Secrets of the Silk Road – Teacher Packet - Bowers Museum

SECRETS OF THE
SILK ROAD:
STUDY GUIDE
&
BACKGROUND
INFORMATION FOR
TEACHERS GRADE 6
AND UP

TABLE OF CONTENTS
BACKGROUND: INTRODUCTION TO THE SILK ROAD .................................... 3
What was the Silk Road?............................................................................................... 3
Where was the Silk Road?............................................................................................. 3
CALIFORNIA CONTENT STANDARDS: 6 th Grade .................................................. 4
CALIFORNIA CONTENT STANDARDS: 7 th Grade .................................................. 4
PRE-VISIT LESSON: GEOGRAPHY............................................................................ 6
PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY 1: GEOGRAPHY.................................................................. 6
PRE-VISIT LESSON: MUMMIES................................................................................. 7
PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY 2: MUMMIES....................................................................... 7
ACTIVITY 3: MYSTERY ITEM ................................................................................. 8
PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY 4: TOMBS............................................................................. 9
PRE-VISIT LESSON: FOOD AND SPICES ON THE SILK ROAD....................... 10
PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY 5: FOOD AND THE SILK ROAD................................... 10
PRE-VISIT LESSON: TRADE ..................................................................................... 11
PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY 6: TRADE ........................................................................... 11
BACKGROUND: TIMELINE ...................................................................................... 12
POST-VISIT ACTIVITIES ............................................................................................ 18
POST-VISIT ACTIVITY 1: WALK IN THEIR SHOES......................................... 18
POST-VISIT ACTIVITY 2: EAST AND WEST -- THE EXCHANGE OF
CULTURE AND IDEAS ALONG THE SILK ROAD ........................................... 18
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (FOR TEACHERS) ................................................... 19
EXHIBITION OUTLINE (FOR TEACHERS) ......................................................... 20
BACKGROUND INFORMATION & VOCABULARY ............................................. 21
MAJOR THEMES .......................................................................................................... 26
Bowers Museum Education Department
March 2010
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BACKGROUND: INTRODUCTION TO THE SILK ROAD
Secrets Revealed….For the first time three well-preserved mummies from the Tarim Basin in western
China are presented in the United States. Secrets of the Silk Road offers the once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to come face to face with Yingpan Man, an actual Silk Road trader, who lived at the
zenith of exchange between East and West - his lavish tomb goods and personal belongings included
Roman glass, bow and arrows for protection, a satin perfumed sash and fine silk clothing. Encounter
The Beauty of Xiaohe, a Bronze Age Caucasian mummy whose origin, culture and fate remains a
mystery; but whose existence extends the history of the Silk Road back over 2000 years and redefines
the ancient world.
This historic exhibition of over 150 objects comes from the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region
Museum and the Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology in Urumqi, China and includes beautiful clothing
and textiles, wooden and bone implements, coins, documents and jewel encrusted objects that reflect
the full extent of Silk Road trade from China to the Mediterranean. Step back in time and experience
the convergence of ancient civilizations.
What was the Silk Road?
The Silk Road was a huge network of trade routes that connected the many different civilizations of
Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Europe. Today, people can easily go from countries as far apart
as China and Italy, but for the people of the Silk Road period, nearly 2000 years ago, it was the only
international road that existed. The Silk Road connected travelers, merchants, soldiers, missionaries,
pilgrims, and traders from places as far apart as Ancient China, Persia, India, Arabia and even Rome!
The Silk Road was one of the only ways for the people of these ancient regions to trade ideas,
technology, religion, and goods.
Where was the Silk Road?
The Silk Road wasn’t just one straight road. It was actually made up of many different routes that
were connected. Most of the Silk Road was on land, and people travelled on it by caravan using
horses and camels. A few of the routes were maritime (ocean) routes, and the only way to travel
those parts was by boat! While the majority of the Silk Road was located in Asia, the Middle East,
and India, some of it did extend to parts of Africa, and some even went as far as Europe!
Bowers Museum Education Department
March 2010
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CALIFORNIA CONTENT STANDARDS: 6th Grade
Visual Arts
1.0 Artistic Perception
3.0 Historical and Cultural Context
4.0 Aesthetic Valuing
History/ Social Science
6.6 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social
structures of the early civilizations of China.
7.0 Cite the significance of the trans-Eurasian "silk roads" in the period of the Han
Dynasty and Roman Empire and their locations.
English/ Language Arts
Reading
o 2.0 Reading Comprehension
Writing
o 1.0 Writing Strategies
Listening and Speaking
o 1.0 Listening and Speaking Strategies
CALIFORNIA CONTENT STANDARDS: 7th Grade
Visual Arts
1.0 Artistic Perception
3.0 Historical and Cultural Context
4.0 Aesthetic Valuing
History/ Social Science
7.2.5 Describe the growth of cities and trade routes created among Asia, Africa
and Europe, the products and inventions that traveled along these routes
(e.g., spices, textiles, paper, steel, new crops), and the role of merchants in
Arab society.
7.2.6 Understand the intellectual exchanges among Muslim scholars of Eurasia
and Africa and the contributions of Muslim scholars made to later
civilizations in the areas of science, geography, mathematics, philosophy,
medicine, art, and literature.
7.3.4. Understand the importance of both overland trade and maritime
expeditions between China and other civilizations in the Mongol
Ascendency and the Ming Dynasty.
7.3.5. Trace the historical influence of such discoveries as tea, the manufacture of
paper, wood block printing, the compass, and gunpoweder.
English/ Language Arts
Reading
o 2.0 Reading Comprehension
Writing
o 1.0 Writing Strategies
Listening and Speaking
o 1.0 Listening and Speaking Strategies
Science
Genetics
o 2.d plant and animal cells contain many thousands of different genes, and
typically have two copies of every gene. The two copies (or alleles) of the
gene may of may not be identical, and one may be dominant in determining
the phenotype while the other is recessive.
