Teaching the Past, Embracing the Future

In 2008, when I visited two cities in China, Harbin and Beijing, for the first time, I was fascinated and captivated by its dynamism. And friendships and academic exchanges soon motivated me to become more involved in China.

Another point of attraction was my long-standing interest in the Silk Road. China was at the center of it and still is today. It was in operation for thousands of years, and as with any economic construct, there were occasional ups and downs. Ultimately the Silk Road was forgotten because it was no longer economically viable, as we would say today.

However, interest in it continued with the advent of research expeditions and it found an even greater response in recent years when China launched the new Silk Road in 2013. And so, I also took advantage of the many opportunities in China, the official initiator of the world's largest trading network 2,000 years ago.

Even if your original homeland is your anchor, you should not focus too much on your own environment and culture when you are abroad. This is something that you must learn. You have to avoid stereotypes and general preconceived ideas if you want to integrate yourself into the new surroundings.

During one of my earlier trips to Yunnan province in southwestern China, I found it amusing when in the absence of verbal communication, people wrote sentences on a piece of paper for me to exchange words with me — in Chinese characters. It was only later that I realized that in a society where information can be communicated and understood across borders using a standardized script, these people had sought to find a solution that suited their environment.

So for me, China remains an adventure with incredible opportunities. Apart from Hainan province in southernmost China and Xizang autonomous region in the southwest, for now, I have visited every province and municipality and was overwhelmed by the cultural legacy everywhere. China's diversity, not only in the culinary area, is underestimated outside China — its regions are as different as the countries of Europe.

But even more fascinating are the inhabitants, who are forging their own paths and are full of hope and hard work and are inventive in creating a better future for themselves. China and my School of History at the Capital Normal University in Beijing — where I have been employed as a distinguished associated professor since 2019 teaching Egyptian and Mesopotamian history and culture — also give me a lot of freedom and opportunities in my research.

Not only can I travel around the country in search of other highlights, be it in the open or in the many museums that reflect the country's archaeological wealth, but I often have the opportunity to get to know China and its people better. In rural areas as well as in the cities, they repeatedly demonstrate their friendliness and helpfulness.

A recent experience is worth mentioning: I bought the wrong metro ticket, and a worker there spoke to me in good English and wanted to help me. When he found out that I was Austrian, he switched to excellent German. When I asked him where he had learned it, he mentioned various language apps — one of many examples of diligence, intelligence and interest.

Something similar happened to me years ago in the city of Guangzhou in south China, when an elderly gentleman was painting in a park. Attracted by his paintings, we started talking, again in perfect German. In his case, in an era before smartphones he had learned German from German classic schoolbooks, without ever having been to Europe.

And so, I am integrating more and more and trying to learn the language of my hosts. After all, I feel at home in China as I do in my native Austria. In China in particular, you can see that the citizens have their ambitions for the future and their traditions are firmly anchored in the past and yet "anchored" is not the right word; after all, hardly any other country is moving forward as dynamically as this nation.

Traveling is like a book and the pages get filled with each new impression. You get to know foreign countries and yourself. My venture in China and along the Silk Road serves as a cultural bridge between the East and West — in the spirit of general transfers, serving, learning, and using from each other.

As the Chinese author Lu Xun wrote, "Hope cannot be said to exist, nor can it be said not to exist. It is just like roads across the earth. For actually the earth has no roads to begin with … but when many people pass one way, a road is made."

Rainer Feldbacher is a distinguished associate professor of Oriental studies at the School of History at the Capital Normal University.

Source: Science and Tecgnology