Organize the Evidence for Thinking through Sources 7

The following exercises provide an opportunity to use the sources collectively to respond to a guiding question.

Guiding Question

What evidence do these sources provide about the kinds of interaction that the Silk Roads generated among culturally different peoples and the outcomes of those encounters?

Instructions

Below are four topics that might find a place in organizing an essay responding to the guiding question. This exercise asks you to identify which sources would provide relevant evidence for that topic. Select the best answers for each question. Choose ALL that apply.

Click the “submit” button for each question to turn in your work.

  1. Question 7.31

    Which sources provide evidence on trade along the Silk Roads? Choose ALL that apply.
    A. Source 7.1: Dangers and Assistance on the Silk Roads
    B. Source 7.2: Advice for Merchants
    C. Source 7.3: Stopping at a Caravanserai
    D. Source 7.4: Buddhism on the Silk Roads
    E. Source 7.5: Christianity on the Silk Roads
    F. Source 7.6: Letters from the Silk Roads
    Correct: Source 7.1: This source casts light on the dangers of trading along the Silk Roads. Source 7.2: This source offers advice to Western merchants planning trading trips along the Silk Roads to China. Source 7.3: This source provides evidence concerning the infrastructure used by merchants at stopping points along the Silk Roads. Source 7.6: In the letters from the Silk Roads, Miwnay and Shayn were the abandoned wife and daughter of a trader from Central Asia living in China. Source 7.4: This source focuses on Buddhist communities, offering no direct evidence on trade along the Silk Roads. Source 7.5: This source offers no information concerning trade along the Silk Roads.
    Incorrect: Source 7.1: This source casts light on the dangers of trading along the Silk Roads. Source 7.2: This source offers advice to Western merchants planning trading trips along the Silk Roads to China. Source 7.3: This source provides evidence concerning the infrastructure used by merchants at stopping points along the Silk Roads. Source 7.6: In the letters from the Silk Roads, Miwnay and Shayn were the abandoned wife and daughter of a trader from Central Asia living in China. Source 7.4: This source focuses on Buddhist communities, offering no direct evidence on trade along the Silk Roads. Source 7.5: This source offers no information concerning trade along the Silk Roads.
  2. Question 7.32

    Which sources provide evidence on religious communities or practices along the Silk Roads? Choose ALL that apply.
    A. Source 7.1: Dangers and Assistance on the Silk Roads
    B. Source 7.2: Advice for Merchants
    C. Source 7.3: Stopping at a Caravanserai
    D. Source 7.4: Buddhism on the Silk Roads
    E. Source 7.5: Christianity on the Silk Roads
    F. Source 7.6: Letters from the Silk Roads
    Correct: Source 7.1: This source calls on travelers to seek the aid of the bodhisattva Guanyin when in danger. Source 7.4: This source (both documents) describes Buddhist foundations and culture along the Silk Roads. Source 7.5: This source provides evidence concerning Christianity in China. Source 7.6: This source refers to a local priest who has offered charity to Miwnay and also promised a camel to help her return home. Source 7.2: This source makes no reference to religion. Source 7.3: This source provides no direct evidence of religious communities or practices.
    Incorrect: Source 7.1: This source calls on travelers to seek the aid of the bodhisattva Guanyin when in danger. Source 7.4: This source (both documents) describes Buddhist foundations and culture along the Silk Roads. Source 7.5: This source provides evidence concerning Christianity in China. Source 7.6: This source refers to a local priest who has offered charity to Miwnay and also promised a camel to help her return home. Source 7.2: This source makes no reference to religion. Source 7.3: This source provides no direct evidence of religious communities or practices.
  3. Question 7.33

    Which sources provide evidence on the hardships incurred by those traveling the Silk Roads? Choose ALL that apply.
    A. Source 7.1: Dangers and Assistance on the Silk Roads
    B. Source 7.2: Advice for Merchants
    C. Source 7.3: Stopping at a Caravanserai
    D. Source 7.4: Buddhism on the Silk Roads
    E. Source 7.5: Christianity on the Silk Roads
    F. Source 7.6: Letters from the Silk Roads
    Correct: Source 7.1: this image depicts merchants being robbed or extorted. Source 7.2: While noting that travel on the Silk Roads was safe, Pegolotti also identifies a number of dangers for foreign travelers, including the seizure of their goods. Source 7.3: This source includes the depiction of an ill traveler receiving treatment. Source 7.6: these letters depict the hardships suffered by families living apart along the Silk Roads. Source 7.4: these sources focus on Buddhist communities. Faxian, the only traveler, suffers no hardships during his stay at Khotan. Source 7.5: This source is a primarily spiritual document.
    Incorrect: Source 7.1: this image depicts merchants being robbed or extorted. Source 7.2: While noting that travel on the Silk Roads was safe, Pegolotti also identifies a number of dangers for foreign travelers, including the seizure of their goods. Source 7.3: This source includes the depiction of an ill traveler receiving treatment. Source 7.6: these letters depict the hardships suffered by families living apart along the Silk Roads. Source 7.4: these sources focus on Buddhist communities. Faxian, the only traveler, suffers no hardships during his stay at Khotan. Source 7.5: This source is a primarily spiritual document.
  4. Question 7.34

    Which sources cast light on the states of the region or the state’s role in supporting trade? Choose ALL that apply.
    A. Source 7.1: Dangers and Assistance on the Silk Roads
    B. Source 7.2: Advice for Merchants
    C. Source 7.3: Stopping at a Caravanserai
    D. Source 7.4: Buddhism on the Silk Roads
    E. Source 7.5: Christianity on the Silk Roads
    F. Source 7.6: Letters from the Silk Roads
    Correct: Source 7.1: While the bandits may be border guards employed by the state, this source reveals the absence of state-based order in the region. Source 7.2: This source offers evidence on a number of states and especially on how the Chinese government regulated trade. Source 7.3: This source depicts a stop along the caravan routes like those sponsored and protected by states. Source 7.4: The first document reveals the state’s role in regulating a Buddhist monastery, while the second one casts light on state support for Buddhism in Khotan. Source 7.6: Xuan’s letter casts light on Chinese efforts to police the Silk Roads, while Miwnay and Shayn’s letter reveals that the Chinese authorities could force members of households into servitude to pay off debts. Source 7.5: While some Chinese authorities tolerated and even recognized Christianity, this source focuses on the life and teaching of Jesus, not the state’s role in the spread of Christianity.
    Incorrect: Source 7.1: While the bandits may be border guards employed by the state, this source reveals the absence of state-based order in the region. Source 7.2: This source offers evidence on a number of states and especially on how the Chinese government regulated trade. Source 7.3: This source depicts a stop along the caravan routes like those sponsored and protected by states. Source 7.4: The first document reveals the state’s role in regulating a Buddhist monastery, while the second one casts light on state support for Buddhism in Khotan. Source 7.6: Xuan’s letter casts light on Chinese efforts to police the Silk Roads, while Miwnay and Shayn’s letter reveals that the Chinese authorities could force members of households into servitude to pay off debts. Source 7.5: While some Chinese authorities tolerated and even recognized Christianity, this source focuses on the life and teaching of Jesus, not the state’s role in the spread of Christianity.