The Silk Road
Alright guys, read this carefully!! Traveling from China to the Mediterranean Sea was one of the most
difficult journeys you could take. (Yep, that means that even professional football players might have trouble
making this journey.) Much of the area traveled through on the Silk Road was made up of the Taklimakan
desert, which is one of the most HOSTILE environments on our PLANET! That means no fun for you! (And
you thought getting through Mrs. Decker’s social studies class was hard.) There are very little plants, and
almost NO RAINFALL. What the desert did have was sandstorms. Imagine that you are traveling and out of
NOWHERE A HUGE STORM OF SAND surrounds you with no warning! You can’t breathe, it’s so hot, and
sand is getting in your eyes! OUCH!! It’s no wonder that the locals call this area the land of DEATH. In the
summer it could get as hot as 122 degrees Fahrenheit! WOWZERS! Want it to be colder? Well, in the winter,
it gets as cold as -20 degrees. NEGATIVE 20 degrees!?!?!?
So I know your probably wondering, “Why in the world would anyone go through all of that to
buy…SILK?!?!” Well that’s a good question mi amigo. The ancient people valued silk because it was strong,
lightweight, and it was B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L! Don’t believe me??? Google pictures of some. Anywho, traders
who sold silk made BANK carrying Chinese silk to the West. This means as far as ROME. I know what you’re
going to ask me next, HOW DID THEY GET IT OVER THE SEA MRS. DECKER??? Excellent question my young
learners. They had ships carry the silk and spices to Rome who paid a pound of gold for a pound of Chinese
Silk.
The Silk Road splits where the Taklimakan desert is. You could take either path you want, and no
worries, there was an OASIS on each path. If you have no idea what that is, an oasis is an area in the middle
of the desert that has some plants and most importantly a small source of fresh water!
So, now you know that the Silk Road got its name because of all that silk that was traded, but it wasn’t
the only things that traveled on this exciting road. China also traded porcelain. Other countries like India
wanted to get in on the deal and began to trade spices. Some other things traded were Indian cotton,
monkeys, parrots, and elephants. Most importantly, you started to see influences from other cultures in the
items that were traded. This is what is known as Cultural Diffusion – the spreading of cultural materials and
ideas. HMMM…this sounds like an answer on your sheet.
This brings us to the LAST point. YES the LAST point, aren’t you so excited??? Spreading of ideas! We
just finished learning about India. Remember that guy Asoka we studied who came after Chandra Gupta? If
you don’t, he was the one who accepted Buddhist ideas and decided that fighting was not the answer. Trade
helped to spread Buddhism to China.
Okay…so did you love this reading better than the text book or WHAT!? I know, just say it…”Mrs. DECKER
is the GREATEST”