Let Qi culture go out of history, live in the present and shine in the future
——Visiting Wang Zhimin, former vice chairman of the Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, distinguished senior professor of Shandong Normal University, and honorary dean of Qi Culture Research Institute of Shandong University of Technology
Recently, the documentary "Looking for Qi" was broadcast on CCTV, and Qi culture has once again attracted attention. As the core area of Qi culture and the location of the former capital of Qi country, Zibo undoubtedly shoulders a special responsibility and mission for the development of Qi culture.
Today, when promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of China's excellent traditional culture, how should we understand the historical status of Qi culture? How should we evaluate the contemporary value of Qi culture? How should we do a good job in inheriting and developing Qi culture? This reporter interviewed Wang Zhimin, former vice chairman of the Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, distinguished senior professor of Shandong Normal University, and honorary dean of the Qi Culture Research Institute of Shandong University of Technology, on these issues.
Wang Zhimin was interviewed
Out of History: Looking Back at the Glory and Contribution of Qi Culture
The formation of cultural spiritual connotation has its own specific time and space. In terms of time, it is mainly more than 2,000 years ago, the 800th year of the Qi State during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period and the Han Dynasty, and in terms of space, it is the central and eastern region of Shandong centered on Linzi. Therefore, Qi culture is a regional culture with a long history.
Only by having a correct understanding of history can we better create the future. Wang Zhimin believes that we should stand against the grand historical background of the long history of Chinese civilization and take the special contribution of Qi culture to the formation of Chinese civilization as the angle of correct understanding and evaluation of Qi culture, step out of history, stand in the present, and place Qi culture in the history of Chinese civilization with today's vision, standpoint, and viewpoint to see its value, so that we can see more clearly the brilliance and splendor of Qi culture, and only when we have a comprehensive and correct understanding of Qi culture can we better disseminate and carry it forward.
On June 2, 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping attended the symposium on cultural inheritance and development, pointing out that there are many important elements of China's excellent traditional culture, which together shape the outstanding characteristics of Chinese civilization. The Chinese civilization is characterized by outstanding continuity, innovation, unity, inclusiveness and peace. The "five characteristics" are summarized and concise, with great foresight, and point out the direction for promoting cultural prosperity, building a cultural power, and building the modern civilization of the Chinese nation.
The contribution of Qi culture to the formation of the "five characteristics" of Chinese civilization was analyzed by Wang Zhimin. In the early days of the formation of Chinese civilization, Yixia was integrated as the main body. In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, Jiang Taigong sealed the founding of Qi, and Qi was the hinterland of Dongyi culture at that time, and Jiang Taigong adopted the policy of "because of its customs, simplicity and etiquette". The so-called "because of its customs" is to inherit and retain the customs of Dongyi, and "simple and simple etiquette" is to simplify the red tape of the weekly rites to adapt to the needs of the Dongyi people. In this way, the Qi culture of Yixia fusion eventually merged into the torrent of Chinese civilization. From this point of view, there has always been a problem of continuity in Qi culture, especially in the process of Yixia cultural integration, Qi culture has made special contributions.
Bronze statue of Jiang Taigong (photo by Wang Jinzhi)
As we all know, Confucianism is the mainstream of traditional Chinese thought and culture. Wang Zhimin believes that it is the influence of Qi culture on the broad and profound system of Confucianism that has made it the backbone of traditional Chinese culture, which has lasted for more than 2,000 years. The representatives of Confucianism are Confucius, Mencius, and Xunzi, and their study tours and the formation of ideas and doctrines are closely related to the Qi country and Qi culture. Confucius came to Qi when he was 35 years old, and Confucius listened to the "Shao" music of the Dashun period inherited by Qi State, and he didn't know the taste of meat in March, which shows the deep influence of Qi culture on Confucius. Confucius mentions Guan Zhong four times in the Analects, three of which he praises. Guan Zhong is a representative of Qi culture. The influence of Qi culture on Confucius and the formation of Confucius's doctrine obviously had a subtle effect. Mencius and Xunzi both wrote and lectured in the Jixia School Palace of Qi for decades, they developed the doctrine of Confucius "benevolence" and "etiquette", Mencius advocated "benevolent government", Xunzi advocated the use of ritual and law, which was the key innovation and development of Confucianism later on the ruling thought of the past dynasties, and these were formed by fully absorbing Qi culture and the hundred schools of thought of the sons of Jixia in the exchange, debate and contention with the monarchs and ministers of Qi and the gentlemen of Jixia.
