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Posted via Arthur Kaufman | July 31, 2024
Under Xi Jinping, archaeology has another domain in which the Chinese government is increasingly seeking to expand its geopolitical influence. Evidence – objective or subjective – of the lifestyles of ancient Chinese civilizations in the outlying regions along the Silk Road has been used to legitimize the territorial claims of the People’s Republic of China and publicize new economic and political projects, through the Belt and Road Initiative. Numerous articles in the Chinese and Western media over the past two months have demonstrated this phenomenon.
On Monday, Sha Hua of the Wall Street Journal, along with photographer Alexander Parkyn-Smith, reported on how China is turning back archeology in time to challenge the West:
After decades of digging in their own backyard, Chinese archaeologists are now expanding around the world, seeking to uncover connections between Chinese civilization and moments in global history.
In the plains of southern Uzbekistan, a team of Chinese scientists is rushing to excavate burial sites discovered in 2019. The tombs offer possible clues to the fate of a mysterious nomadic tribe with roots in what is now China and who could rewrite the history of the Silk Road, the network of industrial routes that linked East and West for two millennia.
Chinese researchers have also traveled to Kenya and Saudi Arabia in search of Chinese seafaring lineages dating back to the 15th century. In the South China Sea, others are excavating centuries-old Chinese shipwrecks that could bolster Beijing’s contentious claims to maritime territory.
The ever-increasing scope of Chinese paintings demands situations of long-held beliefs. Some researchers say this could potentially reposition the archeology box itself, as well as China’s position in human history.
[…] Because the evidence it deals with is fragmentary, archaeology offers a wide margin of interpretation. This ambiguity opens a window for Chinese researchers to push the box in new directions, some archaeologists say. [Source]
Last month, Zhao Ziwen of the South China Morning Post described how this strategy is being played out in Uzbekistan through an archaeological mission in search of artifacts from the Kushan Empire:
These excavations are part of a series of projects that China is using to strengthen cultural ties with the Central Asian republics, with the Institute of Archeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archeology and the Northwestern University playing a prominent role.
[…] Chinese President Xi Jinping has continually been under pressure about the importance of such initiatives, whether it was a stop in Uzbekistan in 2016 and last year, when he hosted the leaders of five countries at the first China Summit -Central Asia.
He told visitors that it is vital for us to “continue our classic friendship and promote people-to-people exchanges,” promising to breathe life into cultural tourism.
[…] Zhu Yongbiao, a professor of foreign relations at Lanzhou University, said China needs to promote joint archaeological projects for cultural and people-to-people exchanges, which could help promote the Belt and Road Initiative. the Road”, a modern infrastructure project founded on the ancient Silk Road.
“Promoting the belt and road structure requires communication between people, and archaeological cooperation is one of the areas,” Zhu said. [Source]
In some cases, archaeology is used not only to promote economic cooperation, but also to legitimize the authority and policies of the Chinese government in its periphery. Last month, The Economist highlighted an example of this in Xinjiang with an article provocatively titled: “China Uses Archaeology as a Weapon. “The article focused on an ancient Buddhist stupa called Mo’er in the desert outside Kashgar, where Chinese archaeologists claimed that artifacts found at the site were similar to those found in the Han-dominated area. East China:
These claims may seem academic, but the Chinese government uses them to justify its brutal rule over Xinjiang. At the height of a security crusade in 2018-2019, perhaps a million Uighurs and other Muslim citizens of Xinjiang passed through camps where they were forcibly assimilated into Han Chinese culture. Critics accuse China of cultural genocide. Authorities say they seek to root out devout extremism. Furthermore, if the other inhabitants of Xinjiang were Chinese, then accusations of forced assimilation are meaningless.
Last month, China held a convention in Kashgar focused on discoveries made at the Mo’er Temple and other sites. It turns out that there is no separation between Xinjiang culture and Chinese culture, said Pan Yue, head of the state Ethnic Affairs Commission. Those who criticize China’s policy in the region reveal their “ignorance of history” and sell “baseless narratives,” he added.
This Tuesday, China Daily published a harsh criticism of The Economist article written through Ding Geng, Ph. D. candidate in archeology at Peking University, which in some tactics eloquently reflects the position of the Chinese government. Ding acknowledged that “as harsh nations attempt to identify their former legitimacy, archeology has been used as a weapon by those in power,” and indexed many examples showing how “Western archeology played [a role] in the formation of the West’s “centered view” nor does it refute its foreign view. But ultimately, Ding maintained that “Chinese archeology has never been used as a weapon to harm others” and refused to acknowledge how the Chinese government is instrumentalizing it. archeology to justify assimilation policies in Xinjiang. Adopt policies that, according to the United Nations, may simply constitute crimes against humanity.
