丝绸之路对古代中国商业和冲突的影响

　　PhilosopherThomasHobbesonceproposedthatMenarebynatureselfishandgreedy。Itistruethatmostpeoplealwayswantmoreinlife，itisveryhardforhumanstobesatisfied。ThisideacanbeseenpresenteveninancienttimesaroundtheestablishmentoftheSilkRoadtrade，itcanbeextrapolatedfromtheSelectionsfromtheHanNarrativeHistories（Hanhistoriesforshort）HanhistoriesthatconflictandcommercesurroundingtheXiongnuandChinawerechangedbytheirinteractionsthroughtheestablishmentoftheSilkRoad。
　　WhiletheSilkRoadopeneduptraderoutesacrossEurasiaandintroduceddifferentstatestodifferenttypeofgoodsuniquetotheirstatesinproduction，itsestablishmentlikelyboughtChinaintoconflictwiththeXiongnu。TheHandynastyisconsideredtobethestartoftheemploymentoftheSilkRoad。Whileanexactdatehasyettobeconfirmed，LatermentionsofSilkastributepaidtotheXiongnuaspartofapeacetreatybetweenthetwostateswouldfurthersupportthatSilkRoadtradewerelikelyunderwayaroundthetimestheXiongnufirstattackedChina。
　　TheinitialconflictsbetweenHanChinaandtheXiongnucreateddifferentincentivesandstrategiesforconquests。WhileChinaisnotunfamiliarwithconflictbeforetheestablishmentoftheSilkRoad，theyhadnotdealtwiththeXiongnuwhoinvadedtoonlystealgoodsandresourcesfromChina。ItwasonlyafterChinanegotiatedwiththeXiongnuandbegantosendthemtributeonaregularbasisthatforatimetherewasacessationofMaoutun（LeaderoftheXiongnu）sincursions。。。。InteractionsbetweenChinaandtheXiongnuopenedwaysforfutureformsofconquests。ThepowershowcasedbymenonhorsebackswassomethingtheChinesehadneverencounteredbefore，asevidentwhenChinainitiallythoughtthattheywouldbeabletodominatetheXiongnusimplybasedontheirstrengthinnumbers。TheXiongnualsoattackedChinathroughsmallincursionsinsteadoftakingtheentiretyoftheChinesearmyheadon，relyingonunpredictabilityandspeedtoconductraidsagainstChinesesettlements。ItcanalsobeinferredthatChinaatthetimehavenotbeenexposedtomanystrategiesofthesekinds。Chinasentitssoldiersintoatrapwithoutevenconsideringthatasapossibility。DefeatatthehandsoftheXiongnuactuallyelevatedtheabilitiesoftheChinesemilitaryastheywereabletolearnfromtheirmistakes。
　　AstheXiongnumainlyinvadedforChinesegoodsandcommodities，theuseoftributesandgiftsdevelopedtobeformorethansimplycommerce。ItwasstatedbyChunghingYuethatThepresentationofsilksandgrainfromtheHantotheHsiungnuismerelyacleverdevicetoestimatetheirnumbers。ThisisanexampleoftheChineseusingtributeinpartasamilitarystrategyinordertodeterminewhethertheyshouldstaypeacefulwiththeXiongnuorattempttodrivethemoutandsecuremoreterritoryforChina。Bycallingthesegiftstributes，Chinacouldalsoportraythemselvesmorepowerfullyintheeyesoftheircitizens，astributesismoretactfulwayofadmittingthattheXiongnuaresuperiortothemintermsofmilitarycapabilities。TradebetweenHanChinaandtheXiongnualsomarksthebeginningoftributeintheformofpeopleofhighsocialstatus，namelyprincesses。SuchpracticeswouldbeundertakenbyotherstateswheninteractingwithChina，anindicatorthatsuchactsbecamecustomary。However，thehumantributessentcouldalsobeseenashostages，soastopreventanreignitionofconflictandwarbetweenthestates。ChinawantedfortheXiongnutobecomedependentofitsmarkets，peopleandgoodssotheXiongnucanbeassimilated。Theusageofgoodswasaimedtoyieldmorethansimplycommerce，theywerealsoburdenedwiththetasksofsecuringforeignrelationsasSilkbecameincreasinglypopularthroughoutEurasia。SincetheestablishmentoftheSilkRoadandChineseXiongnuinteractionstheuseofcommoditiesinthecountrieshavegainedmultiplelayersofusesnotapartoftheirinitialdesign。
　　Inconclusion，itcanbeextrapolatedthattheestablishmentoftheSilkRoadhadafundamentaleffectonshapingtheformsofconflictandcommerceknowninmodernsociety。ThewaysinwhichthenomadiccultureoftheXiongnuandsedentarycommunityofHanChinainteractedallowedforthecrossingofideas，culture，andgoodswhichbecameprevalentthroughout。ItwouldvebeeninterestingtoseeifsuchinteractionsstillwouldvehappenedornotiftheSilkroadwasneverestablished。Nonetheless，theseinteractionswereirreplaceableintheeffectstheyhadonbothstates，andeventuallytherestofthecontinenttothosewouldbecomeinfluencedbysuchidealsinthefuture。
　　葉东辰
　　年龄：17岁
　　就读学校：广州美国人国际学校（AISG）
　　年级：12年级
　　2018年7月16日，对历史毫无兴趣甚至感到烦倦的我参加了特优生夏校提供的《一带一路》研究课程。当初发现这个课程也是机缘巧合，我是听说学这门课对大学申请效益很大才选的，开始上课后才发现讲的是丝绸之路而且跟一带一路毫无关联。起初我是抱着漠不关心的心态开始这个研究的，没想到我在进行研究的同时对它产生了兴趣。
　　进行这个研究之前不管是美史还是世界历史都无法提起我的兴趣，层出不穷的人名和日期则背得我头脑发麻。可是自从我开始为这篇论文做研究后，我就发现事情并没有我想象中那么单调。客观来讲，历史可能确实没有现代电影或动漫有趣，然而现在人们创造出来的故事往往是通过改编历史间接创作的。而跟我这次的研究主题更有关，现代社会的制度与政策法规也是建立在过去的基础之上的。写到这，其实我只是想提醒读者朋友们：若你仔细观察历史，它可能会有一些你意想不到的细节。