Hansen, Valerie

"[The author] argues that the year 1000 was the world's first point of major cultural exchange and exploration. Drawing on nearly thirty years of research on medieval China and global history, she presents an . . . account of first encounters between disparate societies. As people on at least five continents ventured outward, they spread technology, new crops, and religion. These encounters, she shows, made it possible for Christopher Columbus to reach the Americas in 1492, and set the stage for the process of globalization that so dominates the modern era"--Provided by publisher.

The Silk Road conjures up an image of a traveler carrying silk as he sits atop a camel and moves along a desert highway. This book offers concrete evidence for what he was really carrying and where he was heading, looking at the key sites along the multiple silk roads, using newly discovered documents preserved in the sands of the Taklamakan Desert.

"The Silk Road is as iconic in world history as the Colossus of Rhodes or the Suez Canal. But what was it, exactly? It conjures up a hazy image of a caravan of camels laden with silk on a dusty desert track, reaching from China to Rome. The reality was different--and far more interesting--as revealed in this new history. In "The Silk Road, " Valerie Hansen describes the remarkable archeological finds that revolutionize our understanding of these trade routes"--Provided by publisher.

A survey of Chinese history in the premodern period, breaking from the dynastic cycle to examine the contributions of other social groups to the historic record.