Hong Kong Young Writers Anthologies Non-Fiction 2018 | Page 29

The Journey Begins
Immaculate Heart of Mary College, Lee, Tsz Long - 13
I
t was all like a dream when I got on the train to Sichuan to start my new adventure last year. It was
hard to believe that what I had learnt is school was right in front of me. I went on a trip which
impressed me with the magnificent treasures hidden in our Chinese history.
Having some knowledge of Chinese trading in the past, I was excited to know more when I got off the
train. Sichuan was one of the main spots for Chinese to do their trading with other countries. In order to
make it done, they had the famous pathway, The Silk Road, as their way to see the brave new world.
In the ancient time, during the Han Dynasty, the emissary, Zhang Qian, was sent by the emperor to the
west to negotiate with the Yuezhi people for help in defeating the Xiongnu, and that induced the birth of
The Silk Road. The Silk Road was a trade route that covers many places and links up China with the new
world like Eastern Europe. It covers the northern borders of China, India, and Persia and Eastern Europe,
that is Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea in the modern world. From the name, "The Silk Road", it is easy
for us to understand the road is mainly for the trading of luxury goods like silk. Once the world had seen
such a fine material for clothing and beddings, silk was welcomed by almost everyone in the east, as well as
the west.
Chinese' journey to the west did not stop at the time when Zhang Qian visited other countries. With the
help of the Silk Roads, the journey to the west encouraged trading and exporting products to other parts of
the world. Teas, salt, sugar, spices and porcelain are the common stuffs in the Silk Road. Other goods like
cotton, ivory, wool, gold, and silver were also on the list of trading between China and the west.
The silk trade was welcomed and promoted by the Han Dynasty which ruled from 206 BC to 220 AD.
Later, the Yuan Dynasty increased the silk trade even more, as they were used to receiving silk rolls as gifts
from China before to convince them not to attack the borders before they reigned in power.
To help ZhangQian with his brave journey, the Chinese emperor put into a lot of money and effort to
secure his way to the west. In 1 BC, 30,000 rolls of silk and 370 items of clothing were given to Xinognu
for getting more peace at the border.
Trading with the west or outsiders required lots of courage and effort. The Silk Road had even helped
Chinese to start their trading with Romans, though the distance between ancient Rome and ancient China
was about 4,000 miles by land, however the distance could not hinder the business between them. In order
to buy the silk from Chinese, Romans in return, offered us with their precious gold and gems which could
not be found in China.
The Silk Roads had fulfilled the dream of Chinese and the west. People no longer were limited to see and
to possess their local products anymore. It was a way to the west and to the world, and this provided our
ancestors with a new horizon of knowing more about the outside world which was once remained rather
mysterious and legendary to them.
Journey to the west is not just the title of the famous novel in China, and our ancestors were eager to see the
world of new technology and interesting items. The Silk Road never only existed in the ancient world, but
it is a monument of victory over the extreme weather and human limitations of our ancestors.
Learning from the experience and strength of our ancestors, it seems that our modern China has another
way round to do their trading. The up-to-dated and sophisticated logistic network in China is essential for
promoting trading inside the country, and it also links up the Chinese speaking world in Asia. Trading with
other countries started to grow since the 1980s under the opening policy of Deng Xiaoping, and it helped
the world to see the new China after the closed market during Cultural Revolution.
China, a country with more than five thousand years of history, always learn from the world, and we should
learn from our ancestors to take a brave journey to the west to see and the experience the entire new world,
while we are also telling the world that the spirits of our fearless ancestors live on in this very new era.
While people from other countries are taking their journey to the east to learn from our cultures and
costumes which they find exotic and mysterious to them.
Chinese should be proud of their trading development nowadays and they have a comprehensive network
to link up almost every province with the outside world. Online trading is now very common inside and
outside China which enables Chinese people to buy the products they wish for from other countries.
Chinese students also join in this global world. Many Chinese students choose to study in the west like in
the United Kingdom and the United States of America. They then go back China to work after their
graduation. They are very much like our ancestors who are brave to see the new world and develop our
own countries with their precious experience and visions.