China News Service Shenyang, January 26 Title: By what power does Chinese culture enter the world?
——Interview with Wu Bin, former president of the Palace Museum in Shenyang
China News Service reporter Wang Jingwei
In the long river of history, the exchanges and collisions of Eastern and Western civilizations have profoundly stimulated and influenced each other, and their respective development trajectories have also left each other's marks. Although Eastern and Western civilizations are not the same in terms of value hard core, they are the crystallization of human beauty and wisdom. For thousands of years, what strength has Chinese culture relied on to enter the world and achieve harmonious coexistence in the exchanges and exchanges between Chinese and Western civilizations?
Wu Bin, a historical and cultural scholar and former director of the Palace Museum in Shenyang, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "East and West Questions" in this regard.
The interview transcript is summarized below:
China News Service: How to understand Chinese civilization from the perspective of world civilization and deeply understand the value and significance that Chinese civilization gives to world civilization?
Wu Bin: From the exchange and exchange in the material field between China and the West to the exchange and sharing at the artistic, ideological and cultural levels, the spiritual and cultural products created by the Chinese nation have gradually entered the European continent and become "public property" and "world culture". For the West, Eastern culture, as a mysterious and magical cultural imagination, is a kind of memory hidden deep in the psychology of history and culture. It is precisely on the basis of in-depth understanding of Western history and culture that we can return to the grand scene of the exchange between Chinese and Western civilizations in those years, and can we deeply understand the inspiration and development of Chinese civilization to Western civilization.
To discuss the world influence of Chinese culture, we must understand that Chinese culture does not grow alone in a closed environment, but grows and develops in the overall pattern of world culture, in exchanges, dialogues and mutual agitation with other ethnic groups and other cultures. As an integral part of world culture, Chinese culture is very important and pivotal. To understand Chinese culture from the perspective of one's own country and one's own nation, and from the perspective of the "other", that is, from the height of world civilization, it is bound to be more comprehensive and profound, and it will also be more able to understand the position and influence occupied by Chinese culture in the history of world culture.
In 2017, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York held a special exhibition of "Qin and Han Civilization", exhibiting a large number of precious Cultural Relics of the Qin and Han Dynasties, such as the Kneeling Terracotta Warriors and Horses of the Mausoleum of the First Emperor of Qin, and the Golden Jade Robes of Dou Xuan, the wife of Liu Sheng, the King of Zhongshan jing in the Han Dynasty. The picture shows an audience member listening to a speech by the museum director, Compaq Hall. Photo by Liao Pan, a reporter from China News Service
China News Service: With what strength does Chinese culture enter the world and achieve harmonious coexistence in the exchanges and exchanges between Chinese and Western civilizations?
Wu Bin: The impact of a country's culture on the world depends largely on its comprehensive national strength. In the history of the overseas dissemination of Chinese culture, there have been several very dazzling climaxes of dissemination, and the emergence of that time has its own reasons and characteristics, but the common characteristics and laws are that they all appeared in the period of China's strong national strength, vast territory, and peaceful development. The Han and Tang Dynasties formed a powerful empire in Chinese history, the Mongolian Yuan was a world empire, the Eurasian continent was greatly opened up, and by the time of the Ming and Qing dynasties, especially the kangqian dynasty, it reached the final peak of China's feudal social development. The strong national strength led to innovation and progress in various social and cultural fields at that time, and thus there was great prosperity and development of culture.
The high potential energy culture attracts the attention of people from all over the world, and takes the initiative to come to China to learn and understand Chinese culture, and actively moves closer to excellent civilization. From the perspective of the recipient, especially in the period of great changes and great turmoil in the social and cultural development of the country, the excellent foreign culture can produce great attraction and influence. For example, after experiencing the Great Modernization Revolution, Japan gradually transitioned from a slave society with constant wars, backward economy, and poor culture to a feudal society. At this time, the profound and profound Culture of the Tang Dynasty had a strong attraction to Japan at that time, and its awareness of actively absorbing China's advanced culture became stronger and stronger.
