The Silk Road was an international trade route that connected Han China to the Mediterranean region. It was a source for cross-civilization contact and exchange, allowing for the flow and movement of people, goods, and ideas. Although this positively helped shape Han China by bringing in goods and new technology, diseases and cultural changes that traveled along the Silk Road eventually took its toll and led to China’s downfall.
One of the things that the Silk Road provided was a source for economic trade between empires. The Silk Road allowed for the exchange of goods with the West, bringing into China fruits, rare animals, spices, clover, jewelry, tea, as well as medicine. New technology and ideas were also introduced to China such as karez, music, dance, acrobats, and different forms of arts from West Asia. European travelers brought back from China, printing techniques, gunpowder, silk, as well as paper.
Cultural exchange was another important factor that associated with the Silk Road. Buddhism, which originated in India, was brought to Han China through the Silk Road in the first century C.E.. At the time, Han China was experiencing a period of political instability and disunity. The introduction of Buddhism into the region greatly threatened and influenced the cultural unity of China and the society as a whole. Although many people grew fond of the teachings and ideas of Buddhism, others were in contradiction of it. As people were being exposed to the newly introduced religion, former values and traditions were no longer prioritized or as great of in importance. Buddhism, as some scholars believed, was not in conformity with old Chinese traditions and prevented people from seeing the truth. During this period of chaos in Han China, people converted to Buddhism and this greatly affected China’s unity. Beliefs and ideas that associated with Buddhism such as bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism embedded itself into Chinese culture for many years to come. Because China’s cultural unity was impacted and threatened by the spread of Buddhism, it can be interpreted and concluded that the spread Buddhism was one of the many factors that impacted China’s stability and in turn, contributed to China’s decline.
Although many positive influences flowed and incorporated its way into China through the Silk Road, there were many downsides to the road’s use as well. Disease was a main cause of the Han Dynasty’s collapse. During the time, the Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death, began to work its way throughout Asia and into Europe. The plague, believed to have started in Central Asia, spread to China through the exchange of people traveling on the Silk Road. The plague, which was carried by rats, infested China and killed millions of people living there. Small pox, measles, and the Bubonic Plague took its devastating toll on the population as well as the strength and solidity of the empire as a whole. Epidemics and the decline in China’s population had economic and social effects within the empire and was one of the many factors that led to the collapse of Han China.