Bowers Museum Education Department
March 2010
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Evolution
o 3.0 Biological evolution accounts for the diversity of species developed
through gradual processes over many generations. As a basis for
understanding this concepts, students know:
o 3.a both genetic variation and environmental factors are causes of evolution
and that natural selection is the mechanism of evolution.
Bowers Museum Education Department
March 2010
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Bowers Museum Education Department
March 2010
PRE-VISIT LESSON: GEOGRAPHY
©Elizabeth Wayland Barber, The Mummies of Urümchi (W. W. Norton Company, New York, 1999)
The items in the exhibition were found mostly in the area around the Tarim Basin, though the actual
archaeological sites are as follows:
o Astana Cemetery in Turfan
o Ulughchat (Wuqia) County;
o Turfan, Gaochang Ancient City
o Zaghunluq, Charchan
o Alagou (Alqighul, Alghuy), Toksun
o South Mountain, Urumqi
o Niya, Mingeng
o Alar Cemetery, Rouqiang
o Subeshi Cemetary, Pichan
o Qourghas County, Ancient Alimalik
City
o Sampul, Lop
o Yoykan, Hetian, south bank of Kunas
River
PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY 1: GEOGRAPHY
Ask your students to identify some of the burial sites on a map of China.
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o Xinyaun (Kunas) County
o Bortala, Daltu Ancient City
o Boma Cemetary, Il
o Mongghul Kura (Zhaosu) County
o Yeshiliek Cemetery, Tekas County
o Xiahe Cemetery, Charqilik County
o Gutai Cemetery, Loulan City
o Wupu (Qizilchoqa)Cemetery, Hami
(Qumul)
o Qawighul (Gumugou) Cemetary,
Charqilik (Ruoqiang) County
o Jarintay, Nilqa County
o Yingpan , Yuli (Lopnur) County; Niya
o Yurayak, Keriya (Yutian) County.

PRE-VISIT LESSON: MUMMIES
The Mummies you will see in the exhibit are very different from the mummies you may have learned
about before. Egyptian mummies were prepared by removing the organs, and embalming the bodies.
The mummies were preserved because they dehydrated using chemicals, and were then wrapped in
yards of linen soaked in various ointments and spices. The use of embalming chemicals gave the
bodies of the mummies a dark hue.
These Chinese mummies were preserved so well not necessarily by design, but rather because of the
unforgiving environmental conditions of the Tarim Basin. During the winter, temperatures dropped
well below zero, and during the summer, the heat was unbearable. These temperature extremes
actual “freeze-dried” the mummies!
PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY 2: MUMMIES
Look at the mummies below (higher quality images for classroom viewing are included in the
associated powerpoint). Do they seem like mummies you would expect to find in the middle of
China? Why or why not? How are they different from mummies you’ve seen or studied before?
Hint, think of the Egyptian mummies you may have learned about before.
Infant Mummy, c. 8th Century BC
Excavated from Zaghunluq, Chärchän
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum Collection
L: 50 cm
L:20”
Glass Coffin- L: 80cm
W: 50cm H: 130cm
Trappings of “Yingpan Man”, 3rd-4th Century
Excavated from Yingpan, Yuli (Lopnur) County
Bowers Museum Education Department
March 2010
This infant was about 8-10 months old at the time of death. The tufts of light brown
hair and light eyebrows, plus the blue stones covering the baby’s eyes give a clear
indication of its key physical characteristics. The baby was found lying on its back and
shrouded in dark red wool wrapped with intertwined red and blue cords, giving the
appearance of swaddling cloths. Resting on a rectangular piece of felt, the head is
covered in a blue cashmere cap with a red lining. There is a pillow under its head,
making it seem as if the baby is sleeping soundly. The face is the only part of the entire
body that is bare, with fair skin and two flat, rectangular stones (2 x 3 x 0.3 cm) over the
eyes. (Other infant mummies from Zaghunluq and at other sites in the Tarim Basin had
similar blue or blue-green stones covering their eyes. Since stones of such color are not
common, their use to cover the eyes of dead children must convey important symbolic
information.) Two balls of red wool yarn are placed inside the infant’s nostrils. On
either side of the infant were placed an ox horn and a nursing device made from a goat’s
udder.
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This robe has a collar, a right closure, and two slits on either side of
the garment. It is made of fine wool with a red background and
designs of animals (oxen, goats), people, and trees. The pattern is
symmetrical with a continuous, repeating motif of a group of naked
human figures and animals in pairs around a pomegranate tree. This
design traverses the robe to the hem. The entire pattern reflects the
influences of West Eurasian art, mainly Greco-Roman and secondarily
Persian.

Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology Collection
L: 110cm
The Beauty of Xiaohe", c. 1800-1500 BC
Excavated from Xiaohe (Little River) Cemetery 5, Charqilik (Ruoqiang) County
Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology Collection
H: 152cm H: 60.8”
Below are a couple of items people in the Tarim Basin area may have used when alive to protect
themselves from the harsh elements, but that were used as funerary items also.
ACTIVITY 3: MYSTERY ITEM
Without allowing your students to read the text for the item below, ask them to tell you what they
think the item is. You’d be surprised at some of the wild guesses you’ll get!
Bronze Eyeshade, 7 th -9 th Century
Excavated from Tomb No. 227, Astana,
Turfan
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum
Collection
L: 15cm W: 5.1cm
L:6” W:2.04”
Bowers Museum Education Department
March 2010
This mummy has been preserved extremely well, with the entire body covered in an even layer of thick,
milky white substance. Quite shapely, the mummy’s e\belly is rather plump. Its eye sockets are deep-set
with long, flaxen eyelashes. The bridge of the nose is high and straight, the mouth open slightly. The
outline of the thin lips is prominent. The hair has also been covered in the thick, milky substance and
there are some casings from maggots stuck in it. When the milky substance is cleared away, it reveals a
head of thick, flaxen hair with a natural part that has grown long down to the chest.
