Those who are like-minded do not take the mountains and seas as far away. The three-month "The Origin of Italy – Ancient Roman Civilization Exhibition" began exhibiting at the National Museum of China in early July. A total of 503 precious cultural relics from 308 sets of 26 national museums in Italy came to China across mountains and seas, and the leaders of China and Italy sent congratulatory letters to the opening ceremony of the exhibition.
This exhibition is the highlight of the 2022 "Year of Chinese Italian Culture and Tourism", showing the profound heritage of Italian culture with colorful and precious cultural relics, and pushing cultural exchanges between the two countries to a new climax.
Mutual respect, mutual assistance and harmony and symbiosis are the correct paths for the development of human civilization. In the face of the challenge of the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Italy have tightened the ties of cultural exchanges, further promoted mutual learning among civilizations, enhanced people-to-people ties, and made positive contributions to the promotion of common values of all mankind.
The beauty of beauty shows the heritage of ancient Roman civilization
The seated statue of the goddess Angelia in the 3rd century BC has gone through vicissitudes, the bronze statue of Apollo in the 1st century BC is tall and solemn, and the campana terracotta plate in the era of Augustus is vivid...
Stepping into the exhibition area is like being in the long history of ancient Roman civilization. The 11 thematic units show the lifestyle, folk customs and social reality of people on the Italian peninsula in different periods, and the rich and exquisite exhibits feast the audience's eyes and intuitively show the historical evolution of Italy.
"Presented in Chinese, Italian and English, this exhibition tells the historical process of political and cultural unification of the Italian peninsula, many of which have never been exhibited outside Italy before." Massimo Osana, Italian curator and director of the Museum Department of the Italian Ministry of Culture, introduced, "This is a new milestone in close cooperation, exchanges and mutual learning between the Italian and Chinese museum communities. ”
"The resumption of the Year of Chinese and Tourism in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic is another example of the continuation of friendly exchanges between the two countries and the promotion of exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations between the East and the West." At the opening ceremony of the exhibition, Italian Ambassador to China Fang Lanyi said that with the joint efforts of Italy and China, more than 500 cultural relics with great historical and artistic value will be presented in Beijing, and the exhibition will become a model of Italian Chinese diplomacy.
"The exhibition is unique and magnificent, giving Chinese audiences the opportunity to deeply understand the splendid cultural wealth of ancient Roman civilization, perceive the culture, traditions, customs and customs of the past on the ancient Silk Road, and enhance the mutual knowledge and friendship between the people of the two countries." Jia Zexun, an audience member, exclaimed.
Alyssa Junipero, professor of contemporary Chinese history at the University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, Italy, and foreign director of the Confucius Institute, said that cultural exchanges can promote mutual understanding between different countries and make culture shine in exchanges. Historically, the Italian Marco Polo became the messenger of cultural exchanges between the East and the West, and the friendship between Matteo Ricci and Xu Guangqi was widely praised. Today, cultural exchanges between Italy and China span many fields and produce rich results in cooperation.
Each is beautiful, and enjoy the charm of civilization blending
Hosting the "Year of Italian Culture and Tourism in China" is an important consensus reached with Italian President Mattarella during President Xi Jinping's state visit to Italy in 2019. In January 2020, the "Year of Italian Culture and Tourism in China" opened in Rome. Subsequently, affected by the epidemic, China and Italy agreed to postpone the 2020 "Year of Chinese Italian Culture and Tourism" to 2022.
The civilizations of China and Italy have their own characteristics, and they have left a strong chapter in the history of the development of human civilization. The "Year of Chinese-Italian Culture and Tourism" was restarted this year, reflecting the great importance attached by the two sides to the people-to-people exchanges between the two countries and providing new opportunities for further deepening exchanges and cooperation in the field of cultural tourism. In recent years, China and Italy have maintained close cooperation and people-to-people exchanges have yielded fruitful results.
