有人认为，中西文化交流，在古代主要是从东往西，是由于中华文明在近代以前长期居于世界领先地位。因为中国古代的许多重要物质文化，诸如丝绸、瓷器、茶叶以及许多重大工艺与发明，诸如造纸术、印刷术与火药等，都是经由丝绸之路传播到西方的。
　　蚕丝和丝织的西传
　　在通过丝绸之路外销到西方的商品中，当然以丝绸最为著名。关于桑蚕种子及相关技术的外传，玄奘在《大唐西域记》中记载了一个传闻：大约在公元420—440年左右，即丝路重开之后，位于今新疆于阗地区的瞿撒旦那邦国国王为丝绸的华美所倾倒，曾经派遣使者向中原王朝的汉人求购桑蚕种子，结果不仅遭到拒绝，而且引起了朝廷的警觉，边关驿站对过境人员加强了盘查，严防桑蚕种子外流。后来国王又改向汉人求婚，在迎娶公主的时候，暗中通知新娘带出桑蚕种子。这位公主偷偷将一些蚕种藏在头发之中，带到了瞿撒旦那邦国，随她而去的还有一些养蚕织丝的妇女。她们在那里造了一座〞射鹿城〞，专门教授该国妇女种桑养蚕，不久这个国家就桑荫密布，养蚕缫丝很快普及开来。根据考古发掘，在罗布泊沙海和鄯善古国遗址中都发现了古桑树的遗迹。据鉴定，这些古桑树为公元4世纪以前所栽种，大约正是传闻中蚕桑西传开始的时间。
　　罗马历史学家普罗科匹厄斯认为，中国的蚕桑是在公元550年左右传入东罗马帝国的。在查士丁尼大帝执政期间，曾有一位久居中国的印度僧人来到东罗马帝国都城君士坦丁堡，向查士丁尼大帝表示自己精通养蚕术，而且可以弄到蚕卵。与皇帝达成某种协议后，这位僧人又返回中国，两年后他将蚕种藏在空心手杖中带回了罗马。这样，罗马人终于可以自己生产一部分丝绸原料了。
　　公元7世纪时，西亚地区被阿拉伯帝国占领，公元751年，阿拉伯人的军队与唐朝大将高仙芝率领的部队在今哈萨克斯坦境内的怛罗斯河一带发生了战争，结果唐军战败，军中一些丝绸织工和造纸工被俘，中国的丝织工艺和造纸术很可能由此传入了西亚地区。8世纪时，西亚地区的养蚕业及丝织作坊发生了突飞猛进的发展，出现了许多从事缫丝、纺织、印染和刺绣的城市，波斯地区成了继中国之后的世界第二大丝绸业产地。波斯的丝绸产品不仅满足了西亚市场的需求，而且开始供应地中海地区的欧洲市场。9世纪，阿拉伯帝国吞并了西班牙。养蚕方法被阿拉伯人介绍到了西班牙，12世纪时又传到意大利，15世纪时再由意大利传到了法国。
　　茶叶的西传
　　茶是中国内地的特产，产区基本限于江淮地区和长江以南。茶叶传入西域的时间大约在唐代。唐高祖武德八年(625)，突厥、吐谷浑等西北少数民族请求与唐朝互市，获得允准。唐王朝用于互市的主要商品就是内地所产的丝织品和茶叶。唐太宗在位期间，青藏高原上的吐蕃人逐渐崛起。贞观十五年(641)，吐蕃国王松赞干布向唐太宗请求和亲，太宗将16岁的文成公主嫁给松赞干布。文成公主进吐蕃时，带去了大量的农耕器具、农作物种子、医疗器械、各类书籍，以及包括茶叶在内的生活用品。安史之乱爆发后，吐蕃人趁机占领了西域地区，茶叶在整个西域地区传播开来。茶叶有生津止渴、帮助消化的功效，对于以肉、奶为主要食物的西北游牧民族来说是最好的佐食饮料，所以传入西域后备受青睐。10—12世纪，茶叶传到了高昌、于阗等地区，并且有可能经由于阗和印度传入波斯。元代的饮食医药著作《饮膳正要》中记载，“西番茶，味苦涩，煎用酥油”，反映了西北少数民族的饮食特点。13世纪蒙古崛起的初期，茶叶还是蒙古上层贵族的珍稀之物。14世纪以后，蒙古人逐渐饮茶成习，茶叶也进一步由西域继续西传。到了明代，朝廷建立了官营的茶马贸易体制，在今天甘肃的天水、临潭、临夏和四川雅安等地设了统管茶马交易的茶马司，意在通过控制茶叶贸易来制约西域各民族。饮茶之风已经进入了西域各族人的日常生活，并且影响到了中亚。
　　造纸术的西传
　　中国的造纸术最早出现在西汉时期，而东汉的宦官蔡伦改进了造纸的方法，使造纸术得以进一步推广。中国纸张的西传非常早，敦煌及甘肃西部都发现过汉代的原始麻纸。而造纸术传入中亚通常认为是在唐玄宗天宝年间(742—756)。唐朝的造纸工匠最先在撒马尔罕造纸，这里从此成为中国境外的造纸中心。794年，大食(阿拉伯帝国)的都城巴格达也办起了造纸厂，并聘请中国的造纸工匠进行指导。此后，造纸厂相继出现在也门、大马士革等阿拉伯地区和城市。
　　9世纪末，中国造纸术传入埃及，不久便淘汰了当地的纸草。12世纪，造纸术从北非传到西班牙与法国，德国的纽伦堡也于1391年建造了第一家造纸厂。纸的发明与西传对促进欧洲近代文明的发展具有不可估量的意义。
　　印刷术的西传
　　印刷术也是起源于中国的“四大发明”之一，最迟出现在唐代。发现于敦煌藏经洞的《金刚般若波罗蜜经》是现存较早的雕版印书，上面标明的印刷年代是“咸通九年四月十五日”，即公元868年。北宋时期，工匠毕昇发明用胶泥刻成泥活字，发明了活字印刷术；元代工匠王桢又于1313年创制了木活字，使印刷的效率大大提高。