The Dresden State Art Collection contains a print by Ma Guoxian, an Italian missionary from the Qing Dynasty who came to China, depicting the scenery of the Chengde Summer Resort, painted in 1714. Photo courtesy of China News Service: Dresden State Art Collection
Chinese culture has spread widely overseas and has a profound impact, and there are three main reasons for Chinese culture itself:
First of all, it lies in the richness of Chinese culture. The wisdom contributed by the Chinese nation to mankind is prominently manifested in the abundant products, such as silk, porcelain and tea, which have greatly influenced and changed people's way of life. From material to spiritual, from production to life, from politics to art, from religion to folklore, they have spread to overseas to a greater or lesser extent, far or near, and have had an impact on the culture of all ethnic groups in the world.
Second, it lies in the openness of Chinese culture. Looking at the general trend of the development of Chinese culture for thousands of years, openness has enabled Chinese culture to maintain a sound cultural exchange posture, cultural dissemination and input mechanism, which is the main reason why Chinese culture has strong vitality.
Finally, it lies in the advanced nature of Chinese culture. Before the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, Chinese culture was the most advanced cultural form in the world, attracting overseas attention with a dazzling light. Taking the Ming and Qing dynasties as an example, the great thinkers of Europe, Such as Voltaire, Diderot, Leibniz and others, all showed warm praise and admiration for Chinese culture, believing that "China" was a "utopia" that they longed for.
It should be emphasized that it is often advanced cultural formations that can be spread overseas on a large scale and have an important impact, rather than simple cultural symbols or exotic concoctions and pastimes.
In 1688, the French scholar François Benier wrote the French text "Introduction to the Analects" for the French royal family, which for the first time expressed Confucius's thought in French, "hoping to use Chinese wisdom to cultivate the political wisdom and morality of young European kings", hoping that the French princes and nobles would "draw inspiration from it and cultivate a spirit of love, meekness, simplicity and humanity". The early translation and introduction of the Analects aroused great attention from French Enlightenment thinkers such as Voltaire, Montesquieu and Rousseau, and greatly promoted the research enthusiasm of European scholars on Confucianism and Chinese culture. Photo by Du Yang, a reporter from China News Service
China News Service: How do you see chinese culture spreading outside the region, accepting it for other nationalities and creatively transforming it into a part of their national culture, and even a part of world civilization?
Wu Bin: The brilliance of Chinese culture radiates in all directions, spreads widely through various direct and indirect channels, and creatively transforms it into the common wealth of all mankind, promoting the progress and prosperity of the cultures of all ethnic groups in the world.
The prominent position of Chinese culture in the history of world culture lies first of all in the inherent creative power and rich connotation of Chinese culture, as well as the brilliant achievements made in various fields. However, no matter how rich, advanced, great, and brilliant a national culture once was, if it closes itself off, completely isolates itself from the outside world, and does not communicate with other national cultures, it will not only lose its development momentum, it will be difficult to maintain the vitality of self-renewal and self-development, and it will be impossible to obtain worldwide cultural values and cultural significance. Therefore, the prominent position of Chinese culture in the history of world culture lies more in the openness of Chinese culture, in the multi-faceted cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, and in the extensive and lasting dissemination and major influence of Chinese culture in the world.
I personally believe that the recognition of Chinese culture overseas includes many dimensions: such as from which aspects and channels overseas audiences understand and recognize Chinese culture, how the coverage and reach rate of Overseas Chinese culture is disseminated overseas, and how deeply overseas audiences understand Chinese culture. In addition, communication and reception are inseparable, the effect of communication depends on the result of acceptance, and cultural communication is actually the process of cultural acceptance. The spread of Chinese culture overseas includes the process of understanding digestion and acceptance. Of course, understanding and digestion is not the same as accepting it completely. Taking Buddhism as an example, the Buddhism we accept is not the original Buddhism of India, but the Sinicized Buddhism that Chinese Buddhist scholars have transformed on the basis of knowledge and understanding, and integrated with traditional Chinese culture. The same is true of the overseas dissemination of Chinese culture, and the effect of dissemination depends on the acceptance of overseas audiences.
