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人人书 > 杂志 > The Highway of Civilizations

The Highway of Civilizations

时间:2024-10-25 05:02:00

Inancienttimes,YumenPasswasamilitarystrongholdalongtheSilkRoad.YOUmightbereadingthisarticleofChinaTodayonprintedpaper,inBerlin,Paris,orCairo,whileIoccasionallygazethroughtheglasspaneofmyBeijingofficewindowwhilewriting.Bothwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutanoldtraderoutethatmiraculouslyconnectedourworlds,OccidentandOrient,almosttwomillenniaago.

WearetalkingabouttheancientSilkRoad,atraderoutethatissurroundedbymuchmysticismandromance.Itevokestantalizingimagesofcamelladencaravansridingintothesunsetorlively,colorfulexoticbazaarsinyourmindrightnow.Infact,thetransportofgoodsviathebumpyancienttradepathswasoftenanythingbutromanticandledpackanimalsandmerchantsoverlong,impassableterrainthroughoftenhostilelandsandweathertothelimitsoftheirresilience.

Butfromtoday’spointofviewweknow:intheend,thehardshippaidoffequallyfortradersandthosewhostayedathome,andcertainlynotjustinmaterialterms.Asdescendants,westillenjoythefruitsofthisancient,long-distancetradeconnection,oftenwithoutbeingawareofit.

GansuProvince–ACradleoftheHistoricSilkRoad

Tolearnmoreaboutthelegendarytraderouteitisbesttogobacktoitsplaceoforigin.Andthisisbestdonewheremanyimpressivetraitsofthepastcanstillbefoundtoday,namelyinChina’snorthwest,ormoreprecisely,intheprovinceofGansu.

Thus,IamheadingforthecityofJiayuguanasmyfirststop.With250,000inhabitants,JiayuguanisasmalltownbyChinesestandards.However,itsuniquegeographicallocationhasgivenitaspecialplaceinhistory.

JiayuguanislocatednearthewesternendoftheHexiCorridor(orGansuCorridor),a1,000km-longaccumulationplain,actingasanaturalpassageleadingfromnorthwesttosoutheast,upto100kilometerswide,surroundedbyhighmountainsfrombothnorthandsouth.Onthesouthliesthesnow-cappedQilianMountain,anorthernfoothilloftheQinghai-TibetPlateau,arangeofhillswhichisessentialforsurvivalintheregion.AmuralinatombinJiayuguan’snortheastsuburbdepictsatraderwithhiscamelfromCentralandWestAsiainhistraditionalgarb.Itsmeltwaterfeedsthetwogreatrivers–Heihe,andShule,whichflowthroughtheHexiCorridor.Theyhaveensuredthatnumerousgreenoasesandgraduallylargersettlementshaveformedhereinthevalley,betweentheotherwisebarrendesertandarid,parchedlandscape.Oneofthesettlementsistoday’sJiayuguan.

LocatedatthewesterntipoftheHexiCorridor,JiayuguanformsacrucialbottleneckthroughwhichalltravelersoftheancientSilkRoadoncehadtopassontheirwaytotoday’sXi’an(formerlyChang’an),theoriginandterminusoftheancienttraderoute.

JiayuguanowesitsnametotheJiayuPass,literallymeaning“PasstothePraisedValley,”whichwasoncethewesternmosttransitpointoftheGreatWall.ItwasherethathistorictravelersfromtheWestsuchasMarcoPolofirstsetfootontheirpathtoChina’sinlandregions.

Therearestilldiscernablecluesandmarkersscatteredaroundthearea,whichdenoteearlyanddeeplevelsofinteractionsandexchangesbeyondjustbusinessbetweenthelocalsandthetraders.Toexplorefurther,weheadsouthwest,about20kilometersoutsidethecity.

1,700-year-oldWitnesses

Infrontofthebuswindow,abarren,inhospitableplainliesatthebaseofthemountains.Formorethan1,700years,therewasanarchaeologicaltreasureburiedbeneathit,whosediscoveryintheearly1970swouldopenanothersmallyetfascinatingwindowintoanotherfacetoftheillustrioushistoryoftheoldSilkRoad.

In1972,localscameacrosstracesofancientmasonryhere.Finally,archaeologicalexcavationsweretodigupwhattodayiscelebratedas“thelargestundergroundartgalleryintheworld.”

Here,undertheruggedsteppe,researchersidentifiedahugecemeterywith1,400ancienttombs,whichtheydatedtothetimebetweentheWeiandtheJindynasties(220-420).Sofaronly18ofthegraveshavebeenexcavated;twoofthem,gravesnumbersixandseven,areaccessibletothepublic.

