How have the diverse cultures of Eurasia impacted the manufacture, trade, and consumption of silk? Has silk been primarily a sign of power, corruption, or holiness? Why? Has the silk trade connected Eurasian peoples in a meaningful way or have differing attitudes towards silk and differing interpretations of silk’s importance divided as much as connected cultures?
Compose an essay response to one or more of the above questions. Your response should be at least 300 words in length. Be sure to draw upon facts from “The Silk Trade” in Trading Tastes. In particular it is important to include analysis of historical documents from the end of the chapter including, “Silk in the Roman World”, “A Chinese Buddhist Pilgrim Along the Silk Road”, The Fourteenth-century Road to China” and “Two Silken Artifacts”.
