At the seminar on “Regional Cooperation for Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage along the Silk Road,” held on Tuesday, June 30, 2026 (9 Tir 1405) by the ECO Cultural Institute, Dr. Hamidreza Shoayri offered a semiotic and cultural re-reading of the Silk Road, emphasizing it not merely as a trade route, but as a vast network for the circulation of ideas, myths, imagination, and cultural exchange among civilizations.
At the seminar held on Tuesday, June 30, 2026 (9 Tir 1405) by the ECO Cultural Institute, Dr. Hamidreza Shoayri, professor at Tarbiat Modares University and a prominent scholar of semiotics, presented a distinctive interpretation of the Silk Road. He stressed that the Silk Road was not simply a commercial route, but a vast network of exchanges involving culture, imagination, art, mythology, technology, and thought among the great civilizations of Asia and Europe. In his view, reducing the history of the Silk Road to economic transactions overlooks a fundamental dimension of its reality; this route was, above all, a space for the circulation of meaning and culture.
Dr. Shoayri began his lecture with the legendary story of the origin of silk, which tells of a Chinese empress who discovered silk threads when a silkworm cocoon fell into her tea cup. Although this account is mythical, it illustrates how civilizations construct symbolic narratives to explain their foundational achievements.
He then referred to Iran’s historical role in the production of felt and other traditional textiles, noting that felt is one of the oldest Iranian handicrafts and had already become a commercial export during the Sassanian era. Its durability, adaptability to different climates, and flexibility made it one of the most important traditional industries in Iran, contributing significantly to regional cultural and economic exchanges.
One of the most notable parts of the lecture was the comparison between Persian and Chinese gardens. Dr. Shoayri explained that the Chinese garden is based on secrecy, gradual discovery, and the interplay between visibility and concealment, meaning that the visitor never perceives the entire garden at once. In contrast, the Persian garden is grounded in geometric order, symmetry, and the chaharbagh (four-part garden) structure, a model whose origins can be traced back to Pasargadae and which later influenced garden design across the world. This difference reflects two distinct ways of thinking and engaging with nature in Iranian and Chinese civilizations.
He also discussed the symbol of the “boteh-ye jقه” (paisley motif), tracing its origin to the sacred cypress associated with Zoroastrian tradition. According to him, after the famous Cypress of Kashmar was cut down, its bent image gradually evolved into the paisley motif. Over centuries, this design entered Iranian arts, including carpet weaving, textile production, miniature painting, and architecture, becoming one of the most recognizable symbols of Iranian culture. The paisley is not merely decorative; it represents resilience, freedom, hope, and cultural continuity.
Dr. Shoayri further explored the symbolism of the butterfly in both Chinese culture and Persian literature. In Chinese tradition, the butterfly symbolizes freedom, love, femininity, light, and liberation. In Persian mystical poetry, however, it acquires a deeper meaning, representing divine love and annihilation in truth. Referring to the famous tale of the butterfly and the flame and the poetry of Saadi, he showed how a single symbol can acquire different yet interconnected meanings across cultures through the Silk Road.
In another section, he examined the historical origin of the term “Silk Road.” Dr. Shoayri noted that the term was first introduced in 1876 by the German geographer Ferdinand von Richthofen. However, he emphasized that routes connecting East and West existed thousands of years earlier and were never limited to silk trade. Archaeological evidence, including silk textiles found alongside the Pazyryk carpet and textile production in ancient Iran, demonstrates Iran’s significant role in this cultural and economic network.
He also referred to the production of brocade textiles during the Sassanian period, identifying them as key commodities in Silk Road exchanges. Historical accounts, including Marco Polo’s descriptions of weaving workshops in Baghdad, Mosul, Tabriz, Kerman, and Yazd, further confirm the flourishing textile industry across the Iranian cultural sphere.
According to Dr. Shoayri, the importance of the Silk Road goes far beyond the exchange of goods. Many foundational technologies and bodies of knowledge—including paper, printing, tea, musical instruments, and even religious beliefs—were transmitted through this vast network. For instance, papermaking technology spread to the Islamic world after the Battle of Talas and later reached Europe through Baghdad and Damascus. Printing, first developed in China, eventually contributed to intellectual transformations and the Renaissance in Europe. From this perspective, the Silk Road can be regarded as one of the most important foundations of global civilization.
He further highlighted the transmission of the oud instrument from Iran to China and its development in East Asian musical traditions, presenting it as a clear example of cultural interaction among nations. Many artistic expressions today, he argued, are the result of centuries of dialogue and cultural exchange along this historical route.
In the concluding section, Dr. Shoayri addressed the representation of the Silk Road in Persian literature. Drawing on the works of Rumi, Hafez, and Saadi, he demonstrated that China and the Silk Road were not merely geographical entities, but also entered the imaginative realm of Persian poets. From the contest between Chinese and Roman painters in the Masnavi to Hafez’s references to Chinese painters and the stories of the Golestan, these motifs illustrate the vibrant and inspirational presence of the Silk Road in Persian literary tradition.
In his conclusion, Dr. Shoayri emphasized that the Silk Road must be understood as more than a commercial route. It was a civilizational network for the circulation of ideas, art, mythology, technology, and cultural heritage—a legacy that continues to serve as a foundation for cultural dialogue, regional cooperation, and mutual understanding among nations.
Within this framework, safeguarding intangible cultural heritage along the Silk Road is not merely about preserving the past, but about investing in a future based on mutual understanding, cultural respect, and cooperation among nations within the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO).