Silk and Religion: An Exploration of Material Life and the Thought of People, AD 600-1200

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This book is a fascinating study of the silk trade in Eurasia between the seventh and the twelfth centuries and explores how religious ideas and institutions affected economic behavior. The author delves into the complex web of economic, cultural, technological, and religious elements which transformed silk from being a status symbol, whose production and use were controlled by the state, both in Tang China and within the Byzantine empire, to being a freely traded commodity.

The author suggests that the changing religious concepts and institutions within the Buddhist, Christian, and Muslim worlds played a role in this transformation.

Readers interested in religion, trade, the history of textiles and its relationship with economic and philosophical matters will appreciate Liu's highly complex boundary transgressing study.

Xinru Liu is Professor in the Department of Ancient and Medieval History, Institute of World History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing.