In certain villages in Yongchang County， Gansu Province you may come across a group of inhabitants that stands out from other locals. They have deep-set green eyes， defined noses， fair hair and olive skin. Their villages are also in the so-called fish-scale formation habitually used by Roman troops in ancient times.Historical records show that some of the captured soldiers from the Western Regions through the Silk Road settled in Gansu Province.
Ancient Romans were not the only group that migrated via the Silk Road， however. During the Tang Dynasty， large numbers of Arabs and Persians migrated and settled in China. Trade zones were set up in Chang’an especially for these foreign merchants， who conducted such businesses as jewelry stores and pharmacies.
As the Song Dynasty encouraged the development of trade with foreign merchants， numbers of those from Central and West Asia continued to swell. Consequently hundreds of thousands of Arab and Persian merchants settled in China’s eastern coastal cities at that time.
People also carried out reverse migrations via the Silk Road. For instance， during the Tang Dynasty Turkic people living in Greater Hinggan Range in Northeast China split into two groups. One pledged allegiance to the Tang government； the other moved westward and eventually reached the Asia Minor Peninsula.
The Huns have a similar history. Some surrendered to the Eastern Han Dynasty， and others migrated along the Silk Road to the north bank of the Black Sea in the 4th century. The Uygur ethnic group originally established a khanate. One of its branches later crossed over Congling and entered Central Asia.
评论列表 ( 0 )