Foreign Devils on the Silk Road: The Search for the Lost Cities and Treasures of Chinese Central Asia

The Silk Road, which linked imperial Rome and distant China, was once the greatest thoroughfare on earth. Along it traveled precious cargoes of silk, gold and ivory, as well as revolutionary new ideas. Its oasis towns blossomed into thriving centers of Buddhist art and learning. In time it began to decline. The traffic slowed, the merchants left and finally its towns vanished beneath the desert sands to be forgotten for a thousand years; however, legends grew up of lost cities filled with treasures and guarded by demons. In the early years of the last century foreign explorers began to investigate these legends, and very soon an international race began for the art treasures of the Silk Road. Huge wall paintings, sculptures and priceless manuscripts were carried away, literally by the ton, and are today scattered through the museums of a dozen countries. Peter Hopkirk tells the story of the intrepid men who, at great personal risk, led these long-range archaeological raids, incurring the undying wrath of the Chinese.

Author: Peter Hopkirk
Publisher: University of Massachusetts Press
Published: 01/30/1984
Pages: 282
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.81lbs
Size: 8.51h x 5.43w x 0.86d
ISBN13: 9780870234354
ISBN10: 0870234358
BISAC Categories:
- History | Asia | China
- History | Africa | General
- Social Science | Ethnic Studies | Asian Studies

About the Author
For five years Chief Reporter of the London Times, Peter Hopkirk now specializes in Middle Eastern and Asiatic affairs, He has traveled widely throughout the world during his twenty-seven years as a reporter and foreign correspondent.