International trade with Chinese ceramics began in the 8th century AD, mostly via the maritime Silk Road. The very popular light-green monochrome Celadon, which was conceived as an imitation of jade, was exported from the 10th century onwards. Due to the influence of Arab merchants, who preferred the more flamboyant Blue-and-White ware, the fabrication of this more recent type of porcelain increased significantly, whereas the trade with Celadon diminished.
The Chinese harbour city Quanzhou which was a strategic juncture at the mouth of the Jin River and at the centre of several sea routes became an important centre for trade during the Tang dynasty. Due to advantageous political and economic conditions, the city developed rapidly in the course of the following centuries. The importance of Quanzhou and abundance of goods in the city were admired by famous travellers such as the Italian Marco Polo and the Moroccan Ibn Battuta.
At the margins of the main Silk routes, numerous secondary routes equally contributed to the exchange of goods and works of art and the diffusion of languages, religions and cultural influences. Thus, several routes through the Himalaya connected India and China after the rise of the Kushan Empire in the 1st century AD. The route running through Nubra Valley in the Ladakh district saw the passage of several Western explorers, and it remained open until the middle of the 20th century.
The trade relations which developed between Portugal and China from the 16th century onwards led to the mutual exchange of knowledge as well as artistic and political influences. New foods and technologies were introduced in both countries. The city of Macau, with its architectural mix of Eastern and Western elements, is one striking example of the encounter between these two cultures.
With the rise of the Han Dynasty in China, the Silk trade between China and countries as far away as Iran flourished. However, silk was by no means the only merchandise that was traded between China and the West. The merchants, who were envied, esteemed and despised, led dangerous nomadic lives. Their caravans were often joined by missionaries, and merchants played a crucial role in favouring cultural exchange and the propagation of religions.
Sri Lanka was a popular stopover for merchants on their journeys between East and West. From the first centuries AD onwards, the island established constant and peaceful cultural, religious and economic relations with the Chinese Empire, and it was described in various accounts by Chinese travellers. In the fifteenth century, the political relations between Sri Lanka and China deteriorated temporarily due to a clash between the king of the island and the Chinese traveller Cheng Ho.
A North-South trade route existed in Asia long before the East-West Silk Road appeared: many Chinese items such as mirrors and pieces of silk fabric were found in tombs in Southern Siberia. The Indus River also allowed the existence of a route from China –where the powerful Shule kingdom was located– to India and Pakistan. There are evidences that objects found in Thailand and Japan, such as coins and ornamental plates, were influenced by Chinese and Central Asian handicrafts as well.
The Great Silk Road is a system of caravan routes of ancient times and in the Middle Ages which connected Asia with the Mediterranean and European world. These routes highly influenced the development of trade interactions and cultural ties between the West and the East. The Silk Road served not only as route for exporting goods such as silk, spices, precious metals, minerals handicrafts, architecture and paintings but also transmitted cultural exchange including theatric performance, dance and music art.
Contrary to common the thesis, G. Sultonova argues that in the 16th and early 17th centuries trade relations between Bukhara and Yarkend khanates did not lose their importance despite long periods of political instability in the region. It was the stabilization of political situation in both states that increasingly consolidated these relations. In turn, this process contributed to the development of trade relations not only within the limits of the Central Asian region but also between the countries of the East and West.
Coins from contiguous states came into the Central Asian and Eastern Chinese Turkestan regions alongside the Silk Road together with diplomatic missions and trade caravans. These coinage locations, issuers’ identification and the date of emission provide crucial information for concerning the history of the Silk Road in regions of modern Kyrgyzstan.
