Central Asian Geography: The Oasis Zone
Headwaters of Alagou River in Tianshan Mountains
River at Shengjinkou, Turfan
1. How does Hansen define the Silk Road? (p. 5-6) How is her definition similar or different from Golden and Whitfield?
2a. What historical sources does Hansen propose to use to study the Silk Road?
Why does she think that premodern documents are important? What does she mean when she says, “Nothing is more valuable than information extracted from trash because no one has edited it in any way” (p. 5)? Do you agree with her?
2b. What is the value of the modern travelers’ accounts, such as Blackmore in 1993 and Sven Hedin in 1895 (documents 1 and 2)?
What was travel through the Taklamakan Desert like? Would most premodern travelers have taken these types of cross-desert routes?
3. According to Golden, the steppe and oasis zones are interdependent. He quotes the medieval Turks’ saying “A Turk is never without a Persian [Tat], just as” a head is never without a hat? (p. 18)
Does Hansen seem to consider the steppe zone to be an important component of the oasis zone? (She briefly mentions Pazyryk on p. 13)
What does she view as the most important external power?
