A quick history of the Silk Road.
大约两千一百年前，中国汉朝的皇帝派一个叫张骞的人去西方。张骞的任务是和西方国家建立联系。这次旅行非常危险，他走了十三年才回到中国。
张骞带回来很多关于西方的消息。从那以后，中国商人开始沿着这条路去西方做生意。他们用骆驼运送丝绸、茶叶和瓷器。西方商人则带来玻璃、香料和宝石。
这条路后来被叫做”丝绸之路”，因为丝绸是最重要的商品。丝绸之路不只是一条路，而是很多条路连在一起。商人们要穿过沙漠、翻过高山，旅途可能需要好几年。
丝绸之路不仅让商品流通，还让不同国家的文化互相交流。佛教就是通过这条路从印度传到中国的。音乐、艺术和科学知识也沿着这条路传播。
今天，丝绸之路已经成为历史，但它的精神还在。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 皇帝 | huáng dì | emperor |
| 任务 | rèn wu5 | mission, task |
| 联系 | lián xì | connection, contact |
| 骆驼 | luò tuo5 | camel |
| 丝绸 | sī chóu | silk |
| 商品 | shāng pǐn | commodity, goods |
| 沙漠 | shā mò | desert |
| 流通 | liú tōng | to circulate, flow |
| 传播 | chuán bō | to spread, disseminate |
| 繁荣 | fán róng | prosperous, flourishing |
| 大约 | dà yuē | approximately; probably |
| 两 | liǎng | two; both; some; a few; tael, unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤[jin1] (old) |
| 千 | qiān | thousand; used in 鞦韆|秋千[qiu1 qian1] |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 百年 | bǎi nián | hundred years; century; (fig.) a whole lifetime; a person's whole life |
| 前 | qián | front; forward; ahead; first; top (followed by a number); future; ago; before; BC (e.g. 前293年); former; formerly |
| 中国 | Zhōng guó | China |
| 汉朝 | Hàn cháo | Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 派 | pā | used in 派司[pa1 si5] |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 叫 | jiào | to shout; to call; to order; to ask; to be called; by (indicates agent in the passive mood); variant of 叫[jiao4] |
| 张 | Zhāng | surname Zhang |
| 骞 | ||
| 人 | rén | person; people; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4],名[ming2] |
| 去 | qù | to go; to go to (a place); (of a time etc) last; just passed; to send; to remove; to get rid of; to reduce; to be apart from in space or time; to die (euphemism); to play (a part);… |
| 西方 | Xī fāng | the West; the Occident; Western countries |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 和 | hé | old variant of 和[he2]; surname He; (literary) harmonious (variant of 和[he2]) |
| 国家 | guó jiā | country; nation; state |
| 建立 | jiàn lì | to establish; to set up; to found |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 次 | cì | next in sequence; second; the second (day, time etc); secondary; vice-; sub-; infra-; inferior quality; substandard; order; sequence; hypo- (chemistry); classifier for enumerated e… |
| 旅行 | lu:3 xíng | to travel; journey; trip; CL:趟[tang4],次[ci4] |
| 非常 | fēi cháng | very; really; unusual; extraordinary |
| 危险 | wēi xiǎn | danger; dangerous |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk; to go; to run; to move (of vehicle); to visit; to leave; to go away; to die (euph.); from; through; away (in compound verbs, such as 撤走[che4 zou3]); to change (shape, form… |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 十三 | shí sān | thirteen; 13 |
| 年 | Nián | surname Nian; grain; harvest (old); variant of 年[nian2] |
| 才 | cái | ability; talent; sb of a certain type; a capable individual; then and only then; just now; (before an expression of quantity) only; (emphatic, esp. in contrast or correction) reall…; (variant of 才[cai2]) just now; (variant of 才[cai2]) (before an expression of quantity) only |
| 回到 | huí dào | to return to |
| 带回 | dài huí | to bring back; to take back with one |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 多 | duō | many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly- |
| 关 | Guān | surname Guan |
| 于 | Yú | surname Yu; (of time or place) in; at; on; (indicating any indirect relation) to; toward; vis-à-vis; with regard to; for; (indicating a source) from; out of; (used in comparison) than; (used i… |
| 消 | xiāo | to diminish; to subside; to consume; to reduce; to idle away (the time); (after 不[bu4] or 只[zhi3] or 何[he2] etc) to need; to require; to take |
| 息 | xī | breath; news; interest (on an investment or loan); to cease; to stop; to rest; Taiwan pr. [xi2] |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 以 | yǐ | old variant of 以[yi3]; abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4] |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 商 | Shāng | Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BC); surname Shang |
| 开始 | kāi shǐ | to begin; to start; beginning; start |
| 沿着 | yán zhe | to go along; to follow |
| 条 | tiáo | strip; item; article; clause (of law or treaty); classifier for long thin things (ribbon, river, road, trousers etc) |
| 路 | Lù | surname Lu |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien… |
| 生意 | shēng yì | life force; vitality |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions); usefulness; utility; (bound form) expense; outlay; (courte… |
| 运送 | yùn sòng | to transport; to carry |
| 茶叶 | chá yè | tea; tea leaves; CL:盒[he2],罐[guan4],包[bao1],片[pian4] |
| 瓷器 | cí qì | chinaware; porcelain |
| 则 | zé | (literary) (conjunction used to express contrast with a previous clause) but; then; (bound form) standard; norm; (bound form) principle; (literary) to imitate; to follow; classifie… |
