form of bolts that the Xiongnu shanyu (paramount chief) redistributed to his
supporters. They, in turn, used it as a form of currency to trade for other
goods, and eventually some of it passed through Central Asia to the lands
farther west and south. In this way, it served as an advertisement that sti-
mulated further demand. As the last link in the Silk Road was being forged,
a new emperor came to the throne who was determined to see China and not
the nomads as its master.
From the Jade Road to the Silk Road 129