Except for the head, calves, and feet, the entire body was wrapped in a wide, white wool cloak. The cloak
has tassels that fan outward around the neck and shoulders. The wrap was closed over the front of the
deceased from right to left. At the chest are inserted two engraved wooden pins and two tamarisk sticks
that have been burnt at the end. Poking through the cords on the right edge of the cloak are three small
pouches, 5-6 cm in diameter. One of the bags is tied near the neck inside the cloak. The other two bags
are tied to the cloak on either side of the wooden pins. Inside all three of the bags are broken pieces of
ephedra, a kind of evergreen shrub with medicinal properties.
There are numerous other striking attributes of the burial that merit separate description, e.g. the wooden
phallus on her chest, the magnificent felt hat, the fine fur-lined leather boots, and the string skirt. All in
all, this is a sumptuous burial stunningly beautiful woman who was much loved by those who interred her.
This eyeshade was hammered from a piece of bronze placed over a mold. When it
was discovered it was resting over the eyes of the tomb’s occupant. The style is not
dissimilar from today’s eyeglasses. The border of the eyeshade is circled with small
punch holes that would have been decorated with textiles such as cotton, hemp,
silk, or brocade. In the center of the shade small holes have also been punched,
allowing the wearer to look out on the world, but also avoid the wind and the sand.
In real life Eskimo and Orochen people have the custom of wearing eyeshades to
guard against the strong reflections of the sun from the ice and snow. People who
live in plains also have the custom of wearing eyeshades to keep out blowing sands
and ultraviolet radiation. However in the Turfan region during the Tang dynasty,
eyeshades were not for actual use; they were funerary goods used for covering the
eyes of the deceased. In the Astana tombs of this time it was customary to cover
the face of cloth. The area where the eyes should be was cut from the face cover
and then an eyeshade like this one was sewn to the fabric.
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Brocade Face Cover with Dogwood Pattern, 2 nd -4 th Century
Excavated from Tomb No. 3 of Cemetery No. 1, Niya
Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology Collection
L: 62cm W: 58cm
L:24.8” W:23.2”
Acrylic Size – L: 75cm
W:75 cm Thickness: 4cm
Acrylic Size-L:30”
W:10” Thickness:1.6”
Bowers Museum Education Department
March 2010
This rectangular face cover is made from a complete width of brocade having a red silk
border on three sides. Two corners have silk ties. The cover is 45 cm wide with white, green,
red, and yellow designs of diamonds and stylized dogwood branches on a white background,
the who presenting a rich, recurring regularity.
PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY 4: TOMBS
Many of the objects in the exhibition you are going to see are funerary objects, that is, they are
objects the occupant or their families believed should accompany the deceased person into the next
life. The Chinese are not the only people to practice this—Egyptian tombs are filled with similar
such objects.
If you were going to plan your tomb, what kinds of objects would you choose to accompany you to
the next life? Describe & explain.
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PRE-VISIT LESSON: FOOD AND SPICES ON THE SILK ROAD
Travelers along the Silk Road traded more than just silk. The foods of each culture along the Silk
Road had a huge impact on each other. For example, the Chinese noodle inspired the Italian pasta.
Additionally, spices were a major commodity traded. Most of the spices we use today, like
cardamom, cinnamon, and pepper were originally traded along the Road. In addition to adding
exotic flavors to cuisine, they helped preserve foods in a time before refrigerators and coolers.
PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY 5: FOOD AND THE SILK ROAD
Below is a picture of one of the food items that you will see in the exhibition. What does the label
say it is? Does it remind you of any specific item of food from a non-Chinese culture?
Did you know that Chinese noodles influenced the Italians to develop pasta? Look at the picture
below again. Does that change how you see it?
The Silk Road travelers did not get to travel in the luxury that we travel in today. They didn’t have
planes that crossed thousands of miles in hours. They definitely didn’t have any in-flight
entertainment or meals! What do you think they ate during their trip? How do you think the
preserved their food since they didn’t have coolers or refrigerators?
Wonton, 7th-9th Century
Excavated from Astana, Turfan
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum
Collection
L: 3cm W: 2.5cm
L:1.2” W:1”
Bowers Museum Education Department
March 2010
A type of food made of thin dough wrapped around a filling, then boiled and
eaten in soup. Wonton existed in different forms in various eras. In the Wei
kingdom (220-265) of the Three Kingdom period, wonton was described in the
book Guangya as being like a sort of cake. In the Northern Qi period (550-577),
an illustrated work describes wonton as being shaped like a crescent moon.
From the early textual sources, it appears that people in ancient times did not
have separate words for wonton and dumpling. Whether wonton or dumpling,
both were made from thin skins of dough, wrapped around filling, and shaped
like an ear. When this wonton was excavated it was dry and spoiled. The
surface appears slightly brown. The form is different from dumplings and this
indicates that by this time wonton and dumplings were clearly distinguished.
The Ughurs call wonton cuchure. It has been a traditional food of the Ughurs and
other nationalities for a long time.
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Bowers Museum Education Department
March 2010
PRE-VISIT LESSON: TRADE
PRE-VISIT ACTIVITY 6: TRADE
Despite its name, the Silk Road was not just a trade route for silk. Spices like cinnamon, cardamom,
and pepper were traded. Make a list of all the spices you can think of, and find out if they were
originally traded on the Silk Road.
The Silk Road was also a major trade route for tea, and even for precious metals like gold! The gold
for the beautiful tiger, and the fabric used to make the robe below were probably traded along Silk
Road. When you go see the exhibition, make sure you look for items other than silk that may have
been traded along the Road. What are everyday objects that you use that may have come from
somewhere else?
