The Silk Road on the National Card: Just Like Rainbows over the Silk Road, the Stamps Are Messages of Friendship
ZHANG LILI * General Publishing House Co.ltd., Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710062, China
IN THE LONG HISTORY OF HUMAN raphical survey that a mysterious and ancient
civilization, the Silk Road, with a history of over international trade channel was hidden betwe-
2,000 years, is like a ribbon, dancing in the wind, en Asia, Europe and Africa. With the change
constantly changing its direction of travel, emit- of time and years, it appeared and disappea-
ting a long and mysterious echo like the sound red and showed great vitality. All this seems to
of camel bells in the vast Gobi. The Silk Road have something to do with an ancient civilized
began in Chang’an, the thousand-year-old impe- country in the East. With this discovery, he
rial capital of the great eastern country of China. came to China alone and investigated the an-
In the second half of the 19th century, a Ger- cient land for four years. Ultimately, he named
man named Richthofen discovered in his geog- this business road “the Silk Road”.
* Zhang Lili, M.A., Associate Editor, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Reference of Chinese Language Teaching and Learning Secondary School in Shaanxi Normal University General Publishing House. She is the council member of the Poetry, Calligraphy and Painting Research Association in Xi’an.
90 How to cite: Zhang, L. (2023). The Silk Road on the National Card: Just like rainbows over the Silk Road, the
stamps are messages of friendship. [Review of the book The Silk Road on the National Card, Shanxi Normal University]. BRIQ Belt & Road Initiative, 4(2), 90-92.
In 2013, when Chinese President Xi Jin- ds. The book is a blend of knowledge, history
ping visited four Central Asian countries, he and scholarship. It closely follows the charac-
said with affection: “My hometown, Shaanxi, teristics of “Silk Road Culture” to showcase the
is located at the starting point of the ancient essence of Silk Road culture and the integrati-
Silk Road…” During this period, President Xi on of traditional culture and modern civiliza-
Jinping put forward the initiative of building tion along the Silk Road.
a “New Silk Road Economic Belt”, which re- Volume I focuses on the human history
ceived widespread attention from the interna- and customs of Chang’an, the starting point of
tional community. Thus, the “Belt and Road” the Silk Road. Altogether there are five series
came into being. Borrowing the historical sy- in Volume I about Shaanxi. Series I, Chine-
mbols of the ancient Silk Road, it has sounded se Civilization and Beautiful Landscape. The
the great call for a community of interests, des- stamps include Nuwa Creating Human Beings,
tiny and responsibility for humanity. Against Tomb of Yellow Emperor and Xuanyuan Cyp-
this background, General Publishing House ress Tree, Xi’an City Wall, Master Monk Xu-
Co. Ltd., Shaanxi Normal University, has pub- anzang and Big Wild Goose Pagoda, and Bell
lished The Silk Road on the National Card Tower of Xi’an. Series II, Beautiful Scenery and
(Volume I and Volume II) after several years Chinese Treasure. The stamps include Hukou
of careful planning. It is a gift to the “One Belt, Waterfall of the Yellow River, Terra-Cotta
One Road” initiative. Warriors and Horses of the First Emperor of
the Qin Dynasty, and more. Series III, Great Men and True Talents, All Gathering in the
Taking the ancient Silk Road as Land of Three Qins. The stamps include Laozi
the medium, the book intends and Taoist Louguan Temple, and Zhang Qian:
to promote to the world the Diplomat to the Western Regions. Series IV,
great achievements of Shaanxi Paintings and Calligraphy, Treasures of Sha-
in history and culture, natural anxi. The stamps include Stone Tablet of Cao
scenery, cultural heritages, Quan, Painter Yan Liben and His Bu Nian Tu,
urban outlooks, and economic Chang’an Pomegranate: Best of the World, and
construction. the works of famous Tang Calligraphers Yan
Zhenqing and Liu Gongquan. Series V, New
This is a beautifully bound, well-designed Silk Road and Great Achievements. The stam-
book. From the content of the articles, the ps include Silk Road Starting Point: Exploring
stamps, the choice of paper, the layout of the the Universe, The Day Begins from Silk Road
handwriting, the design of the plates and the Starting Point.
layout of the illustrations, it is clear that the Taking the ancient Silk Road as the media,
book has been crafted with great care and at- the book intends to promote to the world the
tention to detail, showing its antiquity and ele- great achievements of Shaanxi in history and
gance. The book is divided into two volumes, culture, natural scenery, cultural heritages, ur-
with a total of ten series, spilling 600,000 wor- ban outlooks and economic construction.
