Capturing the‘Silk Road Gem’

By+Zan+Jifang

When speaking about his search for artistic inspiration in Turkey that he undertook a mere handful of years ago， Wang Shengli， a famed oil painter from northwest China， can barely contain his excitement.

“I was deeply impressed by the history and culture of Turkey，” he said. A faraway look came into his eyes， and， for a moment， it seemed as though he was back in the country once again.

In January 2011， Wang and 49 other accomplished contemporary Chinese painters set out on the Silk Road， hoping to use their brushes to render the scenes they encountered along the lengthy stretch of the ancient commercial road.

Wang， Deputy Director of the Oil Painting Committee under the China Artists Association and then President of the Xian Academy of Fine Arts， helped plan this artistic expedition， titled Painting the Silk Road.

“We visited Istanbul， Athens， Rome， Florence， Venice and Milan during the trip， and Istanbul had left a special impression on me，”Wang said.

“During the four days we stayed in Istanbul， Turkeys largest city， our attention was magnetically drawn to the inherent glamour of the city， from its long history and beautiful architecture to the splendid diversity of art， music and religion. We were able to experience firsthand the fusion of ancient civilization with the trappings of the modern age in Istanbul， the sole city in the world that spans two continents—Asia and Europe，” Wang said.

Love at first sight

His time in Istanbul gave the painter a new impression of Turkey. “Before this， I， like many other Chinese， possessed limited knowledge concerning the country. All we knew about it was its resplendence in history， especially during the Eastern Roman Empire and Ottoman Empire periods. As for its modern civilization， we hardly know anything，” he said.

“Actually， as far as I know now， it is one of the most rapidly developing economies in the world today. It is developing almost as fast as China. Turkey is Europes sixth largest economy and the 16th largest in the world. The development of the country stands out in West Asia， and it also plays an important role in international affairs，” he said.

In Wangs eyes， the civilization of Turkey is no less splendid than Greece. “I found that many tales in the Bible took place in Turkey， and when we later went to Eastern Europe and even Greece and Italy， we could feel that the local music there had been influenced by Turkish music.”

Istanbul， whose historic areas have been listed on the UNESCO World Heritage List， holds a special allure for Wang. During their stay in the city， Wang and other artists visited a number of attractions such as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque， also known as the Blue Mosque， the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts， and the Hagia Sophia Church.

Wang never missed an opportunity to make on-the-spot sketches in Turkeys spiritual capital， and accumulated a treasure trove of material which he said will inform his future work. During his time in the city， he went through three canvases and compiled dozens of sketches， including portraits of local people and landscapes， far exceeding the volume of work he completed in other cities during the tour.

“The Blue Mosque impressed me most. It is a landmark of Istanbul and a gorgeous religious site. The architecture is fantastic and it also looks amazing lit up at night. The interior is decorated with thousands of blue and white tiles featuring Ottoman designs. I fell in love with it， and many of my works were created using the mosque as a background，” Wang said.

After returning to China， he often recommended Turkey in his professional and personal circles， especially fellow artists.

“Turkey is a bridge connecting Asia and Europe， both geographically and culturally， and it was an important stop along the ancient Silk Road，” Wang said.

Cultural osmosis

The intrepid band of painters set out from Xian， capital of northwest Chinas Shaanxi Province. The city， which was once the capital of China during the Tang Dynasty （618-907） when it was called Changan， is widely believed to be one of the eastern endpoints of the ancient Silk Road. The remnants of a Xian market dating back to the Tang Dynasty have been discovered in recent years. Archaeological research shows that the market， called the West Market in the Tang Dynasty， was an international commercial and cultural center at that time.

A pottery figurine unearthed from the site wears a gown designed in the West Asian style， demonstrating that clothing during the Tang Dynasty was influenced by West Asian countries. Historical books claim that merchants from Iran and Turkey came to the market to sell spices or vegetable seeds native to their countries and brought Chinese silk and tea back with them on the return trip.

“This is why we made Xian the starting point of our journey to revisit the Silk Road and record the past and present of the ancient route through our works，” said Wang， a native of the city. “With regard to the creative themes we explored， some of the works touched upon ancient legends， while some reflected the current situation along the Silk Road. Others showed the fruits of cultural and economic interaction between China and countries along the route.”

“Cultural exchanges among countries will boost mutual understanding and the development of the countries in question， and this was manifest in the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty， a very open period in Chinas history in terms of international communication. We hope the close ties forged in ancient times could be renewed and deepened over time，” he said.

During his trip to Istanbul， Wang met many Chinese people living there. “I can see that they are living happily in Turkey，” Wang said.“I also hope more and more Turkish people could come to China， whether to live or just for a visit.”

The artistic tour that Wang participated in was jointly planned and operated by the Xian Academy of Fine Arts and Da Tang Xi Shi Cultural Industry Investment Group Co. Ltd.， a Xian-based company that has invested in a cultural project to restore and protect the relics gleaned from the original site of the Tang-era West Market.

Since November 2010， altogether five such artistically themed tours along the Silk Road have been organized with involvement of a total of nearly 100 Chinese artists. They have visited more than 40 historical cities in 10 countries. The works that resulted from the tours have been exhibited in China， Turkey and some other countries along the route. A painting collection recording the artistic journeys of discovery was published in August 2014.