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(exotic music)
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As a reporter, I've traveled the Middle East
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for many years.
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It's an area that's always fascinated me
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But in my work, I've mainly covered it's war zones,
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it's crises, and it's tragedies.
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This journey, which takes me down the Silk Road,
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in the footsteps of Marco polo,
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gives the opportunity of exploring the great historical
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and cultural significance of this part of the world.
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Its ancient melting pot of peoples and civilizations,
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that have contributed so much to our own.
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(exotic music)
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We've arrived in Xi'an in the province of Shaanxi,
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right in the middle of China.
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Xi'an was the capital of the Chinese empire
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for more than 1,000 years up until the 10th century.
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At the time, in the heyday of the Silk Road
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it was the biggest city in the world,
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with 2 million inhabitants.
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Today, it numbers 8 million, which places it amongst
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the top 10 Chinese cities.
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(upbeat Chinese music)
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In China, morning exercise is a serious business.
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It's a sport, a collective ritual, a marital art,
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and a life discipline.
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In the West we know about Tai chi but as you can see
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here in Xi'an, the disciplines are much more varied.
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(slapping)
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It helps you unwind, you have to think of someone you like.
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Actually you have to think of someone who annoys you and,
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no I'm only joking, in fact, it's a form of sport.
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It was from Xi'an, formally Si-ngan,
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that the first Chinese emperor, Qin Shi Huang,
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managed to unify the entire country in the 3rd century BCE.
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Which allowed the Silk Road to come about.
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All the merchants ended up here,
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beneath the gateway of the western Wall.
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You have to imagine the caravans coming to the end of
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their long trek here at the very foot of these ramparts
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before the western gate, impatiently expected
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by the emperor and his court,
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the ambassador merchants unloaded all their wares,
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coming from the four corners of Asia.
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There were Persian horses, lions, lynxes,
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jade, diamonds, woolen materials, because the Chinese
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had neither sheep not goats,
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there was also brought from the Mediterranean,
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coral and even escalet, a very fine cloth from Venice.
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Venetians knew that they had to send the most expensive
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goods in exchange for the precious merchandise
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for which Xi'an was the capital.
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Because it was right here, 5,000 years ago
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that the cultivating and weaving of silk was invented.
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The fashion designer, Fan Yanyan cultivates this
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50 century old inheritance.
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Looking at how redefined Madam Fan's fabrics are,
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it's easy to understand that Western women,
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beginning with those from the Roman empire,
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were crazy about getting hold of Chinese silks.
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Madam Fan, where do you take your inspiration from
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for your creations?
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I mainly draw inspiration from the Mogao caves,
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I chose to use silk so as to build my career around the
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culture of the Mogao caves,
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because silk is a Chinese cultural symbol,
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it is capable of representing
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the culture emanating from the caves.
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On the edges of the Taklamakan Desert,
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these famous Mogao caves,
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known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas,
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are an essential link in the Silk Road.
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That's where the first great vestiges of
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Chinese Buddhism can be found.
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You mentioned the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas,
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what is it that you find so moving about them?
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What are you looking for in terms of inspiration?
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I spent two years in Dunhuang,
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I saw extremely refined wall paintings,
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for me they represent an artistic treasure
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by which you can't help but be overwhelmed.
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The wall paintings in the Mogao caves are in fact
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from different periods, each period has different styles
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and artistic forms.
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I like the wall paintings of all the periods because
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their forms and styles all have completely different
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artistic qualities.
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I wanted to find a way of transmitting this art,
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I chose silk after considering all it's qualities.
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It's gentleness, it's suppleness,
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it's comfort, it's spender.
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Silk fiber is considered to be the queen of fibers,
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as well as representation the wisdom of the Chinese people.
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We know that the Chinese invented silk farming,
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that was thousands of years ago,
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today what remains of silk in Chinese culture?
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Of course the Chinese invented silk,
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but over the last years, the way it's used
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no longer transmits its noble character.
