economy: Asia and the Pacific cording to the government’s Confucian philosophy, and lowering taxes gave millions of Chinese the chance to improve their lives by investing money left over after paying taxes and purchasing their basic needs This investing of money allowed people to pull their cash to develop business ventures jointly, which enabled those who could not have done so in the past to engage in trade with the world outside China This expansion of the Chinese economy had an effect on its neighbors, especially Japan The merchants of the Han Dynasty pioneered sea routes, venturing along Asia’s east coast; Chinese pottery was in especially high demand in the emerging civilizations to the south To Japan, Han merchants brought silk, rice, iron, and bronze By 200 c.e the Japanese had become trading partners with China, exporting a high grade of silk coveted by Chinese merchants Chinese copper coins became the only accepted money in Japan, aiding Japan’s slow development toward a cash economy In exchange for copper coins sent by China’s emperor, Japanese rulers sent back tribute Foreign tribute was a complicated business in China; nearby foreign governments were often happy to give it to China because the Chinese government gave them valuable prestige by formally recognizing them Furthermore, the Han custom was to send gifts back to those who sent tribute, sometimes of greater value than the original tribute These gifts not only showed off China’s economic prosperity but also encouraged local rulers to open their lands to Chinese traders This began the great age of the Silk Road SILK ROAD During the early Han Dynasty in northern China a nomadic tribe called the Xiongnu constantly conducted raids The Xiongnu drove another tribe, the Yuezhi, westward and settled on China’s main trade route to central Asia In about 138 b.c.e the Chinese emissary Zhang Qian was sent to sneak through Xiongnu territory to fi nd the Yuezhi and form an alliance against the Xiongnu He failed in this, but he returned to China in 126 b.c.e with information about territories to the west He also brought back grapevines and alfalfa Trading through central Asia was an important way to keep China’s economy growing and healthy, by providing markets for Chinese goods Furthermore, consumers in China were demanding foreign goods, putting pressure on the government to make trade routes secure Using Zhang Qian’s information, the Hans attacked the Xiongnu and drove them into central Asia They continued into central Asia, where the local kingdoms were forced to agree to pay tribute to the Chinese emperor This secured China’s access to the Silk Road, which was actually several different routes that began in the city of Chang’an (now called Xi’an) in western China These routes went through Persia to the city of Baghdad; from there the routes went to Syria and then to Mediterranean ports from which Chinese goods were shipped to southern Europe and North Africa An important alternative route went down 357 the Indus River and then westward by sea The first major Chinese caravan reached Persia in 106 b.c.e China imported wine, which was very popular, from the Near East and Europe Foods imported from the west included figs and cucumbers, as well as sesame and safflower oils, which were used in cooking Roman technology went east as well, including an improved potter’s wheel for the manufacturing of ceramics China exported peaches, apricots, ginger, and basil China also exported silk cloth, which was held in high value; the Chinese carefully guarded the secret of the making of silk Chinese merchants brought home piles of Roman coins, and Roman leaders worried that all their gold was going to China and India Under the Han Dynasty ordinary Chinese prospered as they had never done before Not only could peasants and the working poor afford metal pots and pans for their cooking, they could also purchase a varied diet of foods Wheat and barley cakes became common Peaches, plums, melons, onions, turnips, yams, and beans were part of the everyday diet Spices such as basil and ginger were used in everyday cooking The middle class of merchants, craftspeople, and shop owners could afford to add meat, especially pork and chicken, to their everyday diets On the Korean peninsula in 108 b.c.e., to boost China’s economy by making trade with Southeast Asia more efficient, the Han government established four trading cities that served as ports for commerce from Southeast Asia, as well as from Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia The governors of the cities kept records of who came and went, taking special note of tribute that was being sent to the emperor By about 300 c.e the Koreans and Japanese were imitating Chinese customs and adopting the Chinese diet THE HARAPPANS The other great economic power of eastern Asia was India Unlike China, which had a unified national identity for most of its development, India saw the rise and fall of many kingdoms The first Indian civilization was the Harappan of about 2600–1500 b.c.e It built cities and towns in the Indus valley and surrounding areas, northward into modern southwestern China, eastward beyond New Delhi, and west and south along the coast from the mouth of the Indus River The Harappans’ main crop was rice, probably grown on dry ground rather than in rice paddies, and they built irrigation canals to bring water to their crops Their major cities were Harappa and Mohenjo Daro, both of which seem to have been designed from the ground up, with each city laid out in a checkerboard pattern of streets and having underground sewers that were accessible through manholes Each city had a huge granary Some archaeologists characterize the granaries as banks, where the wealth of the local community was stored In hard economic times Harappans could make withdrawals from these banks, thus enabling the population to feed itself The wealth the grain represented also could be invested This most often