描绘古丝路 需要好画笔

沈卫星

《外国文物里的丝绸之路》获得国家新闻出版署“丝路书香”工程出版资助后，英文版的翻译和编校工作即将完成并要付梓了。作为编著者，回想中文版和英文版的编撰过程，感慨良多。

讲好丝路故事需更多国外专业声音

观察历史，可以有不同角度。也只有建立来自各方位的审视点，才能对历史有着全面深入的认知。想起当时之所以做了编撰该书的这一决定，除了上述的原因外，也还有其他几方面的因素促成，不妨在此亮明一下我的心迹。

第一，毕竟“一带一路”本由历史深处走来，文博界最能融通古今、承接中外，有世界共通的语言。从文物考古入手，能够在那些被历史雪藏的原初物品和珍贵线索中，让中外读者较为真切地看到中国的“一带一路”与古丝绸之路之间有着怎样的血脉延续和精神联结，从而打开审视、欣赏和思考的新窗口。

第二，虽然“丝绸之路”的文物考古和博物馆藏品研究星星点点不少，但由多个国家出自多样作者之手的横向发声不多，如果做较为集中而全面的扫描，不失为一种新意。另外，考古发现和博物馆藏品也是大众最为关注的兴趣点之一，容易走近读者。

第三，越是多元主体参与，越需要多样声音共鸣。讲好丝路故事，就是要引入更多国外的专家、学者、业者发声。在我国对古丝路已然说得很多的情况下，如何引入更多国外专家学者业者发声，向世人讲述中国和其他各国在古丝绸之路所作的贡献，这是丝绸之路乃至“一带一路”对外传播的重要课题。如果出版外文版，用图书“走出去”的方式进行国际传播，有利于向国际社会展示中国文化源远流长及与世界各国的友好交往，彰显中华民族早在丝绸之路形成时期就砥砺精进、拥抱世界的开放姿态，提升世界对丝绸之路和“一带一路”的关注度，为“和平、发展、合作、共赢”理念提供智力支撑。我认为这是一项意在主动寻找增进对话、理解、互信的工作，也是让我下决心编著的最重要因素。

南疆之行，给我触动很大。2019 年7 月，我因公务出差到新疆，当驱车行进在南疆的帕米尔高原，无论是红旗拉甫口岸中巴人货交通的喧腾，还是塔什库尔干瓦罕走廊的寂静，都仿佛正在诉说新丝路与古丝路接续的故事，这也对编著文集注入了新的动力。

文物考古是历史的显微镜

如果说文物是历史的见证者的话，那么考古是历史的显微镜。古丝绸之路蕴含着极为丰富的自然信息、历史谜题和人文内涵，载有丰厚的物质性、社会性和文化性，是文博界一座挖掘不竭的富矿。

与国内对古丝绸之路热火朝天的研究相比，国外的文博界又是什么样的状况？特别是沿线国家对古丝绸之路正在进行怎样的文物考古发掘？开展哪些方面的研究？取得哪些新的成果？博物馆里的藏品有否新的发现和展示？哪些专家学者在其研究领域具有代表性？怎样向他们表达清楚本书的定位和写作要求？……一旦进入实际工作状态，诸多问题便纷至沓来。

所幸的是，经过简单的观察、调研后发现，自中国提出“一带一路”倡议后，世界各国文博界在古丝路方面，考古有新发现，研究有新拓展，藏品有新开掘，许多方面都不断有新推进。因此，当我真正与外国专业人士接触后，便发现古丝绸之路在国际社会的文物考古领域已经变成竞相开掘的富矿了。

不知不觉间，邀约的稿件由案头的零星几篇，到逐渐堆叠增厚，时时感觉来自各个国家的文章内容愈来愈丰满，信息也渐趋清晰和多样。我从外国专家的笔下发现，中国与丝路沿线各国家之间，虽然有荒漠与大川、草原与戈壁、山乡与泽国等万千阻隔，尽管充斥其间的不乏朔风啸叫、恶浪滔天、百兽怒号，但陆、海、草的丝绸之路，在车辏辚辚、帆影幢幢、驼铃声声中，早已将高原屋脊与大洋深处、巍峨城邦与星布村落之间联结成一片。其间，荣衰不断变换，新旧不断交替，重心不断移位，闭塞之地逐渐变成开放之城，动人的故事在精美瓷盘中传递，美妙的交流就隐藏在丝织的锦绣图案中。

最终，我选定17 篇外国作者的稿件，它们来自美国、英国、法国、俄罗斯、日本、以色列、土耳其、巴基斯坦、伊朗、哈萨克斯坦、塔吉克斯坦、乌兹别克斯坦、泰国、印度等国家，作者中有各大学和文化机构的专业研究人员，也有文博界的业内掌门人，他们均秉持权威的专家身份，开放的学术姿态，从各自的考古、文博等领域将最新发现和成果欣然呈现，观点阐发新颖，研究视角独特，论述过程严谨，判断时尽量多用“可能”“或许”等词语，而不是妄下结论，显示出应有的客观、求真、务实的探究作风。