During the 2022 Chinese Lunar New Year and the Beijing Winter Olympics, the "Chinese New Year Film Week" and the "Sino-Italian Children's Blessing Winter Olympic Painting Exhibition" made a wonderful appearance in Rome; In March, during the performance of the opera "Turandot" by the famous Italian National Orchestra and Choir of Santa Cecilia in Rome, China and Italy cooperated to exhibit the costumes for the premiere of "Turandot" in 1926 and the Peking Opera version of "Turandot" in 2018; In May, the "Chinese Food Show" online competition allowed many Italians who love Chinese food to show their cooking skills; At the beginning of June, the 6th "Italian Chinese Film Festival" opened in the Italian tourist resort of Ischia, during which many excellent Chinese films such as "Eighteen Cave Village" were played...
"The colorful activities of the Year of Italy and Chinese and Tourism have once again proved that mutual respect, mutual learning and mutual learning are necessary conditions for achieving people-to-people ties and building a community with a shared future for mankind, which is conducive to strengthening unity, harmonious coexistence and maintaining world peace and stability." Azorina Maria Rosa, Secretary-General of the Italian-Chinese Association, said that through creative cooperation in the field of culture and art, Italy and China have injected new vitality into the development of bilateral relations and set an example for dialogue and mutual learning among different civilizations.
At the "Chinese New Year Film Week", Maria Marlowe, a Roman citizen, watched a Chinese film with her family. "My son has been working in China for many years, and the wonderful movies have satisfied our family's curiosity about this remote country. The film vividly shows the changes in Chinese society, so that Italian audiences have a more intuitive and real understanding of China, and now China's international status is becoming more and more important, and I hope that there will be more opportunities to see Chinese literary and artistic works in the future. Maria Marlowe said.
The friendship of the country lies in the affinity of the people. Rich and wonderful cultural exchange activities allow the people of the two countries to enjoy the charm of civilization and integration. Italian Minister of Culture Dario Francescini believes that Italy and China will further strengthen ties, showcase their respective historical civilizations and consolidate the friendship between the two peoples.
Through exchanges and dialogues, Sino-Italian friendship will be rejuvenated
On March 22, 2019, President Xi Jinping and President Mattarella met with the representatives of the China-Italy Entrepreneurs Committee, the China-Italy Third-Party Market Cooperation Forum and the China-Italy Cultural Cooperation Mechanism in Rome, and pointed out that "China and Italy have a long history and attach great importance to the inheritance of civilization, which is the foundation for the two countries to understand each other and the friendship for a long time" "The cultural exchanges between the two countries are wonderful and are at the forefront of Cultural Exchanges and Cooperation between China and the West."
The friendly relations between China and Italy are deeply rooted, and the history of exchanges over the past 2,000 years has cultivated a common concept of mutual respect, mutual learning, mutual trust and mutual understanding for China and Italy. The cultures of the two countries span a long period of time and space, and pass on the friendship in mutual learning and mutual learning.
On April 10, 2019, after the concerted efforts of China and Italy, 796 Chinese cultural relics scattered in Italy returned to the embrace of the motherland, achieving a good story in the history of cultural exchanges between the two countries.
With the steady progress of the joint construction of the "Belt and Road", cultural exchanges have made new contributions to consolidating the friendship between the Chinese and Italian peoples. The Chinese and Italian governments have continuously deepened cultural exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, the people of the two countries have an increasing interest in each other's history and culture, and Sino-Italian friendly exchanges have been rejuvenated.
Lu Taili, the Italian coordinator of the Cultural Cooperation Mechanism between China and Italy, said: "Only by attaching importance to the inheritance of civilization can we achieve mutual understanding and build the foundation for the long-term survival of friendship. The deeper the foundations of communication, the more the tree of cooperation and friendship will flourish and bear fruit. ”
China advocates transcending civilizational estrangement through exchanges among civilizations, transcending clashes of civilizations with mutual learning among civilizations, and transcending the superiority of civilizations with the coexistence of civilizations, thus providing profound spiritual nourishment and solid emotional ties for building a closer community with a shared future for mankind.
"Civilizational exchanges and mutual learning have allowed Italy and China to maintain a close dialogue more than 2,000 years later." Fabio Massimo Parandi, an expert at the Italian Lorenzo Medici Institute of International Relations, believes that mutual learning among civilizations is a "golden key" that constantly injects vitality into the understanding and cooperation of different countries.
Column Editor-in-Chief: Gu Wanquan Zhang Wu Text Editor: Li Linwei
Source: Author: Han Shuo Xie Yahong Kong Ge