Question

Why was the decline of the Silk Road as important as its growth?

Answer 1

Answer:

The tread on the road declined sharply till in the 13th century,when the conquests of the Mongols ushered in an era of frequent and extended contacts between East and West...

With less cost,harassment and danger,many goods and materials that the Silk Road could not transfer were conveyed through the sea route.

Answer 2

Answer:

Explanation:

The speed of the sea transportation, the possibility to carry more goods, relative cheapness of transportation resulted in the decline of the Silk Road in the end of the 15th century. ... During the civil war in China the destroyed Silk Road once again played its big role in the history of China.

Established when the Han Dynasty in China officially opened trade with the West in 130 B.C., the Silk Road routes remained in use until 1453 A.D., when the Ottoman Empire boycotted trade with China and closed them.

The main way of economy in feudal society of China was self-sufficiency with only a small amount of surplus products coming into the market. At the same time, influenced by the traditional Chinese thought, people often rejected the advanced technique and process as the odd skill or the sorcery.

China's feudal society was in a long period of relative stagnation, and the change was very slow. The law of the economic development of China's feudal society caused the commodity to be unable to circulate on a large scale. The flow of goods shrank again and again and made the scale of silk production reduced. This, to a large extent, determined the decline of the northwest land silk road.

Moreover, China's ancient foreign trade was more for political purposes, not for profit. Even during the fall of the Qing dynasty, the ruler’s attitude to foreign trade was still "to receive foreign gifts without paying a heavy price is a disgrace". Such foreign trade had blindness and arbitrariness. Foreign countries were more interested in acquiring profit. They pretended to be ambassadors walking on the silk road and swindled a great deal of wealth. Such a trade gap made it difficult for the ruler to support and had to reduce or close the business of foreign trade.