8 replies to this topic

[UltraRob]

I hope this isn't too obvious a question, but is there a place in China that's considered the "gate" to the Silk Road? A place returning Silk Road caravans would look at and go "I'm home" (or alternately "I'm leaving China"? I'm working on a story that involves the Silk Road and was wondering when my characters (Tang Dynasty, 680 ACE) would think they'd returned to China.

Thanks for any help,
Rob

[ghostexorcist]

I hope this isn't too obvious a question, but is there a place in China that's considered the "gate" to the Silk Road? A place returning Silk Road caravans would look at and go "I'm home" (or alternately "I'm leaving China"? I'm working on a story that involves the Silk Road and was wondering when my characters (Tang Dynasty, 680 ACE) would think they'd returned to China.

Thanks for any help,
Rob

Chang'an (Xian) is generally considered to be the "end" of the Silk Road from a western perspective. Dunhuang in Gansu province was called the "Jade Gate" because it was a place that all travelers of the Silk Road had to go through. Xinjiang (Chinese Turkestan in some sources) was under Tang control, so I imagine Chinese traveling past the military outposts in that area into "barbarian" controlled land would consider themselves leaving China.

What location are your characters heading for?

[UltraRob]

Chang'an (Xian) is generally considered to be the "end" of the Silk Road from a western perspective. Dunhuang in Gansu province was called the "Jade Gate" because it was a place that all travelers of the Silk Road had to go through.

Perfect! Dunhuang is exactly what I was looking for. Thanks Ghostexorcist! :-)

Xinjiang (Chinese Turkestan in some sources) was under Tang control, so I imagine Chinese traveling past the military outposts in that area into "barbarian" controlled land would consider themselves leaving China.

Thanks for mentioning this, because of it I dug a little more and realized that the Silk Road was closed in 680 (whups!) so I'll have to shift my story back a couple years. 678 won't be a big change and still works for the story. In fact, it makes the story more interesting, as the Silk Road is about to be shut down due to invasion right around the time the characters are coming back! O_o!

What location are your characters heading for?

It's a merchant caravan traveling from Damascus to YangZhou.

Thanks again!
Rob

[JohnD]

As usual, Ghostexorcist speaks the truth. I'll just add that for a great book on the Silk Road and its history, check out Silk Road: Monks, Warriors, and Merchants.

[ghostexorcist]

It's a merchant caravan traveling from Damascus to YangZhou.

Happy to help. I've read a great deal on it in my spare time, and I'm currently taking a university class on the subject. It's called "China’s Cross-Cultural Encounters along the Silk Road before 1600." We just covered the Han period. I believe we are moving onto the Tang period next. I am interested primarily in the Song dynasty.

Yangzhou was an active sea port for centuries. Considering your group is leaving from Damascus, they could easily travel down to the Red Sea or the Persian Gulf and take a vessel to China. It is much faster than land travel. If you are looking to detail the hardships travelers brave just to make it to China, ships were often attacked by pirates, capsized, or were dashed to bits if they got too close to rough coastlines near various countries. (Because of this, most merchants shipped their goods in more than on vessel, which would guarantee that some of their products made it to the destination. Products were often wrapped in tarps of leather as a water barrier.) Of course, you can detail similar hardships on land. I can recommend some good reference material with detailed Silk Road maps if you like.

I am also writing a story about the Silk Road. My main character sails from Egypt to India. He later travels to China through the northern Silk Road route.

Edited by ghostexorcist, 14 February 2011 - 10:25 AM.

[nicopolo]

I visited Yumenguan, west of Dunhuang, and shown the last fort of China before venturing into the northern silk road. Magnificent visit.
I have taken fotos of the fort and the remains of the great walls near-by. You can see the door from which your character must have left ... I will be glad to share the pics.

[Loong]

Yu Men Guan is not so majestic. Jia Yu Guan still stands proudly along the route, and is the first gate along the greatwall ending at Shan Hai Guan.

By the way, I'd write the horrendous journey sitting in a bus for hours travelling along the silk road in the August heat !

Its an interesting trip, and I'd say, if you spend less than 3 months, you can't really see what's happening along the way.

[smith_sheng]

This 4,000-mile-long network of routes stretched westward from China across Asia's deserts and mountains ranges,through the Middle East,until it reached the Mediterranean Sea. I think it's from Han Dynasty's Changan to Roman.

[nicopolo]

Yu Men Guan is not so majestic. Jia Yu Guan still stands proudly along the route, and is the first gate along the greatwall ending at Shan Hai Guan.

By the way, I'd write the horrendous journey sitting in a bus for hours travelling along the silk road in the August heat !

Its an interesting trip, and I'd say, if you spend less than 3 months, you can't really see what's happening along the way.

I agree that Yu Men Guan is in disrepair, but is the westernmost of the three you mention and has an aura about it that the other two, so touristy and well kept do not have. This is one of my reduced fotos.
 silk road small.jpg   44.83K   1 downloads