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Silk Road 丝绸之路

中国的丝绸之路是什么？

What Was China's Silk Road?

The Silk Road was an ancient trade and communication route across the Eurasian continent, formally recognized in China during the reign of Emperor Wu (157–87 BC) of the Han Dynasty. It linked China with many regions of the Old World in commerce between 119 BC and around 1400 AD.

丝绸之路是一条穿越欧亚大陆的古老贸易和通讯路线，于汉武帝（公元前 157-87 年）在中国被正式承认。它在公元前 119 年至公元 1400 年左右将中国与旧大陆的许多商业地区联系起来。

In fact, the Silk Road can be divided into the “overland Silk Roads” and the “Maritime Silk Road”. Now, we usually refer to the northern overland Silk Road as the Silk Road in China.

事实上，丝绸之路可以分为“陆上丝绸之路”和“海上丝绸之路”。现在，我们通常将北方陆上丝绸之路称为中国的丝绸之路。

Why Is It Called the Silk Road?

为什么叫丝绸之路？

China is the “hometown of silk”, and silk was the most representative of the goods exported by China on the Silk Road.

中国是“丝绸之乡”，丝绸是中国在丝绸之路上出口的最具代表性的商品。

At the end of the 19th century, German geographer and traveler Ferdinand von Richthofen called the Silk Road routes die Seidenstrasse (‘the Silk Road’) or Seidenstrassen (‘silk roads’) in his book ‘China’. The term was quickly accepted by academics and the public, and “Silk Road” was formally accepted as a proper noun.

19 世纪末，德国地理学家和旅行家费迪南德·冯·李希霍芬将丝绸之路路线称为“Seidenstrasse”（“丝绸之路”）或Seidenstrassen（“丝绸之路”）在他的《中国》一书中。这个词很快被学术界和公众所接受，“丝绸之路”被正式接受为专有名词。

In 119 BC, the Silk Road started from Chang’an (now called Xi'an), China’s ancient capital, which was moved further east (and with it the Silk Road’s start) to Luoyang during the Later Han Dynasty (25–220 AD). The Silk Road ended in Rome.

公元前119年，丝绸之路从中国古都长安（现称西安）开始，在后汉时期（公元25-220年）进一步东移（丝绸之路的起点）到洛阳）。丝绸之路在罗马结束。

Starting from ancient China, the northern Silk Road bifurcated through the five Central Asian countries (the Stans), and continued through Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey, then to Greece and Italy across the Mediterranean Sea.

北方丝绸之路以古代中国为起点，分叉穿过中亚五国（斯坦），经阿富汗、伊朗、伊拉克、土耳其，再经地中海到达希腊和意大利。

Why Was the Silk Road Important?

为什么丝绸之路很重要？

The Silk Road promoted trade and commerce and cultural exchanges between European, African, and Asian countries. It generated the first upsurge of exchanges between China and the West.

丝绸之路促进了欧洲、非洲和亚洲国家之间的商贸和文化交流。它引发了中西方交流的第一次高潮。

The inventions of paper and gunpowder in China were so powerful that when the technology reached Europe, it enabled the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, and the scientific and industrial revolutions that transformed the world.

中国纸和火药的发明如此强大，以至于当技术传到欧洲时，它促成了文艺复兴、新教改革以及改变世界的科学和工业革命。

Paper enabled rapid publication, and gunpowder weapons changed warfare and enabled the destruction of older empires and the emergence of new nations.

纸张使快速出版成为可能，火药武器改变了战争，使旧帝国的毁灭和新国家的出现成为可能。

(大明宫国家遗址公园，丝绸之路外销瓷器展)

Plagues spread and destroyed half the populations of large regions of Eurasia and new crops and technologies allowed the population in Eurasia to grow rapidly.

瘟疫蔓延并摧毁了欧亚大陆大部分地区的一半人口，新的作物和技术使欧亚大陆的人口迅速增长。

The Mongol invasions on the Silk Road routes imprinted Mongol ethnicity and language from Xinjiang to Eastern Europe.

蒙古人在丝绸之路上的入侵，给从新疆到东欧的蒙古族民族和语言留下了烙印。

Two of China's major religions, Buddhism and Islam, were introduced mainly via the Silk Road.

中国的两大宗教， 佛教和伊斯兰教，主要是通过丝绸之路传入的。

Is the Silk Road Still Used Today?

丝绸之路今天还在使用吗？

Into the historical context of the Silk Road, a new Silk Road is coming into being. In 2013, China launched the Belt and Road (the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road) Initiative (BRI). It focuses on the goal of promoting mutual development and prosperity.

进入丝绸之路的历史脉络，一条新的丝绸之路正在形成。2013年，中国启动了“一带一路”（丝绸之路经济带和21世纪海上丝绸之路）倡议（BRI）。它侧重于促进共同发展和繁荣的目标。

New trans-Asia transportation infrastructure: Substantial progress has already been made. The first freight trains from Europe to China began running in 2011 and have cut transit time from Germany to China from 50 days by sea to 18 days.

新的跨亚洲交通基础设施：已取得实质性进展。从欧洲到中国的第一列货运列车于 2011 年开始运行，将德国到中国的运输时间从 50 天的海运时间缩短到了 18 天。

In 2018, a major 5,400-kilometer highway to St. Petersburg from the Yellow Sea was opened that allows vehicles to travel the distance in 10 days. This is a new travel option for economical tourism and sightseeing along Silk Road places.

2018年，一条 从黄海到圣彼得堡的5400公里主要高速公路 开通，车辆可以在10天内通行。这是丝绸之路沿线经济旅游观光的新选择。

The Silk Road has become a popular route for tourism. In Xinjiang and along the entire Silk Road from Xi'an to Kashgar and Altay in Xinjiang to Greece and Albania, Silk Road tourism is booming. Multi-country trips tracing the Silk Road route are becoming popular among both Chinese and Westerners.

丝绸之路已成为旅游热门路线。在 新疆 以及从西安到喀什、新疆的阿勒泰到希腊、阿尔巴尼亚的整个丝绸之路，丝绸之路旅游正在蓬勃发展。沿着丝绸之路的多国旅行在中西方人中越来越受欢迎。

中国元素，带你进一步了解中国文化。

（所有配图均来源于网络，如有侵权，联系删除）

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