Word of the Silk Road:

Societal Change Through Cultural Tolerance and Deference

Muhammad Shaaban

Student Number: C06379526

World Civilization I

HIST111

March 3, 2024
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Points of cultural contact have achieved mythic status throughout the history of

the world. One of the greatest draws of the United States comes from the cultural

melting pot that is fostered within. Cultural diversity promotes understanding, which

leads to greater flexibility when dealing with others. There is no doubt that

understanding and tolerance are the instruments by which a society can learn to live in

peace. “Dialogue among individuals, groups, and social sectors, as well as between the

government and its citizens, is key to the success of the sustaining peace enterprise; so

is enlightened, inclusive leadership at all levels of society.”1 While globalization and

modern society are truly exceptional and unlike any other period in human history,

examples of the past are still applicable. When studying globalization, the only

comparable aspects of history are points of cultural contact between distant civilizations.

Trade was one of the few sources of peaceful interaction between ancient civilizations

and there is no greater example of ancient trade than the Silk Road. This great trading

pathway was, for the longest time, the only point of connection between East and West.

“The Silk Road spanned the Asian continent and represented a form of global economy

when the known world was smaller but more difficult to traverse than nowadays.”2 Its

role in historical affairs was a highly contained, prolonged microcosm of globalization.

The cultural exchanges and widespread economic prosperity wrought by the Silk Road,

while often romanticized, provide a phenomenal proto-reference frame for how the

emergent global society can endure this staggering degree of connectivity.

1
Mahmoud, Youssef, and Anupah Makoond. “Sustaining Peace: What Does It Mean in Practice?”
International Peace Institute, 2017.
https://www.ipinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/1704_Sustaining-Peace-final.pdf
2
Kurin, Richard. “The Silk Road: Connecting People and Cultures.” Smithsonian Folklife Festival, 2002.
https://festival.si.edu/2002/the-silk-road/the-silk-road-connecting-peoples-and-cultures/smithsonian
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Peace cannot be complete without economic prosperity. The most striking golden

ages in history have been defined as such by scientific advancement or widespread

plenteousness. According to a piece on the organization of the Roman Empire, “The

conditions of pax Romana had positive effects on the empire's economy which attained

its peak of prosperity during the 1st and 2nd centuries.”3 Furthermore, even at the

lowest point of the Islamic Golden Age, “wages of unskilled workers as well as average

incomes in Iraq stayed well above the subsistence minimum during this period4.” The

role of connectivity and trade in ensuring the longevity of prosperity is clear from the

numerous periods of economic growth brought about by the Silk Road. The Silk Road

emerged, as its name suggests, by the silk trade. Secrecy held a crucial role in

promoting China’s interests. “For more than 2,000 years, the Chinese kept the mystery

of silk to themselves. It was the most jealously guarded secret in history, preserved far

more successfully than the Venetians were later to protect their monopoly of glass. The

Romans had long ago heard of this glorious substance. Alexander’s men had doubtless

been told of silk in India, and from the Greek word for it, ser, their name for China had

been derived.”5 This secret guaranteed flourishing trade between East and West. Under

Mongol rule, the Silk Road emerged once again as a major trading route6.

There are numerous common misconceptions about the Silk Road. For one,

there were many loosely connected, meandering “Silk Roads”, rather than a single

3
Maier, Franz Georg. “Megaorganisation in Antiquity: The Roman Empire.” Journal of Institutional and
Theoretical Economics (JITE) / Zeitschrift Für Die Gesamte Staatswissenschaft 151, no. 4 (1995):
705–13. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40751852.
4
Pamuk, Şevket, and Maya Shatzmiller. “Plagues, Wages, and Economic Change in the Islamic Middle
East, 700–1500.” The Journal of Economic History 74, no. 1 (2014): 196–229.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022050714000072.
5
Grace, David. The Silk Road. (Rockville, Maryland: New Word City, Inc. 2016). 1
6
Beckwith, Christopher I. Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to
the Present. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2009.
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desert trail.7 Significantly, the journey was an arduous one for a majority of history. The

path required a merchant to pass between the southern Himalayan Mountain range and

the northern Gobi Desert through the Takla Makan desert.8 “Halfway to the

Mediterranean, the route was blocked by the Pamir Mountains. Beyond were the

steppes of Turkistan, the Persian highlands, and the Syrian Desert, before the caravans

descended at last to the fertile shores, profits, and consolations of the Mediterranean.”9

