Kuayuan Shanhai Yihui Silk Road
Hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the 14th “Yihui Silk Road-Famous Arab Artists Visiting China to Create Works” was held not long ago, which was hosted by the China-foreign Cultural and Tourism Exchange Center, the Fujian Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism and the China-Arab Center for Global Civilization Initiative. Artists from Algeria, Oman, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan conducted field trips, cultural experiences, artistic creations and academic exchanges in Beijing and Fujian, deeply experienced the charm of Chinese culture and tourist customs, and promoted cross-civilization dialogue in the field of contemporary art.
“The friendship between the Arab and Chinese people originated from the friendly exchanges on the ancient Silk Road.”
The golden tile red wall of the Forbidden City bears the cultural memory and historical details of the Chinese nation. The Great Wall embodies the Chinese nation’s unremitting struggle spirit and indomitable patriotic feelings of unity, such as the dragon winding on the top of the mountains; Nanjing Tulou, a world cultural heritage, is a historical witness of the oriental blood relationship and the traditional culture of living together, which embodies the architectural artistic achievements of large-scale rammed earth. In the layered ecological tea garden, people follow the ancient method to pick and make tea, which shows the charm of China tea culture and the profound connotation of Chinese life aesthetics … During the activity, artists stopped again and again for the charm of China’s literary tour.
Sidi Mohammed, President of Moroccan Professional Visual Artists Union, has come to China for the sixth time, and the cultural differences between China and Arab countries have become the source of inspiration for his diversified creation. “China is a great country with a long history” and “China’s natural landscape is full of appeal, which makes me feel refreshed” … During the tour, Sidi Muhammad wrote down his feelings in his notebook. He said: "These feelings are the source of inspiration for my creation. I will bring it back to the motherland and find a new creative direction in precipitation and combing. "
In addition to collecting wind and creating works, Sidi Muhammad specially left a handwritten letter, which he wrote affectionately: “The gathering of Arab and Chinese artists is not only an artistic exchange, but also a continuation of history-the friendship between the Arab and Chinese people originated from the friendly exchanges on the ancient silk road.”
“This is my first time in China. I love China so much that I want to live here.” On the second day of collecting folk songs, Jordanian artist Rania Hamad said, "The architectural style of China is unique, and I seem to have walked into a movie. Chinese’s flower headdress is very beautiful, and jasmine tea is very fragrant. " The majestic Great Wall, the ingenious design of Fujian Tulou, the hairpin flowers and tea ordering, and the experience of traveling all the way intoxicated her, and the camera shutter kept pressing. Rania also affectionately called the young people in the work team “my children”. When leaving, her eyes were red and she said, “You must come to Jordan. I will treat you like my own children, and the door of my home will always be open to you.”
“This activity is a vivid footnote for Arab-Chinese artistic exchanges.”
The Maritime Silk Road witnessed the friendly exchanges between ancient Arab countries and China. Fujian is one of the eastern starting points of the ancient Maritime Silk Road and the core area of the Maritime Silk Road in the 21st century. During the tour of Fujian, Arab artists deepened their understanding of the Silk Road.
Youssef mohamad, director of the Department of Culture and Civilization Dialogue of the League of Arab States, also attended the event. Yousufu said, "I didn’t know until I came to Fujian that the dialogue between Arab and Chinese civilizations began a long time ago. Different civilizations are not in conflict, but can respect each other and learn from each other, which has always been advocated by the Arab League. Harmony but difference, beauty and beauty, this event is a vivid footnote for the artistic exchange between Afghanistan and China. "
Tunisia painter Fitz Safar lamented: "At that time, there were thousands of merchants on the Maritime Silk Road, and the exchanges between and China have a long history. Today, we can still see the traces of the blending and mutual learning between China and Arab cultures from the buildings in Fujian. "
Moroccan painter Aisha Ahledan and Omani painter Khalid Rachdy both present the Millennium echo of the Maritime Silk Road with their paintings. In Khalid’s Silk Road, a ship is loaded with China products and sails for Oman. Aisha’s work “From Mount Atlantis to the Great Wall” has China elements such as the Great Wall, tea, dragons and the image of Arabian sailboats, which vividly reproduces the picture of maritime communication spanning thousands of years. Although the works of the two artists have different perspectives and styles, they all reflect the cultural exchanges between China and Arab countries.
“Promote friendly exchanges between the Arab and Chinese peoples and continue the Silk Road friendship”
In the activities of collecting folk songs, Arab artists not only got inspiration, but also forged a deep friendship with China artists.
The father of Algerian artist Yasser Amir studied in China and created a large number of paintings with China cultural elements. Influenced by his family, Yasser has been intimate with China culture since childhood. During the collecting activities, he had an in-depth artistic exchange with Zhang Qiuju, an artist from Fujian, China. In Zhang Qiuju’s studio, they exchanged skills, creative ideas and gave each other paintings, thus forming a deep friendship.
Yasser said that this gathering was of great significance to him. He made many lovely friends in China and got a more three-dimensional understanding of China. “I will take what I saw and heard in China back to Algeria, share it with more friends, and recommend them to take a walk in China, visit the mountains and rivers of China and learn about the development of China.” In his view, sincere exchanges between the two peoples are the most solid cornerstone for consolidating Arab-Chinese friendship, and a vivid practice of mutual learning between the two civilizations and the people’s hearts.
"Approaching each other and understanding each other is the most touching force in the process of getting along with others. We must promote the friendly exchanges between the Arab and Chinese people through art and continue the Silk Road friendship. " Oman artist Yusuf Ali Hamad said. In the process of collecting folk songs, he humbly consulted artists in China and studied China’s calligraphy. Finally, he wrote three characters of “A trip to China” in his works, and added Arabic cultural elements between the words. One horizontal and one vertical, one left and one left, the Arab-Chinese culture completed the handshake across the mountains and seas on paper.
The activity of “Yihui Silk Road-Famous Arab Artists Visiting China to Collect Scenery and Create Works” is an important brand project of cultural tourism exchange under the framework of China-Arab Cooperation Forum. It has been held for 14 times since 2009, and more than 200 artists from 22 Arab countries have been invited to visit China to collect scenery. During the activity, artists have created more than 500 works of art.