　　雕版印刷术很早就传到了朝鲜与日本，但是西传的时间则要晚得多。据推测，中国的雕版印刷术很可能是在宋元之际，在蒙古骑兵沿着丝绸之路向西征讨的过程中，传到中亚、西亚，进而传到北非与欧洲的。14世纪初，伊利汗国的史家拉施都丁在《史集》中记录了中国的雕版印刷方法。14世纪末到15世纪初，欧洲开始出现了用木版雕印的纸牌、宗教画、宗教书籍和学生用拉丁文法课本等。现存最早的欧洲版画印刷品，是刻印于1423年的《圣克利斯道夫像》木版画。这幅在德国南部刻印的版画，其印刷方法和中国的雕版印刷完全相同。到15世纪中期，雕版印刷术在欧洲已相当普遍。在1440—1448年之间，德国人谷登堡发明了铅活字印刷，但这一发明比毕昇的泥活字已晚了约400年。谷登堡对活字印刷术的一整套革新技术，奠定了现代印刷术的基础。有些西方史学家认为，谷登堡的这一发明受到中国活字印刷术的影响。
　　火药的西传
　　中国是火药和早期火药武器的诞生地。最早的火药是指以硝石、硫黄和木炭按一定比例配合而成的一种混合物。唐宋时期，中国人制造出了具有燃烧和杀伤作用的火器，并且大量使用在战争中。13世纪，在蒙古大军沿丝绸之路向西征讨的过程中，火药配方和火器的制造技术也直接或通过阿拉伯人间接传入了欧洲。蒙古军队中配有专门的炮火军，携带火铳、火箭、喷火枪、炸弹等火器，以配合骑兵攻城和大规模野战。1235年，蒙古军队第二次西征，15万铁骑长驱突进，攻下梁赞、莫斯科、基辅等地后兵分三路，北路蒙古军进攻波兰、日耳曼东南部。日耳曼与波兰组成的联军被蒙古军打得惨败。当时就传说蒙古军中有口吐烟雾的怪物，还使用了“中国龙喷火筒”——能发出喷着火焰的火龙。初次见识这些火器的欧洲骑士不明真相，感到极度的震撼。
　　1258年，在手持火器的蒙古大军进攻下，阿拉伯帝国阿巴斯王朝的都城巴格达陷落。阿拉伯帝国灭亡后，蒙古人建立的伊利汗国迅速成为火药等中国科技向西方传播的枢纽。元朝不禁止火器出口，蒙古军还在阿拉伯人和欧洲人中招募士兵，欧洲人因此得以掌握了火药制造技术。14世纪以后，欧洲出现了火铳、火箭、喷火枪、手榴弹、炸弹和焰火等火器，都是根据中国技术或样器仿制的。
　　＞Westward Dissemination of Central Plains Technology and Culture
　　Some people held the view that the flow of cultural exchanges between the East and the West in ancient times were mainly from the East to the West.The reason was because the Chinese civilization had been for a long time before modern times a world leader.For instance many important material culture of ancient China,such as silk,porcelain,tea,and many major technologies and innovations,such as papermaking,printing and gunpowder,were disseminated to the West via the Silk Road.
　　Westward Dissemination of Sericulture and Silk Weaving Technology
　　Among the commodities exported to the West through the Silk Road,silk was naturally the most famous item.In his book Buddhist Records of the Western World,Xuan Zang recorded the following story about the dissemination of the sericulture technology:around the time of 420-440 when the Silk Road was re-opened,king of Qusadanna Kingdom,located in present-day Khotan in Xinjiang,was