Exploring the Silk Roads in London<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n China and the Silk Roads<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n (last updated 10.04.2026)<\/p>\n Where do the Silk Roads begin, where do they end? Who \u201cinvented\u201c them, and when?<\/p>\n It is a vast subject and entire Books are dedicated to answering these big questions. Currently, two exhibitions in London are focusing on the topic.<\/p>\n This text offers an introduction of the Silk Roads by examining both exhibitions and by exploring different perspectives on the concept.<\/p>\n The ancient network of trade routes called \u201cSilk Road(s)\u201c is a rather modern invention. German geographer and explorer Ferdinand von Richthofen (a nephew of the famed ‚Red Baron‘) is commonly credited with having coined the term in 1877. However, a fellow German geographer, Carl Ritter, had already mentioned the term in 1838.<\/p>\n Von Richthofen, who spent years in China and Central Asia, published several volumes based on his research. According to Prof. Waugh from the University of Washington, von Richthofen was aware of the limitations of his concept of the Silk Roads as \u201cHauptstrassen<\/em>\u201c (main roads) from East to West.<\/p>\n [Von Richthofen] applies it, sparingly, only to the Han period, in discussing the relationship between political expansion and trade on the one hand and geographical knowledge on the other. The term refers in the first instance to a very specific east-west overland route defined by a single source, even though he recognizes that at that time there were other routes in various directions (pp. 459-462) and at least to some extent appreciates that silk was not the only product carried along them. (Silk Roads Newsletter<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n In the decades since, modern archeology has greatly expanded our understanding of these networks, providing us with evidence that human activity along these routes was far more diverse and much older. This exchange of goods and ideas is considered as an early form of globalisation – as ancient, perhaps, as human migration itself.<\/p>\n Despite these findings, von Richthofen\u2019s limited definition of the ancient trade routes still resonates today.<\/p>\n About one decade ago, China\u2019s leadership revived the Silk Roads, including an updated nationalist origin story. The official starting point of this new Chinese narrative was in 2013, when President Xi Jinping announced the \u201cSilk Road Economic Belt\u201d and the \u201c21st Century Maritime Silk Road\u201d.<\/p>\n These \u201cNew Silk Roads\u201c have become known as \u201cOne Belt One Road\u201c (OBOR) and the \u201cBelt and Road Initiative\u201c (BRI). Eleven years later, the BRI aims to be all-encompassing: On land and on water, in space, in the digital realm as well as in sectors such as health. More on this further below.<\/p>\n Within this historical and contemporary context, two exhibitions in London are enlightening visitors about life along the ancient Silk Roads. Both shows aim at offering fresh perspectives on the Silk Roads instead of looking at them as a mostly one-directional trade route from East to West.<\/p>\n The first exhibition, A Silk Road Oasis: Life in Ancient Dunhuang<\/em> is on display at the British Library. The second, simply titled Silk Roads,<\/em> is at the British Museum. Both exhibitions focus on the years from 500 AD to 1000 AD, a period characterised by the spread of religions, ideas and commodities across Afro-Eurasia.<\/p>\n Indian Buddhism became popular in large parts of Asia. Islam was a new and powerful force rapidly gaining followers in the Arab world and beyond. Nestorians carried Christianity deep into Central and East Asia. The kingdom of Aksum, in modern-day Ethiopia, controlled the important waterways of the Red Sea connecting the Indian Ocean and Mediterranean. Civilisation blossomed in Tang China. While Europe, after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, went through \u201cthe Dark Ages\u201c.<\/p>\n Both exhibitions have received a lot of praise, with Silk Roads<\/em> having received some criticism as well. <\/span><\/p>\n According to the <\/span>Guardian<\/span><\/em>, the Silk Roads<\/em> exhibition is one that turns world history \u201cupside down\u201c. <\/span>T<\/span>he <\/span>Financial Times<\/span><\/em> praises the cooperation of \u201cseveral core curators, rather than a lead specialist assisted by colleagues in the same field\u201c as<\/span> a novelty<\/span>. Peter Frankopan, author of the bestseller \u201cThe Silk Roads\u201c, describes it as a \u201conce-in-a-lifetime show.\u201c<\/span><\/p>\n The interactions and military competition between peoples such as the T\u00fcrks and the Uyghurs, who also feature prominently here, were central to global history: some 85 per cent of large empires formed over the course of more than 3,000 years developed in or close to the Eurasian steppe. (Telegraph<\/a>)<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n Then there is William Dalrymple, renowned Scottish historian and expert on India who \u201cabsolutely loved\u201c the A Silk Road Oasis: Life in Ancient Dunhuang<\/em> at the British Library. The Silk Roads<\/em> exhibition at the British Museum? Not so much.<\/p>\n Mr. Dalrymple could not help but notice that there were only East-West maps on display at the British Library, emphasising that \u201cyou can\u2019t understand Dunhuang unless you understand Buddhism coming out of [India].