Tea at Trianon: How Did the Han and Tang Dynasties Help Establish the Silk Road?

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Wednesday, November 12, 2025

How Did the Han and Tang Dynasties Help Establish the Silk Road?

From The Collector:

The Silk Road was a web of trade routes that spanned from about 138 BCE to around 1453 CE that enabled the flow of trade items and cultures between North Africa, parts of the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. First established by China’s Han dynasty and later revived by the Tang dynasty, it is widely referred to as the first artery of global exchange because of the influence it had on Eastern and Western cultural, economic, and governance systems.
The Han Dynasty led by Emperor Wu initially established the Silk Road as it sought to trade with regions in the West. Unfortunately, it faced constant threats from nomadic tribes. To overcome the problem, Wu sought to engage in diplomacy and extensive military campaigns. And so he dispatched an envoy, Zhang Qian, to forge alliances against the formidable Xiongnu confederation of nomadic groups that hindered the expansion of the trade routes. In 138 BCE, the Han envoy Zhang Qian undertook a mission to the Western Regions that provided invaluable intelligence. His first mission is considered to be the initial foundation of the Silk Road.
On his second mission in 119 BCE, he established the first diplomatic ties with kingdoms such as Wusun through the exchange of items such as gold and silk. Soon, the Han Dynasty’s military was able to advance into the Hexi Corridor and Tarim Basin, creating the security needed for trade to flourish. This was achieved through major military attacks that defeated the Xiongnu and pushed them from the Hexi Corridor. The corridor harbored a key route that connected China to the Western Regions. Military bases were set up along the route to secure it. (Read more.)