The formation of world history is inseparable from the exchanges between civilizations, and the exchanges between different civilizations and the culture within the same civilization are an important driving force for the continuous growth of human history, and they are also the evolution process of human civilization from closed to open. This kind of interaction is based on a clear understanding of one's own civilization and a rational understanding of the civilization of others, and is a conscious process of self-reflection in human society. China and Arab countries have a long history of civilizational exchanges, dating back more than 2,000 years, from the land Silk Road to the maritime spice route, the two civilizations at both ends of the Asian continent. At present, there are relatively many studies on the exchanges between China and Arab countries in ancient and contemporary times, but there is little discussion on the exchanges between China and Arab countries in the modern period, and even less research on the continuity and integrity of exchanges.
In modern times, the exchanges between China and Arab countries inherited the traditional friendship of the ancient Silk Road, and although they were shrouded in the haze of the Western colonial era, their exchanges still had the characteristics of endogeneity and independence. At this time, the Arab states in the modern sense had not yet been born, and most of the region was still nominally under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, which was heavily threatened by Western colonization, and China gradually became a semi-colony of the Western powers after the Opium Wars. Most of the exchanges between China and Arab countries in modern times are mainly based on spontaneous cultural exchanges between the people, and most of the groups of civilizational exchanges between China and Arab countries are composed of scholars and religious figures, who have built bridges of exchanges between Chinese and Arab civilizations through travel, pilgrimage, and translation of books and writings. In 1845, the scholar Ma Dexin returned home from the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, and while passing through the Ottoman Empire, he was warmly received by Abdul Mejid of that country, and was invited to visit the royal palace of the Ottoman Empire and attend the wedding of his sister. After returning to China, Ma Dexin wrote the book "Hajj Journey" based on his experience, introducing the places of interest, customs, and social culture of Mecca, Cairo, Istanbul and Jerusalem. The book has become an important document for the study of the history of modern East-West transportation, and it is also a precious historical material for the friendly exchanges between China and Turkey. With the deepening of the national crisis in modern China, it became more and more necessary to translate or edit foreign history books. At this time, Egypt was deeply imprisoned in the colony, and its situation had a certain similarity with China, so a large number of translations of Egypt began to appear in the domestic academic circles. In 1902, Mak translated and published The Modern History of Egypt. In 1903, Guangzhi Book Company published "History of Egypt" translated by Zhao Bizhen, and in the same year, "The Tragic Situation of Egypt" was published by Civilization Book Company. Zhao Bizhen pointed out in the translator's note, "Those who are on the mainland can only learn from the decline and fall of Egypt, and if they rise up and change the diplomatic situation, they will be fortunate for the country." After the publication of "The Misery of Egypt", it claimed that its purpose was to "take advantage of the drought of our people as a vigilance." After the failure of the Wuxu Reform, in 1904, Kang Youwei began the experience of "wandering in foreign lands" and "traveling all over the four continents". While passing through the Gulf of Aden, the Suez Canal, and Port Said, he could not help but write: "Looking at the majesty of the mountains of Arab, I want to see the prosperity of Arab's talents, and it is appropriate for his civilization to develop and be a teacher of Europe." In 1908, Kang Youwei came to Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to make a detailed observation of the country's educational, military, economic, cultural and political situation, greatly praised the country's "constitution" and "new policy", and advocated that China should follow the example of the Young Turks to launch a "military admonition".
At the same time, in the early eighties of the 19th century, more and more private newspapers appeared in the Arab world, and more and more attention was paid to China. The Abstract, for example, was one of the progressive periodicals in the Arab world at the time, covering topics ranging from anatomy to astronomy, sociology to philosophy, and news reports from around the world. The publication provided detailed information on China's education system, Chinese habits, and daily customs, and also translated biographies of Empress Dowager Cixi and Li Hongzhang, among others. After the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War in 1894, scholars in the Arab world compared China and Japan and reflected on the War from the perspective of the Arab world. For example, the statesman Shakib Arslan wrote a series of commentaries, including a 1901 review on the "future of China". He believes that the reason for China's defeat in the Sino-Japanese War is that it is backward in science and technology and has not received modern military training, and at the same time, he believes that China has deep historical roots and "it is impossible for Western powers to take over China easily."
