The Silk Road was a historical network of trade routes that connected China and the Mediterranean Sea, allowing cultural and economic interaction between the East and the West. Begun in the 2nd Century BC, (the Silk Road carried goods, ideas, and even illness for thousands of miles between great civilizations for more than a thousand years. It was the creation of Germany's Ferdinand von Richthofen, who traveled to China several times in the second half of the 19th century.
China's powerful Han Dynasty began expanding its trade routes towards the West in the years around 100 BC. Some shipments made it through to Europe and to northern and eastern Africa, through the port of Alexandria.
As its name suggests, the Silk Road was home to large amount of silk, which made its way from China to the Mediterranean and, to Rome. It wasn't only silk, however, that was carried along the Silk Road. Chinese traders brought delicate porcelain plates and thin but durable paper money. Romans brought delicately carved pottery (陶器) and jewelry to China.
Merchants carried shipments from major center, and then others carried the foods farther on the route. Many merchants traveled in groups, called caravans (商队). Many caravans and individual merchants traveled with bodyguards because theft along the routes was not uncommon.
Several cities along the Silk Road became major trading centers. Some of the more famous of these were Alexandria, Karakorum, Antioch, Constantinople, and Persepolis. Local taxes placed on goods traveling along the route were quite common. .
A. The name, however, is a modern idea.
B. Diseases also spread along the Silk Road.
C. It sent silk and other goods to other civilizations.
D. Merchants would prepare some supplies in advance.
E. Goods did not travel with the same person all along the route.
F. As a result, many goods traveled only part of the way due to the high cost.
G. Many other things made their way from the East to the West, or from the West to the East.
