An exciting and richly detailed new history of the Silk Road that tells how it became more important as a route for diplomacy than for tradeThe King-s Road offers a new interpretation of the history of the Silk Road, emphasizing its importance as a diplomatic route, rather than a commercial one. Tracing the arduous journeys of diplomatic envoys, Xin Wen presents a rich social history of long-distance travel that played out in deserts, post stations, palaces, and polo fields. The book tells the story of the everyday lives of diplomatic travelers on the Silk Road-what they ate and drank, the gifts they carried, and the animals that accompanied them-and how they navigated a complex web of geographic, cultural, and linguistic boundaries. It also describes the risks and dangers envoys faced along the way-from financial catastrophe to robbery and murder. Using documents unearthed from the famous Dunhuang -library cave- in Western China, The King-s Road paints a detailed picture of the intric
