thesilkroad丝绸之路演讲稿.docx

The Silk Road
Ancient trade route that linked China with Europe.
Originally a caravan route and used fromс 100 BC, the 4,000-mi (6,400-km) road
started in Xi'an,China, followed the Great Wall to the northwest,climbed the Pamir
Mtns.,crossed Afghanistan,and went on to the eastern Mediterranean Sea, where goods were taken by boat to Rome. Silk was carried westward,while wool,gold,and silver
were carried eastward.With the fall of Rome, the route became unsafe; it was revived
under the Mongols, and Marco Polo used it in the 13th century.
The Silk Road
Maybe you have heard about the Silk Road or read it yourself long before so that
you have already understood the constantly changing and endless barren desert as
well as its quietness. Maybe you have met it in the numerous words before. Haven’t you understood its brilliance hidden in the relics on the ancient route left to
us by our ancestors that has gone through the test of over 2000 years of trials and
hardships And then do you still want to listen to the bells on the camels that have
been pleasant to your ears for years in and out along this historical route that
goes through Asia and Europe and maintains the civilization of east and west and
appreciate the flourishment and continuous flow on the broad ancient route Well,
let ’ s read the Silk Road in the virtual world built by the net technology!
A 10,000-li silver ribbon, starting at Chang’ an (Xi ’ an today), the ancient capital
of China, and ending at the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, links up fields,
deserts, grasslands, and mountains. This is the Silk Road famed in world history,
the first thoroughfare that links up China with the West.
2000 ago, our ancestors opened up a great road--the Silk Road.
China was the first country in the world to breed silkworms and produce silk. The
Silk Road was first conceived during the Zhou and Qin dynasties. From ., Zhang Qian, outstanding Western Han diplomat and traveler,first“ blazed a trail” in the West, and the Silk Road was formally inaugurated as China’ s“ national road” linking
up the east and west.Holding a tasseled staff and“driving enormous herds of sheep and cattle and bringing quantities of golden coins and rolls of silk,” Zhang Qian set out with a retune of 100 and 300 in two trips from Chang’ an and reached Loulan (around Roujiang today),Yuli,Quick (Kula today),Shula(Kashi today),Yutan (Hotan today) and Wunsun (the Ill River valley today), as well as Dayuan, Kanju, kand
Dayuezhi, now in Xinjiang and the Amu-Darya River valley in Central Asia. His
assistant even went as far as Ansi (Iran) and Xindu (India) for friendly visits.
In return, envoys from these countries also visited China, and merchants were
continually on the way.
In 73 AD, Ban Zhao embarked on a mission to the western region with a 36-man retinue, ensuring the smooth operation of the Silk Road which had once been blocked by war.
His deputy Gan Ying reached Daqin(ancient Rome) and toured the Persian Gulf(Arabic Gulf), extending the Silk Road.
The ancient Silk Road linked Chinese culture with that of India, Greece, Rome and
Persian from one century to the other,carried the great Chinese inventions of silk, gunpowder,papermaking and printing to the West and brought Buddhism,Nestorianism, and Islam and their related arts and cultures into China.From time immemorial,the Silk Road has been a route of friendly intercourse between the Chinese and foreign
people.
Chinese silk,ironware,gold and platinum,bronze mirrors,lacquer and bamboo wares, drugs and farming and smelting technology passed through the western region to India and Europe. Alfalfa, grapes, sesame, pomegranates, walnuts, cucumbers, carrots,
safflowers,as well as lions,peacocks,elephants,camels and horses from the western region also found their way into the Chinese interior. A passage from the West Region: History of the Han Dynasty,documents the trade between China and foreign countries:“The emperor’ s household was filled with pearls, rhinoceros horns and peacock
feathers.Palace officials’stables were crowded with thoroughbred horses:
elephants,lions,mastiffs and peacocks roam the menagerie. Exotic articles poured in from every quarter.”
Fa Xian and Xuan Zang, eminent monks of the Jin and Tang Dynasties, journeyed to
more than 30 countries including Kashmir, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka along the
Silk Road in 366 and 627 (or 629). The Lands of Buddhism by Fa Xian and the West
Region by Xuan Zang were important references in research on the histories of the
West Region and India, and the Silk Road.
1222-1223, Yelu Chucai, a Yuan dynasty poet, and Qiu Chuji, leader of Taoism,
traveled west and made lively notes on the scenes along northern Xinjiang and the
central Asian region.
The ancient Silk Road linked Chinese culture with that of India, Greece, Rome and
Persian from one century to the other,carried the great Chinese inventions of silk, gunpowder,papermaking and printing to the West and brought Buddhism, Nestorianism, and Islam and their related arts and cultures into China.From time immemorial,the Silk Road has been a route of friendly intercourse between the Chinese and foreign
people.
The ancient Silk Road yields a wealth of world famous treasures. A series of passes, castles,grotto temples,courier stations,burial sites and beacon towers shine with brilliance.
The greater part of the Silk Road threads its way through Xinjiang.Ancient travelers left behind many historical records and invaluable relics.
And all this reminds people from time to time that the Chinese nation had spread
its splendid but unique ancient civilization to the west and even to the whole world through this main route so that the people all over the world could understand its
great oriental civilization.
It used to be the main artery of communication and cultural exchange between China and the western countries.
Different Routes of the Silk Road
There is more than one route of the Silk Road. The routes vary
due to their different destinations in the west in the different dynasties. But there are three main routes.
The route along the north side of Tianshan Mountain is the North Tianshan Route; that along the south side of Tianshan Mountain,
the South Tianshan Route and that along Kunlun Mountain the South Western Region Route. These three routes are called, respectively from north to south, the north route, the middle route, and
the south route.
The above three routes are actually one route before they reach Loulan, Xingjiang, that is from Xi ’an ---Lanzhou---the Hexi Corridor-
--Wuwei---Zhangye---Jiuquan---Dunhuang---Yumen Guan (Yang Guan)---Loulan.
The north route runs from
Loulan---Turfan---Hami---Urumqi---Yining---Yili--west to
coast of the Caspian Sea.
The middle route runs from Loulan---Kuche---Aksu---Kashi---west to Iran and to Rome along the coast of Mediterranean Sea.
The south route runs from
Loulan---Qiemo---Yutian---Shache---south to India and Southeast
to the direction of Afghan.
敦煌的沙山、月牙泉以其自然地理奇之美名已享誉海内外，而可与其相媲美的玉关雅丹魔
鬼城却人知。

