SEOUL, Apr. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — The Chinese Cultural Center in Seoul opened an exhibition Monday to shed light on ancient cultural exchanges through the Silk Road and sophisticated Buddhist art that flourished along the trade route linking Asia and Europe.
“The Silk Road: Reflection of Mutual Learning — Dunhuang Art Archive Exhibit” showcased some 50 pieces of art that include mural-related drawings, old photos of the Mogao Caves — also known as the Thousand Buddha Grottoes — and paintings about Dunhuang by modern Chinese artists. There was also be a 4-D documentary on the murals.
The northwestern city of Dunhuang in Gansu Province, western China, was situated at the crossroads of two major trade routes of the Silk Road through which the East and West exchanged goods and culture. The city, with the main road to India, developed sophisticated Buddhist culture, as the religion flourished between the two countries.
The murals of the Mogao Caves, 25 kilometers in length and 45,000-square-meters in size, were believed to have been painted for 1,500 years until the 19th century Ching Dynasty.
The exhibition is part of Beijing’s “One Belt, One Road” project, suggested by its President Xi Jinping in 2013, that focuses on China’s economic connectivity and cooperation with the countries in Eurasia and as far as Europe and Africa.
Yonhap News Agency, Korea’s key news wire service, is the official media partner.
The opening ceremony, took place at 5 p.m. Monday, was attended by dignitaries including Chinese Ambassador Qiu Guohong; Shi Ruilin, chief of the Chinese Cultural Center; Park No-hwang, president and chief executive officer of Yonhap News Agency; and Cheon Jin-gi, director of the National Folk Museum of Korea.
Visitors can get a rare chance to see up close the murals of the Mogao Caves, which were considered to be one of the finest examples of Buddhist art, and to learn the 2,000-year-old history of cultural exchanges through the Silk Road.
The exhibition will run at the center through June 10.
(Yonhap)
(image: Chinese Cultural Center)
