Journeys Between Cultures

"Drizzle falls on the frontier city at dusk, while the wild geese, returning home, fly low/ The wild grass is on the verge of sprouting/Countless bells resonate over distant footprints/ Ringing the camels, with loads of silk, into Anxi." Teams of Bactrian camels, tied with bells, and carrying snow-white silk, head west on the Silk Road.... This was how the scene, already part of life even in the Western Han dynasty 2,000 years ago, appeared in the mind's eye of a poet.

A century before the birth of Christ, Zhang Qian was sent as an envoy into the Western Dominions (Xinjiang). Although he did not succeed in his efforts to win allies against the Huns, he did open up exchanges on an East-West land route. Thereafter, silks, lacquerware, tea, and other precious products of the Middle Kingdom made their way westward, while specialties of the western regions--fine horses, pomegranates, walnuts, pepper--were brought into central China. The products of each enriched the lives of the other to a greater or lesser extent, marking the first large-scale contact between East and West.

But after centuries of prosperity, exchanges along the Silk Road declined due to changes of dynasty and warfare. With the overland route obstructed, yet with demand continuing to rise, sea trade began to flourish. Perhaps many people are unaware that as early as the Western Han dynasty (206 BC to 25 AD) Chinese ships sailed as far as Sri Lanka. At the height of the Tang dynasty, 1,300 years ago, magnificent fleets loaded with silks, tea, and porcelain plied the seas of Southeast Asia, coming back with pearls, spices, and agate, yielding rich profits.

This southerly route was gradually extended with improvements in navigational techniques. By the time of the Song and Yuan dynasties (covering the years 960-1333), ships were reaching North Africa. By this time Chinese porcelain was a fully mature product. It was durable and brilliantly colored, with a rich abundance of forms and functions. Unique in the world, it naturally was the envy of other peoples, and became the major product for export. Archaeologists have unearthed Chinese porcelain in the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Iraq, and Egypt. This "Porcelain Road" has never been as well known as the Silk Road it succeeded. But like the Silk Road, it transmitted the exquisite culture of ancient China to others.

Thus Chinese people were pioneering land and maritime trails beginning millennia ago. At the end of the 15th century, a Portuguese-- Vasco de Gama--pioneered a new route linking East and West around the Cape of Good Hope. And Columbus reached America by crossing the Atlantic Ocean. These were both great accomplishments in man's struggle to gain mastery over the elements.

Though, sadly, these accomplishments later led to gunboat diplomacy and colonization, at first they merely created a bustling new trade . Waves of merchant vessels arrived in the East from Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, and England, first to buy finished goods, later to bring specifications for products to be manufactured specifically for sale in Europe. This new Western-developed "Porcelain Road" was the scene of wondrous stories for three centuries. Our former editor-in-chief, Wang Jiafong, who has spent several years in England, brings us these tales of weal and woe in this month's cover story. These articles will increase your understanding of East-West cultural exchange and touch you deeply.

Speaking of cultural exchange, it is likely that no one feels the impact of multiple cultures more than the descendants of emigrants. In this month's Life Overseas section, we bring you three excellent, but very different, pieces. One of these comes from Nina Wu, who is trying to identify with "the best of both worlds." Her interesting article is especially recommended to readers home and abroad who have had experience with emigration or who have been striving to create the best possible educational environment for their children.

But man does not live by culture alone. Most people must always come back to the basics--food, clothing, housing, occupations, and recreation. This month we offer several interesting topics in this vein. Readers can once again taste the joys of Taiwanese cuisine in a bando street banquet. Or participate in the dream of flying at Saichia--a dream that can come true quite easily if one goes through the three days of basic instruction in paragliding. According to our youngest writer and photographer, who with great courage and professionalism personally tried paragliding, it is worth it. Indeed, flying must be personally experienced to be fully comprehended. As for myself, however, I will pass-- my daring has faded with the years, and I will have to fly vicariously through our article.

In recent years it has become popular to say that a person's success is decided less by their IQ (intelligence quotient) than by their EQ (emotional quotient). In other words, success depends mostly on personality, including self-understanding and self-control, tolerance and affection for others, and the ability to take charge of matters. This is perhaps not a new theory, and may simply be the sum of many commonly recognized truths about life. Yet, common as these truths are, we can only really best see the special characteristics that verify this theory in the actions of a few specially accomplished people. In this issue, Yen Mei-ling, a "Model for the Disabled," is just such a sparkling example.

In fact, it is not necessary for an individual or an enterprise to be successful in conventional terms. Maybe it is only necessary that each individual gives as much as possible to their jobs, activities, and interests, and enjoys them to the fullest. We offer one story about the untiring efforts of "mosquito raiders" in the field fighting against disease-carrying mosquitoes. Another story relates how modern vernacular poetry is inciting a wave of public interest through "spoken poetry." And finally, we have the inexhaustible channels of cable television, trying all kinds of (largely similar) gimmicks to attract viewers in the runup to the elections. We hope that our readers, before they go aimlessly channel-surfing, will follow our writer behind the scenes. If you do, we are confident that in this election season, as the media builds to a fever pitch, you will remain an alert and clear-minded voter.