Gold Plaque with Tiger Design, 5th-3rd Century BC
Excavated from Tomb No. 30, Alagou (Alwighul, Alghuy), Toksun
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Museum Collection
Diameter: 5.2cm
Diameter:2.08”
Woolen Robe, 5th-3rd Century BC
Excavated from Tomb No. 4, Subeshi Cemetery, Pichan
Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology Collection
L: 96cm Sleeve W: 160cm
L:38.4” Sleeve w:64”
Round molding using repoussage to create a raised tiger design. The front of the
tiger’s body is turned, its head held high, giving the appearance of leaping. Its rear
is twisted, with one foot grasping for the tiger’s ear. The entire body constitutes a
circle with the front paws raised beneath the jaws and the back paws reaching the
back of the head; the whole composition is bristling with energy. The molding of
the tiger, its whiskers, and paws is very subtle and distinctive. At this time, the
ancient peoples who lived in the Alagou range of the Tangri Tagn must have come
in contact with tigers frequently in order to produce this type of design. This piece
reflects their considerable understanding of this carnivorous animal’s habits and
characteristics.
This robe made of pale yellow, rough wool has facing lapels, long
sleeves, and a stand-up collar. Two triangular pieces were added to
each side of the hem. It has been completely preserved and is very
rare. The weave of the fabric has a thin warp but a more dense
weft. It is well made and is helpful for understanding the weaving
technology of this era.
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5000-500 B.C
Bowers Museum Education Department
March 2010
BACKGROUND: TIMELINE
3200 Horse domesticated on south Russian steppe.
3000 Minoan civilization starts, the earliest in Europe.
3000 Silk first produced in China.
3000 Sumerians develop first writing system.
2500 Domestication of the Bactrian and Arabian camel, vital for desert travel.
1700 Horse-drawn chariot introduced in Near East.
1500 Iron technology developed in Asia Minor.
1500 Seminomadic stockbreeding tribes inhaabit steppes.
900 Spread of mounted nomadism.
753 Rome founded.
707 Cimmerians, earliest-known mounted nomads, defeat kingdom of Urartu in Near East.
900-700 Scythians and Sarmatians appear in the northern steppes - two of the first races learn to ride
horses and wear trousers. stirrup.
600s Zoroaster born in Persia.
560s Buddha born in Nepal.
550 Achaemenid Empire established in Persia.
500s Chinese adopt nomadic style, wear trousers and ride horses.
450 Herodotus visits Greek trading colony of Olbia to gather information on Scythians.
551-479 Confucius born in China.
400 B.C.
300 B.C.
Empire of Alexander the Great expands into Asia. Greek culture into Central Asia.
Roman expansion begins.
Greco-Bactrian kingdom develops in Central Asia.
Parthians establish their empire in Iran.
Qin dynasty unites the entire China for the first time.
Chinese complete Great Wall as defense against the northern nomads' invasion.
Han dynasty overthrows Qin and develops its vast empire.
Buddhism begins to spread north. Gandhara art type emerges and starts a new art style - Serindian.
Paper first made in China.
Achaemenid Empire of Persia.
200 B.C.
Stirrup appears in Indian and Central Asia
Greek city-states come under Roman rule.
The Xiongnu, later called Huns rise to power in Central Asia and invade Chinese western border
regions.
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Han Emperor, Wu-ti's interests in Central Asia cause him to command the Chang Ch'ien expeditions
to the West, (Fergana and the Yueh-chih). Celestial Horses introduced to China.
Han power reaches Tarim region. The Silkroad under China's control and the route to the West now
open.
100 B.C.
1 A.D.
Mithridates, Parthian king, sends ambassadors to both Sulla and Wu-ti to provide an important link
between Rome and China.
Parthians defeat Romans at Carrhae. One of the most disastrous in Roman history.
Roman conquers Gaul.
Egypt under Roman rule. Gives Rome access to Red Sea and Spice Route trade.
Rome officially becomes an empire.
Silk first seen in Rome.
Buddhism begins to spread from India into Central Asia.
Roman Syria develops the technique of blowing glass. The industry expands.
Kushan Empire of Central Asia. Sogdians trading on Silk Route.
Xiongnu raids upset Chinese power in Tarim region.
Death of Jesus Christ. Spread of Christianity begins.
Chinese General Pan Ch'ao defeats Xiongnu and keeps the peace in the Tarim Basin. The stability of
the Silkroad popularizes the caravan trades into two routes - north and south.
China sends the first ambassador to Rome from Pan Ch'ao's command, but he fails to reach Rome.
Graeco-Egyptian geographer, Claudius Ptolemy, writes his Geography, attempts to map the Silkroad.
100 A.D.
Rome sends the first Roman envoy over sea to China.
Roman empire at its largest. A major market for Eastern goods.
Buddhism reaches China.
For the next few centuries, Buddhism flourishes, becoming the most popular religion in Central Asia,
replacing Zoroastrianism.
The four great empires of the day - the Roman, Parthian, Kushan, and Chinese - bring stability to the
Silkroad.
200 A.D.
Silk is woven into cloth across Asia, but using Chinese thread.
Han dynasty ends. China splits into fragments.
Sassanians rise to power from Parthians. Strong cultural influence along the trade routes.
Barbarian attacks on the Roman Empire.
Death of Mani in Persia. Manichaeism spreads throughout Asia, not to die out until the 14th century.
300 A.D.
Bowers Museum Education Department
March 2010
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Stirrup introduced to China by the northern nomads
Secret of sericulture begins to spread west along the Silkroad.
Xiongnu invade China again. China further dissolved into fragments.
Constantinople becomes Rome's capital.
Christianity becomes the official Roman religion.
Dun Huang caves starts to appear and becomes the world's largest Buddha caves.
Huns attack Europe.
Roman Empire splits into two.
Fa-hsien, one of the first known Chinese Silkroad travellers by foot and a Buddhist monk, sets out for
India.
400 A.D.
A Chinese princess smuggles some silkworm eggs out of China. Silkworm farms appear in Central
Asia.
New techniques in glass production introduced to China by the Sogdians.