Wefeelourwaydownthenarrowstonestepstotombnumbersix,afamilytombinwhich,accordingtotheresearchers,aseniorofficialandhiswifemighthavebeenburiedonce.

The11-meter-highstoneentrancewallalonerevealstheimpressivecraftsmanshipwithwhichthetombhadoncebeendecoratedaroundthethirdcentury.

Figuresinfairytales,mythicalcreatures,aswellasimageryofclouds,fire,andwaterwereartfullycarvedintothered,ocher,andanthracite-coloredbricksoftheentrance.Anevenmoresplendidculturaltreasure,however,lieshiddeninsidethetomb.

Tombnumbersixcontainsthreenarrowburialchambersarrangedonebehindtheotheroveralengthof20meters,eachonlyabouttwometerswide.Inthemasonryofthevault,theoriginalarchitectsembeddedatotalof136paintedbrickstones,eachofthemdecoratedwithvigorousbrushstrokes.

Theregion’sdryclimateandtheunusuallyslowoxidationthatgoeswithithaveensuredthattheantiquepaintingsarestillastonishinglywellpreservedtoday,some1,700yearsaftertheircreation.Suchpaintingshavebeenfoundineightoftheexcavatedgraves,atotalof760illustrationshavebeendiscoveredthusfar.

Theminimalistyetvibrantpaintingsinred-andblackonawhitebackgroundshowscenesfromtheeverydaylifeofthosenowburiedandthereforegiveadetailedinsightintotheeverydaylivesofthepeopleandthestateofaffairsatthetime.Theyshoweatinghabitsandeverydayerrands,butalsoleisureactivitiesandculturaldistractionsthuspaintingarare,unparalleledanddetailedzeitgeistofthebygoneera.Theimagestellofsowingandharvestingmethods,ancientcattlebreedingandhuntingtechniques,depictclothingstyles,commonmeansoftransportation,musicalinstruments,andevenoldboardgames,aswellascamel-riddentradersfromCentralandWestAsiaintheirtraditionalgarb,whichimpressivelyhighlightthestronginfluencesthatthealreadylivelytradeviatheSilkRoadhadatthattimeonthesocialandculturallifeofthepeople.Thetombpaintingsshowhowthelocalintertwinedwiththeforeign,andprovehowtheentireregionreachedanewintellectualandculturalawakeningthankstotheflourishingtrade.TheGhostCityYardangwasancientChina’snorthgatealongtheSilkRoadleadingtotheWesternRegions.PhotosbyYuXiangjunMoreThanJustaTradeRoute

Infact,aswenowknow,theoldSilkRoadwasmuchmorethanameretradelink.

InthesecondcenturyB.C.,theHanemperorWudi,whocommissionedtheenvoyZhangQiantoexploretheundevelopedareasbeyondtheYumenPassinthenameoftheimperialcourt,laidtheformalfoundationsforthelaternetworkofroutesthatwouldconnectthreeofthemostimportantculturalregionsofAsiaatthattime,namelythePersianEmpire,India,andChina.

Afterthepreviouslyisolatedtraderouteshadbeenofficiallymadeaccessible,secured,andextendedforthefirsttimeunderEmperorWudi,theyweretobecomethenewarteriesofexchangebetweentheeasternandthewesternworldinthecourseofthefollowingcenturies.

ThelargestvolumeoftradealongtheSilkRoadwashandledduringtheTangDynasty(618-907),especiallyinitsfirsthalf.AtthattimeChinaimportedlargequantitiesofgold,preciousstones,ivory,perfumes,dyes,andtextilesfromtheOccident.TheArabsmeanwhileboughtfurs,ceramics,spices,jade,bronze,lacquerware,iron,andsilkfromtheChineseempire.

SilkinparticularfascinatedthepeopleintheWesternworld,whereitwouldbesoldathighprices.ThisisoneofthereasonswhytheGermangeographer,cartographer,andexplorerFerdinandFreiherrvonRichthofencoinedthename“SilkRoad”fortherouteinhiswritings,anamethathasattainedlegendarystatusandremainsattributedtotheroutetopresentday.

Buttheexchangeofgoodswasunintentionallyaccompaniedbysomethingelsethatwastohavealastingimpactonourworld:thetransferoftechnologicaldevelopments,culturalexchanges,andnewideas.

Thus,glassgoodsandtheiradvancedproductiontechniquesincreasinglyreachedChinafromArabiaviatheSilkRoad.Meanwhile,thecraftsmanshipofpaperproductionbeganitsepoch-signifyingmarchfromChina,firsttotheArabworld,andthenallthewaytoEurope,whereitwastogiveadecisiveboosttothedevelopmentofcivilization.However,unliketoday,inthepast,traderstraveledwiththeirgoods,andsoinevitablybecameintensivelyacquaintedwiththelivesandeverydayhabitsofpeopleintheforeigncountriesthattheypassedthroughalongtheirway,whichmadethembecameaforerunnerofculturalexchanges.

