How did the Silk Road affect the spread of trade and the exchange of culture across the Eurasian Continent?

The trade routes known collectively as the Silk Road not only allowed merchants throughout Asia and Europe to exchange goods — such as Chinese silk, Byzantine gold, and Indian spices – but they also introduced people in disparate parts of the continent to new beliefs, systems of government, literary genres, musical

Technology

Han inventors created paper from wood pulp. Paper is still made in the same basic way today. Ships were improved. The rudder was created to steer ships. Bronze and iron stirrups made horseback riding easier. The fishing reel was invented. So were wheelbarrows. Suspension bridges were also created.

Arts

Lovely temples, parks, and palaces were built. Artisans created jade and ivory carvings. Fine ceramics were also made. Workers in bronze and silk improved earlier methods.

One handbook written during this time was Lessons for Women. Ban Zhao wrote it around 100 CE. It tells about how women and men should behave. Women were supposed to treat men with respect. They also needed to obey men and submit to them.

Religion

Buddhism reached China by 100 CE. By 400 CE, Buddhism had spread across China.

The Han dynasty united China for some 400 years. However, following the dynastic cycle, problems appeared over time. Weak emperors and crushing taxes caused peasant revolts. Powerful warlords looked to expand their land. The empire became weakened as a result of invasions and civil war.