丝绸之路：Silk Road, an ancient network of trade
routes connecting the West and the East from China to the Mediterranean Sea丝绸之路是中国西北部一条非常古老的商路。它全长大约七千公里，以长安(现在的陕西省西安市) 为起点，经过甘肃、新疆，到达中亚、西亚，进而连接地中海各国。大约在一千多年前，人们就开始通过这条路，将中国出产的货物运到欧洲。因为货物中丝绸产品最多、影响最大，因此这条商路就被称为“丝绸之路”。The Silk Road was a very old trade route in
northwestern China. Its total length measured approximately 7,000 kilometers,
starting from Chang'an (today's Xi'an in Shaanxi Province), going through Gansu
and Xinjiang to Central Asia and West Asia, thus connecting the countries around
the Mediterranean Sea. Over a thousand years ago, products were transported
from China to Europe on this road. Since silk products were the most numerous
and influential among others, this trade route became known as the Silk Road.↑丝绸 silk那么，第一个开辟丝绸之路的人是谁呢？这个人叫张骞。张骞本人并不是商人，而是中国汉朝(公元前206年~公元220年)的一位官员。当时中国和西边的国家相互之间都不了解，为了增进国家之间的交往，皇帝就派他去访问这些国家。公元前2世纪，张骞带领一百多人出发了。一路上，他们遇到了很多困难，十多年后终于到达了那些国家，对当地的地理、物产、风俗习惯有了比较详细的了解。这些国家的人也通过张骞了解了中国。这就是中国历史上有名的“张骞出使西域”。公元前119年，张骞第二次出使西域。他率领使团，带着上万头牛羊和大量丝绸，访问西域的许多国家。西域各国也派使者回访长安。中国和西域的交往从此越来越频繁，从而加强了西域各国与中国在政治、经济、文化上的联系。Then, who opened up the Silk Road? It was
Zhang Qian, who was actually not a merchant, but an official of China's Han
Dynasty (206BC-220AD).At that time, there was no mutual understanding between China
and the countries on the west of it. To promote the contacts with these
countries, the emperor sent him to visit these countries. In the 2nd century
BC, Zhang Qian set off leading over a hundred people. Having encountered many
difficulties on their journey, they finally arrived in these countries after
over ten years, and got relatively detailed information on the geography,
products, and folk customs of these countries. The People in these countries
also learned about China from Zhang Qian. This was the famous story of “Zhang
Qian going west as a diplomatic envoy” in Chinese history. In 119 BC, Zhang
Qian went west for the second time. He led a diplomatic team, taking thousands
of cows and sheep and a great amount of silk with him to visit many countries
in the West Region (today's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and the areas on
the west of it). The countries of the West Region also sent envoys to visit
Chang’an. Since then, China had more frequent contact with the West Region,
thus strengthening the political,economic and cultural links between them.↑张骞出使西域 Zhang Qian going west as a diplomatic envoy张骞使中国和西域各国之间第一次建立了联系。张骞开辟了这条丝绸之路以后，很多商人就沿着张骞走过的路线，把中国的货物用马和骆驼运到西边的国家。他们从当时中国的首都长安出发，向西经过很多的国家，最远到达过地中海地区。他们走到哪里，就把中国的货物卖到哪里。那个时候，欧洲人和中亚人非常喜欢中国的丝绸，但他们自己却不会生产，所以丝绸在这些国家很受欢迎，但价格非常贵，只有很有钱的人才买得起。除了丝绸，商人们还把中国的瓷器、茶叶等运到西方，卖给当地人。Zhang Qian established the first contact
between China and the countries in the West Region. After he opened up the Silk
Road, many merchants, following the route Zhang Qian traveled, transported
Chinese products to the countries on the west of China by using horses and
camels. They set out from Chang'an, the capital of China at the time, and went westwards
through many countries, reaching as far as the regions around the Mediterranean
Sea. They sold Chinese products wherever they went.At that time, people in Europe and Central
Asia liked Chinese silk very much, but they couldn't produce it themselves, so
the silk received warm welcome in these countries. As it was sold at extremely
high prices, only rich people could afford it. Aside from silk, the merchants
also sold Chinese porcelain and tea to people in the countries on the west of
China.↑中国的瓷器 Chinese porcelain当时，西方人并不知道如何造纸，也不懂得怎样印刷。而造纸术和印刷术都是中国发明的，所以造纸和印刷的方法也沿着丝绸之路传到欧洲，最终传到了世界各地。At that time, people in the West didn't know
how to make paper or how to print, but the paper-making technology and printing
workmanship had already been invented by Chinese. So they were also spread
along the Silk Road to Europe and finally around the world.↑活字印刷术 Movable type从中国运到西方的漂亮的丝绸和瓷器，让西方人认识了中国。也有很多外国人通过丝绸之路来到中国，并且喜欢上这里，留下来一直生活在这里。来到中国的外国人，也给中国带来了很多以前没有的东西，比如胡萝卜就是通过丝绸之路传到中国的。虽然中国人现在经常吃胡萝卜，但是大部分人却不知道它其实是从西域传进来的。除了吃的，还有更重要的东西也是经过丝绸之路传进来的，那就是佛教。佛教后来成了中国主要的宗教之一，并且在很多方面影响着中国人的生活。The beautiful silk and porcelain from China
helped the people in the West learn about China. Many foreigners came to China
by taking the Silk Road, liked this country and lived here permanently. These
foreigners also brought many things that China never had before such as
carrots. Though Chinese people today often eat carrots, most of them don't know
that carrots were actually brought from the West. Aside from food, Buddhism,
which was something much more important, was spread to China along the Silk
Road. It later became one of the most important religions in China and
influenced Chinese people's life in many aspects.↑河南洛阳白马寺，是佛教传入中国后兴建的第一座寺院。The White Horse Temple in Luoyang, Henan was the first temple built after Buddhism was introduced to China.丝绸之路连接了当时世界上最发达的几个国家和地区——中国、印度、中亚和罗马时期的欧洲。当时人们还不会航海，丝绸之路成为连接东方和西方欧洲各国唯一的通道和商路，促进了这些地区经济文化上的交流和友好往来。The Silk Road connected the most developed countries
and regions in the world at that time - China, India, Central Asia, and Europe
of the Roman Period. In those days, people knew nothing about sea navigation.
The Silk Road, the only passage and trade route connecting the East with the
European countries in the West, promoted cultural and economic communication
and friendship among these regions.总之，丝绸之路是一条既古老又重要的商路，也是亚洲和欧洲各国经济文化交流的友谊之路。In summary, the Silk Road was not only an old
and important trade route, but also a road of friendship helping develop the economic
and cultural communications among Asian and European countries.——以上内容选自《中国的故事·历史篇》刘美如、吕丽娜 编著
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