Visigoths invade Italy and Spain.
Angles and Saxons rise in Britain.
Western Roman Empire collapses.
Frankish kingdom formed.
500 A.D.
Silkworm farms appear in Europe.
Nestorian Christians reach China.
Kingdom of Hephthalites (White Huns) in northern Asia, conquering Sogdian territory.
Buddhism reaches Japan.
Split of the Turkish Kaganate into Eastern and Western Kaganates. Western Turks move to Central
Asia from Mongolian plateau. At the Chinese end of Central Asia, the Eastern Turks or Uighurs are in
control.
Sui dynasty reunites China.
Sassanian Empire at its greatest extent in Central Asia.
600 A.D.
Roman Empire becomes Byzantine Empire.
Tang dynasty rules in China. For the first two centuries, the Silk Road reaches its golden age. China
very open to foreign cultural influences. Buddhism flourishes.
The Islamic religion founded.
Death of Muhammad. Muslim Arab expansion begins.
Xuan Zang's pilgrimage to India.
The Avars from the steppes introduces stirrups to Europe.
Sassanian Persia falls to the Arabs.
Muslims control Mesopotamia and Iran, along with the Silk and Spice routes.
700 A.D.
Bowers Museum Education Department
March 2010
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Arabs conquer Spain in Europe, which introduces much Eastern technology and science to Europe.
Arabs defeat Chinese at Talas and capture Chinese papermakers, which introduces paper making into
Central Asia and Europe.
Block printing developed in China
Tang dynasty begins to decline, and with it, the Silkroad.
Glassmaking skill introduced to China by Sogdians.
800 A.D.
First porcelain made in China.
Gunpowder invented in China and spread to the West by the 13th century.
All foreign religions banned in China.
Compass begins to be used by Chinese.
Diamond Sutra dated 11 May 868, the world's oldest known printed book made in Dunhuang.
Venice established as a city-state.
900 A.D.
Kirghiz Turks in control of Eastern Central Asia, establish kingdoms at Dunhuang and Turfan.
Tang Dynasty ends. China fragmented.
England unified for the first time.
Playing cards invented in China and spread to Europe toward the end of 14th century.
The Islamic Empire divides into small kingdoms.
Sung Dynasty reunites China.
Porcelain developed in China and exported to western Asia.
1000 A.D.
First Crusade. Exchange of technology between Europe and Middle East.
1100 A.D.
China divided into Northern Sung and Southern Sung.
Muslim oust the Franks from the Levant.
Genghiz Khan unites Mongols. Expansion of Mongol Empire begins.
Silk production and weaving established in Italy.
Paper money, first developed in China.
1200 A.D.
Death of Genghis Khan.
Mongols invade Russia, Poland, and Hungary.
The Europe's first envoy to the East, Friar Giovanni Carpini leaves Rome for Mongol capital at
Karakorum.
Friar William Rubruck sent to Karakorum by the King of France.
Seventh, and last, Crusade.
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March 2010
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Mongol control central and western Asia.
Silk road trade prospers again under the "Pax Mongolica."
Kublai Khan defeats China and establishes the Yuan dynasty.
Paper money introduced to Central Asia and Iran by Mongols.
Marco Polo leaves for the East.
1300 A.D.
Turkish Ottoman Empire in power.
Tamerlane, with capital in Samarkand, rises and conquers Persia, parts of Southern Russia, and
northern India.
Third Silkroad route appears in the north.
Ibn Battuta, the first known Arab travels on a 750,000 mile journey to China via the Silkroad.
The Black Death spreads throughout Europe.
Paper made across Europe.
Spinning wheel in Europe.
Battle of Crecy between French and English, where cannons used first in Europe.
Mongol Yuan Dynasty collapes. Chinese Ming Dynasty begins.
1400 A.D.
Tamerlane defeats the Ottoman Turks, and causes the deaths of seventeen million people.
Renaissance period in Europe.
Chinese explore the Spice Routes as far as Africa
Death of Tamerlane leads to the decline of Mongol power. Ottoman rises again in the Central Asia.
Ottomans conquer Constantinople.
Gutenberg printing press in use.
China closes the door to foreigners.
Fearing the power of Uighurs, Ming China reduces the trade and traffic dramatically in the Silkroad.
The Silkroad comes to an end for purposes of silk.
Lyon becomes the new center of the silk trade.
Columbus reaches America.
Vasco da Gama discovers the sea route from Europe to the East via the cape of Good Hope to
Calicut in India.
1500 A.D.
Islam becomes the religion of the entire Taklamakan region.
1600 A.D.
Uzbek Turks appear from the north, settle in today's Uzbekistan.
Prince Babur, descendant of Genghis Khan and Tamerlane, extends his empire from the Ferghana
valley to India. Founder of Mogul dynasty.
Manchuria rises and invades China. Qing Dynasty established.
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1700 A.D.
Numbers of severe earthquakes in Central Asia damage some of the great monuments.
Porcelain produced in Europe.
The Manchus, a Tungusic people from Manchuria, absorb the Gobi and Altai districts.
1800 A.D.
German scholar, Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen uses the term "Silkroad" (Seidenstrasse) for the
first time.
Manchus take over the Tarim Basin.
Xinjiang Province created under Qing Dynasty.
Elias crosses the Pamirs and identifies Muztagh Ata. Recommends the Wakhan corridor be
established.
Younghusband crosses the Gobi Desert, pioneering a new route from Peking to Kashgar via the
Muztagh Pass.
Hedin explores the Kun Lun and Takla Makan desert, unearthing buried cities along the old Silkroad.
Conway in the Karakoram Mountains.
Stein's archaeological investigations of the Takla Makan and central Asia.
The Great Game - Tsarist Russia and British India expand in Central Asia.
1900 A.D.
Hedin expeditions.
Chinese revolution; end of Chinese dynasties.
Europeans begin to travel in the Silkroad
Tibet under China's control.
