Source: China News Network
He Jun: How does the dragon boat "go to sea" build a bridge for Sino-US people-to-people exchanges?
China News Service Hangzhou, December 18 Title: How can dragon boats "go to sea" build a bridge between China and the United States?
——Interview with He Jun, Chairman of the Council of the Rams Joint Conference
Author Chai Yanfei Zhang Yuhuan Wei Yanran
In the era of a community with a shared future for mankind, it should be the right way to transcend the gap between civilizations through exchanges among civilizations, to transcend the conflict of civilizations through mutual learning among civilizations, and to transcend the superiority of civilizations through the coexistence of civilizations. In China, non-governmental forces are playing an increasingly important role in cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. Among them, the non-governmental public welfare organization , the Ram Association , is an active practitioner. In recent years, the Rams Club has brought dragon boat culture to the United States by holding the "Chinese Traditional Dragon Boat Global Competition", building a bridge of Sino-US cultural exchanges, and later promoting the implementation of the activity in many Western countries and achieving positive exchange results. He Jun, chairman of the Council of the Joint Conference of the Rams, recently gave an exclusive interview to the China News Agency's "East and West Questions" to tell why "a dragon boat" promotes mutual learning between eastern and western civilizations.
The interview transcript is summarized below:
China News Service: Why did the Ram Society choose to spread China's excellent traditional culture in the form of dragon boats?
He Jun: Most people who are familiar with the Ram Society are perhaps more familiar with its widespread humanitarian rescue operations around the world, such as earthquake relief in Nepal, Pakistan, Ecuador, Italy and other countries, and shipwreck search and rescue in Phuket, Thailand. In fact, the origin of the name of the ram club is also related to the dedication and kindness of the sheep. Behind the "people-oriented" concept embodied in the rescue is the consistent continuation of the traditional culture of the Chinese nation. The humanitarian spirit of helping the world and being peaceful and friendly is in line with the "benevolence" and "love" in traditional Chinese culture.
Whenever the ram will participate in the rescue around the world, we are also thinking: how to transmit this concept and spirit of peace and friendship to the world in the form of cultural exchanges, and promote the West to better understand the excellent traditional chinese culture? To this end, we have continuously enriched the duties and missions of the Ram Association, so that it is not only a rescue organization, but also a non-governmental public welfare organization that takes the promotion of excellent traditional culture, life safety education and other public welfare charities as its mission.
In the process of cultural exchanges, it is necessary to spread Chinese culture more effectively, not only the culture itself should be full of characteristics, but also in the form of entertainment and education, to promote the public's sense of freshness and participation. Dragon boats have such characteristics.
Dragon boats have a history of more than 2,000 years and are popular throughout China, and their origins are different, such as the sacrifice of Cao'e, the sacrifice of Qu Yuan, the worship of water gods or dragon gods. Since ancient times, the people have prayed for smooth wind and rain and living and working in peace and contentment through dragon boat racing, which also shows the endless farming civilization of the Chinese nation for 5,000 years, and also contains the spirit of harmony of helping each other in the same boat.
The 2016 Dallas International Dragon Boat Race attracted local guests. The dragon boat originated from the sacrifice of the people praying for the wind and rain to be smooth, showing the agricultural civilization of the Chinese nation, and also containing the harmony spirit of helping each other in the same boat. China News Agency issued a picture of the Rams
China News Service: How was the first step taken by the ram to promote the dragon boat to "go to sea"?
He Jun: Dragon boat racing is one of the traditional Folk Customs of China, commonly found in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. In the 1980s and 1990s, with the continuous emphasis on traditional culture by the authorities, dragon boat culture was once again widely excavated, becoming an important carrier for promoting traditional culture, and the scale of the event was also getting larger and larger. In 1980, dragon boats were included in China's national sports competitions, and in 2010, they became the official competition of the Guangzhou Asian Games, and dragon boats gradually entered the international vision.
At the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games Dragon Boat Race, South Korea (front) competed in the men's 1000m race. China News Service reporter Jin Shuo photographed
At the beginning of 2009, the Rams will try to organize dragon boat racing in Hangzhou with the Jiangcun dragon boat in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province as the carrier. In order to better promote the dragon boat culture, first "warm up" in China, for the first time to bring the dragon boats from Jiangnan Water Town to Xinjiang, teach local Mongolian, Kazakh, Uyghur and other ethnic minority friends to learn to row dragon boats, and staged a spectacular scene of "hundreds of boats competing for ferry" at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains.
The Rams will also invite observation groups from the United States, Austria, Italy and other countries to watch the competition in China. At that time, many American guests told me that the dragon boat race was also very popular in the United States, and expressed their expectation that the Rams would be able to "cross the ocean" to attend the meeting.
In 2016, the Rams will take the traditional dragon boat to set sail "out to sea" and arrive in Dallas, usa, and join hands with the Marco Polo World Foundation in the United States to hold the 2016 Dallas International Dragon Boat Race in the United States. In Dallas, it's natural for locals to love sports and they can often be seen participating in dragon boat activities, but more people interpret it as a recreational sport, understanding it as a normal rowing competition.