In modern times, the civilizational exchanges between China and the Arab world have presented a multi-layered historical picture. China and Arab countries not only have frequent cultural interactions and solidarity with each other in the struggle against imperialism and colonialism, but material exchanges have become an important case for refuting the doctrine of Western centrism and periphery. In terms of cultural exchanges, Chinese Islamic scholars have built a bridge between Chinese civilization and Islamic civilization. In 1931, the scholar Ma Jian came to Egypt to study for eight years, and he systematically studied Arabic history, language, literature, religion, philosophy, etc., and also translated the Analects into Arabic and published it in Cairo, and at the same time translated the Arabic masterpiece "Muslim Philosophy" into Chinese and sent it back to China for publication. In 1940, Na Xun, a Hui scholar who had studied at Al-Azhar University in Egypt, translated a five-volume collection of Arabic folk tales, Arabian Nights, which was published by the Commercial Press. Politically, China has given great affirmation to the struggle of Arab countries against the Western powers and their efforts to fight for national independence. After the outbreak of Japan's full-scale war of aggression against China, China also received the support of some Arab countries, and Iraqis were particularly sympathetic to China's war of resistance against Japan, and even retired military officers and doctors hoped to come to China to participate in the war. During this period, China's commercial exchanges with Arab countries were not only integrated with the world economic system, but also had their independent aspect, and became an indispensable part of the world economic network. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in order to meet the economic needs of the British colonial government, Egypt's cultivation industry changed from tobacco cultivation to cotton cultivation, and later to soybean imported from China due to the worldwide spread of cotton boll weevil infestation. China's soybeans depart from its port cities in the northeast and pass through the South China Sea, the Strait of Malacca, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, through the Suez Canal, and finally to the Mediterranean. In addition, Egyptian cigarettes and cigars sell well all over the world, and China is an important source of raw materials for the Egyptian cigarette industry. This kind of cross-regional trade between China and Egypt is a cycle of supply and demand formed between non-Western societies without forcible import by Western countries, and to a certain extent, a new scene has emerged in the direction of world economic production and consumption flows.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, China and Arab countries ushered in an upsurge in the establishment of diplomatic relations. Especially in the 21st century, the exchanges between the two sides have become more diversified, diversified and institutionalized, laying a good foundation for building a China-Arab community with a shared future. In terms of economic exchanges, China and Arab countries have strong economic complementarity and have maintained good economic and trade exchanges for a long time. China and Arab countries have also actively held various seminars and forums, such as the Seminar on the Establishment of China-Arab Relations and Dialogue among Chinese and Arab Civilizations, the China-Arab States Urban Forum, the China-Arab Health Cooperation Forum, and the China-Arab Conference on Technology Transfer and Innovation Cooperation, so as to deepen mutual understanding between China and Arab countries and promote the further development of economic and trade relations. In terms of political and cultural exchanges, political mutual trust between China and Arab countries has been further strengthened, and people-to-people exchanges have become an important part of China-Arab exchanges. Under the framework of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum, the two sides have established 17 cooperation mechanisms by 2022, among which the "Dialogue of Civilizations" has become one of the most important dialogue mechanisms, providing institutional guarantees for exchanges and cooperation between the two sides. In recent years, the "Chinese language fever" has been heating up in Arab countries. As of October 2022, universities in 15 Arab countries have opened Chinese departments, and 13 Arab countries have established a total of 20 Confucius Institutes and two independent Confucius Classrooms. In addition, exchanges and cooperation between China and Argentina in the fields of film and television, tourism and catering are also constantly strengthening. In terms of ecological civilization exchanges, China and Arab countries have continued to cooperate in climate change, environmental governance and biological protection, enriching the connotation of the partnership between China and Arab countries.
Generally speaking, the historical exchanges between China and Arab countries are characterized by integrity, continuity and interdependence. It is precisely the friendly exchanges between China and Arab States that span thousands of years that have condensed into the Sino-Arab friendly spirit of "mutual assistance, equality, mutual benefit, inclusiveness and mutual learning". Mr. Peng Shuzhi, a mainland historian, believes that "I believe that in the process of combining theory and practice, there is a logic of human development thinking that can enable all mankind to obtain free and conscious information on civilized exchanges," and "the general characteristic of the development of civilized exchanges is the evolution from spontaneity to consciousness." In modern times, the exchanges between China and Arab countries are not only a conscious reflection on their own civilization, but also a conscious reference to other civilizations, which are not only interconnected and interactive with the world pattern, but also have the inherent needs of mutual exchanges.
(Author: Jiang Zhen, Professor, Institute of Middle East Studies, Northwest University)