Along the way, traders passed by and arrived at small villages and metropolises alike,

like Baghdad, Antioch, and Samarkand.10 Towns along major roadways are situated in

such a way that enables them to become economic hubs and serve a rich blend of

cultures. There is a common understanding that an economic hub will bring many

different people from many different backgrounds together, and undoubtedly, new ideas

will come as a result. Fascinatingly, however, this exchange appears to have been

relatively one-sided. China received jade, gold, pomegranates, myrrh, horses, glass,

Christianity, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and numerous art forms that were new to the

region, yet somehow, their language, culture, and art remained unknown to the wider

world.11

The Silk Road is critically susceptible to excessive romanticization by its very

nature. In ancient history, contact between civilizations was rare. Modern society

presents an abundance of opportunities to connect with people from all corners of the

globe. As a result, it is rather easy to forget the sheer infrequency with which ancient

civilizations separated by distance interacted. It is not hard to see how the people at the

7
Grace. The Silk Road, 1.
8
Grace. The Silk Road, 1.
9
Grace. The Silk Road, 1.
10
Grace. The Silk Road, 1.
11
Grace. The Silk Road, 1.
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time could come to regard these distant peoples with mystified wonder. This roused

numerous fantastical tales similar to the great works of ancient Greek writers. Journey

to the West is a fantastical work that demonstrates this wonder in a colossal epic.12

India and its culture play a significant role in the plot of this story, as their destination is

India.13 There’s an element of fantasy surrounding Buddhism as the crew “turn to the

Buddha from Heaven for help. Monkey King returned to the fellowship and Buddha

agreed to let them pass the test and told them the right thing to do in order to get the

scriptures.”14 This element of fantasy demonstrates a clear detachment between the

Chinese people and foreigners. This is completely expected and likely an indicator of

prevailing discomfort and unfamiliarity with foreigners.

Globalism has ushered in a new era with an observable degree of connectivity,

and to begin unpacking the mixing of cultures on such a macro scale, the study of

historical cultural exchanges becomes the focus. A fascinating angle is made known

when one approaches the Silk Road from this angle. Those limited and brief

connections between civilizations demonstrated a level of reverence in their willingness

to accept new ideas. Simple acceptance served to allow for widely differing cultural

groups to follow the same doctrines and practices, such as in the case of the spread of

Islam.15 Deference to others in their culture is a requirement for a non-discriminatory

handling of globalism. During the era of the Silk Road, it is arguable that deference

came from a mystical appreciation of other civilizations. With the benefit of hindsight,

12
Cheng’en, Wu. Journey to the West. (China 1592).
13
Peng, Jing. “The Heroes’ Journey of Journey to the West .” Storypedia. Accessed March 3, 2024.
https://web.sas.upenn.edu/storypedia/the-heroes-journey-of-journey-to-the-west-jing-peng/.
14
Peng. “The Heroes’ Journey of Journey to the West.”
15
Beckwith. Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the Bronze Age to the Present.
2009.
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this must be supplanted by unwavering respect and compassion for others. This is

critical for an effective, fair cultural exchange, lest modern globalization go the way of

the Columbian exchange or other colossal failures. This exchange is still underway. This

built on a lot more than historical cultures, but political and social ones as well.

Discourse can very easily digress into a perceived “ideological Darwinism” to ensure

one’s ideology survives to the next day. Asserting one’s identity and cultural purpose is

important, but it should never be done in such a way that detracts from another’s

purpose. It’s likely that these sensibilities were absent from the era of the Silk Road, but

it follows from the failures of the day that this type of connection requires tolerance on

all tiers of society.

