Chapter 20 Of The Silk Road Chapter Summary

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China has a long and rich culture and has achieved many great things, but they have also embarked on some darker paths. Chapter twenty of the Silk Road discusses some of these events in China’s history, and it describes some of the present day results of these events. The chapter describes the opening of China and how tourism, trade, diplomatic relations, especially those like Tibet that have been in turmoil under Chinese occupation, have shaped China into the country it is today. There are many people who think tourism causes harm to cultures, the environment, and contributes to the spread of diseases. However, for many people tourism is the only way they can travel to new areas. This is because tourist visas are very easy to get compared…show more content…
There were now many independent republics that had their own borders and laws that they would have to deal with. However, China decided to pursue its policy of reform and opening. This “boosted the liberalization of trade and particularly of cross-border trade, on all its frontiers, giving much more autonomy to the provinces and regions in their direct links with their neighbors.” In short, after a brief hesitation, China realized they needed to work with these republics and make deals with them to open up commerce and trade with them. This allowed them to privatize their economy and set up a “socialists market economy.” This focus on increasing their economy was a means to control remote foreign regions of Chinese control, such as Tibet. Chinese power is barely tolerated in Tibet because their economic development has been neglected and their standard of living is far worse than that of China. It is because of unfair treatment like this that “Tibet has been resisting Chinese control continually for forty…show more content…
The Silk Road was only deemed possible with the help of Emperor Han Wudi and Zheng Qian. Without the Emperors desire to explore beyond China and to find allies to battle against the Xiongnu, and exploration westward never would have happened as early as it did. Zheng Qian was the Emperors explorer who was able to find allies and bring surrounding nations together to not only fight the Xiongnu influence, but to expand trade between countries. However, when China closes itself off from the surrounding world that is when we see problems happening in and around China. This is when negative influences, such as the occupation of Tibet and other areas, set in. If they can find a balance of good endeavors and try to stay away from endeavors that harm surrounding nations, then they would be far better off, at least morally. All countries, not only China, could benefit from this
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