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The spread of religion and philosophy among the silk road:

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The spread of religion and philosophy among the silk road:

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Source:
http://asiasociety.org/religions-silk-road

- "The region that is now Afghanistan seems to have been mainly Buddhist on the eve of the Muslim conquests in the 7th century CE" ... This shows that religion often spread when a group of people conquered another area and made the conquered part learn their religion and culture

-"Much of the Silk Road economy was in the hands of Buddhist traders and the monasteries they supported along the way, so they were the direct competitors of Muslim traders from the 7th century onwards. Of course, Qur'anic language condemning "idol-worshippers" provided ideological support to Muslims competing with Buddhists for economic advantages. One hears little or nothing about Buddhists in that area after the Mongol period"... It seems that whatever civilisation or settlement was the strongest at the time, coincides with what religion was most idealised at the time as well. Because for a period of time the mongols were the most powerful, and they were bhuddist; therefor, during that time many areas among the silk road were bhuddist also

Source: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/silk-road/culture.htm

-The 13th and 14th centuries were characterised by considerable political, commercial, and religious competition between kingdoms, markets, and religious groups across Eurasia.

-European scholars found common roots in religions and symbols spanning Eurasia and relating Hinduism and Buddhism to ancient Greco-Roman mythology, and with Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.

- "The ancient Silk Road contributed greatly to the cultural exchange between China and the West."...... From about the second century BCE to the 15th century CE cultural exchanges were happening through Europe and Asia facilitating the spread of cultures and religions

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Source: http://www.absolutechinatours.com/specialtopic/silkroad/Silk-Road-Cultural-Exchanges-Handicraft.html

1) "Among the most important contributions were ancient China’s greatest inventions: compass, dynamite, paper-making & printing techniques, water well drilling, cast iron technologies, alchemy, sericulture, Chinese medicine (in particular, acupuncture), etc."
These were the many inventions created and passed on through the Silk Road by China.

What were some of the inventions made by other civilizations/countries?

2)  "Many of these exported inventions had profound impact on Western civilizations. Compass greatly facilitated oceanic navigation. Paper-making & printing techniques... greatly promoted the spread and development of knowledge and culture. The peoples in Central Asia learned to drill well and develop irrigation systems of wells connected by underground channels... which boosted the economy of the desert region states. Dynamite... triggering a revolution in weapons and warfare... Alchemy... influenced Europe and formed the basis on which modern chemistry had grown."
This resembles the massive effect these inventions had on the places which were connected through the Silk Road. It provided information and products which were necessary for countries/civilizations to develop.

How did the inventions of the people in Europe affect the lives of the Chinese and other countries?

3) "While spreading its knowledge overseas, China drew from the pool of knowledge of the whole world as well. Emperor Gaozong of Tang Dynasty and Jian Zhen... both received treatment from doctors from India where ophthalmology was advanced. Governments of the Ming & Qing Dynasties imported cannons from the Portuguese and later attempted to produce replicas modeled on them. The Jesuit missionaries, representatives of who included Matteo Ricci, Johann Adam Schall von Bell, and Ferdinand Verbiest, played a crucial role in introducing Western knowledge to China, and the Chinese rulers and intellectuals were interested in astronomy, mathematics, mechanics, shipbuilding technologies, etc."
Through collective learning, different countries and places who were associated with the Silk Road were able to influence each other and develop together with the use of inventions made by others.

What did the Chinese emperors and intellectuals learn and create from the information from the Jesuit missionaries?

4) "China’s major exports included silk, porcelain, lacquer ware, ironware, gold & silver ware, and other luxuries. By the 4th century AD, it had become fashionable for a European aristocratic man to wear clothes made of silk."
The inventions of one country impacted the lives of people in other countries.

5) "Chinese lacquer ware, along with Chinese paintings, furniture and chinaware, was a hot sought-after during the Sinomania in Europe from late 17th to early 18th century. French King Louis XIV was a fervent lover of Oriental arts."
This also resembles the powerful impact the inventions of other countries had on the lives of people in other countries. King Louis XIV used to appreciate the Oriental arts from the Chinese.

6) "Items of any aspect of everyday use were traded, some becoming integrated in the lives of the Chinese."
The Chinese used to trade with others for items that could be used in their everyday lives, and some of these became items which were important to them in their everyday lives.

What are some of these items which play a crucial part in the everyday lives of the Chinese?

7) "...thanks to the Silk Road, new vegetables were transplanted in inland China and became available to the Chinese."
Through the Silk Road, the Chinese were able to get new sources of food as well as a larger variety of food. This shows the range of products traded throughout the Silk Road.

What are some of these foods?

Did any of these foods become staple foods?