Karakoram highway from Islamabad to Kashgar built by China and Pakistan.
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POST-VISIT ACTIVITIES
Below are a couple of activities you can go over with your students after the seeing exhibition.
POST-VISIT ACTIVITY 1: WALK IN THEIR SHOES
Based on what you know of the Silk Road, and what you learned while at the museum, imagine you
are a traveler on the Silk Road. Trace your journey with one of the objects you saw. Who are you?
Are you a trader or simply a traveler? Where did you begin your journey? Where are you going?
How did you travel? Where did the object you are carrying originate from? Where did it end up?
Think about what it would have been like to travel the Silk Road at various points during its history,
and write a page discussing the above questions.
POST-VISIT ACTIVITY 2: EAST AND WEST -- THE EXCHANGE OF CULTURE AND
IDEAS ALONG THE SILK ROAD
During the exhibition, you saw a lot of things that may not have actually originated in China where
they were found. What are some of the things other than silk that were exchanged along the Road?
(Hint, you learned about some of them during one of the pre-visit activities, and you may have even
seen some of them at the Museum!)
What is one major religion that gained popularity as a result of merchants traveling from place to
place and culture to culture? Where did this religion begin? Where is it practiced today? (See object
below for hint)
Wooden Buddhist Sculpture, 3rd-4th Century
Excavated from Niya
Xinjiang Institute of Archaeology Collection
H: 64cm W: 18cm Thickness: 9cm
(Set: 2 items)
H:25.6” W:7.2”
Thickness:3.6”
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On both sides of these rectangular blocks of wood are standing figures carved
in bas relief with one arm raised and the other resting on the hip. The facial
features, fingers, and clothes are outlined in ink. Each figure has its hair tied
up in a chignon and wears a close-fitting top with a round collar and a long
skirt. On the lower abdomen the re are four impressions that look like they
might be fingers. This group of sculptures is generally believed to be
Buddhist art. The area surrounding where these sculptures were discovered
also had remains of a Buddhist temple and government offices. This
discovery reflects the influence of Buddhism on the secular lives of the Niya
people.
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Books
Web
Articles
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES (FOR TEACHERS)
Life Along the Silk Road by Susan Whitfield
The Mummies of Urumchi by Elizabeth Wayland Barber
The Tarim Mummies by J.P. Mallory and Victor H. Mair
http://www.silkroadfoundation.org
Wade, Nicholas. “A Host of Mummies, a Forest of Secrets.” New York Times. 15
Mar.2010.
o http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/16/science/16archeo.html
Klinck, Betty. “European-looking mummies found in China, shown in Calif.” USA
Today. 18 Mar.2010.
o http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2010-03-18silkroadmummies18_ST_N.htm
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EXHIBITION OUTLINE (FOR TEACHERS)
Introduction
Silk Road
Height of the Silk Road: The Tombs of Astanä (300-700 AD)
Ancient Texts
The “Opening” of the Silk Road: The Yingpän Site (300 BC-AD 500)
Early Life of the Silk Road: The Sampul (Shanpula) Cemetery (200BC – AD 200)
Textiles
Niya (0-500AD)
Religion
Life Before the Silk Road: Zaghunluq Cemetery in Chärchän County (c.1000-600 BC)
Life Before the Silk Road: Xiaohe Cemetery (2000-1450 BC)
Mummification
Epilogue
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BACKGROUND INFORMATION & VOCABULARY
bi
A bi is a disk usually made of jade, from the Neolithic period onward as a ritual object used in burials.
The significance of this form is not entirely clear, though the round shape may symbolize heaven.
Buddhism
Buddhism was founded in the 400s BC in what is now Nepal by Siddhārtha Gautama (c. 563 BCE to
483 BC). The essential message is that wealth and material goods do not ensure happiness. He
taught a path to enlightenment based on his own experiences. Buddhism migrated north from India,
arriving in China during the 1 st century AD. According to legend, Han dynasty Emperor Ming, heard
of Buddhism. He had a dream in which a golden figure floated in a halo of light (perhaps a Buddhist
aspara). He sent an envoy to India, who returned with sacred Buddhist texts and paintings as well as
Indian practitioners to explain the teaching of the Buddha to the Emperor. The religion spread
rapidly along the Silk Road. Elaborate cave complexes and monasteries were built around the oasis
towns, supported by local families and merchants to ensure safe passage of their caravans.
calligraphy
Calligraphy literally means “beautiful writing.” It is one of the most respected art forms in China.
Chinese characters are written with a brush and ink on paper or silk in a number of different styles.
Confucianism
Confucianism is a philosophy based on the teachings of Confucius (551 BC – 479 BC ). He taught
of the ethical importance of relationships, particularly between a ruler and subjects, between parents
and children, along with the need for benevolence on the part of the ruler and parent, and respect on
the part of the subject and child.
cong
The cong is a cylinder with a square cross-section made of jade and often is included in burials. The
significance of the form is not entirely clear, though it is thought that its shape may represent heaven
(round) and earth (square)
Daoism [pronounced dow-ism and also seen as Taoism)
Daoism is an ancient Chinese philosophy based on the concept of the Dao or “The Way,” a force
that animates the universe and inhabits all things. The philosopher Laozi is believed to have written
the Daode jing, a text which taught the importance of living in harmony with the Dao. According to
Chinese tradition, Laozi lived in the 6th century BC though some scholars contend that Laozi is a
synthesis of multiple historical figures, or that he is a mythical figure, or that he actually lived in the
4th century BC, concurrent with the Hundred Schools of Thought and Warring States Period.
dynasty
A dynasty includes a succession of rulers who belong to the same family and rule over generations.
ephedra
In the context of Tarim Basin burial practices, ephedra has been found in the form of twigs in many
graves. The meaning is unknown.
