China News Agency, Beijing, May 9th: Wang Shi: Why is the non-governmental exchange between China and foreign countries "opening the air hole"?
China News Agency reporter Ying Ni
Human life has become globalized due to the rapid progress of economy, technology and informatization, but it still retains distinctive national and regional characteristics, which cannot be separated from its own inherent cultural traditions.
How should we seek common ground while reserving differences in our respective "cultural identities"?
How does the contact and fusion of different cultures generate new diversity?
Why are people-to-people exchanges considered to have promoted humanistic blind dates like "opening the pores"?
Wang Shi, chairman of the Chinese Culture Promotion Association and cultural scholar, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "East and West Questions".
The following is a summary of the interview transcript:
China News Service reporter: We have noticed that the economic and technological trends of the globalization movement seem to be exactly opposite to the spiritual and cultural trends. How to understand the relationship between the positive and negative trends in different fields of globalization and cultural identity?
Wang Shi:
The term "cultural identity" was translated by the famous scholar Du Weiming.
The original English word is "Identity", which comes from Who Are We?
” book, he believes that under the background of globalization, every country and every nation will pay more attention to and identify with the culture with its own characteristics.
Professor Huntington's "Who are we?" question was asked by the Anglo-Saxons, a new immigrant from Europe, which also inspired China.
The four words "Chinese culture", from overseas to the mainland, from academia to the official, have become the cultural appellation and cultural identity of Chinese children at home and abroad, and it is also against this background.
The freshmen of the first grade of Nanjing Confucius Temple Primary School wore ancient Confucian dresses. Under the leadership of their teachers, they worshiped Confucius, recited the Analects of Confucius, learned to write the word "ren", and participated in the "pen opening ceremony" ceremony.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Yang Bo
In 2004, initiated by Xu Jialu, Ji Xianlin, Ren Jiyu, Yang Zhenning and Wang Meng, the Chinese Culture Promotion Association invited more than 60 well-known scholars, scientists, writers and artists at home and abroad to hold a summit with the theme of "Globalization and Chinese Culture" in Beijing Forum and published "Jiashen Cultural Declaration".
It now appears that the cultural identity at that time was basically an inward identity, that is, all countries and nationalities identified with their own cultures.
From a global perspective, such differences-based traditions and values are the result of the development of each ethnic group. They have obvious independence and characteristics, and are not easy to integrate.
At the forum, two historians Xu Zhuoyun and He Ziquan expressed the same point of view: human culture is the same as human organization, starting from the family society in the primitive society, the scope and organization scale have become larger and larger, so the cultural circle will also getting bigger.
Under this trend, the integration of cultures is inevitable, but this process has to go through a process of bumps, entanglements, mutual attraction and mutual exclusion.
The world is connected, you have me and I have you.
In the dialogue and exchange with the world, culture can achieve better inheritance and development.
A good culture is both realistic and futuristic, and it is what the future looks like today.
Students of Chongqing Nankai Primary School appreciate oracle bone calligraphy works during the "Oracle Bone Literature Hall" entering the campus activity.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Chao
China News Service: China has not only consistently adhered to the direction of globalization, but also took the lead in proposing the important concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind in 2012. How to understand "a community with a shared future for mankind" from the perspective of traditional Chinese culture?
Wang Shi
: The "world" of the ancient Chinese is a concept that transcends "country".
"View the world from the perspective of the world" and "the world is the public", such expressions obviously have similar meanings to "the world".
"Tianxia refers to a world of worldness", the philosopher Zhao Tingyang pointed out in particular, "The concept of international politics defined by the nation-state system, imperialism, and hegemony system is gradually losing sight of the reality of globalization. Correspondence".
From the perspective of human development trends and the perspective of the future world, many traditional and justifiable concepts should be redefined in the unit of "the world".
After the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind was put forward, I think two points are worth noting.
One is to pay due attention to the legitimate concerns of other countries when pursuing their own interests.
"Comparing the heart with the heart" and "people share the same heart and the same principle", this is what it means.
The second is that the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind sets the highest principle of competition as common interests and win-win cooperation, rather than the interests of a certain country taking precedence over common interests and opposing zero-sum thinking.
I think these two are the most shining ideas of the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind.
In my opinion, in the first stage of globalization, what we see is global competition; after the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind is put forward, globalization has a dawn and an ideal, that is, human beings are not only a competitive relationship, but also a cooperative relationship .
This idea elevates the meaning of globalization.
On November 5, 2019, the "Meeting Millennium • Charming Silk Road Cultural Tour" event was held in Athens, Greece. The event displayed China's excellent traditional culture through various cultural forms, and spread the Silk Road spirit and the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Yang
China News Service reporter: How do you view the differences and diversity between different cultures?
Wang Shi:
Differences are widespread.
It is often said that there are no two identical leaves in the world.
But on the other hand, there are no two completely different leaves in the world.
If they are completely different, there is no comparison, and it is not a leaf.
The differences show the "commonality", the same and the different are two sides of the same.
Therefore, human commonality is an extremely important topic.