\u201c<\/p>\n A Silk Road Oasis: Life in Ancient Dunhuang<\/em> showcases treasures from the edge of the Gobi desert in today’s Xinjiang province, China. Dunhuang was once an important stop for merchants, pilgrims and envoys alike. Their journeys could stretch as far as Constantinople in the West, Japan in the East, Scandinavia in the North or India in the South. Carrying with them and exchanging precious goods, ideas, religious beliefs and new technologies.<\/p>\n The relics discovered in the nearby Buddhist cave complex of Mogao offer valuable glimpses into our common past. The exhibition presents manuscripts, artwork and documents found inside the Library Cave, built in the 9th Century during the Tang Dynasty. Before being rediscovered accidentally by a monk in 1900, the Library Cave had remained sealed for almost 900 years.<\/p>\n Highlights of the British Library\u2019s exhibition:<\/p>\n If you\u2019re interested in exploring the Dunhuang caves further, the \u201cDunhuang Caves on the Silk Road\u201d project and the International Dunhuang Programme are two excellent websites offering resources (links below).<\/p>\n Crossing deserts, mountains, rivers and seas, the Silk Roads tell a story of connection between cultures and continents, centuries before the formation of the globalised world we know today. (Silk Roads – British Museum)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n This view is once again challenged by Mr. Dalrymple, who criticises the Silk Roads<\/em>\u00a0as \u201cmisleading\u201c and \u201cconceptually narrow.“ Its major fault being the \u201clack of any real consideration of India\u201c even though it was the largest trading partner of the Roman Empire.<\/p>\n He supports this with two main arguments. First, sea travel was superior to land routes because of the monsoon winds. Second, the lack of \u201cany free movement of goods between China and the West at any point before the Mongol period in the thirteenth century.\u201d<\/p>\n In his new book \u201cThe Golden Circle\u201d Mr. Dalrymple argues that the notion of the so-called Silk Road, an overland route linking China with the Mediterranean from East to West, is a myth. Like other critical voices he sees the root of this myth in the late 19th century. Today, this myth was nurtured by a \u201cSino-centric reframing of history.\u201d The book\u2019s publication around the time of the two exhibitions\u2019 openings was either a funny coincidence or good strategic marketing.<\/p>\n The role (or lack) of the \u201cIndosphere“ and its influence is exemplary for discussions relating to questions of how inclusive or exclusive the Silk Roads had been in the past and their interpretations today.<\/p>\n Your author had the chance to visit the Silk Roads<\/em> special exhibition at the British Museum in London and found enough room for both praise and criticism.<\/p>\n Once inside the dimly lit gallery, the journey with about 300 objects arranged along 15 trading hubs begins.<\/strong> In contrast to the noisy hustle and bustle of the main halls, there is a pleasant and almost devout silence inside the small gallery space.<\/p>\n An installation projected to a wall by the entrance sets the conceptual framework. Dots and lines highlight that this was not simply a one-directional route from East to West, but rather an interconnected network spanning across Afro-Eurasia. Not just one main overland route bringing silk from East to West, but many routes on land and on water.<\/p>\n One of the first objects to marvel at is a small seated Buddha statue that intends to underline this understanding of the Silk Roads. This beautifully crafted piece of copper was probably made around AD 500-600 in the Swat valley, Pakistan. It was excavated in a medieval settlement on a Swedish Island.<\/p>\n The gallery space is packed with mesmerizing treasures. Like a Sogdian wall painting from the ancient palace of Afrasiab in modern Uzbekistan, on loan from the Samarkand State Museum. The scenes in the \u201cHall of Ambassadors\u201d originally covered four walls, depicting the multi-directional and cultural diversity of the times.<\/p>\n [W]hat is clear is that the pictorial program was meant to represent the reach and power of the ruler of the most important Sogdian city-state\u2014ironically, on the eve of the Arab incursions into Sogdiana. (National Museum of Asian Art<\/a>)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Another masterpiece is this 1533 manuscript of the original map by al-Idrisi from 1154. The map depicts the known world, with Mecca in the centre of medieval Arabic geography.<\/p>\n These are just three examples of many found along the routes from Korea to England. You can explore the exhibition and more of its highlights, like the world\u2019s oldest group of chess pieces, on the British Museum\u2019s website.<\/p>\nIntroducing the Silk Roads<\/h2>\n
From Ferdinand von Richthofen to Xi Jinping<\/h3>\n
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Exploring the Silk Roads from 500 AD to 1000 AD<\/h3>\n
Silk Roads exhibitions in London – praise and criticism<\/h3>\n
\u201cA Silk Road Oasis: Life in Ancient Dunhuang\u201c at the British Library<\/h3>\n
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\u201cSilk Roads\u201d at the British Museum<\/h3>\n
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500 years and 300 objects in about 90 minutes<\/h3>\n
From East Asia to Western Europe<\/h3>\n
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