Arch211 Yeliz Edzhe Dzhoshkun

How would you define the relationship between the “Orient” and the “Occident”?

Both words “Orient” and “Occident” originate from Latin and stand for “sunrise” and “sunset,”
respectively. Based on this translation, one may assume that from the very beginning, “the place where
the sun rises” and “the place where the sun sets” are supposed to be opposed, different at the very
core. As far as I am concerned, though the initial concept was the division of the world into two unequal
parts, and their cultural and religious differences cannot be eliminated, Orient and Occident are still
deeply interconnected from the very beginning, shaping and defining each other. I will explain it by
concentrating on the historical and cultural interconnections between them.

I want to start with the historical aspect of their bond and mention that, despite the geographical
distinction, East and West had long periods when they were sharing territories. This can be mostly seen
as the result of the undeniable political superiority of the Occident. As Edward Said mentioned in his
book “Orientalism” in 1978, since the beginning of the nineteenth century, western countries, including
France, Britain, and America, dominated the Orient. What is more, the biggest and most prosperous
European colonies were situated in the eastern part of the world. The concept of Orientalism, which
represents the eastern world from the western point of view, is the result of this historical closeness. In
my opinion, this fact only emphasizes – Orient, as a concept, cannot exist without Occident, and both
geographical entities are supporting and reflecting each other.

But the most profound similarities, as well as differences, can be seen in the cultures of East and West.
On the one hand, the Orient helped shape European countries, languages, and civilizations through the
contrast it created between their cultures and ideas. On the other hand, as Edward Said (1978)
mentioned, Orient is a European invention and is still representing European culture and civilizations,
which can be seen in the supporting institutions, vocabularies, scholarships, doctrines, and even colonial
styles and bureaucracies. The historical relationship between the areas that I mentioned before
increased the Western world’s interest in the Orient and started the assimilation when cultural and
religious aspects of East and West began to have a more significant influence on each other. Though it
still should be mentioned that Europe had a more substantial impact and closer relationship with the so-
called Near Orient, including Arabs and Islam, compared with the Far Orient – Japan, China, and other
areas.

To sum up, though there is still no doubt that Orient and Occident are very different in terms of their
cultures and have never had equal political positions and impacts, their historical relationship, based on
the domination of Occident above Orient, resulted in the strong bond between them. This can be seen
not only in the way they shaped each other’s languages, countries, and civilizations but also in the
process of exchanging cultural and religious features that created and shaped the whole world, where
Eastern and Western worlds are greatly interconnected but still saved their unique qualities.