ation in natural resources and trade;
- Instead of looking for new continents and colonies, we are truly expanding our horizons in the mind, nature and space;
- Technology and economic growth are being shared as more nations join the modernization process; and
- Cultural exchange has genuinely become a primary force in international relations rather than as a by-product of trade or colonization.
These differences presage a new world order.
What we should look forward to is another large-scale cycle with the participation of all the cultures of the world. We are on the verge of the beginning of a new world order in music, a world-wide renaissance that is not centered on the West or the East. A new mainstream in music to which the tributaries of Europe, Asia and other lands will converge.
This new order can only be achieved by the full partnership of all concerned, with each of us determined to contribute to the interaction of traditions, cultures, techniques and artistic speculations.
To me this is the only future.
The inspiration for all of us, I submit, lies in the cross-fertilization that led to European Renaissance, much of which actually took place outside of Europe. It also lies in the centuries of multi-cultural interaction along the Silk Road that led to the Tang culture, which in turn spread throughout East Asia.
By Chou Wen-chung