Between the Maritime Silkroad crossing the Bay of Bengal towards China and Japan, and the landroute crossing Central Asia towards Xinjiang and eventually Chang’an, large parts of Asia are tied into a large international Trade system. But what about the landlocked areas of Southeast Asia and Himalayas? This course will look at the Tea-Horse Road, famous for bringing Chinese Tea in exchange for Indian Horses in the 18/19th century, but very much older and linking the countries in the Western Himalayas with South East Asia.
25 April Brahmaputra, Irawaddy, Salween and Mekong – 4 rivers that connect
2 May Prehistory and the Brahmaputra Valley
9 May The spread of Tantric Buddhism and the role of Tibet as a link between SE Asia and Xinjiang and Gansu
16 May Dai Viet and the Mekong Route from Southern China
23 May Laos and the North of Burma and Thailand
30 May Halfterm (no lecture)
6 June Burma, Sukhotai and Ayotthaya The links between the Tea Horse Road and the Maritime Silkroad
Please note all lectures will be recorded and distributed to the participants at the beginning of the next week. This should allow participants from different time zones, or those working catching up with the lectures.
