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HOME > Past World Cultural Forum 2008 (6th) > Nara and Silk Road - Towards the Future of the Asian Gateway -
Past World Cultural Forum
2008 (6th)
2008 (6th)
Nara and Silk Road
— Towards the Future of the Asian Gateway — From ancient times, the Silk Road that linked China with Europe brought advanced technologies and rare objects to Japan. This was the prototype of the Asian Gateway. Nara, the site of the ancient Japanese capital Heijo-kyo, celebrates its 1,300th anniversary in 2010. This session will, with the assistance of visual aids, observe the cultural and commercial exchanges that took place along the ancient Silk Road trade routes that led all of the way from Anatolia to China and on through the Korean Peninsula in the perspective of world history and the development of East-West exchange.
Sunday, November 30, 2008 (13:30-17:00)
Kohfukuji Convention Hall (Nara Prefecture)
The Silk Road, with its exchanges of culture and goods that spanned Asia from Anatolia to China, Korea and Japan, could be described as a forerunner for the Asian Gateway concept. This session was convened in Nara, at its far eastern end, and sought to discuss the chosen theme in the contexts of world history and East-West relations.
YAMAUCHI Masayuki, Professor of the Graduate School of the University of Tokyo, gave the keynote speech as chairman and this was followed by presentations by each panelist.
Professor Yamauchi noted the close ties between Silk Road cultures, citing the Japanese examples of the standing Asura of Kohfukuji-temple, Omizutori (water-drawing) ceremony of Nigatsu-do Hall in Todaiji-temple, old administrative centers at Heijoukyo and Dazaifu, and Manyoshu anthology, and explained that the Silk Road had a pervasive impact not only on the technology and religion of Japan but also its art, literature, administration, politics, diplomacy, security, etc. He noted that, even today, this history can play an important role in fostering peaceful relations across Asia from the Far to the Middle East.
Solmaz ÜNAYDIN, the former Turkish ambassador to Japan, spoke of how the Silk Road still helps Turkey to establish and sustain international exchange, speaking also of how Turkey has been trying to foster political stability and international cooperation in regions through which the Silk Road passed.
WANG Yong, Professor and Director of the Institute of Japanese Culture Studies at Zhejiang Gongshang University in China, noted that, unlike the Western trade missions that reached Tang China in search of silk, the Japanese dispatched cultural missions which sold the Tang gifts of silk in order to purchase books instead. He suggested that these books forged cultural links between China and Japan.
KIM Hodong, Professor of Seoul National University, proposed that the identities of the East Asian cultural zone might be better understood from the Eurasian rather than the Sino-centric perspective, and by viewing the Silk Road not simply as a route connecting East and West but also as a unifying agent of world history.
The vibrant discussion in the latter half of the session commenced with Professor Yamauchi's inquiry about how the panelists each viewed the so-called clash of civilizations.
H.E. Ms. Ünaydin referred to the “Alliance of Civilizations” project launched by Turkey and Spain, where there are histories of rivalry between the Christian and Islamic faiths. She has been emphasizing the importance of dialogue and exchange between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. She stressed that the sense of otherness will always remain if people do not make the effort to comprehend each other.
Professor Yamauchi observed that, in both countries, the changes of military and political rule had not been accompanied by the destruction of mosques, churches and other historical monuments but rather their preservation and conversion; the foundations of each civilization had remained intact and new history built on top of them.
Professor Wang described how the glorious Tang culture emerged by tapping the energy released by friction and suggested that the clash of civilizations can operate in a productive way. He introduced his findings on the thoroughly foreign origins of Tang culture, proposing that Tang culture was catalyzed from Silk Road cultures and then passed on to Korea and Japan.
Professor Yamauchi cited the positive example of how the great cultural asset of paper reached the Islamic world and Europe as a result of the clash of civilizations in the form of the Battle of Talas, where Tang China collided with Islam.
Professor Kim noted that the Tang general in that battle, Gao Xianzhi, was from Goguryeo, observing that the dynamism of the Silk Road was such as to transform all civilizations through mutual interaction. He said that this could also be witnessed in the Central Asian influences found in the paintings of the people of Goguryeo at Afrosiyob. That door was shut, however, by the assimilation of Confucianism. Today, he proposed, now that the Confucian era is over, there is a pressing need to establish new forms of ethnic identity, and the broad perspective of the Silk Road could be just what is needed to do this.
Professor Yamauchi closed the session by commenting on the importance of basing identity on not blood or race but culture, religion, language, mutual effort and cooperative relations. He spoke of the importance of apprehending the Silk Road not only as a historical curiosity but also as a mode of living that can guide us in our own lives.
