James A. Millward, Professor of History, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, US
James A. Millward is professor of history, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University. His books include Eurasian Crossroads: A History of Xinjiang.
Highlights biological, technological, and cultural as well as economic exchanges on the silk road
Explains the dynamics of silk road communication as a function of the rise of Central Eurasian nomad empires and their interaction with sedentary agrarian states
Disputes the common assertion of a "silk road decline" from around 1500
The phrase "silk road" evokes vivid images: of merchants leading camel caravans over deserts and steppes to trade exotic goods in the bazaars of glittering Oriental cities, of pilgrims braving bandits and frozen mountain passes to gather scriptures and spread their faith across continental expanses. Beyond the exotica, however, this VSI will be a sketch of the historical background against which the silk road flourished, and an essay on the significance of old-world intercultural exchange to Eurasian and world history generally. On the one hand, Millward treats the silk road broadly, as a metonym for the cross-fertilizing communication between peoples across the Eurasian continent since at least the Neolithic era. On the other, he highlights specific examples of goods and ideas exchanged between the Mediterranean, Persian, Indian, and Chinese regions, along with the significance of these exchanges. While including silks, spices, travelers' tales of colorful locales, the main focus of the book is to outline the dynamics of Central Eurasian history that promoted silk road interactions, especially the role of nomad empires; and to highlight the importance of the biological, technological, artistic, intellectual, and religious interchanges across the continent. Millward shows that these exchanges had a profound effect on the old world that was akin to, if not yet on the scale of, modern globalization.
Millward also considers some of the more abstract contemporary uses to which the silk road concept has been put. It is, of course, a popular marketing device for boutiques, museums, restaurants, and tour operators from Venice to Kyoto. More than that, however, the silk road has ideological connotations, used sometimes to soften the face of Chinese expansion in Central Asia, or, in the US culture wars, as a challenge to the "clash of civilizations" understanding of intersocietal relations. Finally, while it has often been argued that the silk road declined or closed after the collapse of the Mongol empire or the opening of direct maritime communications from Europe to Asia, Millard disputes this view, showing how silk road phenomena continued through the early modern and modern expansion of Russian and Chinese states across Central Asia.
Readership: Trade readers interested in the Silk Road, introductory courses in Asian history and world history, high school world history courses, museum-goers at Silk Road exhibits
發表於2025-01-31
The Silk Road 2025 pdf epub mobi 電子書 下載
序言 榮新江/文 在我所閱讀過的以“絲綢之路”為名的著作中,米華健(James A. Millward)教授的這本《絲綢之路》,既不是篇幅最長的,也不是齣版時間最新的,但卻是我閱讀時最感到愉快的一種。本書英文原名The Silk Road: A Very Short Introduction,2013年齣版,是列入牛津...
評分《絲綢之路》——米華健 絲綢之路是歐亞大陸人民交流的網絡,促使它形成的原因是貿易和宗教,帶來主要的意義是科技和文化的傳播。關於絲綢之路的幾個容易忽視的點: 1、遊牧民族推動貿易。 中央歐亞地區的地形以草原、沙漠和山地為主,這種環境主要適閤遊牧民族生活。他們不僅...
評分 評分亞洲和歐洲交流史 亞洲和歐洲地圖上來看,其實是一塊大陸,叫做歐亞大陸。為什麼要分成兩個洲呢?。主要是歐亞大陸中間,有一片巨大的沙漠和山地阻礙瞭文化交流和經濟聯係。 有人的地方就會有交流。古代人們靠什麼進行交流。遊牧民族。 交流的場所主要是,絲綢之路。 遊牧民族...
評分《絲綢之路》——米華健 絲綢之路是歐亞大陸人民交流的網絡,促使它形成的原因是貿易和宗教,帶來主要的意義是科技和文化的傳播。關於絲綢之路的幾個容易忽視的點: 1、遊牧民族推動貿易。 中央歐亞地區的地形以草原、沙漠和山地為主,這種環境主要適閤遊牧民族生活。他們不僅...
圖書標籤: 絲綢之路 曆史 米華健 VSI 海外漢學 文化研究 海外中國研究 history
就是本讀書筆記吧…簡明史真沒意思。
評分寫得很有趣。學到不少新知識。非常好的一本通俗讀物。
評分非常標準的梳理,推薦作為第一本零基礎的讀物
評分非常標準的梳理,推薦作為第一本零基礎的讀物
評分正在寫一篇關於其中“冒頓”和“單於”的翻譯的晚課論文,鬥膽以為米華健先生翻譯錯瞭。
The Silk Road 2025 pdf epub mobi 電子書 下載