When two worlds meet

Xinjiang is located in the northwest of China. It connects the country to Central Asia in modern days and was famous for the "Silk Road" in the old days. Paying a visit there is always a dream for someone like me, who grew up in the Southern part of China. It is a dream consisting of vast green plains, mountains with snow peaks everywhere, exotic food and clothes, blue waters surrounded by the peaceful mountains, mysterious forests decorated by raindrops on the tip of the leaves, and finally sands on your face when the wind blows over a small yellow dune. In fact, Xinjiang seems to be too far and too different from the southern China small town that I do not even know how much this dream reflects reality. And it does not matter! Every child in China learns from their textbooks and depends on glimpses of TV shows to construct this imagination. They all know, in the western part of the country, there are beautiful sceneries and landscapes you can only find in US national parks.

Culturally, however, I know very little about Xinjiang. Besides "they belong to China from very old times" and "Uyghur people live there", there is little about the cultural history of this region that I know. When I recently learned that the oldest Buddhist Temple and Buddha Grottoes are located in Xinjiang, I was very surprised. That is definitely before the Islamic era and when the "Silk Road" to India and Central Asia was often used by messengers, government officials, monks, armies, and perhaps businessmen (recent studies show that there are actually few written records about professional businessmen traveling along the "Silk Road" ). Compared to the other parts of China, this is the best demonstration of the so-called east-west fusion because this area is the exact "gate" and "pathway" to the vastly populated central China area when "west" cultures were introduced.

"When two worlds meet", is the title that comes to my mind when I look back to find a good phrase to summarize both trips to Xinjiang and Mexico. However, I now also realize that "two worlds" may not be a suitable description either for the "east-west" fusion we are talking about for Xinjiang. Yes, the nature and geographic barriers block the traveling paths in some way. It is never the case that you cannot do it at all. The Spanish need to travel across the ocean to reach Latin America. So in Mexico's case, it was not until the Age of Sail when sailing technology made it possible for long-distance across-continental travels, that the "two worlds" met. However, the current context for the differentiation of "east" and "west" worlds in Xinjiang's case may be coming more from a political motivation.

In other words, in Xinjiang's case, the two worlds naturally meet if people are allowed to move, travel, migrate, and so on. Economic prosperity and political open-mindedness (or aggressiveness) of the central (or regional) government will encourage the "meeting frequencies" while wars and economic difficulties will reduce that. Qian Zhang is a great example of a messenger and ambassador that the Great Han sent in order to further conquer the western regions. Cultural communication and fusion is an important feature when the "silk road" has more people traveling on it. But it is, to my opinion, not a driver or purpose by itself. Of course, there are times when Indian and Western regions monks are eager to transmit Buddhism to the "east" (mostly when Mahayana is popular) and also there are times when the central or regional government adopts and respects Buddhism and send (or allow) Han monks to learn classics in the "west". Xuan Zang is a great example of a Western explorer who is committed to learning Buddhism classics in the Great Tang era. But, as a vast area of territory that has resources needed by the central government and a great opportunity to show power and influence, the Xinjiang area is a must-have for military and political reasons for the central government if they can afford to have it.

So Xinjiang is diverse with many many layers of textures. Each layer has a "fusion" name on it. From ancient ruins in Tarim Basin, like Niya, and Loulan (Han armies were there, as well as local Sakas) -- each of them presents many stories known or unknown to us -- to Han or Tang's semi or full governance of western regions, from the ancient Indo-European languages spoken in the Tarim Basin to modern Turkish languages spoken in the contemporary Xinjiang, from the Buddha Grottoes created in the 3rd century in Kucha to the modern Mosque and international bazaar in Urumq, each layer of the history and culture of Xinjiang is beautiful and fascinating. Like an onion, peeling it may sometimes make you cry.

Compared to my trip to Xinjiang, I found a very similar yet different way to understand Mexico from a cultural fusion point of view during my trip to Mexico City. Mexico City is lively and crowded. It vividly demonstrates to me how people with strong local cultural roots adapt, change and cleverly mix up new features when another strong civilization invades. Of course, the influences of the great Spanish empire are everywhere from religion to architecture. But the traces of Teotihuacan, Mayan, and Aztec cultural traditions remain very strong in the contemporary Mexican cultures. It is a different era, nationalism may have boosted the imagined community and promoted a modern country's picture and brand that keeps both the Spanish and the traditional representations. I am therefore very curious about how a world view after the age of Discovery and the notion of globalization influences the preservation of history and cultures.

“When two worlds meet”, I found it a pretty interesting theme to use for the comparison of cultures. It will cover geographic, historical, political, economic, military, racial, linguistic, anthropological, archaeological, and almost all aspects of human civilizations. Xinjiang and Mexico are great examples of two or multiple worlds meeting in different historical periods, different continents, and different technological and ideological development phases of human civilization. It reminds me of a great book: The Clash of Civilizations, but should there be a book also about "The (Peaceful) Meeting of Civilizations"? Or am I too optimistic, after all, most of the cultural fusions are the result of military or political conquer. I do not have the answers yet...