Kohfukuji Convention Hall (Nara Prefecture)
The Silk Road, with its exchanges of culture and goods that spanned Asia from Anatolia to China, Korea and Japan, could be described as a forerunner for the Asian Gateway concept. This session was convened in Nara, at its far eastern end, and sought to discuss the chosen theme in the contexts of world history and East-West relations.
YAMAUCHI Masayuki, Professor of the Graduate School of the University of Tokyo, gave the keynote speech as chairman and this was followed by presentations by each panelist.
Professor Yamauchi noted the close ties between Silk Road cultures, citing the Japanese examples of the standing Asura of Kohfukuji-temple, Omizutori (water-drawing) ceremony of Nigatsu-do Hall in Todaiji-temple, old administrative centers at Heijoukyo and Dazaifu, and Manyoshu anthology, and explained that the Silk Road had a pervasive impact not only on the technology and religion of Japan but also its art, literature, administration, politics, diplomacy, security, etc. He noted that, even today, this history can play an important role in fostering peaceful relations across Asia from the Far to the Middle East.
Solmaz ÜNAYDIN, the former Turkish ambassador to Japan, spoke of how the Silk Road still helps Turkey to establish and sustain international exchange, speaking also of how Turkey has been trying to foster political stability and international cooperation in regions through which the Silk Road passed.
WANG Yong, Professor and Director of the Institute of Japanese Culture Studies at Zhejiang Gongshang University in China, noted that, unlike the Western trade missions that reached Tang China in search of silk, the Japanese dispatched cultural missions which sold the Tang gifts of silk in order to purchase books instead. He suggested that these books forged cultural links between China and Japan.
KIM Hodong, Professor of Seoul National University, proposed that the identities of the East Asian cultural zone might be better understood from the Eurasian rather than the Sino-centric perspective, and by viewing the Silk Road not simply as a route connecting East and West but also as a unifying agent of world history.
The vibrant discussion in the latter half of the session commenced with Professor Yamauchi's inquiry about how the panelists each viewed the so-called clash of civilizations.
H.E. Ms. Ünaydin referred to the “Alliance of Civilizations” project launched by Turkey and Spain, where there are histories of rivalry between the Christian and Islamic faiths. She has been emphasizing the importance of dialogue and exchange between Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. She stressed that the sense of otherness will always remain if people do not make the effort to comprehend each other.
Professor Yamauchi observed that, in both countries, the changes of military and political rule had not been accompanied by the destruction of mosques, churches and other historical monuments but rather their preservation and conversion; the foundations of each civilization had remained intact and new history built on top of them.
Professor Wang described how the glorious Tang culture emerged by tapping the energy released by friction and suggested that the clash of civilizations can operate in a productive way. He introduced his findings on the thoroughly foreign origins of Tang culture, proposing that Tang culture was catalyzed from Silk Road cultures and then passed on to Korea and Japan.
Professor Yamauchi cited the positive example of how the great cultural asset of paper reached the Islamic world and Europe as a result of the clash of civilizations in the form of the Battle of Talas, where Tang China collided with Islam.
Professor Kim noted that the Tang general in that battle, Gao Xianzhi, was from Goguryeo, observing that the dynamism of the Silk Road was such as to transform all civilizations through mutual interaction. He said that this could also be witnessed in the Central Asian influences found in the paintings of the people of Goguryeo at Afrosiyob. That door was shut, however, by the assimilation of Confucianism. Today, he proposed, now that the Confucian era is over, there is a pressing need to establish new forms of ethnic identity, and the broad perspective of the Silk Road could be just what is needed to do this.
Professor Yamauchi closed the session by commenting on the importance of basing identity on not blood or race but culture, religion, language, mutual effort and cooperative relations. He spoke of the importance of apprehending the Silk Road not only as a historical curiosity but also as a mode of living that can guide us in our own lives.
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| Prof. YAMAUCHI chairing the forum |
H.E. Ms. Solmaz ÜNAYDIN | A commemorative photograph taken after a tour of Kohfukuji Temple | ||
| [Participants] YAMAUCHI Masayuki (Japan), Professor, The Graduate School of the University of Tokyo Solmaz ÜNAYDIN (Republic of Turkey), Former Ambassador of Turkey to Japan WANG Yong (China), Professor, Director, Institute of Japanese Culture Studies, Zhejiang Gongshang University KIM Hodong (Republic of Korea), Professor, Seoul National University *Positions held at the time of this event |
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