Hi, I’m
Johnny! I’ll be
your guide for
the day!
I know you have all gone
through an exercise on
the Silk Road. Allow me
just to summarize your
journey….
The Silk Road
• is the longest ancient caravan route that
linked China in the East with Europe in the
West
• Over 8,000 km in all
• How did it come about? It was largely
thanks to Zhang Qian whose adventures
you have already read and share among
yourselves!
Unfortunately, the Silk Route was sometimes
unsafe for travel
You have also found that out through
Nanivandak!
Remember him? The merchant from
Samarkand?
There are other dangers ……
You know me?
Do I look familiar? I’m Skully!
My XXX-files will tell you there are more
dangers than that which meets the eye
Beware of the dangers of the Silk Road…
Because of these dangers, people started
searching for an alternative route
Thus came the founding of the sea route
The ancient sea routes refers to a network of
sea routes that linked the East with the West
15,000 km in all
Have a look at the map on pg 84
Southeast Asia was a good stopover for
ships
Your teacher will explain more
Over to you, sir ……..
Hmm… I
also don’t
know why?
Good morning
#@$%#$%# ….. I was not quite prepared
for this “arrowcation of task”!
Ermmmmm …… can anyone enlighten us on
why Southeast Asia was a good stopover for
ships?
Wah… Ah
Huay’s
making me
look really
bad!
Right, Ah Huay!
SEA lies on the crossroads between
India and China
Makes it a good stopover for ships
It is also the meeting place of the
monsoons
Can anyone tell me what’s so great
about the monsoons?
Lucky there’s
Ah Lian to
redeem me!
Er…no…Ah Lian…Monsoons are not the
female counterparts of Monsters!!
Right, Ah Ter! Ships sail with the help of the
monsoons
Ships from India stopped over in SE Asia
with the help of the southwest monsoons
and then sailed on to China
The northeast monsoons guided ships from
China to SE Asia and on to India
Let’s have a look at contacts established
between India and the rest of the world!
Psssst! Skully! India is really nice
But I really need the loo now!
And I don’t know which Indian sign says
“LOO”!
While he’s at his business, let’s return to
ours
You wanna know more from the XXX-files?
Let’s look at the Indian traders from the
Indus Valley
They traded with the Geeks …. Sorry, I
mean Greeks …. during the …… eh … the ...
Hey Mader! What’s that
period called?
#@#%^$% cannot find any loo….. AND
who’s calling me MOTHER again?
For the last time, it’s Mulda!!! MUL-DA!!
And it’s the Mauryan period ….. You Greek!
….I mean GEEK!!!
Ah so! And in time to come, they also acted
as middlemen between the Roman Empire
and China
They traded in silk, spices and precious
metals along the Silk Route
And do you remember Asoka?
You looking for
me?
I do, I do! I remember Asoka.
Some of the travel also occurred during
Asoka’s time. To spread Buddhism, he sent
missionaries around India,
namely Tibet, China, Myanmar, Indonesia,
Sri Lanka and even to Greece where the
Geeks… I mean… Greeks are!
The result was that Buddhism thrived
outside India
By the 1st century A.D., traders and pilgrims
from India used the sea route to come to SE
Asia
They contributed to the rise of Indianised
kingdoms such as Funan and Srivijaya
Some Indian traders also continued on their
sea voyage to China
Hey Mader! Let’s go over to
China now!
Many Chinese pilgrims travelled to India to
learn about Buddhism
399 A.D. Faxian, a Buddhist monk from
China, wrote that on his way to India, he
went through some dangerous terrain
Faxian studied at many Buddhist
monasteries in India
He returned to China after 15 years
Imagine…15 long years! I’d be a
grandmother in 15 years’ time!
You’ll be dead in 15 years’ time.
Mother! Mother! One day I’ll strangle that
woman! She’ll be dead in 15 minutes then!
Oh well… another pilgrim who visited India
was Xuanzang in 630A.D.
Wanna see the route they took?
Xuanzang lived through many adventures in
his travels, including a murder attempt
He visited many Buddhist holy places and
collected many Buddhist scriptures
It was said that he needed 20 horses to
carry them back
On his return in 645 A.D., he was greeted by
Emperor Taizong
Xuanzang spent the rest of his life
translating the scriptures and writing an
account of his travels
HEY, Skully (snigger…
a name!) over to you!
what
What did you say? You don’t like my name,
MADER??
Men! Ignore that Mader!
Now, support from emperors who
commissioned the voyages also helped
explorers
The third Ming emperor, Yongle (A.D. 14031425) wanted places outside China to know
of her military might
He commissioned Admiral Zheng He to carry
out a huge programme of sea exploration
Listen to the Admiral yourself!
I am Admiral Zheng He.
Between 1405 and 1433, I made 7 sea voyages
to places like Thailand, Malaya, Java and India.
I travelled as far as the east coast of Africa.
Thank Shang-ti that I didn’t fall off the edge of
the earth!
My visit was one of the factors which led to the
rise of the Melaka Sultanate. Good old Para Wara
(my pet name for Parameswara!) owes me one
for that!
That name sounds familiar, kid? Where do you
think Aaron Kok got his inspiration from? Did I get
his name right?
He was inspired by our victory dance, of course –
the one Para Wara did with me!
I had as many as 50 ships and 30,000 men
in my fleet – Big, right?
Mine was the largest fleet in the world at
that time
My ships had masts and were constructed
with water-tight compartments
There were rudders for steering too
Finally, let’s look at contacts established with
Southeast Asia!
In the 15th century, the Europeans
found it more difficult to travel freely
along the Silk Road
They had to buy eastern goods from
the Muslim middlemen
They felt that this wasn’t a very ideal
situation and decided to find a new
route to the East
Vasco De Gama, a Portugese,
discovered a sea route around Africa
and the Indian Ocean to India in 1498
Er…no…Ah Lian… he didn’t fall off the edge
of the earth!
This new sea route was linked up with the
ancient sea route to the Far East
With this discovery, the Europeans stopped
using the Silk Road
As a result, the Silk Road lost its importance
for trade
Let’s have a look at the route – you can find
the map on page 88
Today, the sea routes still serve as
highways for transportation of goods
between East and West
But now, the goods are carried in
giant tankers and container ships
It is now faster to travel from China to
Europe
In the past, this would have taken
many months
What were some of the results of trade?
Firstly, there was an increase in products
available
Then there was the exchange of ideas
Finally, there was the spread of religion and
culture
Increase in Products
Through trade, many products were made
available to people in the East and West
Exchange of goods from different regions
was also made possible
China : Silk and porcelain
West : Precious stones and ivory
SE Asia : Spices and sandalwood
India : Cotton, glassware and precious
stones
Exchange of Ideas
From India : language, the arts, religion,
medicine and mathematics
From China : 4 important inventions – paper,
printing, compass, gunpowder
From the Middle East : Culture
Spread of Religion and
Culture
Buddhism and Hindusim made their way
from India to SE Asia and China
Islam spread to SE Asia from the Middle East
Well, that just about wraps up the whole
chapter
Let me just irritate someone one more time.
Hey Mader, are you ready
to go?