Dunhuang–APearlofBuddhism

HowdeeplynewideasandspiritualinnovationsfromafartookrootinChinacanbewitnessedinfewplacesasimpressivelyasinthecityofDunhuang,whichliesatthewesternendoftheHexiCorridorneartheborderofXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegion.

Dunhuangwasoriginallyestablishedin111B.C.byEmperorWudioftheHanDynastyasaborderposttodefendtheChineseempireagainstexternalenemies.ButsoonDunhuangbecameoneofthemostimportanttradinghubsoftheoldSilkRoad,asthenorthernandsouthernroutesoftheSilkRoadconvergedhereeastoftheTaklamakanDesert.Thus,DunhuangdevelopedintoameltingpotofdifferentculturesandreligionsandalsobecamethegatewaythroughwhichBuddhismforthefirsttimefounditswaytoChina.

Today,thetown,whichhasaround190,000inhabitants,livesmainlyofftourism.Visitorsfromallovertheworldcometovisittheworld-famousMogaoGrottoes,about25kilometerssoutheastofthecity,whichhavebeenlistedasaUNESCOWorldHeritageSitesince1987.

Betweenthe4thand12thcenturies,Buddhistmonksdugaround1,000cavesintothesandstonerocks,whichaveraged17metersinheight,adornedthemwithcolorfulBuddhistmotifs,modeledhugeBuddhastatuesfromwoodandclay,andpaintedfiligreemuralsinsidethecaves.

AfterthedeclineoftheoldSilkRoad,whichbeganatthebeginningoftheSongDynasty(960-1279),thecavesystemwasforgottenforcenturiesbeforeitreturnedtotheinternationallimelightthankstothediscoveryoftheDaoistpriestWangYuanlu.Wang,in1900,foundabout50,000documentsfromthe4thto11thcenturiesthatmonkshadwalledintoacavein1036,mostprobablytoprotectthemfromthemaraudingMongolhordes.

TheMogaoGrottoesarealsocalled“ThousandBuddhaCaves,”ofwhichnearlyhalf(492)havebeenwellpreserved;apartofthemisaccessiblefortourists.

Thecaveswereonceusedasdecorativeshrinesforstoringreligiouswritings,amongotherthings.TheintricatelyartisticpaintingsinsidewerealsodesignedtofacilitatemeditationandservedasvisualrepresentationsofthesutrasandthusasdescriptivemnemonicsofBuddhiststories,whichwerealsointendedtogiveilliteratepeopleanintroductiontoBuddhistteaching.

NorthIndianBuddhism,alongwithlocalphilosophiessuchasTaoismandConfucianism,rosetobecomeoneofChina’sthreetraditionalmainreligiousbeliefs,reflectingearlyintellectualopennessofChinesethoughttoforeignideas.

DeclineandRebirth

IncreasedChineseseatrade,theemergenceofnewmarketsinSoutheastAsia,risingcustomsrequirementsoftheArabs,anddwindlingriversaroundtheTaklamakanandLopNordesertsinthemiddlepartoftheSilkRoadfinallyheraldedthedeclineoftheterrestrialSilkRoadaroundthemiddleofthe10thcentury.

Inthe21stcentury,tradetendstobuildmuchlessintensivepersonalbridgesthanitdidinthepast.Today,shipsareloadedbyChineseworkersinChinaandunloadedbylocalcounterpartsintheUnitedStatesorEuropeandviceversa.Thegoodsthereforetravelwithouttheirtradersandthuswithoutthepreviouslyunavoidablemutualimmersioninrespectiveforeigncultures.

However,inmoderntimes,anewbusinesshasopenedupthatstillgivesustheopportunitytofollowinthefootstepsoftheoldbusinesstravellers–internationaltourism.ThoseinchargeinJiayuguanandDunhuangalsorecognizeditspotential,andthisyearfortheeighthtime,organizedaninternationaltourismfestival.

EvenintheageoftheInternet,itisstillworthwhiletoreturntotheexploratoryspiritoftheoldmerchantsoftheSilkRoad.Itisworthittotravelthousandsofkilometerstodistantregionsinpersoninordertogetinteractdirectlywiththelocalsandtheircustomsandtolettheirforeignculturehaveapersonaleffectonus,aswellastoabsorbtheirthoughtsandhabits.Inthiswaywemighteventuallytakeatleastapartofithomewithus,justliketheSilkRoadmerchantsdidintheoldtimes,andwhoknows,perhapssomethingcompletelynewwillemergefromitinourlivesandcountries,whichwillberecordedinthehistorybooksofthefuture.
   

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