Before the start of the race, I introduced China's dragon boat culture to the senators and representatives of Texas, the mayor of Dallas and the local people. I first introduced them to the history of dragon boats in English, and then invited them to participate in the blessing ceremony. I told them that "eye-catching" for the dragon head is a very ritualistic part, and it also encourages the spirit of working together and being positive, which is the commonality between Eastern and Western cultures.
"Eye-catching" for the dragon head is a very ritualistic link, but also encourages the spirit of working together in the same boat and being positive, which is the commonality between Eastern and Western cultures. The picture shows that in October 2017, the 13th World Dragon Boat Championships of the International Dragon Boat Federation opened in Kunming, and more than 2,500 dragon boat masters from 24 countries and regions gathered on the banks of Dianchi Lake to compete. Photo by Ren Dong, a reporter from China News Service
During the competition, the Jiang Cun Dragon Boat Performance Team of the Rams Club won the Group A championship among all more than 30 participating teams, truly demonstrating the spirit and style of traditional Chinese dragon boat competition for the audience. At the same time, a number of local TELEVISION stations in the United States broadcast the competition, which stirred up a wider range of "waves".
The Rams Dragon Boat Team participated in the 2016 Dallas International Dragon Boat Race. China News Agency issued a picture of the Rams
The "Chinese Traditional Dragon Boat Global Competition" organized by the Ram Club has been successfully held for 8 sessions so far, not only into the United States, but also into the seine, Arno, Danube and other ancient rivers in Europe.
Dragon boats from China flew up and down the rivers of Western countries with the waves of water, the helmsmen swung their oars at the behest of the order, the splashes of water splashed, and the drums intertwined with the cheers of tens of thousands of people on the shore... The cultural rendering power presented in the whole picture is very strong.
China News Service: In the face of the completely different Eastern and Western cultures, how can dragon boats cross the barrier and build a bridge of exchange?
He Jun: In the process of disseminating China's excellent traditional culture and opening up people-to-people cultural exchanges, we cannot "play with our heads down" or "rush to achieve quick success" or "rush to make quick gains."
The key to cultural "going out" lies in "making friends". Sport is the "common language" of human beings and a "worldwide topic". The liveliness and excitement of the dragon boat race brings a great sense of freshness and participation to the local people, and only interest and recognition will attract people to understand the culture and story behind it.
First of all, the dragon boat race is very appealing from the senses. Among the crowds of people who spontaneously watched the game overseas, there were many local young people and "second generation overseas Chinese", who shouted "too handsome" and "very cool" while watching the game. I think that's the charm of dragon boats.
In May 2014, the 14th annual dragon boat race in Houston, USA, was held in the downtown Buffalo Estuary. China News Service reporter Wang Huan took a photo
The second is to seek common ground while reserving differences. In Western culture, the "Dragon" is a symbol of evil. Behind the dragon boat is the "Chinese dragon" that symbolizes auspiciousness and peace. Therefore, when the Rams hold dragon boat races abroad, they will directly translate "dragon" as "Loong", which is different from the "Dragon" of Westerners. The "Chinese Dragon" also represents the Chinese's inner yearning for peace. In cultural exchanges, it is important to have cultural self-confidence, maintain their own views, and retain their respective cultures.
In October 2013, a strangely dressed drummer led his team to the Houston International Dragon Boat Race. China News Service reporter Wang Huan took a photo
China News Service: In your opinion, what is the significance of The Chinese and foreign people-to-people exchanges represented by the dragon boat "going to sea" in the cultural exchanges and mutual learning between the East and the West?
He Jun: As dragon boat activities gradually become a worldwide sport, through the "Dragon Boat Friends", it can not only unite the unity and centripetal force of overseas Chinese and overseas Chinese, but also make international friends enjoy it. Using dragon boat culture to tell Chinese stories well and show the values of Chinese civilization has greater significance.
In June 2012, the International Dragon Boat Festival in Fangchenggang, Guangxi Province, opened with 21 dragon boat teams from Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao, Russia, Australia, the United States and ASEAN countries. China News Service reporter Hong Jianpeng photographed
In the new era, more "dragon boats" need to appear on the long river of culture. The Ram Society is also just one of countless civil organizations around the world, like a drop in the ocean. I believe that many people can do what we can do, and we need more people to do it together. Just like a dragon boat with helmsmen, drummers, and many helmsmen, when culture becomes the "link" in it, and everyone works together, the boat can anchor the direction and race across the seas. (End)
Respondent Profiles:
He Jun was interviewed by China News Agency. Photo by China News Agency
He Jun is currently the chairman of the Council of the Joint Conference of the Ram Association, the chairman of the Public Welfare Foundation of the Ram Association, the deputy director of the Central Propaganda Committee of the China Democratic League, the executive director of the China Youth Volunteer Association, and the vice chairman of the Zhejiang Dragon Boat Association.