The Silk Road

The Silk Road PDF Author: Tim Winter
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197605052
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 281

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Book Description
"Evocative and enigmatic, the Silk Road occupies a unique place in contemporary culture and international affairs. Across the world, it has captured the imagination as a story of camel caravans crossing desert and mountain, of precious goods moving between East and West, and of ideas, religions and technologies migrating across land and sea. As China seeks to "revive" the Silk Roads for the twenty-first century, this compelling, yet poorly understood, narrative of history now serves as a platform for building trade, diplomatic, infrastructure and geopolitical connections. "The Silk Road: Connecting Histories and Futures" is the first book to critically investigate the merits and problems of this fabled geocultural narrative of history, and map out the role it plays in international affairs. Four thematic sections trace its rise to global fame as a domain of scholarship and foreign policy, a celebration of peace and internationalism, and how it created dreams of exploration and grand adventure. China's Health Silk Road and civilizational politics are among the themes discussed that open up the Silk Roads as a space for critical enquiry"--

The Silk Road

The Silk Road PDF Author: Tim Winter
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0197605052
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 281

Get Book Here

Book Description
"Evocative and enigmatic, the Silk Road occupies a unique place in contemporary culture and international affairs. Across the world, it has captured the imagination as a story of camel caravans crossing desert and mountain, of precious goods moving between East and West, and of ideas, religions and technologies migrating across land and sea. As China seeks to "revive" the Silk Roads for the twenty-first century, this compelling, yet poorly understood, narrative of history now serves as a platform for building trade, diplomatic, infrastructure and geopolitical connections. "The Silk Road: Connecting Histories and Futures" is the first book to critically investigate the merits and problems of this fabled geocultural narrative of history, and map out the role it plays in international affairs. Four thematic sections trace its rise to global fame as a domain of scholarship and foreign policy, a celebration of peace and internationalism, and how it created dreams of exploration and grand adventure. China's Health Silk Road and civilizational politics are among the themes discussed that open up the Silk Roads as a space for critical enquiry"--

China Road

China Road PDF Author: Rob Gifford
Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN: 0812975243
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Book Description
Route 312 is the Chinese Route 66. It flows three thousand miles from east to west, passing through the factory towns of the coastal areas, through the rural heart of China, then up into the Gobi Desert, where it merges with the Old Silk Road. The highway witnesses every part of the social and economic revolution that is turning China upside down. In this utterly surprising and deeply personal book, acclaimed National Public Radio reporter Rob Gifford, a fluent Mandarin speaker, takes the dramatic journey along Route 312 from its start in the boomtown of Shanghai to its end on the border with Kazakhstan. Gifford reveals the rich mosaic of modern Chinese life in all its contradictions, as he poses the crucial questions that all of us are asking about China: Will it really be the next global superpower? Is it as solid and as powerful as it looks from the outside? And who are the ordinary Chinese people, to whom the twenty-first century is supposed to belong? Gifford is not alone on his journey. The largest migration in human history is taking place along highways such as Route 312, as tens of millions of people leave their homes in search of work. He sees signs of the booming urban economy everywhere, but he also uncovers many of the country’s frailties, and some of the deep-seated problems that could derail China’s rise. The whole compelling adventure is told through the cast of colorful characters Gifford meets: garrulous talk-show hosts and ambitious yuppies, impoverished peasants and tragic prostitutes, cell-phone salesmen, AIDS patients, and Tibetan monks. He rides with members of a Shanghai jeep club, hitchhikes across the Gobi desert, and sings karaoke with migrant workers at truck stops along the way. As he recounts his travels along Route 312, Rob Gifford gives a face to what has historically, for Westerners, been a faceless country and breathes life into a nation that is so often reduced to economic statistics. Finally, he sounds a warning that all is not well in the Chinese heartlands, that serious problems lie ahead, and that the future of the West has become inextricably linked with the fate of 1.3 billion Chinese people. “Informative, delightful, and powerfully moving . . . Rob Gifford’s acute powers of observation, his sense of humor and adventure, and his determination to explore the wrenching dilemmas of China’s explosive development open readers’ eyes and reward their minds.” –Robert A. Kapp, president, U.S.-China Business Council, 1994-2004

China's First Transgender: The Life and Times of Zhang Kesha

China's First Transgender: The Life and Times of Zhang Kesha PDF Author: Bruce Eastley
Publisher: Writers Republic LLC
ISBN:
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 104

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Book Description
At a very young age, Zhang Kesha could not relate to being a boy, having a preference for girls with their dolls as playmates. As he grew older, his clothing and appearances drew unwelcome attention, but the taunts and criticism failed to dampen his quest to attain full fledge womanhood. In 1983, he became she, but difficulties and dangers seemed to multiply. Seeking refuge in a number of locations, Kesha finally found her peace and tranquility with a new marriage and a full life in Sacramento, California.

Central Asia in 1993: When the Silk Road Reopened

Central Asia in 1993: When the Silk Road Reopened PDF Author: Richard Pomfret
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 1312791381
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description
On Christmas Day 1991 the Soviet Union disappeared, and five unprepared Central Asian republics became nation states. In December 1992 the author was seconded to the United Nations as an economic advisor to the five countries and to Azerbaijan and Mongolia, which were also in transition from central planning. This book tells the story of the following year in Central Asia. The Central Asian oases were key points on the silk road from China to West Asia and to Europe, until maritime explorers opened up sea routes that led to several centuries of decline in the region. Conquered by Russia in the nineteenth century and under Communism isolated from the world in the twentieth century, the early 1990s brought dramatic new challenges for the people in the midst of economic and political chaos. The rich history, Islamic traditions and uncertain future made 1993 an interesting year in Central Asia.