Ephedra, from the plant Ephedra sinica, has been used as a herbal remedy in traditional Chinese
medicine for 5,000 years to treat asthma and hay fever, as well as for the common cold. It is a
stimulant which constricts blood vessels, stimulates the brain, and expands the bronchial tubes,
making breathing easier. It also increases blood pressure and heart rate.
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Several additional species belonging to the genus Ephedra have traditionally been used for a variety of
medicinal purposes, and may be related the Soma plant of Indo-Iranian religion. Native Americans
and Mormon pioneers drank a tea brewed from an Ephedra, called “Mormon Tea,” but North
American ephedras lack the alkaloids found in species such as E. sinica.
Ephedra is widely used by athletes, despite the absence of evidence that it enhances athletic
performance. Ephedra may also be used as a precursor in the illicit manufacture of
methamphetamine. It has also been used for weight loss, sometimes in combination with aspirin and
caffeine (known as an ECA stack).
Museum of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region
The Museum of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is a provincial level comprehensive and
historical museum in China, located at the Xibei Road in Ǖrümchi. The museum was constructed in
1953 and opened to the public on October 1, 1963.
The museum contains a collection of 32,000 cultural relics, 288 of which are rated as national first
class. The articles on display highlight archaeological finds from the Silk Road along with local
cultural relics, including silk, pottery and porcelain, terra-cotta figures, weapons, documents written
in different languages, and the Mummies of Ǖrümchi, as well as various articles of 12 local ethnic
groups, presenting a vivid introduction to the customs and cultures of different ethnic groups of the
area.
The Mummies of Ǖrümchi are preserved bodies of men, women and babies discovered in the vast
desert. The corpses include a baby who died around 3,800 years ago, still wrapped in swaddling. The
most famous, however, is the “Luolan Beauty,” a corpse of a woman believed to have died in her 40s,
and to be of Indo-European ethnicity. Discovered in 1980 in the riverbed of the Tieban in Loulan
City, the corpse is believed to be around 4,000 years old. When found, she was still clutching a small
purse, and wore leather and fur sandals. It ranks as the earliest and best-preserved mummified body
in China.
The Museum features two basic displays which include an exhibition of Xinjiang Historical Relics
and one of Xinjiang Folklore. The Museum has held a number of exhibitions at home and abroad,
including the Primitive Society of China, Xinjiang Mummies, Xijiang from the Han to Tang
Dynasties (206BC-907AD), Xinjiang Excavations, and Paintings Collected by the Museum, etc.
Nestorian Christianity
Nestorianism is a general term for related forms of Christianity practiced in various parts of Asia
since the 5th century. Nestorianism is associated with the Christian view advanced by Nestorius,
Patriarch of Constantinople from 428 – 431, which emphasizes a disunion between the human and
divine natures of Jesus.
Nestorius and his teachings were condemned at the First Council of Ephesus in 431 and the Council
of Chalcedon in 451, leading to the Nestorian Schism in which Nestorius-supporting Churches of
the East broke with Chalcedonian Christianity. Following the schism, many of Nestorius' supporters
relocated to Sassanid Persia, which became the center of a vibrant sect. Nestorian Christianity spread
through Persia, entering Central Asia and India at a relatively early date. Nestorian Christianity was
introduced to the Mongols and China in the 7th century, and was a significant religious influence
during the time of the Mongol Empire and China's Yuan Dynasty in the 13th century.
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oasis (plural: oases)
In geography, an oasis is an isolated area of vegetation in a desert, typically surrounding a spring or
similar water source. Oases also provide habitat for animals and even humans if the area is big
enough.
The location of oases has been of critical importance for trade and transportation routes in desert
areas. Caravans must travel via oases so that supplies of water and food can be replenished. Thus,
political or military control of an oasis has in many cases meant control of trade on a particular route.
Oases are formed from underground rivers or aquifers such as an artesian aquifer, where water can
reach the surface naturally by pressure or by man made wells. Occasional brief thunderstorms
provide subterranean water to sustain natural oases. Sub-strata of impermeable rock and stone can
trap water and retain it in pockets; or on long faulting subsurface ridges or volcanic dikes water can
collect and percolate to the surface. Any incidence of water is then used by migrating birds who also
pass seeds with their droppings which will grow at the water's edge forming an oasis.
sericulture
Sericulture, or silk farming, is the rearing of silkworms for the production of raw silk. Although there
are several commercial species of silkworms, Bombyx mori is the most widely used and intensively
studied. According to Confucian texts, the discovery of silk production by B. mori dates to about
2700 BC, although archaeological records point to silk cultivation as early as the Yangshao period
(5000 – 10,000 BC). About the first half of the 1st century AD it had reached ancient Khotan and by
AD 300 the practice had been established in India. Later it was introduced to Europe, the
Mediterranean and other Asiatic countries.
Sericulture has become one of the most important cottage industries in a number of countries like
China, the Republic of Korea, Japan, India, Brazil, Russia, Italy and France. Today, China and India
are the two main producers, together manufacturing more than 60% of the world production each
year.
Steppes
The Eurasian steppes, in physical geography, refers to a region characterized by grassland plains
without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes, a vast region stretching from the western
borders of the steppes of Hungary to the eastern border of the steppes of Mongolia
It is the homeland of Indo-Europeans, settling there as Proto-Indo-Europeans some 6,000 years ago,
and where they engaged in agriculture and stock raising. They spread east, south and west for over
1,000 years before becoming horse riding nomads.
Although the horse was domesticated in the Eurasian steppe some 6000 years ago, it was first used as
a food source, next as a draft animal to pull carts, then later to pull chariots. Some 4000-3000 years
ago first horse-riding Indo-European peoples began herding cattle from horseback, and fought as
archers while riding horses, becoming the first horse nomads (pastoralists). The people of the
steppes of the North were constantly invading the Tarim Basin on horseback.
Taklamakan Desert
The Taklamakan Desert [aka Taklimakan], is a desert in Central Asia, in the Xinjiang Uyghur
Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. It is bounded by the Kunlun Mountains to
the south, and the Pamir Mountains and Tian Shan (ancient Mount Imeon) to the west and north.
