Lands of Asia layouts (Eng) 26.11.21

part iv | migrations of cultures
archaeological sites, as well as a number of other considerations, raise questions
about the validity of this hypothesis. In the last centuries BC to the first centuries AD,
Ferghana was a rich agricultural region with a well-developed economy, agriculture
and crafts, and a significant number of cities, all recorded by Zhang Qian when he
visited the region in the second half of the 2nd century BC. It was from Ferghana that
the Chinese first brought crops such as alfalfa and grapes – and obtained the secrets
of wine production – and the famous breed of heavenly horses.
Given these circumstances it is unlikely that only barter was used for trade in
Ferghana. Unlike the other Central Asian regions – such as Bactria, Sogdia, Khorezm
and Margiana – Ferghana had no coins of its own, and lay within the territory of
Chinese money circulation using wu zhu coins as a unit of currency. Thus it is not
inconceivable that Ferghana later produced its own coins based on Chinese coins
– some examples of wu zhu coins found there do not give the impression of being
genuine. Tang coins played an even more significant role. Along with Byzantine
and Sassanian coins, they were an international currency used for trade on the Silk
Road, as evidenced by discoveries of these coins far from their original place of issue.
Archaeological data and textual sources indicate that the eastern and central regions
of Central Asia were an area of Chinese political and commercial interest, while
further to the west, Chinese influence, if any, was negligible. This was for political
reasons. The western parts of Central Asia were either directly part of the Parthian
state or were under its influence. The Parthians strictly guarded their trading interests,
and prevented both Chinese goods from entering the West, and Roman ones from
going to the East. Nevertheless, there were still many opportunities for exchanges
between East and West.
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