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Today what I try to do is use the force of traditionally
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Chinese culture, in order to give silk a fresh definition,
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a more fashionable definition, more contemporary.
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Madam Fan, what was your first experience of silk,
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what led you to discover
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and be so attracted to this material?
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When I was small, not all families at the time
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had the means to wear silk.
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When I was nine or 10, my mother brought me home
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a silk scarf,
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the first time that I touched this scarf,
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I adored it, it never left my side,
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and I didn't want to wear it.
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What I felt, was its brilliance, it's splendor,
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it's gentleness, its comfort.
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Of all the clothes I'd ever worn in 10 years,
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I'd never known anything like it.
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At that moment, I fell in love with silk. (laughs)
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This extraordinary finesse, which thrills Madam Fan,
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built the reputation of silk in the ancient world.
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But it also lead certain moralists
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to denounce silk as decadent and debauched.
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Seneca, the philosopher of ancient Rome,
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denounced clothes made from a material of such indecency
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that they hardly cover the body.
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That didn't stop silk being worth more than its weight
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in gold, it was a major contributor to the making
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of China's fortune and of Xi'an in particular.
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The city center is still inhabited by descendants
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of the merchants of the Silk Road, the Hui.
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The Hui minority are of the Hui Muslim faith,
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a rarity in China.
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They are still important traders
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and they have retained cultural and culinary habits
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which are every different from the rest of the country.
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The bizarre Hui quarter is very reminiscent of central Asia,
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for the numerous Chinese tourists who come here,
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it's very exotic.
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The capital of the great Qin dynasty, Xi'an,
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remains the symbol of one of the golden ages
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of the Silk Road, when China had exchanges
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with the entire known world.
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Since leaving Venice, we've been talking about
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dialogue between cultures for more than 12,000 kilometers
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along the Silk Road.
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But here in Xi'an, the end of the road, Oba Mao,
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they're really going for it.
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Do you have one in my size?
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Your size.
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Can I try one one?
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Oba Mao. (laughing)
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We've come full circle.
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(exotic music)
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At the center of the Hui quarter
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is the Great Mosque of Xi'an,
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with it's resemblance to a Chinese pagoda,
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it can be considered as one of the great monuments
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along the Silk Road.
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It was the people of the caravans that brought
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Islam to these parts,
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probably Persian merchants,
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ancestors of the Hui who pray in the mosque every Friday.
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We're in the oldest mosque in China.
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A stone dates it to the year 742.
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At that time Xi'an was the capital of the empire
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and the city contained more than 5,000 foreigners,
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Turkish, Arab, Armenian, and Person, abut also Korean.
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They all had the right to pray as they wished,
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and to build the places of worship they wanted.
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The most striking building, the most unexpected of mosques
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is undoubtedly this pagoda.
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In fact, it's a minaret, but adopted in Chinese style.
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As is this gateway, adorned with Arabic cursive writing,
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rather than ideograms.
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(mystical music)
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The present day mosque, for the most part,
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dates back to the Ming dynasty, the the 15th century.
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It's the work of Zheng He,
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a eunuch who became an admiral
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and rid the Chinese seas of pirates.
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A member of the Hui minority, and therefore Muslim,
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Zheng He was very much a favorite of the Emperor's court.
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He was honored with the official title, Sanbao Tai Jian,
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meaning great eunuch of the three jewels,
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and was allowed to embellish the mosque of his native city.
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There is still about 10 million Hui in China,
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generally speaking they don't tend to stand out
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in the 1.3 billion strong crowd of their co-citizens.
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The famous crab!
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(motorbikes honking)
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(speaking Chinese)
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Okay, okay, I'll take a straw.
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Ah, a really little Chinese meal,
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of the Hui minority.
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In Xi'an the caravans weren't only
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at the origin of local Islam.
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This Silk Road also played a role for a religion
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which holds a very central place in Chinese culture.