据“辞海”解，“雅丹——吾，原具有陡壁的土丘，是干燥地区
的一种地貌”。

在距玉关西85 公里，有一典型的雅丹地貌群落，西25 公里，南北 1— 2 公里，敦煌人俗称魔鬼城，因此且定名“玉关雅丹魔鬼城”。

片雅丹地貌群落超出了辞中所定的模和形，其个体和整体模之大，形之奇异属
世罕。

其高度，低的四五米，高的有二十多米，由十几米到几百米不等，其整体，像一座
中世的古城。

座特殊的“城堡”，有城、有街道、有大楼、有广、有教堂、有雕塑；其
形象生，妙肖，令世人瞠目。

世界多著名建筑都可以在里找到它的影，北京的天、西藏的布达拉、埃及的金字塔、身人面像、草原的蒙古包、阿拉伯式的清真寺有尽有，雕
塑有大漠雄，有路，有群出海，有中流砥柱⋯⋯不可述。

置身其中，宛苦入了世
界建筑博物，人目不暇接，惊不已。

些大自然的杰作，堪称鬼斧神工，奇妙无，
人佩服得五体投地，令游人流忘返，更引起无限遐思。

从筋水泥的城市切到路敦煌，
面瑰多彩的名古迹、迷人的塞外光，阳关及玉关只余下断壁残垣，置身其，
却仍能感受到关的金戈之气，使人不得不慨史的沉重和凉。