The Silk Road: Travel and Trade in Premodern Inner Asia

Central Question
Learning Objective
Historical Background 
Primary Sources    
Zhang Qian’s (Chang K’ién) Report to the Han Emperor Wudi, c. 125 B.C.E
Buddhist Monk Xuanzang, Records of the Western World, c. 629   
Marco Polo’s Account of His Travels to the East, c. 1298   
Francesco Balducci Pegolotti, Excerpts from “Notices on the Land Route to Cathay,” c. 1340
Anthony Jenkinson, Report to Company Shareholders on Trade of Bokhara with India, Persia, Russia and China, 1560        
Jean Chardin, Description of Making Bricks in Persia, c. 1675   
Project Questions
Additional Assignments
Additional Resources for Research