Do Now Two question quiz (on your notecard): What was the Silk Road? 2) What (geographical) obstacles did merchants have to face along the Silk Road? Name two.

On the back Imagine a world where the Silk Road had never existed. What would that world look like?ethan

The Silk Road Why “Silk”? The term "Silk Road" refers to the network of trade routes that linked China and the West in ancient times. Although this term was first coined in the late 1800's by the German geographer Ferninand von Richthofen, ancient travelers had crossed deserts and mountains to exchange goods with Chinese, Indian, and Persian merchants as early as 300 B.C.E. Few traders traveled the entire route; rather, goods were bartered at various trading centers in staggered progression along the way. The most frequently traveled route, popularized during the Han dynasty when Chinese silk first reached Europe, stretched 7,000 miles. It began in the Han capital city of Chang An, followed northwest along the Great Wall, crossed the Taklimakan Desert, the Pamir Mountains, and Bactria (modern-day northern Afghanistan) and reached the Mediterranean Sea. A variety of goods - such as gold, ivory, perfumes, glass, and fruits from the West, and furs, ceramics, jade, bronze, iron, spices, gunpowder, paper, and printing techniques from the East - were exchanged along the trade routes. But it was silk that gave its name to the Silk Road because of the material's rarity and beauty. Silk was highly prized by the Roman Empire, China's most powerful trading partner. It was associated with royalty and luxury, and its production was regarded as a Chinese state secret, the telling of which was punishable by death. Silk was used by China as currency for costly goods from other countries, and was also used to pay nomadic tribes to the north and west of China so they would not invade its vulnerable border provinces. Silk production originated in China, perhaps as early as 3000 B.C.E. Chinese legends ascribe the discovery of silk and the invention of the silk reel to Empress Xilingji (pronounced SHEE-LING-JEE), the wife of Huang Di, the Yellow Emperor. However, scholars can only speculate about the origins of silk production, since the techniques of sericulture (the manufacture of raw silk from raising silk worms) was kept such a closely guarded secret. It was not until the thirteenth century C.E. that Chinese texts began to describe methods of raising silkworms and preparing silk fabric. The Silk Road served not just as a route for trading goods and introducing silk to the international market, but also as a route along which ideas were exchanged between East and West. Cultural elements such as art, architectural styles, and music traveled along the trade routes. The most significant example of cultural exchange along the Silk Road was religion: Buddhism came to China from India during the Han dynasty and influenced centuries of religious beliefs and teachings, which continue today. China and the World

Silk Road History The term "Silk Road" refers to the network of trade routes that linked China and the West in ancient times. ancient travelers crossed deserts and mountains to exchange goods with Chinese, Indian, and Persian merchants

Silkworm cocoons on a Mulberry tree. The silkworm is a catapillar from a moth. This one is known as, “The silkworm of the Mulberry tree. Silkworm cocoons collected and being prepared for making silk. A Mulberry tree.

The actual worm that resides inside the cocoon. The silkworm cocoon. It spews the thread out of its mouth to form the cocoon. This entire production takes a mere 72 hours, during which time they produce between 500-1200 silken threads. About 2,000 to 3,000 cocoons are required to make a pound of silk. Based on 1 kilometer (2/3 of mile) per cocoon, ten unraveled cocoons could theoretically extend vertically to the height of Mt Everest. At least 70 million pounds of raw silk are produced each year, requiring nearly 10 billion pounds of mulberry leaves. The actual worm that resides inside the cocoon. The Chinese and other cultures eat the worm itself too!

A silk factory in Shanghai, China.

The cocoons lie in water The cocoons lie in water. Then the fine thread is pulled from them and run through the loom above.

The loom in production. This factory is a tourist destination The loom in production. This factory is a tourist destination. Another silk factory might be much larger with more looms and workers. Here, this Chinese woman threads the silk through the wheels of the loom.

Here a woman demonstrates how the silk can be stretched over this bamboo frame, lining one cocoon over another, eventually making the product to the left.

Here they stretch the silk even further to create a larger piece that is laid upon other pieces to fill the insides of a quilt or comforter. You can see the various dyed silk fabric behind these workers.

The final product. Here is a girl wearing a traditional dress in a park in Zhouzhuang, China.