1.  

2.  During the Han dynasty, only the Chinese knew how to
make silk.
 Desired luxury item
 Roads linking China to Eurasian were built to trade silk
 One of the first global trading networks

4.  Cities sprouted up around the trail.
 Goods leaving China: silk, paper, jade, pottery
 Goods coming to China: sesame seeds, oil, metals,
precious stones, Central Asian horses

5.  Silk Roads also brought ideas
and customs to and from China
(cultural diffusion)
 During the Han dynasty,
Buddhist missionaries from
India brought Buddhism to
China
 Buddhism gained many
followers after the fall of the
Han. Why?