so impressed by the elegance and beauty of silk from China.So he sent his envoy to the Central Plains and requested to buy silkworm eggs and mulberry seeds from the Han Chinese.The request was not only turned down,but also raised the alarm of the imperial court who strengthened its interrogation and examination of people crossing the border or staying at the posthouses,in order to prevent the outflow of mulberry seeds and silkworm eggs.Later the Qusadanna king proposed marriage to a Han princess.When he came to receive his bride,he tipped her to bring silkworm eggs and mulberry seeds.The princess secretly hid some silkworm eggs in her hair and brought them to her new home.She also brought with her some women who had the skills of sericulture and silk weaving.When they arrived in Qusadanna,they built a〝deer-shooting city〞where they taught local women to grow mulberry trees and raise silkworms.Not long after,the country was full of mulberry trees.Sericulture and silk reeling were quickly popularized.According to archaeological findings,remains of ancient mulberry trees have been unearthed both in the Lop Nur sand sea and ruins of the ancient Shanshan Kingdom.It has been identified that these ancient mulberry trees were planted before the 4th century,which was just about the time when mulberry and silkworm were allegedly spread to the West.
　　According to Roman historian Procopius,Chinese sericulture was introduced to the Eastern Roman Empire around 550.During the reign of Emperor Justinian the Great,an Indian monk who had lived in China for many years came to Constantinople,capital city of the Eastern Roman Empire.He told Justinian that he was an expert on sericulture and that he could get silkworm eggs.After reaching some sort of agreement with the Roman Emperor,the monk returned to China.Two years later he brought back some silkworm eggs hidden in a hollow cane.Finally the Romans were able to produce some raw silk by themselves.