Located in Semarang, the capital of Central Java, Indonesia, Sam Po Dong Cheng Ho Temple was originally built in 1434 and rebuilt in 1931, making it a famous tourist attraction in the area. More than 600 years ago, Zheng He, the Chinese Navigator of the Ming Dynasty, the eunuch of Sanbao, went to the West seven times, including 5 landings in Semarang, and conducted friendly exchanges and economic and trade exchanges with the local people. Semarang became the only foreign city in the world named after Chinese (The Three Eunuchs Zheng He). Photo by Ran Chuan, China News Service
China News Service: How did Chinese culture, which was regarded by European Enlightenment thinkers as the "light of reason," participate in the process of world cultural history through the Enlightenment? How is the harmonious coexistence of Chinese and Western cultures realized, and what is the significance?
Wu Bin: In the newly published 6-volume, 4 million-word "New History of overseas dissemination of Chinese culture," I mentioned a point of view, that is, the spread of Chinese culture overseas is very extensive. The so-called "extensive" has two meanings: one refers to the wide content of the dissemination; the other refers to the wide scope of dissemination. As a great creation of the Chinese nation, Chinese culture is not only the independent thinking and independent labor of the Chinese nation, but also the initiative to carry out cultural exchanges with other nationalities, and to introduce and absorb the outstanding cultural achievements created by other nationalities on a large scale.
Since its inception, Chinese culture has an open, inclusive, and active pioneering character, and while growing up itself, it has continuously expanded to the surrounding areas, and has come into contact, exchange and integration with other ethnic cultures. Early stories such as Shennong, Yao, Shunnan, Jizi walking in Korea, Zhou Mu Wang Xi hunting, and later Xu Fudongdu and other stories show that at that time, there were Chinese spread the chinese culture of the early period to the outside world. With the development, growth and maturity of Chinese culture itself, with the development of transportation and the expansion of foreign exchanges, the content of Chinese culture spreading overseas is richer, the scope of dissemination is more extensive, and the impact is increasing. The history of the spread of Chinese culture overseas has a long history, such as the rushing of mighty rivers, which have not been interrupted for thousands of years, and the scope of dissemination is becoming more and more extensive, the content is becoming richer and the influence is expanding. The history of the spread of Chinese culture to overseas is synchronized with the history of the development of Chinese culture, and the development of Chinese culture has also contributed to human civilization. (End)
At the northern foot of Mount Fuji in Japan, there is a "Xu Fu Monument" to commemorate the legendary Xu Fu Dongdu. Inscribed on the stele is a verse by Xu Fu of Zhao Puchu's chant: Xu Fu did not return with a chak, three thousand disciples old Penglai, so far left a good story on both sides of the strait, and the village of Huacaocheng was opened for the first time. Based on the research of Japan, it is said that Xu Fu was ordered by Qin Shi Huang in 210 BC to lead three thousand boys, girls and boys to cross the Fusang in search of elixirs. After landing in Japan, Xu Fu traveled from place to place, bringing the advanced farming culture of China at that time to the local area, and finally settled in the foothills of Mount Fuji. The story of Xu Fu is still circulating in many parts of Japan, and there are also people who think of themselves as heirs. Photo by China News Service reporter Wang Jian
Respondent Profiles:
Wu Bin, a historian and researcher, was the vice president of the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, the president of the Palace Museum in Shenyang, the vice president of the Chinese Society for the History of Sino-Foreign Relations, the vice chairman of the Liaoning Provincial Federation of Literature and Literature, and is now a distinguished professor of the Institute of International Communication of Chinese Culture at the University of Foreign Chinese in Beijing. Mainly engaged in the study of Chinese cultural history and the history of Cultural Exchanges between China and foreign countries, dozens of books have been published, the main publications in recent years are: "Forbidden City Studies and the Imperial Palace of Shenyang", "Four Hundred Years of the Imperial Palace of Shenyang - A Narrative Cultural History", "The Whole History of the Silk Road", "The Power of Civilization - The World Influence of Chinese Civilization", "Outline of the Inheritance of Traditional Chinese Culture", "The History of the Newly Compiled Overseas Dissemination of Chinese Culture", etc.