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The King’s Road

Diplomacy and the Remaking of the Silk Road
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Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2023

About this book

An exciting and richly detailed new history of the Silk Road that tells how it became more important as a route for diplomacy than for trade

The King’s Road offers a new interpretation of the history of the Silk Road, emphasizing its importance as a diplomatic route, rather than a commercial one. Tracing the arduous journeys of diplomatic envoys, Xin Wen presents a rich social history of long-distance travel that played out in deserts, post stations, palaces, and polo fields. The book tells the story of the everyday lives of diplomatic travelers on the Silk Road—what they ate and drank, the gifts they carried, and the animals that accompanied them—and how they navigated a complex web of geographic, cultural, and linguistic boundaries. It also describes the risks and dangers envoys faced along the way—from financial catastrophe to robbery and murder.

Using documents unearthed from the famous Dunhuang “library cave” in Western China, The King’s Road paints a detailed picture of the intricate network of trans-Eurasian transportation and communication routes that was established between 850 and 1000 CE. By exploring the motivations of the kings who dispatched envoys along the Silk Road and describing the transformative social and economic effects of their journeys, the book reveals the inner workings of an interstate network distinct from the Sino-centric “tributary” system.

In shifting the narrative of the Silk Road from the transport of commodities to the exchange of diplomatic gifts and personnel, The King’s Road puts the history of Eastern Eurasia in a new light.

Author / Editor information

Xin Wen is assistant professor of East Asian studies and history at Princeton University.

Reviews

"Though scholars have studied the collection for more than a hundred years, Xin Wen is the first one offering a cohesive story of the role of Dunhuang in mission exchanges between oasis kingdoms during the post-Tang and pre-Mongolian period. . . . Xin Wen’s textual research is so thorough that archaeologists could refer to this erudite study of literary sources to interpret material culture, especially when they encounter unrecognized items in their often-astonishing discoveries."---Xinru Liu, Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies --- "Packed with fascinating information that is otherwise difficult to come by, [The King's Road] offers a comprehensive reinterpretation of political and economic dynamics in Eastern Eurasia during a crucial and arguably understudied part of medieval history. As such, it constitutes an important and highly original contribution to the growing body of historical literature on premodern Central Asia."---Lothar von Falkenhausen, Journal of Chinese Studies --- "A brilliant synthesis of rich new source material and analytical precision for an ill-defined field that is in desperate need of an interpretive overhaul."---Justin M. Jacobs, Crossroads --- "A compelling exploration of public and cultural diplomacy. . . . [The King's Road] provides a unique and invaluable perspective on the cultural history of medieval Eurasia."---Catalin-Stefan Popa, Al-Masāq --- "Xin Wen’s The King’s Road offers a convincing corrective to both Silk Road and ‘tributary system’ concepts as applied to medieval China—or, in his useful geographic terminology, Eastern Eurasia."---James A. Millward, Journal of Chinese History --- "Wen successfully reconstructs a lively world of diplomatic travelers on the Silk Road between 850 and 1000. . . . Comprehensive in coverage and meticulously researched, The King’s Road is a long-awaited addition to the study of Dunhuang documents and the social lives along the Silk Road."---Hang Lin, Acta Via Serica --- "A refreshingly new interpretation of the route through the lens of diplomacy centered in Dunhuang." --- "A remarkably in-depth analysis of an important topic that has previously received little attention. . . . To the field of Asian Studies, this book is a highly valuable and insightful new contribution."---Graham Squires, World History Encyclopedia --- "Illuminating."---Peter Gordon, Asian Review of Books --- "Winner of the Joseph Levenson Pre-1900 Book Prize, Association for Asian Studies" --- "Winner of the Keimyung Silk Road Award, Academia Via Serica" --- "Winner of the James Henry Breasted Prize, American Historical Association"

Topics

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    Frontmatter

    i
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    Contents

    vii
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    Acknowledgments

    ix
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    Introduction: A Song of Diplomacy on the Silk Road

    1
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  • Part I Travelers
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    1 An Archive for an Age of Kings

    19
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    2 People

    39
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    3 Things

    63
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  • Part II Traveling
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    4 Facing the Road

    97
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    5 Praising the Host

    126
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    6 Exchanging Gifts

    150
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    7 Switching Languages

    170
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  • Part III The King’s Road
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    8 The Economics of Diplomacy

    201
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    9 The Kingly Exchange

    226
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    10 The Politics of the Road

    261
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    Conclusion

    285
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    Notes

    303
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    Bibliography

    347
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    Index

    373
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    A note on the type

    391
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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
January 18, 2023
eBook ISBN:
9780691243207
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
View content
https://doi.org/10.1515/9780691243207
eBook ISBN: 9780691243207
Keywords for this book
Silk Road; Dunhuang; Khotan; the Hexi Corridor; diplomacy; the Tributary System; Tang Dynasty; Song Dynasty; kingship; envoys; China; Central Asia; Chinese History
Audience(s) for this book
For a non-specialist adult audience
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