Prof. Dr. Thomas O. Hillmann - China and the Silk Road

Culture and history from the early imperial period to the present

Since ancient times, the Silk Road, which connects East Asia with the Mediterranean, has been used by envoys, traders, missionaries and adventurers. It is the epitome of early globalization. Thomas O. Höllmann looks at the legendary route network from China. He tells how people traveled and how goods and ideas were passed on this way. Archaeological evidence, historical sources, captivating travel descriptions and true-to-life poems help sinologists to report which goods arrived in China and how, which religions were adopted there and which key technologies, such as paper and printing, conquered the world from China. And with China’s “New Silk Road,” Höllmann analyzes a topic that concerns us today.

Thomas O. Höllmann comes from Eggenfelden. He is a sinologist and ethnologist and was a professor at the University of Munich until 2017. Since then he has been President of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences. He was a visiting professor in Beijing, Canberra and Oxford, among others. His research focus is the cultural history of China. Numerous book publications, including works on the culture and literature of ancient China and a cultural history of Chinese cuisine. The book “China and the Silk Road” was published in 2022.