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Monday, December 11, 2017, 19:01
'Maritime Silk Road to remain key route for cultural exchange'
By Deng Yanzi and Hu Meidong in Quanzhou
Monday, December 11, 2017, 19:01 By Deng Yanzi and Hu Meidong in Quanzhou

In this Dec 11, 2017 photo, Fan Di’an, president of China Central Academy of Fine Arts, addresses a forum, which is one of the highlights of the Third Maritime Silk Road International Arts Festival which began on Sunday in Quanzhou, in southeast China’s Fujian province. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

The revived Maritime Silk Road will continue to be an important route for cultural exchange and understanding for the world in the new age, artists and scholars said Monday at a forum in Quanzhou in southeast China’s Fujian province.

The ships that sailed centuries ago from China through the Maritime Silk Road not only carried the goods for trade, but also brought China’s aesthetic values to other parts of the world, said Fan Di’an, president of China Central Academy of Fine Arts.

Quanzhou was the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road, the ancient trade route formed centuries ago that linked the port city with the West, shipping Chinese treasures including silk products, porcelain and tea leaves to other parts of the world

“The old Maritime Silk Road was a difficult route propelled by monsoon and currents, but not any more,” Fan said.

The lessons learned in the past has provided the present day artists invaluable experience in creating and innovating artwork, he explained.

“It is a repeated process that after creation, arts and culture needs to be spread, and more importantly, understood and accepted by others in order to take root in people’s mind. Then we will be able to innovate after communication with different culture, and we should continue this process today,” Fan said.

Renowned musicians, architects, artists and historians gathered at the Maritime Silk Road Forum to review the cultural exchange between the East and the West in history, and explore how different cultures can continue to intersect and innovate in the context of the new Maritime Silk Road.

Fan also said it is particularly meaningful to discuss the topic in Quanzhou, the crucial location and witness of close cultural exchange between the East and the West in history. 

Quanzhou was the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road, the ancient trade route formed centuries ago that linked the port city with the West, shipping Chinese treasures including silk products, porcelain and tea leaves to other parts of the world.

It is today a pilot area for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, the sea route in China’s Belt and Road initiative that wishes to connect China with Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe through closer economic and cultural cooperation.

Guan Xia, composer and director of the China National Symphony Orchestra, said China should have a bigger voice in the international arena to better tell the China stories to the world.

“For years, China’s education system has been a follower of western culture. We should now build our own discourse system in education,” Guan said.

In the musical world, foreign musicians are becoming keener to explore and join the Chinese artists in telling China stories. 

Artists perform during the Third Maritime Silk Road International Arts Festival which began on Sunday in Quanzhou, in southeast China’s Fujian province on Dec 20, 2017. (PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY)

“Even though the skills and forms they use are very westernized, their illustration and understanding our culture is also one of the driving forces of innovation in our traditional music,” said Guan.

The forum is one of the highlights of the Third Maritime Silk Road International Arts Festival, the signature art celebration of Quanzhou.

The five-day festival officially began on Dec 10 with an opening ceremony and a gala performance displaying Quanzhou’s ancient ties with the ocean in the city’s genes. 

The festival, hosted by the national cultural ministry and Fujian provincial government, is the first state-level cultural event authorized by the central government relating to the theme of Maritime Silk Road, following its successes in 2015 and 2016. It will be a biennial festival in Quanzhou. 

Celebrating through 10 highlighted events and 61 sidelines from Dec 10 to 15, the 2017 festival convenes 79 performing groups from 31 countries and regions along the Maritime Silk Road. 

Other highlights of the festival include an exhibition of intangible Maritime Silk Road heritage, a performing art event gathering artists from 11 central and eastern European countries, flash mobs in Quanzhou’s Old Town, and a puppetry festival among many others. 

iris@chinadailyhk.com

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