Blog # 5

Blog # 5:

I started my journey of the Silk Road with very minimal information and now I know much more about the Silk Road and so the mystery is being unveiled.  This week I found that the Sogdians were the inhabitants of fertile valleys surrounded by deserts, the most important of which was the Zeravshan valley, in today’s Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

For this blog, since I’ve read many other scholarly pieces, I would prefer to write important notes in point form and they are as fallow: 

·       The Sogdians were people of Iranian origin, they were important in the commerce of the Silk Road between the fourth and ninth centuries CE. from their home in the region near today's Samarkand in Central Asia

·          Among the most important documents of Sogdian history are five nearly complete letters, discovered in 1907 by the famous British archaeologist Aurel Stein in a Chinese watch tower just west of the Jade Gate, a fortified outpost guarding the western approaches to the administrative and cultural center of Dunhuang (at the western end of today's Gansu Province).

·             Stein's discovery was some 90 km. west of Dunhuang and 550 km. East of Lou-lan, another important outpost on the southern branch of the silk route, which skirted the Taklamakan Desert.

·             It seems likely that the letters were confiscated by a Chinese garrison at a time when Chinese control this far west was being threatened. While there has been considerable controversy over the dating of the letters, the most persuasive arguments

·              While a whole archive of Sogdian documents from several centuries later has been discovered in Central Asia, the Sogdian ancient letters are the earliest substantial examples of Sogdian writing and thus provide extremely important information about the early history of the Sogdian diaspora along the eastern end of the silk route.

·       The letters include the names of several products--silver, linen and a kind of unprocessed cloth, muskUnfortunately the meaning of some terms for other products is not known. 

·              This week’s reading was really interesting especially, now that I read this amazing stuff as evidence instead of just stories really amused me. 

Blog # 4

As the mystery of Silk Road unfolds itself for me, I find myself wanting to write about my travel experiences. I am constantly being amused by the rich and deep histories of the Silk Road, and the role of art in history's preservation. I have always been an art lover and so recovering ancient pieces have truly amused me. On the article by Tansen Sen, there are some highlights that are worth mentioning and those are:

       By examining a series of Tang (618-907) missions to Middle India in the seventh century one can appreciate the multifaceted, complex, and unique nature of China's diplomatic contacts with India. At the same time, the study highlights the significant contribution of individuals to premodern Sino-Indian relations.

      

       Sen’s study focuses on the motives for sending Tang diplomats to India; it not only exposes Emperor Taizong's (r. 626-649) personal interest in Indian longevity doctors late in his life, but also provides a new perspective on to South Asia.

       He then explains the personal and out-worldly objectives of emperors, Buddhist monks, and laymen. These "human elements" of Sino-Indian intercourse, including the transmission of Buddhism, have often been overlooked and, according to Erik Zrcher, deserve due attention.

       Tang’s missions to Middle India demonstrate the Buddhist influence on, and involvement in, China's diplomatic relations with India. The examination of the Tang embassies also seems to indicate that China's spiritual interest in India went beyond Buddhism. The persisting imperial demand for Brahman longevity doctors and drugs, discussed in his paper, is proof of such extended spiritual fascination. It is perhaps right to conclude, therefore, that India occupied a special place in the Chinese world order, which not only deserves due attention, but also needs further in-depth examination.

       The examination of the Tang embassies also seems to indicate that China's spiritual interest in India went beyond Buddhism. The persisting imperial demand for Brahman longevity doctors and drugs, discussed in this paper, is proof of such extended spiritual fascination. It is perhaps right to conclude, therefore, that India occupied a special

place in the Chinese world order, which not only deserves due attention, but also needs further in-depth examination.