Thus, this pathway vaguely defined by nothing but the presence of trade between

the East and the West has made its mark as one of the greatest symbols of connectivity

in culture. It is important to bear connectivity in mind, as this era of globalization has left

the state of the world frazzled and confused. Divisions appear worse than ever before in

numerous regions of the world, and sympathy is at an all-time low. With the Age of

Information has come an Age of Misinformation as well. In the days of the Silk Road,

however, they had much fewer certainties than modern society. Word of the West came

by the oral recountings of a select few merchants. Tales of Eastern magic were

transcribed by so-called explorers who spun words of fantasy. However, this day and

age has the benefit of hindsight. It is critical to consider how society can keep up with

this globalization, and tolerance has proven itself as the most reliable method of

preserving societal success. This brand of tolerance must come through genuine
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understanding, not through romanticization or fantasizing as was done during the era of

the Silk Road.

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Bibliography:

Mahmoud, Youssef, and Anupah Makoond. “Sustaining Peace: What Does It Mean in

Practice?” International Peace Institute, 2017.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep09504.

This 2017 International Peace Institute report by Youssef Mahmoud and Anupah

Makoond discusses, in extreme detail, how a society can theoretically strive to

achieve peace times. It goes on to discuss the implications of this on the UN.

Kurin, Richard. “The Silk Road: Connecting People and Cultures.” Smithsonian Folklife

Festival,

2002.https://festival.si.edu/2002/the-silk-road/the-silk-road-connecting-peo

ples-and-cultures/smithsonian

This section of a 2002 festival written by Kurin Richard details the significance of

silk in numerous historical cultures. Moreover, it briefly mentions the presence of

cultural connectivity by the silk trade.

Maier, Franz Georg. “Megaorganisation in Antiquity: The Roman Empire.” Journal of

Institutional and Theoretical Economics (JITE) / Zeitschrift Für Die

Gesamte Staatswissenschaft 151, no. 4 (1995): 705–13.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/40751852.

This 1995 piece by Franz Georg Maier discusses megaorganization in Rome

during the Pax Romana. Significantly, it chases the reasoning behind Rome’s

prosperity.
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Pamuk, Şevket, and Maya Shatzmiller. “Plagues, Wages, and Economic Change in the

Islamic Middle East, 700–1500.” The Journal of Economic History 74, no.

1 (2014): 196–229. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022050714000072.

This analytical piece by Sevket Pamuk and Maya Shatzmiller published in 2014

observes economic history during the Islamic Golden Age. In the study, they seek

to compare Baghdad and other Arab cities to other medieval societies through an

economic lens.

Grace, David. The Silk Road. Rockville, Maryland: New Word City, Inc. 2016

This brief piece by Grace David published in Maryland in 2016 establishes some

key background information about the Silk Road.

Beckwith, Christopher I. Empires of the Silk Road: A History of Central Eurasia from the

Bronze Age to the Present. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University

Press, 2009.

This book was authored by Christopher Beckwith and published in New Jersey in

2009. Significantly, it serves as a helpful resource for a general history of Central

Eurasia.

Hansen, Valerie. Silk Road: A New History. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press,

2015.

This book by Valerie Hansen was published in the Oxford University Press in

2015. It details numerous sights of historical importance to the Silk Road.

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Cheng’en, Wu. Journey to the West. (China 1592).

This novel written by Wu Cheng’en in 16th century China details the story of a

Buddhist monk traveling westward to retrieve sacred scrolls. This is a historical

event told through a fantastical lens.

Peng, Jing. “The Heroes’ Journey of Journey to the West .” Storypedia. Accessed

March 3, 2024.

https://web.sas.upenn.edu/storypedia/the-heroes-journey-of-journey-to-the

-west-jing-peng/.

This article by Jing Peng speaks of the book “Journey to the West” in simple

terms, and discusses the literary elements at play.