8) "China’s contribution to world’s food culture is tea. The Dutch East India Company made tea available to the Europeans in 1610, and the food culture of almost all Western countries were influenced by it. Nowadays, Europe is the most important market for tea."
One of the most important products to the Dutch East India Company, which was a company with a main focus of trade and exploration, was tea. Through the Silk Road, they spread tea throughout Europe, and nowadays, Europe is an important market for tea. This shows the effect the Silk Road has on people today.

9) "The main sources of spice in the world are the Middle East, India, and east Africa. And the ancient Chinese did not develop the habit of burning incense until the Silk Road made spice available."
The Chinese were able to develop a habit through the use of resources from other countries. With trade, the were able to create the habit of burning incense. They probably learned how to do this from the other countries whom they trade with; therefore, this shows collective learning.

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source:
http://asiasociety.org/geographical-setting-silk-roads

"a network of trails and trading posts, oases and emporia connecting East Asia to the Mediterranean."
"branch routes led to different destinations from the main route,"
"including sea routes linking Japan and Southeast Asia"
There were many different paths of the silk road and minor sub-routes as well. It wasn't all on land but also through sea. People would travel from all places and across all distances to go to the silk road

The most important branch route led to northwest India
What did North India sell or what was so special that made it the most important route?

"stretching from an eastern terminus at the ancient Chinese capital city of Chang’an (now Xi’an) to westward end-points at Byzantium (Constantinople), Antioch, Damascus, and other Middle Easterncities"
At the end there were other minor trade routes distributing goods from the silk road

Competing Routes
"Trade along the Silk Road waxed or waned according to conditions in China, Byzantium, Persia, and other regions and countries along the way"
"always competing or alternative routes, by land and sea, to absorb long distance Eurasian trade when conditions along the Silk Road were unfavourable"

Concept of Asia
"Asia can be fruitfully thought of as the major part of a larger physical territory, the continent of Eurasia"
"The zone of the Silk Road itself, this broad belt of oasis-punctuated deserts extends across Central Asia from northwestern China, to the Caspian and Black Seas, and on to the Middle East"
"bounded on the north and south by mountains"
"including a high, dry terrain, infrequent and irregular water supplies, absent or scarce forage for caravan animals, and other difficulties made this zone passable only to highly skilled Silk Road caravaneers"
This shows how hard it was to go across the Silk Road and what dangers lied in it. It wasn't an easy journey to make especially considering technology back and the time period the silk Road was in. They also had to protect their stuff and large amounts of cargo. How many people died on to silk road trying to trade?

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Source(s): http://asiasociety.org/education/silk-road
– A famous example of a Chinese invention that helped to transform the world is paper. Paper was invented during the Han dynasty, probably just at the time the Silk Road trade was beginning to flourish . . . superior to the narrow wooden strips or hard-to-handle rolls of silk that the Chinese had previously used for writing, paper soon became the writing material of choice throughout China and East Asia.
Paper, one of the most important foundations of language and recorded history, was spread across the world via collective learning along the Silk Road.

– In China, the invention of paper stimulated the invention of printing, sometime during the 6th century CE—a development energetically supported by Buddhism, according to which the duplication of sacred texts was an act of religious merit. The re-invention of printing in Europe centuries later did not employ East Asian-style printing technology, but it may have been stimulated by accounts of Chinese printing that could have circulated in the Middle East. The creation of the most important historical "relics" of the western world – the Bible (and the ability to make copies of it), may have been facilitated by the existence of the Silk Road.

– Another invention that spread entirely across Eurasia was the noria, or irrigation waterwheel . . . This inspired invention was obviously a good idea, and rapidly spread along the Silk Road and its tributaries. There is a famous example in Toledo, Spain, others along the upper reaches of the Yellow River in China, and many more in between.
Advancements in agriculture were also disseminated through the Silk Road trade routes.

– Foodstuffs also count in this category of the travel of ideas and techniques Apples spread, in prehistoric times via the steppe belt, in both directions from the region of modern-day Kazakhstan; oranges went (via the maritime route) from China to the Mediterranean world; grapes went from the western reaches of the Silk Road to China.
It wasn't just ideas being spread, foods and other natural benefits that were otherwise confined to a certain region or area were spread across the entirety of Eurasia through the Silk Road.

– It is perhaps worth noting, however, that long-distance trade can have unexpectedly bad side effects . . . the Black Death plague that devastated Europe in the 14th century is believed to have come via the Silk Road from Central Asia, where plague is endemic among local rodents. One theory holds that a load of marmot pelts (destined to be used on fur-trimmed garments), contaminated with plague-bearing flea eggs, was brought from somewhere in Central Asia to a Middle Eastern port. There the eggs hatched into fleas that infested some local rats; some of the rats eventually went on shipboard and were carried to port cities in Italy.
Despite all the positive benefits of the Silk Road, occasional unintended mishaps may have taken place . . . the Black Death plague may have potentially originated in Asia and was spread to Europe through the trade routes of the Silk Road.