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  • Essay / Review of Susan Whitfield's book "Life along the Silk Road"

    The Silk Road is considered one of the main arteries of international trade, but the term does not explain the impact of the phenomenon on individuals. This is mainly because the subject is too complex and elusive. The term contains the movement and exchange of any intangible or tangible goods, services and ideology across the Trans-Eurasian routes. The kickoff for this exchange began in the first millennium BC but was not limited to a single historical period or generation. Trade still exists through the same channels and the effects of trade continue to multiply with globalization. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essaySusan Whitfield is an international librarian and professor with access to manuscripts, arts, artifacts, and other relics of the Road to Silk. With these recordings, Whitfield recounts and connects snapshots of characters who lived at different points along the Silk Road. These stories describe communication, transportation, goods, services, people, ideas, religion, disease, culture, technology, conflict, diplomacy, and any other evidence of life found throughout along the Silk Road. They also give different stories and perspectives on what it means to interact with the Silk Road. Through this book, Whitfield offers a small glimpse into the interconnectedness of the Afro-Eurasian historical network. The stories in Life Along the Silk Road describe tangible goods such as jade and other precious stones, metals for currency and armor, teas, furs, livestock. , perfumes, and any other desired materials found in other countries. People traded goods or resources they specialized in for those they wanted or lacked. Ideologies have spread as politics, religions, technologies, fashions and more have been transported by humans through these routes. Technological professions appear, for example, as papermaking, which allowed the production of almanacs and books containing the worlds of philosophy and geography in a broader register of information. We see that the greatest intangible value was the ability to do business and communicate or trade with neighbors who possess unique goods and technologies. Throughout history, the contribution to the expansion of roads, geography and politics has posed great obstacles. Although some routes were shorter, they were dangerous and convinced travelers to take longer or previously unexplored routes. Certain terrains constituted major barriers. If a route extended into another country's territory, the parties would have to resort to diplomacy, such as trade bribes or other deals, or strategy, through scouts and military exports, to pass. Natural resources also have a great influence. In some places water was scarce, in others game was scarce and they would need to find more to continue their journey. These roads connected the world in ways that touched people around the world, even in small ways, through the culture, technologies and goods of different worlds and their influence continues today. Through a flashback to 821 Chang'an, The Princess's Tale illustrates the conditions of an alliance between Chinese and Turkish forces. His journey told the stories of precious Nisean horses collected from Kashmir, Gandhara andin Arabia. The best were gathered in Ferghana until Chang'an was forced to trade exclusively with the Uyghurs. From that point on, the Chinese army became dependent on the Uighurs for its supply of cavalry horses in addition to the Uighur force. Following tradition, Imperial Princess Taihe would be sent to her older sister, Yongan, to create a peaceful marriage with a Uighur Khagan. She would travel in the company of her retinue, Uighur horsemen, Chinese officials to award the new regalia of office to the new Khagan, and camels carrying gifts for the Khagan and provisions for the convoy. This journey would also explain some of the dangers of traveling on the Silk. The route as they traveled through exposed territories and impractical terrain - even back to his family palace - to avoid stronger or unpredictable forces. This large caravan would take much longer than traveling a distance of over a thousand miles by pony. In addition to accommodating people, to meet the different needs of the herds they used for transportation, they also had to stop to allow everyone to graze and provide fodder for the camels crossing the icy terrain. This blockage would increase the threat of hostile forces such as Tibetan raiders, resource depletion or severe weather. Taihe arrived, embraced the Khogan and Chinese and Uighur cultures and lived together for two years before passing away. After his death, she chose to stay as Uighur and witness the new Khogan come to power. As the capital weakened and was unable to repel its enemies, the Uighur leaders lost control of the land. In danger, Taihe finally had to be brought back clandestinely by the Silk Road to remain in the territory and under the protection of the emperor. Meanwhile, the courtesan's tale unfolded. The Tale of the Courtesan, or Larishka, began as a musical tale. At that time, the Kuchean sound traveled far and wide and was sung and played in China, from where it was later transmitted to Japan and Korea. This song was accompanied by dancing and was bought and sold on the Silk Road. A mixture of Kuchean and new elements from each culture is still played today. Larishka was an artist specializing in the Kuchean lute. She and her town, Kucha, became acquainted with the Uighur refugees and soldiers who were concentrated partly at the request of the king as aid and stationed to control the surrounding areas. One day, while performing in front of these soldiers and nobles, who were the main supporters of her career, Larishka was noticed by a general who took a particular interest in her and took her to a neighboring country to perform in front of his own guests. one of many who were captured or enslaved during these soldiers' journey of service. From then on, Larishka never settled down but was passed down until she was sold to a "stepmother" for whom she became a courtesan with whom she stayed in Chang' year for almost two decades. After seeing rebel groups challenge the imperial forces through massacre and destruction of the city, which would lead to the change of emperor and dynasty in China, she fled to Kucha. Unlike the one she left, she returned to a Kucha that had been transformed by a greater concentration of Uighur settlements and influences, including art, religion, culture and the military. From there we are transported to Isfahan in 903. The writer's tale was born from the overflow of two cities composed of different Jewish and Arab cultures. Besides the trade in beliefs.