by Fred Gipson
First published 1990
The great trade route connecting Imperial Rome to China has vanished beneath desert sands. During the T'ang Dynasty, merchants carried silk, gold, and ivory across this highway while ideas and art flowed between civilizations. When China lost its grip on the region, entire cities disappeared. Local stories spoke of riches hidden in the ruins. Nearly a millennium passed before archaeologists arrived to excavate these forgotten sites. They hauled away vast collections of paintings, sculptures, textiles, and manuscripts. Museums around the world now house these artifacts. Peter Hopkirk reconstructs this forgotten period of Chinese history by following the bold explorers who conducted these archaeological expeditions. He tracks what became of the treasures they extracted from the buried cities.
Genres: history, 20th-century, adventure, archaeology, non-fiction, asian-american
Vibes: atmospheric, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: exploration, lost-cities
Setting: China, Imperial Rome, T'ang Dynasty
Period: 1st Millennium AD, 20th Century
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