The name probably may come from a Uyghur borrowing of Arabic tark, "to leave alone/out/behind,
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elinquish, abandon" + makan, "place." Popular accounts define it as an area that means "go in and
you will never come out".
Tarim Basin
The Tarim Basin is a large is enclosed drainage depression that retains water. It occupies an area of
more than 150,000 square miles. It is located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China's
far west. Its northern boundary is the Tian Shan mountain range and its southern is the Kunlun
Mountains on the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The Taklamakan Desert dominates much of
the basin. The people living in the area include the Uyghurs, the Tajiks, as well as other Turkic
peoples. Early on, this area was occupied by the Xiongnu peoples, the Huns, the Wusun who lived
in the pasturelands to the northwest of the Tarim, and the Yuexhi who eventually migrated from the
corridors of frontier China into the Persian Empire.
The mummies of the Tarim Basin are one of the great finds of the 20 th century. They are not the byproducts
of mummification methods practiced in Egypt, rather they were buried in an arid
environment and preserved by salty soil and cold winters.
Early explorers and archaeologists of the area include:
Sven Hedin (1865-1952)
Aurel Stein (1862-1943)
Albert von Le Coq (1860-1930)
Paul Pelliot (1878-1945)
Ǖrümchi [pronounced ewe-rum-shi] – also seen as Ürümqi
Ürümchi is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of
China, in the northwest of the country. Its name means “beautiful pasture” in the Mongolian
language of the Dzungar people. With an urban population of over 2.3 million people, it is by far the
largest city on China's vast Western interior. Since the 1990s Ürümqi has become gradually
developed economically and now serves as a regional transport and commercial center.
Although Ǖrümchi, situated near the northern route of the Silk Road, is a relatively young city, in AD
648, Emperor Taizong (Tang Dynasty), established the town of Luntai, just a few miles away as a seat
of local government to collect taxes from the caravans along the northern route of the Silk Road.
Little was heard of the region following the Tang Dynasty until the conquest of Dzungaria area in
1755 under the Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty. The Dzungar people were deliberately
exterminated in a brutal campaign of ethnic genocide. One writer, Wei Yuan, described the resulting
desolation in what is now northern Xinjiang as: "an empty plain for a thousand li, with no trace of
man." After 1759, state farms were established, "especially in the vicinity of Urumchi, where there
was fertile, well-watered land and few people.".
In 1763, during the Qing Dynasty, the Qianlong Emperor named the expanded town of Luntai
"Dihua," meaning "to enlighten." In 1884, the Guangxu Emperor established Xinjiang as a Province,
with Dihua as its capital.
The city was the site of major rioting in July 2009 due to conflicts between Han and Uyghur ethnic
groups in which nearly 200 people were left dead; most of the victims were Han-Chinese. Reports of
extensive police retaliation against the Uyghur minority have circulated ever since, despite the
Chinese government having shut down access to emails and overseas phone calls.
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Uyghurs [pronounced wee-gur]
The Uyghurs are a Turkic ethnic group of Eastern and Central Asia. Today Uyghurs live primarily in
the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China, with an estimated
eighty percent of Xinjiang's Uyghurs dwelling in the southwestern portion of the region, the Tarim
Basin.
Large communities of Uyghurs also exist in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
and Uzbekistan. Smaller communities are found in Mongolia, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkey, Russia
and Taoyuan County of Hunan province in south-central Mainland China. Uyghur neighborhoods
can be found in major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Sydney, Washington D.C, Munich, Tokyo,
Toronto and Istanbul.
Throughout history, the term Uyghur has taken on an increasingly expansive definition. Initially a
small coalition of Tiele tribes, it later denoted citizenship in the Uyghur Khaganate, a Turkic empire
that existed between the 8 th and 9 th centuries. Finally it was expanded to an ethnicity, is ancestry
derived from two distinct populations, Turkic and Tocharian.
Xinjiang [pronounced shin-jahng] Autonomous Region, also called the Uyghur Autonomous Region
of Xinjiang
Xinjiang, an area of 600,000 square miles, literally means “New Territories.” It became a province of
China in 1884. The Uyghurs are the main ethnic minority. They began settling there in the 8 th
century A.D. There are 46 other ethnic groups living in the area. The capital is Ǖrümchi. With a
documented history of at least 2,500 years, and a succession of different peoples and empires vying
for control over the territory, Xinjiang has been, and continues to be, a focal point of ethnic tensions
well into the beginning of the 21st century.
Xiongnu
The Xiongnu were a confederation of nomadic tribes from Central Asia with a ruling class of
unknown origin. The bulk of information on the Xiongnu comes from Chinese sources. What little is
known of their titles and names comes from Chinese transliterations from their language.
The identity of the ethnic core of Xiongnu has been a subject of varied hypotheses, because only a
few words, mainly titles and personal names, were preserved in the Chinese sources. Proposals by
scholars include Mongolic, Turkic, and Yeniseian.
Chinese sources from the 3rd century BC report them as creating an empire under Modu Chanyu
(who became supreme leader in 209 BC), stretching beyond the borders of modern day Mongolia. In
the 2nd century BC, they defeated and displaced the previously dominant Yuezhi and became the
predominant power on the steppes north of China. They were active in southern Siberia, western
Manchuria, and the modern Chinese provinces of Inner Mongolia, Gansu, and Xinjiang. These
nomadic people were considered so dangerous and disruptive that the Qin Dynasty began
construction of the Great Wall to protect China from their attacks. Relations between early Chinese
dynasties and the Xiongnu were complex, with repeated periods of military conflict and intrigue
alternating with exchanges of tribute, trade, and marriage treaties.
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MAJOR THEMES
Fusion of Eastern and Western cultures and resulting controversies
Trade: ideas, culture, religion, spices, tea, objects
Religion: Development of Buddhism
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