A rare silk manuscript has been discovered in a dry cave along the Hexi Corridor in Gansu. The document is a Sogdian trade ledger from 750 CE, recording a high-value shipment of 'Vedic Astronomical Charts' and Sanskrit planetary tables intended for the Imperial astronomers of the Tang Dynasty.
The ledger mentions that these Indian scientific works were sought after for their superior prediction of eclipses and planetary conjunctions. This discovery highlights the role of the Silk Road not just for silk and spices, but as a critical conduit for Sanatan scientific knowledge flowing into East Asia during the medieval era.