Many goods were exchanged along the Silk Road, including both silk from China and glassware from Rome. In addition to new products, ideas and knowledge were exchanged. ... One of the most important examples of cultural diffusion was the introduction of Buddhism to China.
Silk Road, also called Silk Route, ancient trade route, linking China with the West, that carried goods and ideas between the two great civilizations of Rome and China. Silk went westward, and wools, gold, and silver went east. China also received Nestorian Christianity and Buddhism (from India) via the Silk Road.
The Silk Road of ancient China is an example of cultural diffusion <em><u>occurring at a result of a trade.</u></em> Although the route began in about 138 B.C. as a means for China to export silk fabric -- a rare and valuable commodity -- trade along the Silk Road greatly promoted the exchange of products, ideas and practices between Oriental and Western civilizations.
Chinese immigrants first flocked to the United States in the 1850s, eager to escape the economic chaos in China and to try their luck at the California gold rush. When the Gold Rush ended, Chinese Americans were considered cheap labor.
