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Article #1 - The Fame & Fabled “Silk Road”

The Silk Roads transmitted people, goods, ideas, beliefs and inventions.
The creation of paper (during the Han Dynasty) transformed the world. Before paper, the Chinese used rolls of silk to write (which is where the name "Silk Road" comes from). After the creation of paper, it spread through China but not any further because the Chinese were keen on keeping it a secret. In the 13th and 14th century, Chinese workmen began to manufacture paper in Samarkand (Uzbekistan) - outside China (origin). Paper slowly spread through western Eurasia through trade, 'supplanting' other materials to write like papyrus and parchment.
The irrigation waterwheel from Roman Syria also spread across Eurasia.
Foods such as apple spread via the steppes belt in the prehistoric time in both directions outside Kazakistan. Oranges went through the maritime route (China to Mediterranean). Grapes spread from the western reaches of the Silk Road to China.
Overall: "... ideas, inventions, devices and techniques spread readily and far along the Silk Road, and the traffic was very much a two way, or perhaps one should say a multi-way, street. In the process the Silk Road enriched not just the merchants who carried and exchanged goods, but the people of countries and cultures all across Eurasia."
Black Death plague in Europe in the 14th century (believed to have come via the Silk Road from Central Asia where it was often found in local rodents). Products contaminated with plague-bearing flea eggs, were brought from somewhere in Central Asia to a Middle Eastern port. The plague spread, via fleas, to other rats, and then to people; and a disaster was in the making (NEGATIVE EFFECT).

Should we call it the Silk Road?
The Eurasian trade route should not be called the "Silk Road" because it transported more than just silk. In fact, the usage of silk as a means of writing was replaced by the manufacturization of paper in China which "soon supplanted other writing materials in most of western Eurasia." (Major). In addition, the multicultural trading route spread religion and culture as much as it did goods, often times bringing new religions to other parts of the world. The Silk Road was much more than a way for merchants to trade silk, it was one of the largest, most complex routes through which "people, goods, ideas, beliefs and inventions" were imported and transmitted around the world, enriching both the merchants travelling the Silk Roads and the civilians in the respective countries that took part in the trade. Much of the collective learning and globalisation during these times was facilitated by the Silk Road as civilians of Eurasia began to develop their technological, political, socio-cultural and economic state.

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Hiya's Column (Article #4 - Religions of the Silk Road)

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Hiya's Column (Article #4 - Religions of the Silk Road)

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"From ancient times, the Chinese seem to have acquired technologies such as wheeled transportation, forms of metallurgy, and so on from Western traders. The archaeological evidence, in this case, is that certain technologies appear at a given point in Chinese history at a highly developed stage, suggesting they were introduced from elsewhere rather than developed over time locally."

The silk road should not be called "The Silk Road" because silk was only one of the many, many items traded along it. The name was also coined by German explorer Ferdinand von Richtofen in the late 1900's who used to talk about the loosely connected roads along Europe and Asia.

Different aspects of certain religions were also altered. "The influence of Chinese artistic traditions on those of Iran during the Mongol period is quite dramatic"

Noria, paper, printing, grapes and the black death plague are just a few things that spread through the Silk Road.

Should we call it the Silk Road?
The trade route The Silk Road should not be called "The Silk Road" anymore because multiple other goods were traded along the multiple pathways. German Explorer 'Ferdinand von Richtofen' named it in the 1900's to refer to the many separate and intersecting roads. Although he might have been inspired by the silk threads that weave to create one pathway, the name implies that only silk was traded there. However, many things such as noria, paper, printing and grapes were shared. Even religion was altered and "the influence of Chinese artistic traditions on those of Iran during the Mongol period is quite dramatic". A lot of globalization occured, both ways, on this road and the name "The Silk Road" does not imply anything bigger than a route to trade silk.

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Mark's Column (Article #2 - Geographical Setting of the Silk Roads)

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Mark's Column (Article #2 - Geographical Setting of the Silk Roads)

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Summary:
The Chinese Silk Road was a trading network used by the Chinese. The silk road expanded from Eastern Asia, stretching from Chang'an (Xi'an) all the way to westward end-points at Byzantium (Constantinople), Antioch, Damascus, and other Middle Eastern cities. "Trade along the Silk Road waxed or waned according to conditions in China, Byzantium, Persia, and other regions and countries along the way. There were always competing or alternative routes, by land and sea, to absorb long distance Eurasian trade when conditions along the Silk Road were unfavorable."

Should we call it the silk road?
We should not call it the silk road. The name; "Silk Road" states that the silk road was big on trading of silk, however, the silk road did not only trade silk. The silk road helped trade many goods from Asia to the middle east, such as grapes, horses, leather, silk, and also very bad things that caused many deaths, like the black plague. Silk was definitely not the most common/important good traded, more commonly was paper and military goods, such as ammunition and horses.

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The geo-political settings of one of the greatest trade and exchange conduits in human history.

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Erikah's Column (Article#3 Silk Road History

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Erikah's Column (Article#3 Silk Road History

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Summary:
The history of the silk road marked the history of China communicating with other foreign countries. Many people travelled using the silk road including diplomatic envoys, armies, monks & missionaries, friendship princesses, artists, poets, and businessmen. The exchanges between the many individuals greatly influenced the Chinese civilisation as well as many other cultures along the trade route.  Chinas most significant contributions include the compass, dynamite, paper-making & printing techniques, water well drilling, cast iron technologies, alchemy, sericulture, Chinese medicine. These techniques and innovations impacted the Western cultures as it promoted the spread of knowledge and culture.

The Chinese cuisine and culture and was known to be very limited, thanks to the silk road, other spices and foods were traded to China which made it available to the Chinese. Some plants including grapes, tomatoes, papayas, pomegranates, sesame had an impact on China's cuisine. Besides vegetables and fruits, the dining culture of the western regions influenced Chinese as well. Spice, another imported product, came to China via the silk road.  "In China, it has been widely used in various fields as medicines, cosmetics, scent, etc. Burning spice to scent clothes was fashionable in a well-off household." China imported its spices from regions including Middle East, India and East Africa.

The foreign trade of medicinal products to China greatly impacted Chinese medicines. "The quantity of medicines imported from overseas increased greatly ever since Tang Dynasty. Over one hundred such imported drugs were recorded in Herbal Medicine, a record by Tang Dynasty pharmacist Li Xun, some of which are still extensively used in Chinese medicines nowadays."

Should we call it the Silk Road?
We should not call it the silk road because other items other than silk were being used to trade. For example, religion, culture and art were shared as well. "In return, the Silk Road transmitted a wider range of imports from exotic cultures to China, for instance, music, Buddhist religion, astronomy, grapes, horses, cotton, tobacco, etc."  The name "silk road" only suggests that silk was the  only product being traded which is not true. The silk road also held many people of many nationalities. "The Road is dotted with cultural heritage and historical sites here and there. The travelers are at once the carrier of civilisation and culture of various peoples on the Silk Road." The silk road was very diverse and not everyone came to trade just for silk. People, innovations, ideologies and religion were the many things that travelled and progressed amongst the silk road.