The Silk Road was a network of trade routes which connected the East and West, and was central to the economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between these regions from the 2nd century BCE to the 18th century. This book studies various aspects of the ancient history of the silk road. The 16 chapters in the book are divided into three parts: Silk Road and The Nomads; The Sogdians, the Special Role on the Silk Road; Silk Road and the Spread of Religious Ideas. It studies the purpose and effects of silk exportation, the intermarriage between China and other ethnic groups, the origin of the Turks, the influence and domination of the Sogdians on the nomads, and the religious ideas, especially the Manicheism, spreading across the Silk Road.

Contents:

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  The Silk Road and the Nomads:

  
  
  
  
  • Foreign Fine Horses and the Sino-Foreign Intercourses
  
  
  • The Purpose and Effect of Silk Exportation
  
  
  • Intermarriage as a Political Weapon Among the Powers
  
  
  • 餛飩 Huntun and 渾脫 Huntuo Derive from the Nomads
  
  
  • On the Etymon of Taohuashi 桃花石
  
  
  • The Prehistoric Habitations of the Turks and Their Migration
  
  
  
  


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  The Sogdians, the Special Role on the Silk Road:

  
  
  
  
  • On the Distinction Between 粟特 Sute and 粟弋 Suyi
  
  
  • The Economic and Cultural Activities of the Sogdians in China
  
  
  • The Influence and Domination of the Sogdians on the Nomads
  
  
  • Military and Political Advantages of the Sogdians: Taking the Five Dynasties as an Example
  
  
  • On the Meaning and Origin of 曳落河 Yeluohe and 柘羯 Zhejie
  
  
  
  


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  Silk Road and the Spread of Religious Ideas:

  
  
  
  
  • The Symbol Swastika in China
  
  
  • Discussion on the Relations between 饕餮 Taotie and Greedy Demon
  
  
  • On the Origin of the Title Mani
  
  
  • Origins and Variations of the Belief in 'Killing Someone in Order to Save Him'
  
  
  • A Speculation on the Possible Manichean Influence on Wu Zetian and Bai Juyi
  
  
  
  

Readership: Academics specializing in the ancient history of the silk road, Central Eurasia and Sino-Foreign relationship; undergraduate and graduate students interested in the same topics.