The Eighth Broadyard Workshop (博雅工作坊) of the Institute of Area Studies, Peking University (PKUIAS), on the theme of “The Gandhara Buddhist Culture and the Buddhist Temples in Xinjiang”, was held in Yingjie Exchange Center on June 28. Members of the group of Chinese scholars who investigated and studied the cultural relics of temples in Taxila and Peshawar, Pakistan, in April this year reported the results of their research on the temple relics. The participants included more than ten experts and academics from PKU, Renmin University of China, The Palace Museum, Dunhuang Academy, and other universities and research organizations.
The Gandhara region, located in the north of Pakistan and northeast border area of Afghanistan, was one of the important hubs on the ancient Silk Road. It integrated different civilizations, including ancient civilization of India, Persian civilization and ancient Greek civilization. Both clashes and exchanges of different cultures have left this region with marvelous Buddhist art and abundant temple relics, which greatly affected the development of Buddhist culture in Xinjiang and in Central China.
Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Pakistan in Beijing, and Qian Chengdan, Director of PKUIAS, gave speeches at the opening ceremony of the conference. They expressed their hopes that the conference could lead to further cultural exchanges between the East and the West.
Li Xiao, Miao Lihui, and Duan Qing, who were members of the scholar group that visited Taxila, gave speeches about their findings on Gandharan culture based on their investigation of the temple relics. The topics of their speeches were, respectively, “Comparison studies on the layout of temples in the Gandhara region and Tarim Basin,” “The influence of the layout of temples in the Gandhara region on the temples in Kucha (Qiuci)”, and “The Scythian factors in Gandharan culture,” which led to animated discussions.
Prof. Zahid Anwar, Director of the China Study Center, University of Peshawar, delivered a speech on “BRI, CPEC and Cultural Heritage Conservation in Pakistan”, in which he talked about the influence the Belt and Road initiative (BRI) and China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) on cultural heritage conservation work in Pakistan within the field of Silk Road studies. He pointed out that an important mission of CPEC is to rejuvenate the ancient cultural ties between China and Pakistan. Under the auspices of the BRI flagship project, both China and Pakistan will pay attention to the protection of tangible and intangible cultural heritage in all areas of Pakistan. Under the framework of both the BRI and CPEC, communication between people will be strengthened; therefore, mutual cultural understandings will be advanced.
A Q&A session between the audience members and academics came after the speeches. All the attendees agreed that the on-the-spot investigation conducted by Chinese academics in the Gandhara region is just a beginning, and studies on Gandharan culture are far from enough. The Chinese academics are looking forward to further cooperation with Pakistani academics, and to conducting long-term and systematic research together.