刷新学界业界研究发现新高度

编著的过程，同样也是一次发现的过程。

这些学界、业界的文章，凝结着作者的智慧和心血，为我们提供了对古丝路新的研究角度、新的发现领域、新的历史结论。

以海洋、城市、陵墓、港口等为核心的田野考古是一项既枯燥又辛苦还要冒风险的工作，然而背后也有令人惊喜的收获，如英国杜伦大学考古学系的古铁雷斯和杰拉德两位教授，在对西班牙海域的考古发现进行研究后指出：“‘海上丝绸之路的终点可能早在唐代就已延伸至西欧，而非此前认为的晚至明代，这一重大发现将中欧陶瓷贸易起始时间向前推进了500年。”这真是一个振奋人心的消息。还有像巴基斯坦真纳大学阿什拉夫和阿里夫、伊朗原德黑兰大学考古系主任唐内希普、印度喀拉拉邦跨学科考古科学发展研究所所长切利安等专家，他们在各自研究领域取得突破性进展时的欢欣，也令我感同身受。

而英国牛津大学考古学院荣誉研究员奈杰尔 · 武德、美国美利坚大学人类学系教授库沙姆巴、日本冲绳县立艺术大学教授森达也等几位考古学者，则在先进技术和仪器的应用方面堪称典范，不仅大大提升了获取信息的能力，也提出了有科学性、创见性的认识，其研究成果充分展示了当代高科技在考古发掘中的作用。

以新发掘的出土文物为研究對象和佐证依据，并结合历史文献来对古丝路在演进过程中的蛛丝马迹和规律性认识作出独到阐释，是这次来稿中的又一重要方面。代表专家有法国的艾克斯 · 马赛大学教授波特、以色列的特拉维夫大学孔子学院院长戈尔德施密特、哈萨克斯坦的中央国家博物馆考古中心主任哈米特、塔吉克斯坦的国家博物馆考古和钱币学系主任多伍迪等。

來自俄罗斯莫斯科国立东方艺术博物馆馆长西多夫、乌兹别克斯坦撒马尔汗国家博物馆保护区首席专家拉克马托娃、土耳其安卡拉哈吉 · 巴伊拉姆 · 维利大学文学院教授吉来 · 菲丹和土耳其总统府国家宫殿管理局艺术历史学家阿尔帕伊、塔吉克斯坦国家博物馆游览与群众部负责人肯扎夫、泰国文化部艺术局高级顾问瑞苏查特等专家，他们对自己国家博物馆里的丝路藏品颇为骄傲，以丝绸、陶瓷、金银器等为代表的手工业遗存为切入点，深入浅出地向人们讲述了古丝路的深远历史背景和呈现的无穷魅力。

中外文博界的一次对话

我想表达的是，丝绸之路的巨幅画卷，离不开各种笔画的绘就。 如果说这本文集有什么意义的话，我认为它曾经用绵薄之力做过一掬饮、一抔土的缀补工作。如果能在打通历史渊源、交流丝路精神、共享文博研究上有所裨益的话，我将很欣慰。也希望这本由外国专家撰写的专题论集，不仅是一次外国文博界的横向呈现，也是中外文博界的一次遥契和对话吧。

为了寻求本文集的特色，我试图将其打造成一个 “大家”写给大众的项目，兼顾学术性与可读性。这样，信息饱满，注重悦读，自然成了追求。便更加致力于通过外国考古挖掘和馆藏文物所呈现的史料文献和藏品图片，对散落四海的丝路历史碎片进行准确梳理、互相印证，寓枯燥的研究于平实的叙述中，帮助读者获得新颖而有史识、鲜活而有依据的丝路图景，进而从亲近丝路历史文化和灿烂文明中获得深厚滋养。为便于悦读，配以300 多幅珍贵文物图片资料，使之图文并茂。

最后，我想说的是，通过这本文集，再一次表明，近年来国外有关古丝路的重大考古发现接连不断，各国博物馆相关藏品也有更为深入的挖掘和更多的主题性展出，这些不仅大大触发了人们对发生在数千年前这条繁华贸易通道的感知，也深化了人们对古丝路上不同历史阶段社会、经济、农业、手工业、城市建设等的理解，原有的很多事件和细节由此变得更加形象、直观、清晰。而更重要的是，它们弥补了史料记载的缺失，刷新了学界研究的高度，为进一步探索和揭示古丝路历史奥秘提供了新的起点和新的可能性，也为人们真切感知其迷人魅力找到新的载体，更为今天的“一带一路”建设打通物质和精神上的血脉。

（作者系中国政法大学光明新闻传播学院院长、教授、博士生导师，光明日报原副总编辑。）

Brushes from Abroad to Paint the Picture of

the Silk Road

By Shen Weixing

When I was the deputy editor-in-chief at Guangming Daily， I often pondered on a question： how to make full use of the newspapers resources to improve the international influence of the Chinese culture， enhance Chinas soft power， promote cultural exchanges between China and the world， and ultimately present a true， three-dimensional and comprehensive China to the world？

In May 2017， when the Belt and Road Forum （BRF） for International Cooperation was held in Beijing， I led the team of Guangming Daily for the coverage of the event. Four years ago， the Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” initiative， later collectively known as the Belt and Road Initiative， which immediately won praises all around the world， in particularly from countries along the Belt and Road. Now， ideas were needed on how best to implement relevant policies and carry out related programs. Against such a background， 29 foreign heads of state and governments and representatives from more than 130 countries and 70 international organizations came to the BRF for mutual cooperation and open development.

At the time， a book entitled The Silk Roads： A New History of the World by the Oxford historian Peter Frankopan deeply attracted me. For me， it was among the best newly published books of foreign scholars on the history of the ancient Silk Road. Shaking off the eurocentrism and hubris commonly seen in similar works， he argued that the Silk Road had played a key role in connecting the East with the West， in particular emphasizing the important role that the Belt and Road Initiative played.

The BRF and Frankopans book prompted me to pay more attention to the latest research on the Silk Road; they also became the catalyst for this book： if leading scholars from across the globe could be invited to write on the ancient Silk Road， such an anthology would present more perspectives and arguments. Once the idea was born， like a seed， it began to take root and germinate. After much thinking， I finally decided to start from archeological discoveries and museum collections， and came up with the title “Cultural Relics along the Silk Road”.

History can be interpreted from different angles. Only through multiple perspectives can we have a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of history. Apart from the abovementioned reason， several other factors also contributed to my choosing “cultural relics” as the main subject of the book. For one thing， the Belt and Road Initiative was born out of history after all. Researchers in the fields of archeology and museology share a universal language and are the best ones to literally dig into the past and see its connection with the present – in this case the continuity between the Belt and Road Initiative and the ancient Silk Road.

For another， while studies abound on the cultural relics and museum collections along the Silk Road， a comprehensive research that “connects the dots”， i.e. a multiple-country-multiple-authored study， is still lacking. And a book on the archeological findings along the Silk Road is also what the common readers are interested in today.

More important， perhaps， is the fact that a book that gathers a host of eminent foreign scholars and that is written in English is one of the best ways to tell the “China story” to the world， to show the overseas audiences the contributions that China and the countries along the Silk Road have made.

Compared with the booming interest in the ancient Silk Road among Chinas archeologists and scholars， what is it like in the other countries？ In particular， what kind of archeological excavations are being carried out in countries along the ancient Silk Road？ What kind of research is being conducted？ What new achievements have been made？ Are there any new discoveries and exhibits in the museums collections？ Which experts and scholars are the leading ones in their fields of study？ How do you communicate to them the purposes and requirements of the book？ ... Once actual work started， many questions needed to be answered.

Fortunately， after some initial investigation， I found that new discoveries， new studies and new progress have been steadily made after China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative. When I began to get in touch with those foreign experts in earnest， I realized that this field is truly a rich mine waiting to be tapped.

Gradually， more and more submissions arrived at my desk， and ultimately， I have chosen 17 of them， whose authors coming from the US， the UK， France， Japan， Israel， Turkey， Pakistan， Iran， Russia， Kazakhstan， Tajikistan， Uzbekistan， Thailand and India. While oceans and mountains apart， these articles all manage to tell moving stories through each and every piece of past relics. Through their meticulous and rigorous research， these scholars are able to present the latest developments and ideas in their fields to the readers.

For example， Professors Alejandra Gutiérrez and Christopher Gerrard from Durham University argued that the end of the Maritime Silk Road may have already extended into Western Europe during the Tang times （618-907）， instead of the commonly believed Ming period （1368-1644）， which means Sino-European trade in porcelain started 500 years earlier than previously thought. Nigel Wood， Honorary Research Associate from Oxford University， Professor Kusimba from American University in Washington and Professor Tatsuya Mori from Japans Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts have all exceled in applying advanced technologies and instruments to obtain important information in archeology. To name just a few. And to help readers better understand the research， over 300 pictures and illustrations of rare cultural relics have been made available in the book.

The Silk Road is akin to a giant painting， which cant be completed without various kinds of brushes. By assembling papers from all over the world， this book intends to achieve that very end. If the book can be of any value and service in transmitting the history of the Silk Road， promoting its spirit and sharing the latest research， I would be more than happy.