Song of the Silk Road

Song of the Silk Road PDF Author: Mingmei Yip
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
ISBN: 0758268165
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 369

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Book Description
In this richly imaginative novel, Mingmei Yip--author of Peach Blossom Pavilion and Petals From the Sky--follows one woman's daunting journey along China's fabled Silk Road. As a girl growing up in Hong Kong, Lily Lin was captivated by photographs of the desert--its long, lonely vistas and shifting sand dunes. Now living in New York, Lily is struggling to finish her graduate degree when she receives an astonishing offer. An aunt she never knew existed will pay Lily a huge sum to travel across China's desolate Taklamakan Desert--and carry out a series of tasks along the way. Intrigued, Lily accepts. Her assignments range from the dangerous to the bizarre. Lily must seduce a monk. She must scrape a piece of clay from the famous Terracotta Warriors, and climb the Mountains of Heaven to gather a rare herb. At Xian, her first stop, Lily meets Alex, a young American with whom she forms a powerful connection. And soon, she faces revelations that will redefine her past, her destiny, and the shocking truth behind her aunt's motivations. . . Powerful and eloquent, Song of the Silk Road is a captivating story of self-discovery, resonant with the mysteries of its haunting, exotic landscape.

Night Train to Turkistan

Night Train to Turkistan PDF Author: Stuart Stevens
Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press
ISBN: 9780871131904
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 254

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Book Description
The first account of travel in Chinese Turkistan, closed to foreigners since 1949, shows a world where bureaucratic hazards often loom larger than geographical ones. First serial to Esquire.

Unraveling on the Old Silk Road

Unraveling on the Old Silk Road PDF Author: Antonio Cammarata
Publisher: Jay Street Publishers
ISBN: 9781889534244
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 472

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Book Description


Himalayan Journeys Along the Ancient Silk Roads

Himalayan Journeys Along the Ancient Silk Roads PDF Author: Pamala Wayland
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN:
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
In choosing this manuscript, you are entering into the realm of adventure, travel, synchronicity, and enlightenment. It is a rich read with stories of high altitude adventures and deep cultural immersion. It is the story of my journeys that unfolded in the Himalayas and the Asian landscapes of the Silk Roads over decades of travel which sculpted a complex worldview. It offers a looking glass into a serpentine and deeply philosophical world filled with the textures, tastes, and splendor of the Asian continent. It is an opportunity to visit this part of our human heritage, to hold a gem in your hand. The text is lined with maps and gorgeous photos that place the far flung cultures of Asia in context where they live, where they have evolved with the philosophies and the exchange of ideas along the trade routes that have reshaped my own worldview. It is an account of what it is possible to learn when you travel with purpose, describing encounters with shamans, hermits, and wise people. The book refers to how synchronicities flow with ease when deeply engaged in the world and as I set foot on the Buddhist path to compassion, understanding, and awakening. As I criss-crossed the Silk Roads, I photographed the cultures that I was moving through and gathered an understanding of life as it is lived in indigenous sustainable cultures. The beauty, the pageantry and the symbolism I have explained in detail intending to impart an understanding of the ancient cultures that so richly offer us a path back to ourselves, back to our true nature. It is a beautiful read and has been described as, “Stunning and gorgeous writing.”

Empires of the Silk Road

Empires of the Silk Road PDF Author: Christopher I. Beckwith
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400829941
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 506

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Book Description
An epic account of the rise and fall of the Silk Road empires The first complete history of Central Eurasia from ancient times to the present day, Empires of the Silk Road represents a fundamental rethinking of the origins, history, and significance of this major world region. Christopher Beckwith describes the rise and fall of the great Central Eurasian empires, including those of the Scythians, Attila the Hun, the Turks and Tibetans, and Genghis Khan and the Mongols. In addition, he explains why the heartland of Central Eurasia led the world economically, scientifically, and artistically for many centuries despite invasions by Persians, Greeks, Arabs, Chinese, and others. In retelling the story of the Old World from the perspective of Central Eurasia, Beckwith provides a new understanding of the internal and external dynamics of the Central Eurasian states and shows how their people repeatedly revolutionized Eurasian civilization. Beckwith recounts the Indo-Europeans' migration out of Central Eurasia, their mixture with local peoples, and the resulting development of the Graeco-Roman, Persian, Indian, and Chinese civilizations; he details the basis for the thriving economy of premodern Central Eurasia, the economy's disintegration following the region's partition by the Chinese and Russians in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the damaging of Central Eurasian culture by Modernism; and he discusses the significance for world history of the partial reemergence of Central Eurasian nations after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Empires of the Silk Road places Central Eurasia within a world historical framework and demonstrates why the region is central to understanding the history of civilization.

Black Belt

Black Belt PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 130

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Book Description
The oldest and most respected martial arts title in the industry, this popular monthly magazine addresses the needs of martial artists of all levels by providing them with information about every style of self-defense in the world - including techniques and strategies. In addition, Black Belt produces and markets over 75 martial arts-oriented books and videos including many about the works of Bruce Lee, the best-known marital arts figure in the world.