The so-called "Great Harmony", in my opinion, the affairs of the world and the people of the world are very different in small aspects, but the same in large ones.
At present, there are two voices in the development of human culture: one is called pluralism, and the other is called fusion.
Pluralism is both a historical and a real state of being, but the trend is continuous integration, which is related to the way human society is organized.
The greater the social organization of human beings, the greater the culture, so the Chinese have a thought: as long as you identify with each other's culture, you and I are one family, which means "brothers in the four seas".
The state of being is pluralism, history and reality are pluralism, pluralism is gradually formed in the development, and a new culture emerges in the integration of pluralism.
In the trend of integration, we should have cultural self-confidence, cherish our own traditions and culture, and at the same time, we should not separate ourselves from other countries and nations by emphasizing our unique features.
For example, Mr. Qian Zhongshu said in "Tan Yi Lu" that "the East China Sea and the West China Sea have the same psychology; the South learns the North learns, and the Taoism is not split", which means that the cultures of the world are the same in basic aspects, and all cultures are the same. It belongs to the world, and there is no need to make distinctions.
So when it comes to Chinese culture going out, it is very important to go out and do what?
Go out to make friends, go out to let others know us, and go out to understand others.
Differences also contain opportunities for development.
Oil painting came out of Europe, oil painting developed; symphony came out from Europe, Japan and China have symphony, and symphony has developed.
These facts all show that breaking the boundary and going out will strengthen oneself.
The contact, exchange and integration of different cultures will generate new diversity.
The introduction of Buddhism into China gave birth to a Chinese version of Zen Buddhism. The fusion of Western symphony music and Yue Opera music produced the violin concerto "Liang Zhu".
On March 16, 2017, the concert "Liang Zhu: Symphony of Love" was held at the National Taiwan University of the Arts in New Taipei City, Taiwan.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Chen Xiaoyuan
China News Agency reporter: Why do you say that cultural exchange is the foundation of all foreign exchanges? In the process of non-governmental exchanges, are there any things or details that touched you to share?
Wang Shi
: Between different cultures, even without considering negative factors such as prejudice, resistance, confrontation, and conflict, it is a complex process from unfamiliarity, curiosity, alertness, and contact to understanding, acceptance, and appreciation.
In the face of differences and cultural choices, there should be sufficient estimates and lasting patience.
People-to-people exchanges are often small in scale and short-lived. Every time there is only a "dot and flash" communication, but if it continues to develop, countless air holes and countless doors and windows will be opened.
People blind date is the ultimate value.
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Chinese Culture Promotion Association, and there are many moments that touched me in terms of people-to-people exchanges.
At the beginning of its establishment, we held 20th century Chinese music classics and selected more than 100 of the most important Chinese music works of the 20th century.
The song "Song of Eight Hundred Heroes" written by the composer and professor of the Central Conservatory of Music Xia Zhiqiu was selected. He sang the glorious deeds of Xie Jinyuan, the heroic leader of the Songhu Battle, leading the eight hundred soldiers to defend the Sixing Warehouse alone. will die."
Professor Xia was already critically ill when he found out, and said to his wife, "You have to go to the awards for me, take the certificate back for me, and put it on my urn." The selection of Chinese music classics in the 20th century is not just about music, it has started The space of the Chinese world and Chinese culture contains the cultural identity of the big family of the Chinese nation.
In international exchanges, we should see more of the commonalities of civilizations in different regions, pursue the common values and common psychology of human beings, and should not set up obstacles artificially.
The practical trend of globalization and a community with a shared future for mankind will not be reversed by temporary difficulties.
(Finish)
Interviewee Profile:
Wang Shi, born in 1948, ancestral home in Xiangyuan, Shanxi Province, is the chairman of the Chinese Culture Promotion Association, a cultural scholar, the vice-chairman of the China Association for the Promotion of International Exchanges of Non-governmental Organizations, a special researcher at the Central Academy of Culture and History, and a senior researcher at the Advanced Institute of Arts and Humanities of the Chinese Academy of Arts.
He has taught at the People's Liberation Army Art Academy and Peking University.
Since 1992, he has been committed to the establishment and development of the Chinese Culture Promotion Association, and has successively served as the deputy secretary-general, secretary-general, and executive vice-chairman of the association; established more than 150 regional organizations, industry associations and various professional committees at home and abroad; planned and led Implemented the 20th century Chinese music classic series activities, the compilation and publication project of "The Twenty-Four Histories of the Annotated Today", the Chinese Culture Forum, the Chinese Culture Person of the Year Awarding Activities, the China-US Music Forum, the Asian Cultural Cooperation Conference, the Cross-Strait People-to-People Dialogue, and the Wanli Tea Ceremony A number of major cultural projects such as the China-Mongolia-Russia Urban Cooperation Summit, as well as the establishment of the Central Digital Painting and Calligraphy Channel, the Audio-Video World Channel and the World Heritage Geographical Magazine, are a representative figure in the field of Chinese non-governmental organization (NGO) development since the reform and opening up.