Silk Roads Shaped Cultures And Histories

The Silk Road conjures romantic images of camels and caravans of exotic goods, crossing desert dunes, merchants trading silks and spices, with swashbuckling adventures along the way, maybe even a duel for the attention of a bejeweled maiden perfumed in heady scented oils while frankincense wafted in the air.

- RICKY TOLEDO & CHITO VIJANDRE

But the reality goes far beyond this, as we discovered at "Silk Roads," an exhibit at the British Museum which corrects the misconception that there was only one road since there were actually many routes used by traders for more than 1,500 years, from the time the Han Dynasty of China opened trade in 130 B.C. until 1453 when the Ottoman Empire closed off trade with the West. The term was coined much later, in 1877, when German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen described the pathway of goods between Europe and East Asia.

Historians today prefer the term Silk Routes to more accurately depict the intricate web of land and sea routes linking communities across Asia, Africa and Europe, from East Asia to Britain, and from Scandinavia to Madagascar.

Although its name is derived from the highly lucrative trade of silk that was primarily produced in China, the network also carried jade and precious stones, porcelain, tea and spices from Asia while horses, glassware, textiles and manufactured goods traveled eastward.

The Philippines' link to the Silk Road can be gleaned from archaeological finds that provide a material history of extensive trade coming from China through mainland Asia and insular Southeast Asia.