| 带 | dài | band; belt; girdle; ribbon; tire; area; zone; region; CL:條|条[tiao2]; to wear; to carry; to take along; to bear (i.e. to have); to lead; to bring; to look after; to raise |
| 玻 | bo | see 玻璃[bo1 li5] |
| 璃 | lī | (phonetic character used in transliteration of foreign names) |
| 香料 | xiāng liào | spice; flavoring; condiment; perfume |
| 宝石 | bǎo shí | precious stone; gem; CL:枚[mei2],顆|颗[ke1] |
| 被 | bèi | quilt; to cover (with); (literary) to suffer (a misfortune); used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, … |
| 之 | zhī | (possessive particle, literary equivalent of 的[de5]); him; her; it |
| 因为 | yīn wèi | because; owing to; on account of |
| 最 | zuì | variant of 最[zui4]; old variant of 最[zui4]; (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world") |
| 重要 | zhòng yào | important; significant; major |
| 不只 | bù zhǐ | not only; not merely |
| 而是 | ér shì | rather |
| 连 | Lián | surname Lian |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 一起 | yī qǐ | (in) the same place; together; in company (with); altogether; in total; an instance of; a case of (murder, accident, dispute etc) |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce |
| 穿过 | chuān guò | to pass through |
| 翻过 | fān guò | to turn over; to transform |
| 高山 | gāo shān | high mountain; alpine mountain |
| 旅 | lu:3 | trip; travel; to travel; brigade (army) |
| 途 | tū | way; road |
| 可 | kě | (prefix) can; may; able to; -able; to approve; to permit; to suit; (particle used for emphasis) certainly; very; but; however |
| 能 | Néng | surname Neng |
| 需要 | xū yào | to need; to want; to demand; to require; needs |
| 好几年 | hǎo jǐ nián | several years |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 仅 | jín | barely; merely |
| 让 | ràng | to yield; to permit; to let sb do sth; to have sb do sth; to make sb (feel sad etc); by (indicates the agent in a passive clause, like 被[bei4]) |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 不同 | bù tóng | different; distinct; not the same; not alike |
| 文化 | wén huà | culture; civilization; cultural; CL:個|个[ge4],種|种[zhong3] |
| 互相 | hù xiāng | each other; mutually; mutual |
| 交 | jiāo | to hand over; to deliver; to pay (money); to turn over; to make friends; (of lines) to intersect; variant of 跤[jiao1] |
| 流 | líu | to flow; to disseminate; to circulate or spread; to move or drift; to degenerate; to banish or send into exile; stream of water or sth resembling one; class, rate or grade |
| 佛 | fū | Buddha; Buddhism (abbr. for 佛陀[Fo2 tuo2]) |
| 教 | Jiào | surname Jiao |
| 就是 | jìu shì | exactly; precisely; only; simply; just; (used correlatively with 也[ye3]) even; even if |
| 通过 | tōng guò | to pass through; to get through; to adopt (a resolution); to pass (legislation); to pass (a test); by means of; through; via |
| 印 | Yìn | surname Yin; abbr. for 印度[Yin4 du4], India |
| 度 | dù | to pass; to spend (time); measure; limit; extent; degree of intensity; degree (angles, temperature etc); kilowatt-hour; classifier for events and occurrences |
| 传 | chuān | to pass on; to transmit; to transfer; to conduct (electricity) |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 音 | yīn | sound; noise; note (of musical scale); tone; news; syllable; reading (phonetic value of a character) |
| 乐 | Lè | surname Le |
| 艺 | yì | skill; art |
| 术 | shù | method; technique |
| 科学 | kē xué | science; scientific knowledge; scientific; rational; CL:門|门[men2],個|个[ge4],種|种[zhong3] |
| 知 | zhī | to know; to be aware |
| 识 | shí | to know; knowledge; Taiwan pr. [shi4] |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 今天 | jīn tiān | today; the present time; now |
| 已经 | yǐ jīng | already |
| 成为 | chéng wéi | to become; to turn into |
| 历 | lì | old variant of 曆|历[li4]; old variant of 歷|历[li4]; calendar; to experience; to undergo; to pass through; all; each; every; history |
| 史 | Shǐ | surname Shi |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 它 | tā | it; it (pronoun for an animal) |
| 精神 | jīng shén | spirit; mind; consciousness; thought; mental; psychological; essence; gist; CL:個|个[ge4] |
About 2,100 years ago, the emperor of China’s Han Dynasty sent a man named Zhang Qian to the West. Zhang Qian’s mission was to establish connections with Western countries. This journey was very dangerous, and it took him thirteen years to return to China.
Zhang Qian brought back a lot of news about the West. After that, Chinese merchants began to travel along this route to do business in the West. They used camels to transport silk, tea, and porcelain. Western merchants brought glass, spices, and gems in return.
This route was later called the “Silk Road” because silk was the most important commodity at the time. The Silk Road was not just one road, but many roads connected together. Merchants had to cross deserts and climb over high mountains, and the journey could take several years.
The Silk Road not only allowed goods to flow, but also let cultures from different countries exchange with each other. Buddhism was spread from India to China through this route. Music, art, and scientific knowledge also spread along this road.
Today, the Silk Road has become history, but its spirit remains.