Chinese Lacquerware and the Silk Road

This book takes the lacquerware exported on the Maritime Silk Road as the research object， and aims to investigate the origin， opportunity and approach of the overseas export of ancient Chinese lacquerware， clarify the historical background， transmission process， and mutual influence of the overseas export of ancient lacquerware culture， and thus confirm the characteristics， connotations， and biases of the cultural exchange of lacquerware along the Maritime Silk Road.

Pan Tianbo

Pan Tianbo has a Ph.D. in History， is a scholar of art and cultural history， a professor at Jiangsu Normal University， and a distinguished researcher at the Institute for Advanced Study of Humanities at Shaanxi Normal University.

The jingle of camel bells resonates as white clouds drift across the sky. The Silk Road was a path through which ancient Chinese culture spread to the world， as an important convergence point of world civilizations. It was not only a major economic and trade channel for cultural exchange between China and the West but also a major axis for the development of world culture. The West commonly referred to China as “Seres，” meaning the “silk country，” or as “China，” meaning the “porcelain country，” indicating that Europeans’ recognition of Chinese culture began with the representation in objects. In fact， the impact of this object-based culture on the West is only superficial; the profound cultural philosophy and aesthetic ideas behind those objects are the critical components. Objects serve as a form and medium for the dialogue and confluence of Chinese and Western culture， among which the Silk Road and its trade channels provide a critical pathway and opportunity for the westward transmission of Chinese objects and the dissemination of its cultural values.

Vast and systematic Silk Road culture has diverse branches. Although scholars in the past have approached it from various disciplines such as sociology， natural science， and humanities， and have formed research centers in Europe， America， Japan， and China， traditional Silk Road studies have paid relatively little attention to the material as well as cultural characteristics. However， artifacts are not only the mirror of material civilization but also the carrier of cultural cognition. China is the cradle of the world’s lacquerware， with the longest history of it. Nowadays， Han Dynasty lacquerware has been unearthed in many countries and regions proving that lacquerware， like silk， was part of the Silk Road international trade. This “silk-lacquer trade” was the main way for Chinese culture to spread westward and had both direct or indirect impacts on the lifestyle and aesthetics of Westerners. Of course， Chinese exportation is not only through lacquerware and silk but also through various carriers such as architecture， furniture， painting， and porcelain， because these materials and artifacts are carriers of Chinese spiritual civilization and the crystallization of its artistic culture and aesthetic ideas， with an inevitable attraction. However， ancient Chinese lacquerware’s output to the world was mostly achieved through Silk Road trade and transit countries， so the external environment determined the unique form of its westward transmission. Moreover， overseas Chinese， students， envoys， monks， missionaries， tourists， books， colonialists， or warfare soldiers were also contributory carriers of Chinese lacquerware dissemination worldwide.

The academic community seems to have a great interest in researching the output products， such as porcelain， silk， spices， and tea， on the Maritime Silk Road， but the research on lacquerware， an output product on the ancient Silk Road， is relatively weak. Although lacquerware is not the mainstream cultural object on the Silk Road， its unique cultural character and aesthetic taste embody the Chinese national culture and aesthetic feelings， with a special significance and rich connotation in the central cultural dialogue. Therefore， the deficiency in its research is regrettable， which cannot reveal the history of Silk Road cultural dialogue， interaction， and dissemination comprehensively and systematically. At the same time， traditional historical views often focus on historical documents of continental agricultural culture and tend to study cultural history statically from the perspective of the Central Plain dynasties. Obviously， this static research has certain biases， thus making it difficult for us to study cultural history from the dynamic perspective of marine and land cultures. Therefore， in terms of academic ideology， it should be the trend of future historical research to go beyond the traditional view of cultural history， move from static to dynamic research， and from inland cultural research to maritime cultural research.

In terms of time， this Chinese lacquerware， which is even older than Chinese characters， has thrived and never ceased to exist in the long river of Chinese history. In terms of space， the footprint of Chinese lacquerware extends almost globally and has captivated people from around the world with large consumption and collection. Therefore， China is an ancient nation with a rich lacquerware culture. The German scholar Albert von Le Coq once said that China， as an ancient country with advanced craftsmanship， had been envied by Western countries for its various textile fabrics， lacquerware， and metalware. It can be said that the gorgeous Chinese lacquer art is a cultural form shared by people all over the world， and its culture and aesthetic ideas provide the most special source for the development of human civilization. From the perspective of communication studies， the Silk Road is a “route full of contracts” that connects China and the rest of the world. In particular， the process of the “Maritime Silk Road” after the Tang and Song dynasties is not only a historical account of the development， progress， and enrichment of Chinese culture at sea， but also a communication history of the exchange， translation， and integration of Chinese and foreign cultures. To some extent， the cultural dissemination of the Silk Road was mainly carried out through material objects， which vividly showcased the unique charm and aesthetic form of ancient Chinese culture to the world.

In summary， the Chinese cultural and aesthetic ideas borne by the Silk Road lacquerware have successfully transcended national borders， becoming a model for world cultural dissemination and interaction. As an embodiment of aesthetics and a cultural envoy， Silk Road lacquerware shows the beauty of Chinese culture and lacquerwares to the world through the exchange of artifacts. Specifically， the ancient maritime Silk Road witnessed the extraordinary sophistication of Chinese lacquerware， which embodies inherent national culture and noble aesthetic spirit， shining the light of its unique cultural and artistic beauty to Europe， America， and East Asia.

In the contemporary era of the cultural and economic development of the “Belt and Road，” exploring and researching the output， dissemination， and influence of Chinese craft culture and aesthetics along the ancient Silk Road， especially viewing the history and logic of Chinese ancient Silk Road lacquer culture， holds significant academic， cultural， and social significance.