　　In the 7th century,West Asia was occupied by the Arab Empire.In 751,a battle broke out between the Arab army and the Tang army led by General Gao Xianzhi in the Talas River area of present-day Kazakhstan.The Tang army was defeated.Some silk weavers and paper workers among the Tang soldiers were captured.It is very possible that this was how Chinese silk weaving and papermaking technologies were disseminated to West Asia.In the 8th century sericulture and silk weaving workshops enjoyed rapid development in West Asia.There emerged many cities engaged in trades such as silk reeling,textile,printing and embroidery.The Persian region became the second largest silk producing area in the world,next only to China.Persian silk products supplied not only markets in West Asia,but also the European market of the Mediterranean region.In the 9th century,the Arab Empire annexed Spain.So sericulture was introduced to Spain.In the 12th century, sericulture was introduced to Italy and in the 15th century to France.
　　Westward Dissemination of Tea
　　As a specialty of the Chinese inland areas,tea was only produced in the Yangzi River and the Huai River areas,as well as areas south of the Yangzi River.Tea entered the Western Regions around the time of the Tang Dynasty.In the 8th year of the Wude Period of Gaozu's reign(625),ethnic minorities in the northwestern region such as the Turks and the Tuyuhuns requested to carry out mutual trade with the Tang Dynasty and approval was granted.Major commodities the Tang Dynasty traded with these ethnic minorities were silk products and tea.During the reign of Emperor Taizong,Tibetans on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau gradually rose.In the 15th year of the Zhenguan Period(641),the Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo proposed to marry a Tang princess.Emperor Taizong agreed to marrying his 16-year-old Princess Wencheng to Songtsen Gampo.When Princess Wencheng went to Tibet to join her husband,she brought with her a large number of farming tools and crop seeds,medical equipment,all kinds of books,as well as daily use items including tea.After the braking out of the armed rebellion by An Lushan,the Tibetans took the opportunity and occupied the Western Regions.Tea was popularized throughout the Western Regions.As tea has the effect of quenching the thirst and helping the digestion,it was just the best drink for nomads in the northwestern region who dieted mainly on meat and milk.Tea was just loved by people in the Western Regions.Between the 10th and the 12th century,tea spread to Gaochang and Khotan,and might have gone further to Persia via Yutian and India.The Yuan Dynasty book Principles of Correct Diet(Yin Shan Zheng Yao)states:〝Teafrom Tibet is bitter and puckery,can be fried with butter.〞This reflects the dietary features of ethnic minorities in the northwestern region.During early years of the rise of the Mongols in the 13th century,tea was still a luxury for the Mongol aristocrats.It was not until the 14th century when tea became a popular drink for ordinary Mongols and was spread to areas beyond the Western Regions.During the Ming Dynasty the imperial court established a government-run Tea-Horse Trading System and set up Tea-Horse Agencies in present-day Tianshui,Lintan,Linxia of Gansu and Ya'an of Sichuan to administer the trade.The objective of the government was to control ethnic people in the Western Regions by regulating the tea-horse trade.As a culture,tea-drinking had already entered the daily life of ethnic people in the Western Regions.It had even influenced that of the Central Asians.
　　Westward Dissemination of Paper-making Technology
　　Paper-making technology in China first appeared during the Western Han Dynasty.Cai Lun,an Eastern Han eunuch improved the technology which facilitated its further extension.Westward dissemination of Chinese paper was very early.Primitive hemp paper produced during the Han Dynasty has been discovered in Dunhuang and western Gansu.It is generally believed that paper-making technology was introduced to Central Asia during the Tianbao Period of the Tang Dynasty under the reign of Emperor Xuanzong(742-756).Tang Dynasty paper-making artisans first made paper in Samarkand where it became a paper manufacturing center outside the Chinese territory.In 794,a paper mill was set up in Baghdad,capital of the Dashi Kingdom(Arab Empire),inviting Chinese paper-making artisans to serve as advisors.Since then,paper mills also appeared in Yemen,Damascus and other Arab districts and cities.
