Silk Road Summary
One of the most exciting chapters you can find in your English book in Class 11th textbook is the Silk Road. The Silk Road used to be the trade network that connects China and the far East with the Middle East and Europe. For the first time in 130 B.C, the road was opened when the Han Dynasty in China finally opened the gate for trade with the West. From that time onwards, the Silk Road was opened, and the traders from the West came with their goods until 1453 A.D. The closing of the Silk route happened when Ottoman Empire boycotted trade with China and closed them. The road is closed now, and it’s been 6000 years. Still, it has such an enormous impact on the trade and the commerce of the Asian market that it completely changed the commerce, culture, and history, which we can even see today.
With the Silk Road Class 11 summary, you will learn about various aspects of trade and commerce in the old times - how the world used to be back then, and how the people have their own beliefs and work according to it. Moreover, the Class 11 Silk Road summary will help you score good marks in your final exams.
Silk Road Class 11 Summary
Class 11 English Silk Road summary talks about the author's journey from the slopes of Ravu to Mt. Kailash. The author went on this journey to complete the Kora. As a result, you get to experience the trip that the author experienced through his own eyes. We get to find that the author wants to complete his journey of Mount Kailash; thus, to start his pilgrimage, he chooses the tough one. In his journey, he was joined by Tsetan and Daniel. Daniel was his acquaintance, while Tstean he hired initially. He talks about how the people living in the hilly areas are more sensitive and caring in nature. Also, he tells about his feelings when he first saw the Darchen and the lake Mansarover. On his journey, you can indeed find several difficulties that he has to go through to complete his pilgrimage.
Silk Road Summary Class 11
In the summary of Silk Road Class 11 hornbill, the author tells readers about his story, which describes his journey and how his friends helped him cover such a long and tiring distance. When they started their journey, Testan took a shortcut to the southwest. He said to the author that it’s the direct route to Mt. Kailash. If they go from this route, they have to climb the high mountain passes, but it would be easier to climb the passes due to the lack of snow.
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(Mountain views from the Silk Road which traders have to climb to reach China.)
When they reached the foot of the hill, they found several dark tents. Those tents were home to nomads, and a Tibetan mastiff was guarding the tents. When they were close to the tents, the dog ran towards their cars. They left the place, and the hill started to have sharper and bumpier turns. As they reached the passes, the author could feel the pressure on his body, and the air became thin. After successfully crossing the first pass, the author started to feel a little sick due to high altitude sickness. At around 2, they stopped in the middle and had lunch.
They reached a small town named ‘Hor.’ in the late afternoon. They took a break and had tea from a local shop. During this time interval, Testan got their car fixed, and Daniel left the group for Lhasa. The Hor did not amuse the author. They stayed in Darchen for a night, where we find out the author has a congested nose due to a change in altitude. He went to see the Tibetian doctor, who gave him five days of medication.
After his health recovered, the author started liking the Darchan and tried to find pilgrims to accompany him on the journey. He met Dorbu, and together they hired yaks for their luggage.
FAQs on Summary of Silk Road: A Journey of Trade and Culture
1. Who Was Marco Polo?
Born in 1254, Marco Polo was a well-known European who traveled the silk road in medieval times. Apart from being a Venetian merchant, he was also an adventurer and writer who traveled to Asia from 1271–95. He ended up staying in China for 17 of those years.
His book “the book of world’s marvels” was first published in the year 1300. In the English language, the book has been translated into the Travels of Marco Polo. In this book, you can read about the path Marco Polo took to complete the silk road trail and the various other regions of Asia. He also wrote stories about his travels and the people he met during the expedition.
Marco Polo’s father Niccolò, and his uncle Maffeo were also merchants. Even before Marco was born, both the brothers had done considerable travel themselves, as the family had traded with the Middle East for a long time, and had acquired considerable wealth and prestige during the time.
