Ask each group to present their portraits to the whole class.
Suggested Procedures- Part Three: Reflection
In their travel logs, ask students to write down under "Things I've Learned Today" the answers to the following questions:
What goods were traded along the Silk Road? Name at least five. Which goods came from
the West? From the East?
What made trading along the Silk Road interesting? Difficult? Different from or similar to
modern-day trading?
Can you name five different objects in your home that were made in other countries or were originally found in other countries? Do you know which goods in your own country are being exported to other countries?
What would happen if trading stops?Option: You can ask students to draw goods traded along the Silk Road or items in their homes that come from other countries.
Cultural Exchange Today Along the Silk RoadIntroduction
What does the Silk Road teach us about cultural exchange?
Throughout our travels and adventures along the Silk Road, we have learned about and encountered many new things- artifacts, ideas, people, and customs. In this lesson, we will reflect on our journey and see how the story of the Silk Road is being retold in our present society. For instance, one merely has to look around to see cultural exchange at work. This final lesson begins with a video of the Silk Road today. Then, the students will share their thoughts about cultural exchange and create a collage to express it.
Objectives
to further understandings of cultural exchange
to examine the long-standing impact of cultural interaction
to look at the ways in which cultural diffusion affects students' own lives
to share achievements, ideas, thoughts, and concernsMaterials
Video 3:"The Impact of Cultural Exchange Along the Silk Road"
Video 3 Transcript
Handout 8A, Impact of the Silk Road, one copy of page 1 per students, and one task
card per group
Teacher Reference Copy, Impact of the Silk Road
Large poster board
6"x6" white poster board squares, one per student
Materials for decorating: construction paper or any kind of colored paper, crayons,
scissors, paper scraps, glue/glue sticks, old magazines, tissue paper, felt, sparklesPronunciation Guide
Zhang Qian- jhang ch-yen
Xuan Zang- hs-u-yen tsang
Scythians- see- thians
Uighurs- wee-gursTime Two class periods.
Suggested Procedures- Part I: Setting the Context
Ask students to recall objects, food, or events found in their country that are originally from other cultures and have changed in form or use. Examples may include: the yoyo (which used to be a kind of weapon for some of the natives in the Philippines but now has become a toy); burrito (from Mexico but ingredients and taste have been adjusted to suit other taste); spaghetti (noodles were said to have originated from China and passed on to Italy; Chinese noodles and Italian spaghetti are different in texture and taste); the celebration of New Year (the calendar follows the Roman calendar and people in one country celebrate New Year's Day differently from other countries). You may want to ask them these questions:
How were these objects, foods, or celebrations introduced to our culture? (Examples
are: trade, travel, immigration, adoption of a religion)
What are some of the things from our culture that have been transmitted to other
cultures? Do you think that these objects, ideas, etc. are still in their original form, or
have they been changed? (Products like Coke or McDonalds' hamburger
sometimes go by different names in other countries and may also taste
differently depending on the available ingredients used in the making of these
products, or on the taste preferences of the consumers. The social, political, and
economic systems of former American colonies that have been patterned after
the United States have also taken different shapes and forms.)Suggested Procedures-Part Two: Video Show and Discussion
Video 3 highlights the cultural exchange and diffusion that occurred along the Silk Road. Several hundred years of interaction among the peoples of the Silk Road exposed one culture to another. As a people adopted a new object, food, custom, or belief, not only cultural exchange but cultural diffusion took place. In cultural diffusion, the object, item, belief, or custom changes in form or meaning in the new environment. Oftentimes, the end-product combines features of both its original and new culture. This process can be likened to children of mixed parentage, a phenomenon that is discussed as part of the video.
1. Before beginning the video, explain cultural diffusion to the students. You may want to ask them why cultural diffusion happens (Because people of a particular culture always, when adopting a new object or idea, try to shape and form these objects and ideas in a way that is understandable to them.)
2. Show the video. After the show, ask students for feedback. See if they understood the concept of cultural exchange and diffusion by letting them cite examples of cultural diffusion and exchange from the video. You may want to use the questions found at the end of the video to engage the students in a short discussion or quiz.
Note: The transcript provided is for the teacher's use only. It can be used as a guide while showing the video, especially when pauses are deemed necessary for emphasis or clarification of the content found in the video.
Suggested Procedures-Part Three: Collage-Making
1. Distribute the first page of Handout 8A, The Impact of the Silk Road. Engage the students in a preliminary discussion by highlighting some sections of the handout. Some of the points you may want to highlight are the role of travelers and traders in cultural exchange the difficulty of tracing exact dates or moments of cultural exchange the importance of cultural exchange to the world's different cultures
2. Now divide the class into 5 groups:
1. Plants and Foods
2. Technology and Inventions: China to the West
3. Technology and Inventions: The West to China
4. Religion
5. PopulationDistribute to each group their section of Handout 8A. Tell them to read their section carefully and discuss how they could create a song, poem, drawing, or skit that would convey to the class the information they just read. Give them 20 minutes to prepare their presentation. Then ask each group to share their song, poem, drawing, or skit.
3. Now have each student design a "tile" that reflects one of the many cultural ideas that has been transmitted along the Silk Road. You may have students (1) make their tile in class, (2) begin their tile in class and finish it at home, or (3) work on the project at home.
Explain that each student will get a 6" x 6" square to decorate with a representation of any example of cultural exchange. Students can either draw an object, idea, place, or event. All the squares will become part of a collage. Let the students know whether or not they will be working on the project in class or at home. Some suggestions for decorating are copy and decorate a Chinese proverb or Buddhist poem use magazine pictures to show foods and spices show some patterns that appear on silk fabrics using tissue paper and marker or fabric make a camel out of felt.
4. Prepare a space on a wall that will accommodate the entire collage.
5. Have students place their tiles individually on the collage wall. Ask them to explain their tile. Questions they might answer include
Where did the idea or practice illustrated originate? How did it get to be part of the
culture it is in now?
Is this idea or practice common to all people of the given culture? Why or why not?
Why have you chosen this particular idea, object or practice? What does it represent?
What people or events brought about this cultural exchange?Suggested Procedures-Part IV: Reflection
As the final closure activity, let the students quietly reflect on their travel logs for a few minutes. Under the section "My Thoughts and Feelings about the Journey," ask them to consider these questions and to write down their reflections:
In what ways is the story of the Silk Road similar to the story of our world today? (Cultural exchange and diffusion still happen every day through trade and travel.)
Is cultural exchange good? Harmful? In what ways?
What does the story of the Silk Road teach us about cultural exchange? (It taught us that cultural exchange is an indispensable part of our daily lives and that all of us benefitted from this interaction through increase in our knowledge and the introduction of products and
technology that made our lives better.)
What are the ways by which cultural exchange is fostered or hampered? Who or what contributes to or hinders cultural exchange?
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