AcknowledgmentsIntroduction 1. At the Crossroads of Central Asia: The Kingdom of Kroraina 2. Gateway to the Languages of the Silk Road: Kucha and the Kizil Caves 3. Midway Between China and Iran: Turfan 4. Homeland of the Sogdians, the Silk Road Traders: Samarkand and Sogdiana 5. The Cosmopolitan Terminus of the Silk Road: Historic Chang'an, Modern-day Xi'an 6. The Time Capsule of Silk Road History: The Dunhuang Caves 7. Entryway into Xinjiang for Buddhism and Islam: Khotan Conclusion: The History of the Overland Routes through Central Asia Notes Index
Valerie Hansen is Professor of History at Yale University. Her books include The Open Empire: A History of China to 1600, Negotiating Daily Life in Traditional China: How Ordinary People Used Contracts, 600-1400, Changing Gods in Medieval China, 1127-1276, and, with Kenneth R. Curtis, Voyages in World History.
"[A] considerable addition to the historiography of the Silk
Road.... [T]his has become one of the books of Silk Road history
that the reviewer most admires, and one of the most satisfying
books on any topic that she has read in many months.... [E]ssential
reading." --Historian
"Richly illustrated, The Silk Road: A New History is a monumental
work of synthesis... It is a celebration of the drudgery of sifting
ancient trash, of the painstaking work of recovering multilingual
documents found in fragments, clumps, and, at the Mogao Caves, one
great bibliographical hoard... Whether in Sogdian, Khotanese,
Kuchean, or Uighur -- languages that make the discoveries of early
Chinese texts seem almost pedestrian -- it is the
decipherment of these lost languages that allows Hansen to bring
the Silk Road so fully to life.... Summarizing more than a century
of research, it is unlikely to be surpassed till the discoveries of
another generation
demand incorporation." --Nile Green, Los Angeles Review of
Books
"A much-needed critical synthesis of scholarship that will appeal
to scholars, students, and general readers. [Hansen's] lively
writing brings each town to life. The clear prose, numerous maps
and illustrations, and animated tales of the Silk Road's travelers
and explorers will make Hansen's book a classroom favorite."
--CHOICE
"An impressively well-researched book exploring the documentation
of many different cultures and people along the many routes known
as the Silk Road. Readers of Asian or world history will learn much
from and thoroughly enjoy this book." --Library Journal
"The Silk Road: A New History...is well worth a serious look by
historians of other regions and periods for its thoughtful and
innovative consideration of the historical craft of turning the raw
materials of many media into a compelling historical account."
--Carla Nappi, Tang Studies
"This book meets the challenge of being lively, readable, and at
the same time extremely learned and up-to-date. In all respects a
success." --Etienne de la Vaissière, EHESS, Paris
"Valerie Hansen overturns the traditional view of the 'straight and
well-travelled' Silk Road, as well as the notion that silk was of
prime significance. Instead she reveals in detail the life,
history, and culture of the different oasis centers of Central
Asia, making the latest work by Chinese, Russian, Japanese, and
other scholars available to us all. It is a triumph." --Frances
Wood, Curator of the Chinese Collections, British Library
"Erudite and engaging, this is no romantic tale of the Silk Road.
Hansen challenges many of the conventional narratives of the
crossroads of Eurasia. In place of large long distance commercial
caravans, she finds subsistence living and local barter. Instead of
merchants, she finds the Chinese military played the most important
role in bringing silk onto the Silk Road. But the region is no less
fascinating for all her debunking of old tropes. She skillfully
weaves ancient records with modern explorations of the Silk Road to
bring that past alive, especially the tolerant religious diversity
of the region before Islam came to dominate around the year 1000.
A
wonderful read that will send you packing your bags!" --Gray
Tuttle, Columbia University
"Valerie Hansen's The Silk Road is the most readable and reliable
historical account of the fabled trade routes that cut across the
center of Eurasia in medieval times. Based upon original sources
and the best scholarship, the author's narrative is enriched by
first-hand investigations in the field and extensive examination of
artifacts in numerous museums. Handsomely illustrated, this volume
brings to life as never before the men and animals who
travelled from one Central Asian oasis to the next, conveying
goods, ideas, art, music, and religions." --Victor H. Mair,
University of Pennsylvania
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