Silk Road and Its Spirit
"Silk Road", originally referring to the overland Silk Road, was an important passage connecting the Eastern and Western worlds in ancient times. Traditionally, the Silk Road is considered to have started from the ancient Chinese capitals of Chang'an (now Xi'an City in Shaanxi Province) or Luoyang (now in Henan Province), traversing the Hexi Corridor in today's Gansu Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, crossing the Pamir Plateau to reach Central Asia, Iran, and other areas, thus linking vast regions of Asia and Europe. In 1877, German geologist and geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen (1833-1905) first coined the term "Silk Road" in his book China, and the concept spread widely thereafter. As a location of strategic importance on the Silk Road, Dunhuang served as the gateway from Central China to the Western Regions, with landmarks such as Xuanquan Posthouse and Yangguan and Yumen passes remaining to testify to the specifics of this ancient trade route.
What is Silk Road Spirit? As a platform for cultural and social interaction, the Silk Road facilitated a convergence and integration of multiple ethnicities, races, religions, and cultures. Throughout a long process of interaction, various countries developed the Silk Road Spirit characterized by "unity and mutual trust, equality and mutual benefits, inclusiveness and mutual learning, and win-win cooperation". This spirit emphasizes that nations with different ethnic backgrounds, beliefs, and cultural heritages can share peace and pursue common development together.
In 2013, China proposed the significant initiative to jointly build the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road to revive the ancient Silk Road and infuse it with new vitality. In new historical conditions, the aim is to inherit and revive the Silk Road Spirit characterized by peaceful cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning, and win-win collaboration. This initiative seeks to integrate China's development with the development of countries along the route and align the Chinese Dream with the aspirations of people from these nations, thus endowing the ancient Silk Road with fresh significance in the new era.
(Source:Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies)
Book Recommendation
A Concise History of the Silk Road (Hardcover)
ISBN:9787119139135
The Silk Road is an invaluable common asset in the history of humanity. It embodies peaceful communication, exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and the spirit of cooperation. For centuries, the Silk Road spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit has been passed down through generations and advanced the progress of human civilizations. Based on rich historical records from multiple disciplines, this book examines the Silk Road as part of global civilizations. It covers topics such as the origin, development and legendary figures of the Silk Road; the hubs and the economic, trade and cultural communication along the Silk Road; and the development of the Silk Road in the new era. It reviews the histories of the Silk Road, the development of human civilization, and the cultural communication between East and West. It echoes the Belt and Road Initiative and contributes Chinese wisdom and strength to carrying forward the Silk Road spirit and promoting the sustained and prosperous development of human civilization.
Author: Wu Bin
Wu Bin is a scholar and researcher of history and culture. He is a Changqing Scholar at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) and a distinguished professor at BFSU’s Academy of International Communication of Chinese Culture. He has also served as the deputy director of the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, the curator of the Shenyang Palace Museum and the deputy head of the Chinese Society for Historians of China’s Foreign Relations. His research interest lies in the histories of Chinese culture and the cultural exchange between China and other countries. He has published over 10 works, including The Power of Civilization, A New History of Overseas Dissemination of Chinese Culture (six volumes), The History of Overseas Culture for Chinese Acceptance (four volumes), Confucius’ World: The World Value of Confucian Culture and China and the World: The Chinese Paradigm of Exchanges and Mutual Learning Among Civilizations.