HOME

CONTENTS

Renewed Will, New Dialogue

Dialogue is not a solution only to solve differences, but is a means to find new ways for a better collective life

The East is the cradle of human civilizations, and China and Iran are two origins of those civilizations. The survival of Chinese and Iranian civilizations through centuries indicates their dynamic and resilient natures. This capability must be recognized in terms of history, thoughts and the will of nations, and we should predict the future based upon such a recognition.
Cultural links between Iran and China are far behind the limits of history and are rooted in the longstanding myths and epics of the two nations. Based on the existing written evidence, continuous links between the two countries started since the 3rd century B.C., while valid research shows that their ties may date back to 6th century B.C.
The first official Chinese ambassador to Iran, Jang Chian, in the 2nd century B.C., termed it a country “with hundreds of small and large cities with castles, carts, ships and a people who are exert in commerce.”
The famous “Silk Road” which used to connect the two civilizations of East and West, was not just a means for trade and material exchanges between Iran and China, it was but a medium for cultural and art dialogue.
Saadi, the renowned Persian poet, has praised China several times through his poetry. He traveled to “Si Kiang” when he was young, and prayed at the famous Adineh Mosque there. In his works, which are not different from those of Chinese great philosophers, Saadi emphasized on the significance of knowledge, morality, education and correction of humans.
The question today is that how we look at this heritage and endeavor exerted by the past generation? Can a look with regret over the good old days be enough? Undoubtedly, we have to look at the future if we want to safeguard this heritage of the past and preserve the liveliness of our civilizations. We should encourage an atmosphere in which our civilizations as well as the human thought can flourish.
Asia’s great civilizations have no way but to pay heed to their common historical fate and try to deepen ties and dialogue between them. This dialogue is a necessity in today’s world. We should admit the fact that Asian civilizations have, unfortunately, been negligent about understanding each other and even, sometimes, have become alien to each other.
They should endeavor with a renewed will to find talented cultural figures and thinkers in their civilizations in a bid to renew the dialogue that existed in the past. For old Asian civilizations, culture has been a significant and fundamental issue to the extent that even economies and politics make sense in the light of culture.
When speaking about the common life of Asian civilizations, we mean those spiritual and cultural themes should emerge in new forms in order to prevent cultures from deteriorating and changing under the dominance of a unified world culture, economy and politics.
The world is the shared home to all humans and belongs to all generations. Dialogue among cultures is a means for preventing the decay and deterioration of these cultures and human civilizations, and moreover, for their renewal and dynamism.
We believe that the human life and civilization can be productive and durable through dialogue. Dialogue is not a solution only to solve differences, it is but a means to find new ways for a better collective life in today’s world.
Realization of this dialogue needs the implementation of two strategies: dissociating from differences and conflicts between civilizations, and political development and encouraging the growth of civil institutions at national, regional and global levels.
China is a great power in tomorrow’s promising world. The 21st century is the century of humans who seek to achieve truth and self-esteem, and the Chinese’ share in creation of such a future can be very large. The Islamic Republic of Iran, relying on its productive and dynamic civilization and culture as well as a great Revolution, hopes to be able to play a significant role in this process as well.

Excerpts of President Khatami’s Speech in Beijing University, China