The Silk Road - Social, Economic, Political Impacts

Artistic director of the Silk Road Project, Yo Yo Ma, has called the original Silk Routes the "Internet of antiquity."

It seems a fair enough statement when one considers just how much of a revolutionary effect the trade routes had on those who lived and worked along their throughways. Even today, the Silk Road's impact lingers.

In Donhuang, 492 caves remain as a testament to one of the greatest changes the trade route brought to China. (Shifeng, Z., Shaotang, C., Shuren, L., Jiemin, H., Tianren, L., Xinsian, L., 1980) Buddhist shrines created over a span of more than 1,000 years, the holy images and decorations were often commissioned by merchant travelers, as well as local merchants and rulers. The former to pray for safety as he traveled the often-dangerous route, and the latter to curry favor with the traders who brought goods and wealth. More than 45,000 murals and 2,000 statues remain, with earlier works depicting a strong Indian sway on both artistic style and religious influence. Later works show the progression of images to include more of the local preferences, indicating that the Buddhist beliefs honored in the grottoes were no longer entirely for the traveler's sake, but had been adopted by the local people as well. (Brown, 2003, pp 428-429)

This acceptance of foreign religion is especially interesting in light of the lack of acceptance for the foreigners themselves. Trade was welcomed, and religious and cultural differences were tolerated without major strife, but never was the awareness lost that these traders and travelers from far-off lands were still foreigners, "barbarians." If there were an exception to this it would have been during the rule of the Mongols, under Kublai Khan, who was known for being especially open to most of the religions of the time.(Wild, 1992) Still, while the Silk Road was never truly a melting pot, it did bring together many, many cultures in a not-unfriendly way, and that travelers were regarded as outsiders did not seem to have discouraged trade.

But while the people may have been tolerant of travelers, the land was not. The long journey took traders across some of the most dangerous and deadly deserts and mountain passes in the world (Wild, 1992), and caravans sometimes didn't return. In Jiayuguan, it was a custom for travelers to throw a stone at the Great Wall. If the stone bounced back, the person could expect a safe return to China. If the stone did not return, neither would the traveler. (Brown, 2003, p 416) Even the name of the Taklamakan Desert spoke of serious danger, translated as "enter and do not return." (Brown, 2003, p 412) No traveler with any intention of living to old age would embark on such an uncertain journey without a good reason, and that the Silk Road drew such heavy trade spoke volumes about just how much the merchandise being transported was desired in its eventual destinations, and about how lucrative a business the trading of it could be. Silk, though certainly a hot commodity, was not the only product in demand. China exported furs, ceramics, jade, bronze, lacquer, iron, and other handcrafts of all kinds, and along with them the techniques used in production, such as silk reeling, iron smelting, and paper making. In return, traders brought precious metals and stones, ivory, art from their own countries, colored glazes, and glass. (Shifeng, Z. et al, 1980; Wild, 1992) For merchants at both ends of the Silk Road, and for the travelers who made the long and dangerous journey between, it was a venture filled with great risks and potential for equally great monetary gain.

The question put forth by this assignment asks what the social, economic, and political impacts of the Silk Road have been. I have focused on the direct impact of the trade routes upon the people who lived and worked within their reach, and in that respect I think the Silk Road had an enormous effect. Religious and artistic change, social tolerance and interaction with people whose beliefs and culture are different from one's own, and the influx of wealth and opportunity for business - any one of these things could have a huge effect on a people's way of life. The Silk Road brought all of them, and more. Absolutely integral to daily life in routeside settlements, the Silk Road directly shaped many of the social, economic, and political views and events during its existence.

In my introduction I referenced a quote by Yo Yo Ma, in which he called the Silk Road the "Internet of antiquity." Communication, information, mixing cultures, commerce, and a revolutionary effect on its user's daily lives are a few traits the Silk Road accomplished millennia before America Online ever uttered its first "you've got mail." Perhaps, then, it would be more accurate to call the internet a descendant of the Silk Road. (With fewer camels.)