Silk route beginnings.

Abstract This chapter is comprised of eleven subsections that narrate the early stages of the silk trade in Central Asia. The subchapters include the Ancient Steppe routes, horses and the balance of power in Central Asia, the expansion of China, the Chinese struggle with Mighty Xiongnu, adventures of Zhang Qian, Han Chinese taking control of their borderlands, the silk route map, the engines of the silk routes, the merchants of the silk routes, cultural diffusion along the silk routes, and lastly, postscript - discovery of the Buddhist cave complexes.