Volume II introduces the historical and cultu- Silk Road, was canonized as “Duke of Bowang
ral deposits and the landscape of the mountains (Great Virtue)”, which symbolized the great vir-
and rivers along the Silk Road in Henan, Gansu, tue derived from the moral of tolerance, with
Ningxia, Qinghai and Xinjiang. World Cultural which Zhang Qian won the goodwill and frien-
Heritage Dunhuang is worth particular attenti- dship of fraternal nations and countries along
on. According to Xiao Yunru, a famous cultural the Silk Road. Bowang, or Great Virtue, also in-
scholar, “The Silk Road is like a golden dragon dicates a pursuit of friendship and cooperation.
flying in the western sky, where Dunhuang is the Never shall we forget Zhang Qian, the pioneer
eye of the dragon; or that the Silk Road looks who traveled through the Western Regions and
like the scale, where Chang’an the starting point opened the Silk Road, nor his decision-maker
is like the holding rope, and Dunhuang works as Emperor Hanwu, nor Monk Xuanzang of later
the weight. Only with the two together can we generations who journeyed westward for Budd-
know the value of Chinese culture and Silk Road hist Scriptures, nor the starting point Chang’an
Culture. Rarely is there a place like Dunhuang City on the Silk Road. A famous Tang Dynasty
that best interprets the core of the Silk Road cul- poet described the ancient city as “numerous pa-
ture, that is, openness and integration, and it is lace gates opened one after another, and count-
a living example of human cultural integration.” less ambassadors came to the Emperor’s mee-
Through the magic “window” of stamps, this ting”. The ancient Silk Road promoted cultural
book will bring the readers back to the history exchanges and economic and trade prosperity
of the Silk Road and forward to its future. It can between the east and the west, directly led to the
be said that the history of the Silk Road conti- glories and splendors of the prosperous Han and
nues here. The spirit of the Silk Road is inheri- Tang Dynasties, and enabled Chang’an to beco-
ted here, the culture of the Silk Road is carried me one of the four capitals of ancient world ci-
forward here, and the majesty of the Silk Road is vilizations.
surging here. The Silk Road dream is connected Stamps are the country’s name card. The
to the Chinese dream, inheriting the past and small stamps, which unite Chinese culture and
opening up the present. The Silk Road dream is bear witness to the nation’s development, are
spreading the bridge, which brings a more confi- full of Chinese stories. Using stamps to tell the
dent and open China striding towards the world. story of the Silk Road reveals its longevity and
The Chinese dream contains the dream of the profundity. We understand that the book Silk
Silk Road. The Belt and Road depicts the futu- Road on National Card is a typical and repre-
re, realizes the great rejuvenation of the Chinese sentative piece of work, and the stamps, known
nation, and writes a more magnificent chapter of as national cards, showcase the elite and essen-
the century. This is the fundamental significance tial charms of the cities and provinces along the
of The Silk Road on the National Card (Volume Silk Road. However, due to limited pages and
I and Volume II). the prolonged continuation of stamp issuance,
The book features a grand presentation of his- we cannot promise to totally display the overall
tory in the form of stamps, which makes it lively, landscapes and comprehensive images of these
well-illustrated and readable. The dazzling array cities and provinces. We are sure there must be
of stamps exudes a strong message of history and some missing or pities, which we hope could
culture. Zhang Qian, the pioneer of the ancient make up in reprinted editions.
