After the rise of the Xiongnu during the Warring States period, there were Eastern Hu in the east and the Yue clan in the west, and the Xiongnu were subject to two sides and the Xiongnu even gave their sons to the Yue clan as hostages.

During the primitive social and matrilineal communal periods, humans formed different groups and engaged in activities in different regions, thus creating various civilizations. Due to the limitation of activity ability, people from different groups have very few opportunities to contact each other, and the information of cultural transmission is fragile, so they have to be in the Paleolithic era, which used coarse stone tools for millions of years.

Since the eighteenth century, the United Kingdom has maintained its position as the primary importer of Chinese tea in Europe, and later, with the addition of the United States, this continued for one to two hundred years. In the early eighteenth century, the British East India Company sold less than 50,000 pounds of tea annually. However, by the end of the century, the company's annual tea sales had surged to nearly 20 million pounds, marking a staggering 400-fold increase within that (...) century. Throughout this period, the industrial cities and coastal regions of the United Kingdom, encompassing even the impoverished population, adopted tea consumption. (shrink)

In the late Qing Dynasty, China’s shipping industry was controlled by the Western powers which had a catastrophic influence on China’s foreign trade and economic development. The world shipping industry underwent revolutionary changes after the introduction of steamships in ocean shipping.

In June 1402, the Emperor of Ming, Zhu Di, ascended the throne in Nanjing and decided to utilize the substantial royal treasury as a foundation for active state-sponsored trade.

In the twelfth century, Mongolian nomadic tribes emerged in northern China, and world history underwent tremendous changes. In 1206, Temuchin (1162–1227) of the Borjigin clan unified the Mongolian grasslands and was elected as the Mongolian Great Khan, respectfully known as Genghis Khan, meaning “Heavenly Gifted Khan.”.

Western missionaries needed to study the classical Chinese texts, known as the Four Books and Five Classics, to adapt to Chinese society and understand it. The earliest translation of the Four Books into Latin and sent back to Italy was done by Matteo Ricci in 1593. In 1626, a Belgian missionary named Nicolas Trigault translated the Five Classics into Latin, and they were printed in Hangzhou, making it the earliest published Western translation of Chinese classics.

Paper is one of the greatest inventions in China, ranking alongside woodblock printing, the compass, and gunpowder as the Four Great Inventions of China. The invention and widespread application of paper have significantly advanced the development of world culture and produced an immeasurable and tremendous impact on human society.

This book starts from the very beginning of the cultural exchanges between China and the western regions, to the exchanges in modern times, featuring large time span and interdisciplinarity. In addition to elaborate illustrations including precious pictures and sketch maps, a large amount of archaeological data, as well as both Chinese and foreign literature, are employed in the book to provide the readers with a comprehensive, in-depth and systematic introduction of the cultural exchanges between China and the west regions from (...) neolithic age to present China after Reform and Opening Up. The intended readership includes professionals, college students, graduates specializing in Chinese history, philosophy and culture, as well as those interested in oriental civilizations. (shrink)

In 1453, the Ottoman Turks conquered the Byzantine Empire, and the Ottoman Empire occupied Western Asia, annexed Egypt and North Africa, and controlled the routes from the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Black Sea to the Mediterranean. They imposed significant taxes on merchants from various countries passing these routes.