Another Peking University archaeology student recently made headlines: Zhong Fangrong was chosen to give a commencement speech at the university’s School of Archaeology and Museology. Zhong, the daughter of immigrant Hunan employees, sparked intense debate on social media in 2020 after winning the most sensible award. He graduated from the Gaokao and chose to attend Peking University, but opted for archaeology, an unpopular and low-return career. Although his election was likely the result of a private passion, state media policy has attempted, then and now, to connect to the state’s broader goals related to archaeology’s role in nation-building. As reported via Wang Yu Hsuan and Wang Jia En of PKU News (amplified via China Daily), Zhong’s inspiration for signing up for this box and his selection of long-term professional specialization is similar to the religious and cultural center of the Silk Road:
Zhong’s decision to pursue a degree in archaeology at PKU influenced the story of Fan Jinshi, a famous Chinese archaeologist and university alumnus. Fan pledged to preserve the cultural heritage of Dunhuang, a city with a vital ancient role along the ancient Silk Road and home to the UNESCO-listed Mogao Grottoes.
[…] Zhong has a long history of archeology as part of his life, and he draws his nourishment and strength from it. She is very eager to contribute to the writing of the Dunhuang Caves Archaeological Report after joining Dunhuang Academy. ]
Such stories have been amplified in Chinese media about the importance of the Silk Road in China’s fashionable foreign relations. Last month, CGTN published a 40-minute video highlighting the annual Silk Road Week at China’s National Silk Museum, which “provides a platform for professionals to share their latest studies and stories about the Silk Road. ” of Silk”. China Daily recently published an article about a Shaanxi History Museum exhibition on the Silk Road, which displays cultural relics from China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and portrays China’s engagement in those regions in a positive light:
“The opening of the street [by the imperial envoy of the Han dynasty (206 BC. 220 AD) Zhang Qian] in the second century B. C. It demonstrates the Chinese people’s eagerness to communicate with the outside world. His efforts were well accomplished from the Qin dynasties (221-206 BCE). Han to Central Asia and even Western countries of that time,” said Yue Minjing, curator of the exhibition.
“Even today, we have an open-minded attitude and a preference for talking to others. This mentality transcends time and space,” he added.
Other examples are more particular in using the history of the Silk Road to publicize China’s geopolitical interests. In a People’s Daily video published this month titled “Indonesian calligraphers maintain Chinese culture and hint at the legacy of the Silk Road,” the president of the Indonesian Calligraphers Association said: “Our culture, the Chinese language, will have to continue transmitting to Indonesia. During Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s stopover in Beijing this week, the Global Times published an editorial titled “Inheriting the spirit of the Silk Road, the path of China-Italy relations will broaden. ” Array argued that “Both sides deserve to see and expand their bilateral relations in an ancient dimension, facing significant opportunities for mutual expansion,” adding: “If we can continue to uphold the spirit of the Silk Road, the exchange of civilizations and mutual learning, relations between China and Italy will be meaningless -Stop source of energy and dynamism Earlier this month, People’s Daily highlighted a 2019 article that Xi published in Tajikistan’s main newspaper, Narodnaya Gazeta, and the official news agency. Khovar, highlighting the deep ties between China and Tajikistan that are rooted in the country’s history of the Silk Road:
Each Silk Road account tells moving anecdotes about the enduring friendship between China and Tajikistan.
The tricolor Tang glazed pottery bears witness to their links.
“Sogdian musicians and dancers figure prominently on glazed pottery from the Chinese Tang Dynasty (618-907) preserved to this day,” Xi noted in his 2019 article, a testament to centuries of dynamic interactions that strengthened the lasting friendship between China and Tajikistan. .
[…] For more than 2,000 years, the echoes of camel bells and rhythmic horse hooves have carried friendship and cooperation along the Silk Road. Over the centuries, the friendship of the two peoples has endured over time, as strong as the majestic Pamirs. [Source]
But China is not the only actor seeking to take advantage of renewed interest in the Silk Road. Last month in Carnegie Politika, Shujaat Ahmadzada wrote about how Central and West Asian countries can use China’s ambitions on the Silk Road for their own empowerment, the case of the Transcaspian International Trade Route, or Middle Corridor, a terrestrial industrial route. From central China to the South Caucasus:
A genuine revival of the Silk Road could well inspire the emergence of new economic centers in the South Caucasus and Central Asia. It can also stimulate economic development. Interestingly, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan – with a combined population of around 30 million – lag behind Bosnia and Herzegovina, a country of around 3 million, in terms of economic complexity. Greater interregional connectivity can generate moderate GDP expansion for those communities, even if temporarily.
Many feasibility studies recommend that the expansion of the Middle Corridor will stimulate EU-China industry, but not enough to boost particularly global industrial dynamics. The Middle Corridor therefore wishes to be reinvented: from a global channel between Far Eastern markets and Europe to a regional connectivity initiative, aimed at deepening the integration of the Caucasus and Central Asia and potentially strengthening their economic and political resilience.
In fact, the calculations around the Middle Corridor go beyond undeniable economics. After all, connectivity projects operate in secure environments. The aspiration to economically link the Caucasus and Central Asia may eventually evolve into interregional political and security dialogue. Perhaps in an era of multipolarity, this is the most productive approach: fostering local alliances to help manage the influence of multiple hegemons.
Categories: China and the world, Article 2, Politics, Recent news
Tags:archaeology,archaeology,Belt and Road Initiative,Central Asia,history of China,historical influence,historical archives,historical sites,history,international relations,Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan,Peking University,history of the People’s Republic of China, Silk Road, Silk Road project, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan