絲綢之路

熊雙

同學們，相信你們一定聽說過絲綢之路吧！但是你們知道“絲綢之路”這個名稱的由來以及開辟這條道路的意義么？下面就來聽我簡單地給你們介紹一下吧！

The Silk Road dates back to the second century B.C. when Zhang Qian， a Chinese official， began his business trip to Xiyu（meaning western countries） following this trade thoroughfare linking Asia and Europe.

The route originated from Changan （the present-day Xian）. It traversed Shaanxi Province， the Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province， the Tarim Basin in Xinjiang， the Pamir mountain region， Afghanistan， Iran and Syria. And it finally ended at the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. More than 4，000 of its 7，000 kilometers were in China.

For over a thousand years up till the 15th century， China brought much goods to the West via this road. For example， Chinese silk cloth and goods， gunpowder， and paper making and printing techniques.

This road， in return， introduced into China Buddhism and Islam as well as grapes， walnuts， pomegranates， cucumbers， glass， perfume and other products from the outside world. Because Chinas silk reached the West along this road， European scholars came to call it the “Silk Road”.

絲綢之路的歷史可以追溯到公元前二世紀。當時一名中國使者——張騫，他沿著這條連接亞歐兩大洲的貿易通道出使西域（西方國家）。

這條通道源于長安城（今日的西安），一路穿越陜西省、甘肅省境內的河西走廊、新疆的塔里木盆地、帕米爾山區、阿富汗、伊朗以及敘利亞，最后抵達地中海東岸，全程七千公里，其中四千多公里的路段位于中國境內。

15世紀前的一千多年里，中國通過這條通道把絲織品、火藥、造紙術和印刷術等傳到了西域各國。

同時，這條通道也從國外給我們引進了佛教、伊斯蘭教，以及葡萄、核桃、石榴、黃瓜、玻璃、香水等產品。因為中國的絲綢是沿著這條道進入西方國家的，所以歐洲學者將此道稱作“絲綢之路”。