Map of the Silk Road
1 media/Object 4 richthofen map of central asia_thumb.jpg 2021-04-09T14:56:27-07:00 Curtis Fletcher 3225f3b99ebb95ebd811595627293f68f680673e 39023 2 From F. von Richthofen (1877), China: Ergebnisse eigener Reisen und darauf gegründeter Studien. Band 1, Einleitender Theil [China: Expedition results and studies based thereupon. Volume 1, Introductory Part]. Berlin: Verlag von Dietrich Reimer. plain 2021-04-09T14:56:47-07:00 UCLA Library Special Collection Curtis Fletcher 3225f3b99ebb95ebd811595627293f68f680673eThis page is referenced by:
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Map of the Silk Road
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The Silk Road was one of the most important networks of transport and trade routes in world history. German geographer Baron Ferdinand von Richthofen (1833–1905) charted these routes in great detail as seen most clearly in this comprehensive map of the Silk Road, which was first published in 1877 as a fold-out map in the first of five volumes on the history and geography of China that he authored. In retrospect, Richthofen was the first modern geographer to combine insights from European cartography with information from Chinese sources to study world geography. The visual representation of the Silk Road, called die Seidentrasse, captures Richthofen’s groundbreaking approach with two sets of lines to delineate the cross-continental routes connecting East and West. According to the map’s legend, the red lines and names are based on classical works by Ptolemy and Marinus, showing that the route begins in the Chinese capital city of Chang’an on the easternmost side of the map and continues through the southern part of the Tarim Basin and then the northern edges of the Iranian Highland before it is cut off the page. The blue lines, on the other hand, show information obtained from Chinese sources, in particular the History of the Former Han. Accordingly, the route from the Chinese standpoint begins near Shazhou (today’s Dunhuang) before bifurcating into two, with one running along the northern parts of the Tarim Basin and another through the middle of it. The two route continues westward in parallel of one another, with the one crossing through the Pamirs into the Ferghana Valley in the north and the other extending through the Karakoram Mountains into Pakistan in the south.
Richthofen was in many ways the perfect man for undertaking the task of mapping the Silk Road. From 1868 to 1872, he conducted fieldwork in China as part of a geological survey that was intended to generate scientific data for a group of European and American businesses interested in building railroads across China [1]. Although he did not travel to Xinjiang, he did devote attention to that region in his study. Analyzing the political situation of Xinjiang during the time of the Silk Road map’s creation might yield insights into the geopolitical context of Richthofen’s work. 1864 saw an uprising led by the Khoqandi general Yaqub Beg revolting against the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911) in China. Beg eventually moved his armies into a defensive position in the Tarim Basin and governed the land as an independent state for several years. The Russian empire swooped in and conquered several of the remaining khanates which also contributed to the politically challenging atmosphere of the time. British troops heading north from India similarly sought dominance in Central Asia in the Xinjiang region which created even more political turmoil. The ensuing power struggle between the British and Russian empires came to be known as “The Great Game.” The Qing, Russian, British, and locally-based forces converged in this area when Richthofen’s illustration emerged, which subsequently impacted how later generations depicted the Silk Road routes in maps.
The historical importance of different cities along the Silk Road also impacted how Richthofen illustrated this network of trade routes in 1877. As noted above, the route westward from the Chinese standpoint began in Dunhuang. Every cartographer needed to include this city at the forefront of any representation of the Silk Road, Richthofen’s map being no exception. The History of the Former Han Dynasty that the German geographer relied on for his map records that the Chinese established a commandery in Dunhuang in 111 BCE as part of a military strategy against their nomadic rival, the Xiongnu. Although Richthofen did not know about the remarkable cache of ancient manuscripts and artifacts from the Library Cave at Mogao Caves that came to light in 1900, he followed the Chinese sources by recognizing Dunhuang’s geographical and historical importance. At the crossroads between the Taklamakan and Gobi Deserts, it is located near the split between northern and southern routes through the Tarim Basin. As such, Dunhuang culture had influences from travelers of numerous persuasions. Documents from seemingly every corner of Euraisa found themselves in this cave and in turn, probably along the entire Silk Road. This information reveals not only that physical items were passed along these trade routes, but also that the cultural exchange precipitated by these merchants had a significant impact on this region’s history.
Richthofen’s map held deeper significance for other scholarly works that emerged after his time. His student, the Swedish geographer Sven Hedin (1865–1952), further popularized the Silk Road through his own explorations and writings in which he followed Richthofen’s lead by further grounding the concept in geological science and utilizing historical knowledge of the region to navigate geopolitics of his time [2]. Hedin’s account of the Silk Road helped frame it as a metaphor of East-West exchange that still resonates with us today.
-Kevin Tinsley
[1] Justin M. Jacobs, “The Concept of the Silk Road in the 19th and 20th Centuries,” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Asian History, 2020. DOI: 10.1093/acrefore/9780190277727.013.164.
[2] Tamara Chin, “The Invention of the Silk Road, 1877,” Critical Inquiry 40, no. 1 (Autumn 2013), 214–217.
