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    Silk Road or War Path: Western Frontiers of Ancient China and Beyond
    Silk Road or War Path: Western Frontiers of Ancient China and Beyond
    Silk Road or War Path: Western Frontiers of Ancient China and Beyond
    Ebook84 pages55 minutes

    Silk Road or War Path: Western Frontiers of Ancient China and Beyond

    By Terry Nettle

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    This book examines the long and eventful history of ancient China as it relates to its western frontiers and the famous ancient Silk Road. It looks at how the term "Western Frontiers" or "Western Territories" was first used in the classic "Han Book of History - Western Frontiers", closely associated with the epic travels of Zhang Qian, the Han dynasty diplomat-explorer extraordinaire. This was the region which the ancient Silk Road ran through. It was a road of trade and prosperity as well as a road for war; with many countries, ethnicity, cultures and religions involved.

     

    Looking at the whole breadth of the Silk Road geography, one could see history unfolding in the long stretches of land in west and central Asia; from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, to Black Sea, to Caspian Sea, to Aral Sea, to Lake Balkhash, and to Lake Baikal. These six bodies of water are the connecting focal points of all the human drama and all the amazing cultural and other exchanges over these regions.

     

    And all the human drama along this ancient Silk Road were played out by the many ethnicity and cultures including the Chinese, Mongolic, Turkic, Persian, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, Indian, Greek, Roman and Arabic civilizations. The book traces all that all these peoples and more had to go through, their remarkable achievements and their follies along the ancient Silk Road.

     

    The book then elaborates on the inevitable interactions that all countries have with foreign countries and peoples, and raises the three critical questions that need to be asked by every generation in every country: (1) to befriend or to begone, (2) to trade or to thrash, and (3) to confer or to confront.

     

    The past history of endless wars and brutal colonization along the Silk Road and beyond need to be carefully studied for their precious lessons so that humans may build a peaceful and sustainable future for all humanity.


     


     


     


     

     

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTerry Nettle
    Release dateJun 9, 2020
    ISBN9781393471172
    Silk Road or War Path: Western Frontiers of Ancient China and Beyond

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      Book preview

      Silk Road or War Path - Terry Nettle

      Chapter 1. Ancient China

      Classical Chinese history tomes from ancient times are replete with multiple references to peoples, cultures and kingdoms and states west of China, and the complex relations that Ancient China had with them.  All these peoples and places were given quaint, surprising and almost unpronounceable Chinese translations of their names. An interesting example was the ancient Chinese name for India 身毒, which means literally body poison. It would seem that this tradition of using unusual Chinese words to translate foreign words, especially in the translation of Buddhist scriptures, is meant to highlight the foreignness of the names and to help distinguish them and highlight them from the main text in the documents.

      Despite the many quirky names used, these are valuable records of the interactions and conflicts that China had with these civilizations and cultures, and an indication of the impact of these contacts on the evolution of all those myriad civilizations.

      One might wondered how accurate these names are, and how well these accounts reflect the actual circumstances in those lands and peoples beyond the Chinese western border. Were these stories accurate in portraying the advent of the Silk Road? Were these also a record of the war and conflicts that happened along the silk road? Were these also the war paths that created so much misery to the many peoples and tribes along these roads and destroyed so many lives and livelihoods?

      In examining these records, it is important to reconcile the differences of the various accounts to achieve a semblance of internal consistency, as well as a basic understanding of the sequence of events and the motivations and actions of all the parties involved. However, it is to be understood that while the gist of many of the stories are probably correct, not all the information can be verified.

      All these accounts amount to a major part of the ancient history of humankind. These stories are both interesting and instructive, and they truly present a very vivid picture of the clash and crash, the rise and fall, and the endless struggles of all these different cultures, religions and political entities in history.

      Chapter 2. Multi-racial and Multi-religion

      These histories of ancient China present us with useful and interesting insights. They show us the great impact many different ethnicity, religions and multi-cultural interactions have had on ancient China and its neighbours and the world at large. There is much to be learned about how conflicts and wars were perpetrated, how they were resolved and avoided, and how peace and prosperity can be achieved on a win-win basis. These are valuable lessons that they can teach us.

      In particular, it was clear from ancient history that inter-racial and inter-ethnic marriages have been prevalent as people migrate across territories and regions and interact in so many ways. Most countries and peoples were forged in the midst of such exchanges of goods and people. Indeed, no race is a pure one nor should it aspire to be. There are great benefits in the cross fertilization of cultures, civilizations, ideas, knowledge and thinking. This must surely be the way forward.

      Running through this long history is the strain of great tenacity and inventiveness, as well as the strain of terrible cruelty and violence of the human race. Clearly, if we do not learn from history, we are condemned to repeat it.

      Chapter 3. Western Frontiers

      Ancient China had always had a problem dealing with the nomadic people in the north. This is unavoidable when an agrarian society finds itself competing for land with nomadic neighbours.

      As early as during the Spring and Autumn Period (771-476BC) of Chinese history, Duke Mu of Qin 秦穆公 had to send troops to fend off some of the intruding barbarians. The chiefs of these tribes were known as Chieftains 戎王. In 623BC, the Qin State's army defeated many of these tribes which were forced to migrate westward or northward. Among those cited in Chinese texts were: 允姓之戎、大夏、月氏、莎车.

      The term Western Frontiers 西域 was first used in the Classic Han Book of History -Western Frontiers.  It is closely associated with the epic travels of Zhang Qian 张骞 (164-113BC), the Han dynasty diplomat-explorer extraordinaire.

      At the time of Western Han, the term basically means the limited areas west of Yumen Pass and Yang Pass at Gansu's Dunhuang, east of Pamir Highlands, north of Mount Kunlun, and south of Lake Balkhash; which was the area under the control of the Regional Pacification Office.

      More widely, the term could include the areas west of Pamir Highlands in central Asia, the Roman Empire, Afghanistan, Iran, Uzbekistan, and toward the Mediterranean coast.

      The ancient Chinese term 西域, pronounced

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