　　By the end of the 9th century,Chinese paper-making technology was introduced to Egypt and not long after Chinese paper replaced the local straw paper.During the 12th century,Chinese paper-making technology spread from North Africa to Spain and France.Nuremberg of Germany also built its first paper mill in 1391.The invention of paper and its westward dissemination produced an immeasurable impact on the development of the European civilization in modern times.
　　Westward Dissemination of Printing Techonology
　　Printing technology,one of China's〝four great inventions〞in ancient times,appeared during the Tang Dynasty.The extant world's early woodblock printed book was the Diamond Sutra found in the Dunhuang Cave for Storing Buddhist Scriptures.The specified printing date on the sutra was〝April 15,9th year of Xiantong Period (868)〞.During the Northern Song Dynasty,craftsman Bi Sheng invented clay carved moveable types,marking the beginning of the movable type printing technology;Wang Zhen,a Yuan Dynasty craftsman further invented the wood moveable type in 1313,a renovation that had greatly improved the efficiency of the printing technology.
　　Woodblock printing technology was introduced to Korea and Japan much earlier than to the West.According to speculation woodblock printing was probably introduced to Central and West Asia,North Africa and Europe around the time of the Song and the Yuan Dynasties when the Mongol chivalry crusaded along the Silk Road to the West.In early years of the 14th century an Erie Khanate historian named Rashid-al-Din Hamadani described in his book Collection of History the Chinese woodblock printing method.In later years of the 14th century and early years of the 15th century,woodblock printed cards,religious paintings and books,as well as student textbooks in Latin appeared in Europe.The extant earliest print of European woodcut painting was the Portrait of Saint Christophe,engraved and printed in 1423.This woodcut painting,produced in southern Germany,employed the same printing method as the Chinese woodblock printing.By mid-15th century,woodblock printing was already very popular in Europe.Between 1440 and 1448,a German named Gutenberg invented the lead movable type printing method,an invention four hundred years later than that of the clay moveable type method invented by Bi Sheng.Gutenberg's invention laid the foundation for the modern printing technology.Some western historians believe that Gutenberg's invention was inspired by the Chinese movable type printing technology.
　　Westward Dissemination of Gunpowder
　　China is the birthplace of gunpowder and early gunpowder weapons.The earliest gunpowder refers to a mixture of saltpeter,sulfur and charcoal according to a certain proportion.During the Tang and the Song dynasties,Chinese manufactured firearms with burning and killing effects were used in large scales in wars.In 13th century,along with the expedition of the Mongol armies along the Silk Road to the West,the gunpowder formula and firearm manufacturing technology were also disseminated to Europe either directly or indirectly through the Arabs.The Mongol troops were equipped with a special artillery wing that carried firearms such as hand guns,flame arrows,flamethrowers,bombs and others,to support the cavalry and large-scale field operations.In 1235,the Mongol army launched its second expedition to the West.One hundred and fifty thousand cavalry marched straight to the West and captured Ryazan,Moscow,Kiev and other places.Then the Mongol cavalry was divided into three routes,with the north route heading for Poland and southwest Germany.Allied forces of Germany and Poland suffered crushing defeat.At the time it was speculated that the Mongols had smoke-vomiting monsters,and that they also used the〝Chinese dragon flame tube〞which was able to puff out flames.European knights who saw these firearms for the first time were totally shocked.
　　In 1258,under the attack of the Mongol army equipped with firearms,Baghdad,capital city of the Arab Empire Abbasid fell.After the demise of the Arab Empire,the Mongols established the Erie Khanate Kingdom,which quickly became the hub from where gunpowder and Chinese science and technology disseminated to the West.Yuan Dynasty did not prohibit the export of firearms and the Mongol army also recruited soldiers from among the Arabs and the Europeans.Both measured enabled the Europeans to keep abreast with the advancement of the gunpowder manufacturing technology.After the 14th century,firearms such as hand guns,flame arrows,flamethrowers,hand grenades,bombs and fireworks were produced in Europe and they were either based on the Chinese technology or imitations of the Chinese samples.