Versailles, Karachi (Webinar)
One could wonder why the Silk Roads, both ancient and new, should be such a topic of fascination. After all, trade routes with flows of ideas and cultures running along them exist elsewhere.
The historical fascination with roads running through the Eurasian mosaic in itself is motivation enough. But this goes beyond that and the mosaic is not quite the appropriate representation. As Faisal Javaid puts it in Bridging Horizons, this is a tapestry, not a mosaic, for the tapestry image comes with the concept of intricately interwoven threads.
These threads run beyond the geographic dimension, they extend to abstract dimensions of spirit and time, and this is why the history of the Silk Roads is so crucial in their revival process.
Obviously, the driving forces, as P. Frankopan names them, of the ancient Silk Roads are a relevant grid to understand the present and shape the future, but this is solely a pragmatic approach, and the history of the Silk Roads can do more : it can provide us with a sense of of purpose, resolve and open minds and hearts.
We, as humans, are the only living beings that do not merely live in the present, we are a bridge between times we connect past, present and future.
As Nietzsche puts it in Thus Spoke Zarathustra :
The grandeur of man stems from the fact that he is a bridge and not an end in itself : what we may love about men, is that they are transition…
Thus Spoke Zarathustra, Friedrich Nietzsche
When we delve into history, we see how rich and insightful mankind is. It is a time-consuming endeavour but that one needs to undertake to get a grasp of this complexity, see oneself as a bridge, give a body to that very unique element of human essence and reach that sense of purposefulness.
One must not work for the sole sake of economic, social and human development, but we must take part in a historical and civilisational experience, act as bridge, act with a vision and purpose : we are building for generations to come as much as we are reviving what illustrious generations before have built across Eurasia and along the Silk roads.
The eurasian countries involved in these New Silk Roads happen to be countries on the rise after more or less long phases of sitting in the backseat of the global stage. Now is time to reaffirm the role in the global stage, engage in regional and global initiatives while asserting one’s sovereignty at the same time. This can only add resolve to the sense of special purpose of bridging past glories with a promising future.
The bridges one needs to build span over more than two countries, even for a purpose thought of in national terms. The interdependence can be only thought of in regional and global terms, and the success in implementing a vision at home depends on the ability to understand neighbour’s history and one own’s history. Delving in someone’s history means delving into own’s history.
The history one knows the least is often one’s own history. The inner journey into one’s own history through other cultures brings one closer to his own history and opens the mind to the many visions of life coexisting, merging and interacting in the Eurasian space and along the Silk Roads.