Marco Polo traveled to Asia with his uncle and father. He was about 20 years old when they reached Cathay. Marco spoke some languages then used in East Asia, like most probably Turkish (Coman dialect), Arabized Persian, Uighur, and Mongol. This was when he caught the attention of Kublai, who enjoyed listening to his stories about strange countries, often sending Marco on fact-finding missions to various parts of his empire.
The Polos embarked on another journey in 1271 to deliver a message from Kublai Khan to the Pope.
2. Do People Still Use the Silk Road?
Silk Road is also called the silk route, which is the ancient route that links China to the West and the rest of the world. People used to carry goods and ideas of the West to China from this route. The silk road is one of the only ways to enter China from the West. Still, with the Roman territory being thrown out and the region of Arabian power starting to show its influence on Asia, the silk road became increasingly unsafe and unable to be travelled. In the modern century, the silk road still exists, which is in the form of a paved highway that connects Pakistan, and Uygur, the autonomous region of Xinjiang, China. In addition to this, the United Nations also proposed a trans-Asian highway, which will be built on the silk road.
3. What is the history of the Silk Road?
The Silk Road is a 6,400-km-long road (or rather a caravan tract), which started at Xi’an and followed the Great Wall of China bypassing the Takla Makan Desert, and went through the Pamirs. It then went through Afghanistan, crossing the Levant. This was the point where the merchandise was shipped across the Mediterranean Sea.
There was a time when the Silk Road became increasingly unsafe and was left untravelled. It was a time when the Roman territory in Asia was depleting and the Arabian power was rising in the Levant.
The route was later revived in the 13th and 14th centuries under Mongol rule. This was the time the Venetian Marco Polo travelled to China.
It is now believed that the plague bacteria responsible for the Black Death pandemic reached Europe from Asia mainly via this route.
Part of the Silk Road that still exists is a highway connecting Pakistan and the Uygur Autonomous Region of Xinjiang, China.
The old road has been the inspiration behind the United Nations’ plan for a trans-Asian highway. In fact, a railway counterpart of the road was proposed by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) some years ago.
The road even inspired cellist Yo-Yo Ma to explore cultural traditions along the route and as a way of connecting arts across cultures around the world. He named the project as the Silk Road Project in 1999.
4. How did Silk Road get its name?
The Silk Road was a network of routes spanning China, Central Asia, and Northern India to the present-day countries of Iran, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria. In the Middle Ages, Venetian merchant Marco Polo named the caravan routes silk roads. But it was the German researcher, Ferdinand Richthofen, who coined the term the Great Silk Road in his work, titled China, in the year 1877.
It was called the Silk Road or Silk Route mainly because one of the major products was silk cloth from China. People throughout Asia and Europe prized Chinese silk for its softness and luxury. The Chinese sold silk for thousands of years. and even the Romans called China the land of silk.
5. What products were traded on the Silk Road?
The Silk Road was a strategically important route because it opened up trade between China and the far East with Europe and the Middle East. This helped generate trade of unique products and commerce between kingdoms and empires.
Over a period of centuries, products like silk, spices, ivory, cotton, wool, gold, medicines, China cutlery, tea, precious metals and stones, and many other products were traded.
One of the major products traded on the route was Chinese Silk. It was in high demand because of its softness and luxuriousness and had a high price.
In the initial stages, the items China brought home were expensive horses, lucerne seeds, and grapes (as grapes were cultivated in China and they had never tasted grape wine before). China also bought several agricultural crops like onions, cucumbers, string beans, pomegranates, carrots, figs, etc.
Central Asia exported gold, silver, semi-precious stones, cotton, wool, embroidery, glass items, and exotic fruits like peaches, watermelons, etc. Also, animals like camels, sheep, lions, leopards, and hunting dogs.
Eastern Europe imported rice, cotton, woollen, and silk fabrics from Asia and exported skins, furs, bark, and cattle.
China exported China ware like vases, bowls, glasses, etc, Chinese varnish, porcelain, medicines, perfumes, and Chinese paper, among other items.
While India exported fabrics, spices, semi-precious stones, dyes, and ivory, Iran was known for its silver products.