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Here, at the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda you can still feel
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the presence of Xuanzang, a 7th century sage
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who undertook a 16 year journey to India
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and brought back the ancient Buddhist texts,
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which he translated over the rest of his life.
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He is undoubtedly the most well known
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pilgrim of the Silk Road.
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Pilgrim, wise man, great translator,
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and proponent of Buddhism,
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Xuanzang is quite simply one of
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the most well known characters of Chinese culture.
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The chronical of his 16 year journey to India is a
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goldmine for historians of the Silk Road.
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It's also the basis for one of the most popular
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Chinese novels, Journey to the West.
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Which is still known by virtually all Chinese today.
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The head of the Institute of Religious Arts,
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Professor Yuweiyu is a great connoisseur of the sutras,
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or religious writing brought back from India.
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What's the importance of the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda
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for Chinese Buddhism?
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This tower here has a very important
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emblematic significance because it was built upon the return
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of the monk Xuanzang after his journey to India
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to bring back Buddhist writings.
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And this is also where Xuanzang translated them.
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He was the one who translated the vast majority
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of them, making up 1,335 volumes.
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These 1,335 volumes represent a quarter of
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all the Buddhist writing translated into Chinese.
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(chanting)
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Around the 64 meter high pagoda, there's a monastery
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which also serves as a museum and pilgrimage center.
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The Indian prince Siddhartha Gautama is venerated here,
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known as the awakened one, which means Buddha.
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How many Buddhists are there in China today?
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And what is the place of Buddhism in modern China?
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In the world today, only 3% of Buddhists are Indian,
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while 46-48% of Buddhists are Chinese.
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So you could say today that, Buddhist disciples,
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those who are interested in Buddhism,
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are people who simply venerate and respect Buddhism,
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are more numerous in China than anywhere else.
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Buddhism doesn't wait to receive charity from God,
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or from Allah, you just need to learn and cultivate
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yourself all alone, and you are a Buddhist.
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In reality, you need to strive for it.
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It's like how the monk Xuanzang put it,
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I would rather take a step forward and die,
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than half a step backwards and remain alive.
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That's the cultural spirit of the Silk Road.
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Terminus of the Silk Road for the caravan's of merchants
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arriving from the West, Xi'an is therefore
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also a starting point.
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The relay point from which Buddhism spread across China.
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Godless religion for some, mystic philosophy for others,
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Buddhism theorizes on reincarnation,
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but also non-violence and vegetarianism.
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The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda remains one of the most
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important monasteries in China.
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Monks and nuns hold offices here, each day,
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in the midst of enormous crowds of tourists.
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Buddhism is one of the three doctrines of San Jiao
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or three school system,
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which structures all Chinese thinking.
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It's the most recent of the trio,
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formed with Taoism and Confucianism.
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It has nearly 150 million followers,
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mostly belonging to the Chan school of Buddhism,
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meaning meditative state and to the Pure Land school.
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(upbeat music)
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A city buzzing with eight million inhabitants,
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modern day Xi'an well reflects what Asians call
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the awakening of the dragon, that's to say
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the extraordinary economic boom in modern China.
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A country with a gross domestic product of more than
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9 million dollars, the second largest in the world,
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which is constantly building and investing.
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In the center of Xi'an, the clock tower,
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still stands proudly as a reminder of ancient times.
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Those of the Silk Road of course.
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It dates back to the Ming dynasty and was intending
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to demonstrate to merchants and travelers
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just how powerful the emperor was.
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It's enormous bell dates back to the 8th century,
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and weighs more than six tons,
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it announced the arrival of the caravans,
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sounded the changing of the guard,
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and when necessary, gave the alarm.
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Today, compared to the new 30 story blocks of flats,
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the magnificent medieval tower, seems quite modest.
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It nonetheless continues to determine
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modern day Xi'an's urbanism,
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with its square build sides, each marking the beginning
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of a great avenue leading off to the cardinal points.
