The Silk Road was the transport system going from the East – Mongolia, China, other old states that once were – to the West – Middle East, Persia, India, even Europe. It appears the Greeks had exchanges of ideas with eastern emissaries.
The Silk Road seems to have originated in Xian in China, ending in the Middle East and going into the Roman sphere.
There are many parallel roads and side roads in the Silk Road system, and silk from China was once an important part of the trade. The trade went on for thousands of years, rudiments are still there.
The Silk Road is now a mythical concept that once was, it was about trade and culture, Marco Polo made it known, meeting Mongol and Chinese rulers, traders of many kinds have used it for centuries as a transport system for goods and ideas, exchanging these between East and West.
We knew little then, it was hard to travel, but many important technical products were exchanged and ideas flowed both ways. Trade, pilgrims, soldiers, nomads, emissaries went from East to West and back – cultures were exchanged, giving impulses for development in both places.
So trade of goods and ideas on the Silk Road was significant in the development of our civilization, it contributed to the development of the modern world.
We should consider reopening the Silk Road in order to facilitate the exchange of culture, build understanding of roles in the new world that is emerging. The emerging power of the East – India, China, the rest of Asia – makes it important that we know each other’s thinking, develop personal relationships so that focus can be on peaceful activity to benefit all. The main focus should be on the human and spiritual side of being – to find a new area of focus outside the business/military complex.
China and India have made agreements to start a process developing links between the two countries, and we should all join in. This time the Silk Road should also include the US and all of western Europe, even the South Americas and Africa.
Maybe a naive idea, but the world needs a new focus to avoid building new blocks and power groups and help giving us a more balanced world.
Let the flow of ideas be the most important for the new Silk Road, the old regime of Western/US domination based on business/militarism alone needs replacement with a better system – to make a better world. The cultural side should be strong, so we can expand the human side of being.
India and China have started the work – other should join. It is not too late.