Author(s)

Boyang Zhang ¹

Affiliation(s)

¹ Chonnam National University, Gwangju, Korea

Corresponding Author

Boyang Zhang

ABSTRACT

The Silk Road, as an important ancient route connecting the East and the West, served not only as a major artery of commerce but also as a geographic conduit for cultural transmission, civilizational encounters, and integration. The regions along the Silk Road, including Central and Western Asia, became the stage for exchanges and fusion among Chinese, Indian, Persian, Arabic, and ancient Greek civilizations. The transnational spread of religions in antiquity represented a key form of regional cultural expansion beyond their local cultural spheres, as well as an expression of the soft power of their respective regimes. The political environment and the intentions of ruling elites were among the decisive factors that determined whether interactions among civilizations would lead to conflict and opposition or to convergence and synthesis. This paper focuses on the transmission of religions along the Silk Road, exploring the role of imperial authority in the dissemination of culture within ancient regional units.

KEYWORDS

Silk Road; Imperial Power; Religious Transmission

CITE THIS PAPER

Boyang Zhang, The Influence of Imperial Power on the Introduction of Religions via the Silk Road. Journal of Sociology and Ethnology (2025) Vol. 7: 103-111. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/jsoce.2025.070413.

REFERENCES

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[3] Lee J T. James A. Millward. Eurasian Crossroads: A History. New York: Columbia University Press, 2022. 494: 179-181.
[4] Pei Ju. Biography of Pei Ju. In Book of Sui, vol. 67 (p. 1597). Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company, 1973.
[5] Wu Ze. Selected Historical Works of Chen Yuan, Shanghai: Shanghai People's Publishing House, 1981: 84-85.

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