As a part of the 2018 Global Media Forum in Bonn, Germany, I met a gentlewoman who introduced herself as the Deputy Minister of Culture, Information and Tourism of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, Temirbekova Ainura. She was the one who first spurred my curiosity about the Old Silk Road.
I was thrilled to have a chance to meet such a character from this vivid part of the world, both culturally and politically. We had an enjoyable conversation over culture, history and politics. I knew initially that the Kyrgyz Republic and its neighbouring countries were significant areas on the ancient Old Silk Road map; actually, they were the caravan route for the travellers. Honestly, until that point, the Old Silk Road in my mind was merely a big commercial project of the ancient Chinese. During our discussion, Ms. Ainura invited me to a summer festival in her country. "We have founded that festival to revive the historical games, sports and cultural activities of the Old Silk Road era," she said.
I accepted her invitation with joy and curiosity. Since then, I have not been able to attend the festival physically due to COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, which lasted in most parts of the world for two years, and, later on, due to my busy schedule. However, her words drew me on a much longer journey through reading about the Old Silk Road. From reading, I learned about many aspects of the cultural showcase of the Old Silk Road, the exchange of ideas, and exhibiting the scientific progress of the time, etcetera. Indeed, it was the largest gathering of writers, scholars and artists in the history. I will stay on the Old Silk Road but get into a different discussion.
I had heard the romance tale of (Shirin and Farhad) since childhood; it’s an archaic, popular romance story, which is common among Western Asia nations. It includes characters of the period of the Sassanid Empire from 224-651 AD. Each nation has its own version of the tale. In most of the versions the two protagonists are Shirin and Khasrow; the male protagonist is Khasrow, he was a Sassanid king and the female protagonist is Shirin, she was an Armenian princess. Their love story was destined to be ended with the death of both. The great Persian poet Nizami Ganjawi wrote his famous poem Khasrow u Shirin on the base of this popular tragic- romance.
The Kurdish version of this romance is unlike the other versions. According to the Kurdish narrative, the two star- crossed lovers are Shirin and Farhad; the female protagonist is the same; Shirin the Armenian princess, but the male protagonist is a young Chinese skilled sculptor and builder called Farhad who, later, was dubbed as the mountain digger Farhad. While Khasrow is the Sassanid king who wants to marry Shirin against her will, his role is literally equal to the role of Count Paris in Romeo and Juliet of Shakespeare.
According to the legend, Farhad was from China, and he knew about Shirin’s outstanding beauty from merchants who returned from her whereabouts. The lovesick young man Farhad took this long road and reached his destination after many adventures. Shirin knew from her servants that a young man had come from China and he was in love with her strongly; he wants to meet her and marry her whatsoever the cost of that love. So, Shirin managed to meet him in order to warn him and protect him from Khasrow. She knew if Khasrow found out that he would kill Farhad. After, Khasrow discovered Farhad’s love for Shirin, he set his conditions for him. He asked Farhad to dig the rocky Mount Bestun and build a staircase to Shirin’s house on the top of the mountain. Farhad was such a dedicated builder and faithful lover that succeeded in his work meticulously in a record time. When Khasrow found out that, he got sad and thought about a plot to end Farhad’s life in a way that Shirin would not disclose that he is (Khasrow) is the killer of Farhad. He had to send false news to Farhad that Shirin is dead. When Farhad heard the news of Shirin's death, he immediately threw himself down the mountain and died at once. Then Shirin learned that Farhad was dead, so she went to the foothills of the mountain, and she ended her life with Farhad’s hammer on Farhad’s corpse.
What, I always have been wondering about was why Shirin and Farhad, and several other romantic and heroic legends contained Chinese characters? There are both females and males, even there are the name of Chinese kings in Kurdish classic poetry like the King Fakhfour? I couldn't get any persuasive answers. Years ago, I asked my grandmother how these characters got to know each other from this distant?
“ They had each other in their dreams,” she answered.
Obviously, the answer was convincing for that stage of childhood, but my wonder has been continued afterwards. After reading very much about Old Silk Road, I got clarity about the answer.
Bio.
Chiman Salih is writer of fiction and non-fiction, author, translator, and researcher in international law and governance. Based in Erbil city the capital of Kurdistan Region- Iraq. Published in local and international media and publications. Published books, articles and opinions, stories in Kurdish and English.