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Start the Week

Ancient India and China: from golden to silk roads

Sep 30, 2024
William Dalrymple, a best-selling historian, highlights India's ancient influence on global culture, discussing how art, technology, and religion shaped civilizations. Susan Whitfield brings attention to the remarkable manuscripts discovered in Dunhuang, revealing vibrant historical exchanges on the Silk Roads. Sinead Javary delves into modern Indian art, showcasing diverse responses to significant political changes from 1975 to 1998 in her upcoming exhibition. Together, they weave a narrative of India's profound, yet often overlooked, historical significance across time.
42:10

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Quick takeaways

  • William Dalrymple emphasizes India's historical role as a significant superpower influencing arts, mathematics, and trade along ancient maritime routes.
  • The ongoing exhibition at the Barbican showcases how contemporary Indian artists address social justice and identity amidst political and cultural shifts.

Deep dives

The Silk Road's Diverse Cultural Tapestry

The ancient trade networks known as the Silk Roads were not just a conduit for silk between China and Rome but a rich tapestry of cultures, languages, and religions. Dunhuang, a vibrant commercial hub in northwestern China, exemplified this diversity, featuring manuscripts in over 20 languages and housing key spiritual traditions of the time, including Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and older belief systems. This cosmopolitanism illustrates the complex interactions between various civilizations along the trade routes, highlighting a more nuanced understanding of history that moves beyond simplified narratives. Rather than a singular path dominated by China, the Silk Roads represented a web of exchanges influencing arts, sciences, and philosophy across regions like India, Persia, and Central Asia.

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