May 4

Solicited Detour预期的绕道

Departing from Tashkent, I could have taken a northern route along Bishkek, Almaty, and Yining, bringing me to the border of China by the least mountainous way and thus at a faster pace. That route is replete with interesting places that wouldn’t be difficult to blog about. However, I would like to share with you the reasons for this solicited detour, which led me to follow a road directly to one of the most important stations on this Journey to the East due to its symbolic meaning as an embodiment of the potential that East and West can achieve together, can support each other, and perhaps, eventually, may even survive together. This might sound a bit over the top, but I believe there is a fair chance now they may perish together in a future global scenario we would do better to address with our best capacities, not our worst.

从塔什干出发，我本可以选择一条北线路线，途经比什凯克、阿拉木图和伊宁，穿越较少的山区，速度更快。那条路线上有很多有趣的地方，我也能轻松地撰写博客。但我想分享一下选择这条绕道的原因，直接前往东行之旅中最重要的站点之一，因为它象征着东西方共同合作的潜力，也许最终可以一起生存。这可能听起来有些夸张，但我相信在未来的全球局势中，它们可能共同毁灭的可能性很大，我们最好用最好的能力来应对，而不是最糟糕的。

Following the classic Silk Road into the Fergana Valley, once the perfect communication line of exchange through trade, I arrived in Osh, the second city of Kyrgyzstan. This city allows me to reflect on a lifeline a thousand times stronger than trade, which after all can still be motivated by greed, our biggest enemy. I’m talking about a new kind of Silk to dress our destiny. This lifeline is wisdom, symbolized by Osh’s landmark, the Throne of Solomon, arguably the wisest leader in history, a protagonist in the Bible, Torah, and Holy Quran, respected and venerated by all the world religions that my journey has passed through so far. I have witnessed, and even endured literally, the theater of hate between these traditions. So, no detour would scare me away from the monument that symbolizes the promise of wisdom as the power to abide by the will to live, rather than the urge to steal or even kill.

沿着经典的丝绸之路进入弗尔干纳谷，这条曾经是完美的交流通道和贸易路线，我抵达了吉尔吉斯斯坦第二大城市奥什。这座城市让我开始反思一个比贸易更为重要的生命线，它的力量甚至是贸易的千倍，因为贸易往往受到贪婪的驱使，而贪婪是我们最大的敌人。我说的是一种崭新的丝绸，它将为我们的命运铺平道路。这种生命线就是智慧，而奥什的地标——所罗门王座，则是它的象征。所罗门被认为是历史上最智慧的领袖之一，是圣经、托拉和古兰经中的主要人物，在我旅途中，我所遇见的那些世界宗教都对他怀有尊重和崇敬。我亲眼目睹了这些传统之间的仇恨戏剧，甚至亲身经历过，所以，任何绕道都无法让我远离这座象征智慧承诺的纪念碑，它所象征的是智慧的力量，是遵循生存意志的力量，而不是偷盗甚至杀戮的冲动。

While I am now paying the price of this detour, crossing a mountain zone of epic proportions and facing elevations higher than I have ever climbed before, this is the moment to talk about Solomon. He is the role model we need most today to get back on track for peaceful coexistence and collaboration to secure a future shared by many, not by few. I knew of Solomon as a child when I was told the famous story of how he discerned the true mother of a child. Giving up can reveal the most powerful thing in life: love. People who know Solomon from the Torah may be aware of his assignment to build the Temple of Jerusalem, a synthesis of human skills and dedication, giving your best. But here, in a Muslim city, he is admired as Suleiman, someone not only wise but even capable of speaking with spirits and animals.

眼下我正在承受这次绕道的代价，穿越着一片规模宏大的山区，面对着比我以往攀登过的高度更高的海拔。然而，现在正是谈论所罗门的时刻。他是我们今天最需要的榜样，可以让我们重新走上和平共存和合作的道路，确保未来由众多人共享，而不是少数人独占。我在孩提时代就听说过所罗门的故事，那个他辨别出孩子真正母亲的著名故事。放弃能揭示生活中最强大的东西：爱。熟悉《托拉》中所罗门的人可能知道他被指派建造耶路撒冷的圣殿，这是人类技能和奉献的综合体现，尽心尽力。但在这里，在一个穆斯林城市里，他被称为苏莱曼，不仅是一位智者，甚至还能与灵魂和动物交谈。

Here is Solomon, perhaps in contrast to his father King David, being a prophet of getting along well. The Suleiman Too, a rocky hill you can climb to its top, overlooks the entire city and community of Osh, providing the necessary view that all are equal in their quest for a decent life. To be on that Throne means to acknowledge that, allow that, support that.

这就是所罗门，也许与他的父亲大卫王形成鲜明对比，成为一位善于和谐相处的先知。苏莱曼山是一座岩石丘，攀登至山顶可俯瞰整个奥什市及社区，展现了人人平等追求美好生活的必要视角。登上那座王座，意味着承认、允许和支持这一点。

But besides a few visitors like me, the Throne of Suleiman is empty today. Still, we need a Solomon more than anything in this world. One who is committed to compromise, who understands that mutual understanding and respect are the cornerstones of peace. And one who could even bridge the profound miscommunication between humans and the nature that sustains them, between civilization and planet. We need a figure that unifies in a world in the middle of rupture. If Osh could help me articulate this, no detour is too burdensome to prevent me from that.

然而，除了像我这样的少数游客，苏莱曼王座今天是空无一人。然而，我们比世界上任何事物都更需要一个所罗门。一个致力于妥协的人，一个理解相互理解和尊重是和平基石的人。甚至是一个能够弥合人类与维系生存的自然之间深刻的沟通不畅，文明与地球之间的沟通的人。在这个陷入破裂之中的世界，我们需要一个统一的象征。如果奥什能帮助我表达这一点，没有什么绕道是阻止我做到这一点的。