BEIJING: Hundreds of officials and scholars joined a major forum on Thursday to offer their ideas on how to strengthen China’s cultural heritage.
Key challenges were also discussed in eight separate discussions held at the Forum on Building up China’s Cultural Strength in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.
Wang Wei, director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Academic Division of History, outlined the achievements of a comprehensive national research program, which started in 2002, in tracing the origins of Chinese civilization.
A sub-forum on preserving cultural heritage also discussed the historical process of early Chinese civilization viewed from archaeological progress made in the new era. The forum was held after President Xi Jinping presided over a symposium on cultural inheritance and development on June 2 in Beijing.
At the symposium Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, expounded on the need to firm up the Chinese people’s confidence in their history and culture.
Xi stressed that Chinese civilization has a long and continuous history, and said that a comprehensive and profound understanding of that history is essential to promoting the creative transformation and development of fine traditional Chinese culture more effectively, and to developing a modern Chinese civilization.
Wang said, “The prominent features of Chinese civilization identified by President Xi, namely its continuity, innovative nature, unity, inclusiveness and peaceful nature can be traced from many of our archaeological findings”.
During a discussion on fostering the development of art and literature, Chen Yongquan, vice-president of the China Theater Association, said the country is at a new point in its history. “We who work to make dramas need to fulfill our duties and shoulder the mission to spread our culture, tell stories of our times and express people’s feelings.” –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