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Gigantic avenues, each continuing
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for a dozen or so kilometers.
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Despite it's triumphant modernism,
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the city has conserved certain traditions
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from the time of the Silk Road.
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Such as the famous Chinese circus.
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The troop of the Shaanxi region
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is one of the most famous in the country.
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Families put a lot of pressure on their children
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in the circus, as with any other domain,
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they have to succeed.
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Distinguish themselves in a system which is both
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communist and deeply meritocratic.
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The children of this troop come from all over
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to live here as borders.
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Practicing every day, with strict discipline,
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and studying at school in the evening, after rehearsals.
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(energetic music)
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As it happens, the troop is currently preparing a show
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which pays homage to the Silk Road,
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as Madam Chen Haiyan, the artist director explains to me.
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Are the acrobatic techniques which we see in your show
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purely Chinese, are they passed down from
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00:17:23,820 --> 00:17:26,030
the traveling artists, jugglers, and acrobats
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who worked in the stop over places along the Silk Road?
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The Silk Road began in Xi'an,
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in the Provence of Shaanxi.
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From here it crossed Dunhuang, Persia, diverse places,
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with very different styles and artistic techniques,
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until it arrived in ancient Rome.
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There are traditional Chinese numbers,
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like the Chinese vases, contortions,
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candle contortions, and also handstand routines.
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Balancing and contortions are
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particularly Chinese numbers.
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There is also the hat juggling number,
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which is one of the numbers combining and inspired
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from foreign techniques.
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As we know, Xi'an is the starting point of the Silk Road,
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as a native of Xi'an yourself,
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what does the Silk Road inspire in you?
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Xi'an and the Silk Road are inseparable.
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You might say that the Silk Road is a part of Xi'an,
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reaching out across different cities
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and even the whole world.
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Being able to mix this vision of the Silk Road
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with circus arts through our staging,
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and creating beautiful show, which we can perform
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for the whole world, which the inhabitants
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of each country will be able to come and see.
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I hope this will give people a better understanding of China
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and that it will allow Chinese circus arts to develop.
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(upbeat music)
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In China, discipline and collective effort are values
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which are virtually sacred.
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It's the message taught by Confucius,
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collective accomplishment is worth a lot more than personal
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interest, or rather they go hand in hand.
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(upbeat music)
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Just to the east of Xi'an, a staggering and unique
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monument precisely shows the importance and the power
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of the collective effort such as Confucius presented it
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to the Chinese.
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It's the Terracotta Army which guards the necropolis
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of the Emperor Qin Shi Huang,
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the unifier of the middle empire.
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This army of 6,000 horsemen, foot soldiers, bowman,
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guards the tomb of the first Chinese emperor,
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Qin Shi Huang, who died in 221 BCE.
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He was the one who unified the country,
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by doing so permitted the opening of the Silk Road.
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It's said that his concubines and the architects who knew
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too much about it, were buried alive in his necropolis.
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Words fail to describe this astonishing army of the shadows
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which watch over the eternal rest of the Son of the Sky.
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The deified emperor who they are meant to accompany
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and guard in the afterlife.
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Ni hao.
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The authorities have granted me a very rare privilege.
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To cross the barriers that hold back
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the tens of thousands tourists,
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to have direct contact with these terracotta statues.
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Or rather, to meet those who work on them,
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like Professor Landesheng,
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the head of the conservation teams which restore
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one by one, each statue.
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(peaceful music)
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What's very striking is to see how realistic
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each statue is.
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To what point each face is different from the next.
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Do you think that real soldiers posed for these statues?
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Or are they stylized?
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The terracotta army is made up of thousands
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of people, thousands of faces, there's no fixed model.
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The artists first made sketches, then they used a mold,
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which they remolded as they liked
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00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:46,393
during the creation process.
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They began with the basic mold for the faces
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which they would then personalize.
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There are thousands of different faces.
