Following un Ancient Footsteps 長相"絲"守：絲綢之路話從頭

One of the world's most ancient and historically important trade routes, the Silk Road conjures up exotic images of camel caravans, windswept deserts, and such legendary figures as Genghis Khan and Marco Polo. Extending as far as the Indian kingdoms in the west, to present-day Xian in China in the east, the Silk Road was already a crossroads of Asia by the third century B.C.

Skirting the edges of the harsh and inhospitable Taklimakan desert, the Silk Road actually had several different branches, each passing through different oases. All roads began in Changan (Xian). The northern route wound its way through places such as Turfan and Kuqa before finally ending at Kashgar. The southern route followed the lower fringes of the Taklimakan to eventually end up at the same destination. Numerous other routes were also plied throughout the ages, reaching all the way to Samarkand, Tashkent, India, and the .htmian Sea.

Silk was not the only commodity traveling the Silk Road. Other goods such as exotic animals, ivory, and gold were also transported along the route. It was silk, though, which fascinated the Romans. Agents were sent from Rome to explore the route and to obtain the material at a lower price. The Romans, however, did not give the Silk Road its name. The term was actually coined by the 19th-century German scholar Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen.

In spite of its name, silk was not the most important commodity traversing the Silk Road. That honor fell to religion. Along the northern branch of the route, Buddhism made its way from India to China in the fourth and fifth centuries. Christianity also made an appearance in the seventh century, when merchants carried the faith from northern Iran to Changan.

Not long after the Tang era (618-907), when trade along the Silk Road had reached its height, the fearsome Genghis Khan and his Mongol armies conquered a vast area spanning much of Central Asia. Accordingly, the Silk Road became an important communication route between different parts of the Mongol Empire. During the rule of Kublai Khan, more Europeans began venturing towards China along the Silk Road. The most famous of these travelers was Marco Polo, whose thoughts and adventures were later recorded and embellished by an Italian romance writer.

During the 14th century, with the disintegration of the Mongol Empire, the isolationist policies of the Ming Dynasty, and the development of the silk route by sea, the Silk Road was forced into decline. Renewed interest in it emerged only among Western scholars near the end of the 19th century. The existence of ancient cities excited them, and an archaeological free-for-all began. These days, those seeking out treasures of the Silk Road can find what they are looking for in such far-flung places as London, Delhi, and Berlin.

世界上最古老，歷史上最重要的貿易路線之一──絲綢之路，總給人一種富有異國情調的印象：駱駝商隊、狂風肆虐的沙漠，還有諸如成吉思汗和馬可波羅等傳奇人物。絲綢之路綿亙遠長，西至印度王國，東到中國現在的西安，早在公元前三世紀，絲綢之路就已經成為了亞洲交通的十字路口。

絲綢之路其實有數條支線，它們分別沿著環境惡劣、不適合人類居住的塔克拉瑪干沙漠外緣，穿越不同的綠洲。所有的路線都是始于長安（西安）：北線蜿蜒經過了吐魯番、庫車，最后到達喀什格爾??南線沿著塔克拉瑪干下緣前行，到達同一終點。其它的許多支線也是歷代都通行的，通往撒瑪爾罕、塔什干、印度， 及里海等地。

絲綢并不是絲綢之路上運送的唯一商品。其它貨物如奇珍異獸、象牙，及黃金等也通過絲綢之路運輸。 不過格外令羅馬人著迷的還是絲綢。羅馬派遣代理商探測這條路線，并以較低的價格購得絲綢。然而，“絲 綢之路”的名稱并不是羅馬人起的。這個名稱是19世紀時一名叫Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen的德國學者首創的。

雖然名為“絲綢之路”，絲綢卻并不是穿過該路線運送的最重要的“商品”。這項榮譽應歸于宗教。 公元第四、五世紀時，佛教沿著路線的北支從印度傳入中國。基督教也在公元七世紀時，由商人從伊朗北 部傳到長安，首次在中土出現。

唐代是絲綢之路沿途貿易活動的鼎盛時期，在唐代王朝滅亡后不久，令人聞風喪膽的成吉思汗及其蒙古大軍征服了橫跨中亞大部分地區的廣闊領土。絲綢之路于是成為蒙古帝國各部落間重要的交通線路。忽必烈統治期間，更多的歐洲人冒險沿著絲綢之路來到中國。這些旅行者中最出名的就是馬可波羅，他的所見所聞后來被一位意大利傳奇小說家記載下來，并加以潤色。

14世紀時，蒙古帝國瓦解、明朝實行閉關政策，加上“海上絲路”的發展，絲綢之路被迫走向沒落。 直到近19世紀末，才有西方學者重新燃起了對絲綢之路的興趣。古城的存在讓他們興奮不已，于是掀起了一陣考古熱潮。現在，想在絲綢之路尋寶的人們，在倫敦、德里、柏林等許多地方，都可以找到他們想要的東西。