Ashide Lushan Silk Road Project

Map of journey

Primary Source

Excerpts from Emperor Taizong on Effective Government: “Maintaining Military Forces”

Weapons and armor are a country’s tools of violence. A warlike country, however huge and safe it may be, will end up declining and endangering its populace. Military force cannot be entirely eliminated nor used all the time. Teach people military arts when they are free from farming in order to equip them with a sense of military decorum and morale. … Confucius said, “Not teaching people how to fight is the same as discarding them.” Hence military might serves to benefit the realm. This is the gist of the art of war.

HAPPY analysis

The historical content of this excerpt is that the ruler of an extremely powerful Chinese empire, Tang Taizong, believes having a strong military is very important towards maintaining a supreme nation. The audience of the document is everyone who has influence on political and military affairs. The author wrote this with the purpose of sharing his intuition on maintaining an effective military so that future Chinese rulers could have better guidance for prolonging the supremacy of the region. The point of view of the author can be described as the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty of China, a ruthless but competent supporter of Confucianism whose knowledge of global affairs is mainly limited to the information from his advisors. This document is significant because it gives background information on the Chinese ruler who I visited by traveling across the Silk Roads. It helps reveal Taizong’s insight as to why he believes it is important to obtain strong horses from my homeland in Persia. It also demonstrates the significance of my journey and the demand for transcontinental trade during the Post-Classical era.

Samarkand

I always love going to visit family in Samarkand. Their location in the Zerafshan river valley makes for lots of beautiful scenery, but the city itself doesn’t take away from it. The fortified city is covered in beautiful murals and carvings. Of course many of the more impressive buildings are religious, which sometimes a sight to see! The religion of Samarkand is a mix of Christianity and Zoroastrianism, but there is obvious Hindu influence as seen in the art surrounding their worship. Although the people of Samarkand aren’t known for their ability to hold a long lasting central empire, I don’t think they ever have to my knowledge, they are legendary for their merchants. Samarkand is very central for trade, and all the merchants are very skilled, in that they know what goods they want, for what price, and from where! I constantly see textiles and pottery from China for example, as these people are very good at obtaining such luxury goods at a low price. Everything about Samarkand constantly amazes me, and I was glad we could stop by for a visit before we continue on our journey to Chang’an!

Kashgar

We have now stopped in the city of Kashgar, in order to replenish supplies and join a caravan-crossing the Taklamakan desert alone and inadequately supplied is dangerous! Anyway, Kashgar is located in the Xinjiang region of China, the very northwest, but despite its geography it has the most interesting political history. For centuries the entire Tarim Basin was under chinese rule. From there, control over the region flipped back and forth between local authority and central China, before finally becoming a part of the region. Because of it’s now secure place in the empire, it’s no surprise that i’ve seen plenty of buddhist temples. Although Kashgar did have their religion for a while, everyone is now predominantly buddhist. The reason the city can fund so many religious temples is because of their incredibly productive economy. Their primary exports are textiles that they mass manufacture and agriculture suited to their region, like grain and cotton. Kashgar is such an interesting place, due to it’s rich history and prevalent monasteries constantly coming up with new ideas, I wish we could stay longer but we have to keep moving!

Taklamakan desert

Our journey through the Taklamakan is definitely characterized by one thing-desert on all sides. There are hardly any oasis’ here, I’ve only heard of them. We do see traders occasionally, most of whom are Muslim and have shown me some terrific art. For example, you can tell what towns the Islam has influenced, as they have the most beautiful are in the form of murals. Even though Islam is super prevalent around here, I’ve also seen evidence of Buddhism. The grotto paintings depicting nature with the Buddha are so richly detailed and impressive. As our journey continues, I look forward to what else I will see in the places to come!

Dunhuang

Our last stop before our final location! This time we have stopped in Dunhuang, on the western border of China, surrounded by desert on all sides. The city itself has some amazing architecture, like the Jade Gate for example which is a pass on the Great Wall. Not just the architecture, but also the art and religion show just how well off this city is. Everywhere I turn I see Buddhist monasteries, schools and lots of religious art like murals and sculptures, especially when we went to visit the Mogao caves. Another thing I’ve noticed about Dunhuang society as we’ve been visiting the Sogdians who live here, is their emphasis on both internal and external trade. The societal structure is built on the balance of goods and services between urban workers and and farmers, while they also manufacture crops such as wheat and hemp specifically to export. It was really great to visit some fellow Sogdians and learn about their local culture, but now it’s time to reach our final destination, Chang’an!

Chang’an

We have finally arrived at Chang’an! It’s all very impressive, being an incredibly powerful capital city located in the Wei river valley. It has an incredibly diverse culture, thanks to the many different religions and its history. When planning the city, architects and astronomers were hired to come in and measure the angle of the shadows different times of the day, and the relationship to the stars to position the city in exactly the right way. It just goes to show how much work they put into their city and how rich their culture is because of it. Also, even though in my time here i’ve seen religions i’d only previously heard of, the city is obviously predominantly Buddhist, even though the people of Chang’an like to borrow plenty of Daoist principles as well. In addition the shared religions, this place is definitely a trade center. Merchants here are trading spices, textiles, and crops from all across Asia, and even further. As I write about this, I realize I can’t be too overwhelmed by the amazing city, as we meet with the Tang imperial court tomorrow to trade horses, and the whole reason I’m here is to impress them with my skill and hopefully enhance the trade. It’s been an amazing journey, and I hope I have another experience like this sometime soon!