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00:21:56,549 --> 00:21:59,090
So do you really think that a human posed for
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each statue or not?
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There are a number of faces which are unique
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but for the others, the basic models were
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reworked by the sculptures and craftsmen of the time.
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By adding, sticking, kneading, they worked as they pleased,
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00:22:13,860 --> 00:22:15,623
which increased the possibilities.
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00:22:26,530 --> 00:22:28,060
In ancient Chinese traditions,
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00:22:28,060 --> 00:22:30,420
soldiers and slaves were scarified at the feet
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of a lord who had died, and were put in his tomb.
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Do these statues correspond
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to the famous substitution theory?
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According to all the studies by archeologists
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at the archeology archives, before the Qin,
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00:22:45,210 --> 00:22:48,840
all emperors, high ranking nobles, and high dignities,
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used living people, or people from their entourage,
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to be buried along side them.
410
00:22:59,110 --> 00:23:02,473
But after the Qin, institutions changed.
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00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:08,023
Statues or animals, or even plants were used instead.
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00:23:13,190 --> 00:23:14,910
In what state do archeologist usually
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00:23:14,910 --> 00:23:16,590
find these statues?
414
00:23:16,590 --> 00:23:18,830
When we extract them, not a single statue of
415
00:23:18,830 --> 00:23:22,030
the terracotta army is completely intact.
416
00:23:22,030 --> 00:23:25,360
At best, they are in about 20 pieces.
417
00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:28,470
At worst, we've already had 200 pieces.
418
00:23:28,470 --> 00:23:30,393
That was a very damaged statue.
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00:23:34,900 --> 00:23:37,350
Today a meeting is organized each day between
420
00:23:37,350 --> 00:23:40,040
the Emperor's legions and the ranks for modern tourists
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00:23:40,040 --> 00:23:41,570
who page homage to them by shooting
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00:23:41,570 --> 00:23:43,670
quick fire photos of them.
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What is striking in this face off
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00:23:45,420 --> 00:23:47,750
is to what point the soldiers of 2,000 years ago
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are bigger than today's Chinese.
426
00:23:50,400 --> 00:23:52,950
Unless the artists of the time enlarged the statues
427
00:23:52,950 --> 00:23:55,650
of their models, to help them travel through eternity.
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00:23:56,537 --> 00:23:59,120
(upbeat music)
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00:24:00,140 --> 00:24:03,360
The first Son of the Sky, Qin Shi Huang, allowed
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00:24:03,360 --> 00:24:05,410
the Chinese empire to exist.
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He can therefore be considered as the father
432
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of the Silk Road.
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00:24:08,790 --> 00:24:10,840
What could be more logical than this road
434
00:24:10,840 --> 00:24:13,163
finishing at his feet, in his capital.
435
00:24:18,197 --> 00:24:20,360
This stone marks the official starting point
436
00:24:20,360 --> 00:24:23,670
of the Silk Road, this commercial route which mixed
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cultures, arts, and religions for millennia,
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00:24:25,790 --> 00:24:27,140
and which shaped our world.
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After traveling slightly more than 12,000 kilometers,
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this is where the road ends for us.
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00:24:38,500 --> 00:24:40,550
The Silk Road fascinated Marco Polo,
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00:24:40,550 --> 00:24:42,510
and all the other caravan merchants,
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00:24:42,510 --> 00:24:46,200
acting like a mirage, a magnet to awaken the curiosity,
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00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:48,933
and desire to continue to the end of the Orient.
445
00:24:50,110 --> 00:24:52,400
It's had the same affect on me.
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00:24:52,400 --> 00:24:54,210
But like for these anonymous merchants,
447
00:24:54,210 --> 00:24:57,850
who for center were the vectors of knowledge and the arts,
448
00:24:57,850 --> 00:25:00,763
one day, like all good things, the journey has to end.
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00:25:01,743 --> 00:25:04,326
(upbeat music)
36096
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