Confucius heard Shao
Guan Zhong Memorial Hall (photo by Zhu Changwei)
To this day, Shandong is known as the land of Qilu rather than the land of Luqi, and Qi is in the front, not only because Qi has always been far more prosperous than Lu, but also because there is indisputable evidence that Qi culture has had a great influence and promotion on Confucianism, which was born in Ludi. The continuity of Confucianism, the mainstream of Chinese tradition, and the contribution of Qi culture are obvious.
There is an irrefutable factual basis for the role played by Qi culture in the formation of the innovative, unified, inclusive, and peaceful characteristics of Chinese civilization. For example, in peace, among the five hegemons of the Spring and Autumn Period, Duke Qi Huan is the earliest, longest, and most influential hegemon, and among the five hegemons, only Duke Qi Huan is the only one who adopts the method of alliance rather than war to hegemon, that is, through consultation, negotiation and other peaceful methods. Duke Qi Huan's "nine princes, one Kuang world" relied on "peaceful" means, rather than reckless military force and waging war. In Qi culture, the science of war is a very important part, the representative works "The Art of War" and "The Art of War" are classic works on the study of war, but the purpose of the author's study of war is to stop the war rather than create a war, they believe that the highest state of war is to surrender the soldier without fighting. As for innovation, inclusiveness, and unity, there is even more factual basis.
It can be seen that Qi culture has made great contributions to the formation of the "five characteristics" of Chinese civilization: continuity, innovation, unity, inclusiveness and peace. Wang Zhimin said: "Only under the grand vision of the development characteristics of Chinese civilization can we weigh out the weight of Qi culture, which is difficult to compare with any other regional culture in China." ”
Live in the present: Let Qi culture become popular
The ultimate goal of studying any culture is to make that culture useful for the development of today's society. This requires combining this cultural study with reality and making it live in the present. Qi culture is certainly no exception.
Wang Zhimin believes that to let Qi culture live in the present, it must first be combined with the "two creations". To realize the creative transformation and innovative development of Qi culture, it is necessary to understand and explain clearly what the spirit of Qi culture is and what is the core concept? This requires in-depth excavation and interpretation of Qi culture. In this regard, we should not only pay attention to the research around the "two innovations", but also not rush for quick success and quick profit, and not stop at superficial interpretation.
Qi Culture Museum (photo by Cui Lilai)
As a well-known expert who has been committed to the study of Qilu culture for a long time, Wang Zhimin said bluntly: "Compared with Lu culture, it is not enough to study, excavate, elaborate and promote the culture. In Wang Zhimin's view, the research, excavation, elucidation and promotion of Qi culture should not only focus on unity, mobilize high-level experts inside and outside the province, at home and abroad in the field of traditional culture research to carry out joint research, continue to make efforts, and produce high-level and authoritative results, but also pay special attention to supporting the research of local universities and scientific research institutions.
As early as the eighties and nineties of the 20th century, Zibo has held many international seminars on Qi culture and Jixia studies, welcoming the academic community to focus on Qi culture with an open mind and strategic vision, and a large number of academic achievements have emerged, which has also led to the cultivation of local universities and local scholars. He expressed his strong desire to study, carry forward and disseminate the reappearance of the "prosperous era" of Qi culture, so as to strongly promote the "two creations" of Qi culture to take root in Zibo in a solid but not superficial, practical and superficial manner, and truly transform the spiritual connotation and advanced concepts of Qi culture into a driving force for practicing the core values of socialism, so that Qi culture can become a rich nutrition for building a new era of culture. For example, the idea of people-oriented is the first to be put forward by Qi culture, which has a strong reference significance for changing the style and improving the efficiency today. Another example is the spirit of Qi culture's courage to reform, dare to explore, and keep pace with the times, and the concept of openness, inclusiveness, and contention of a hundred schools of thought in Jixia Academy, which can serve contemporary culture.
Let Qi culture live in the present, but also combine it with cultural tourism. Combined with cultural tourism, it is necessary to simply build a few tourist attractions and tell a few cultural stories, but if you stay at this level, it will be superficial. How to combine with cultural tourism, Wang Zhimin put forward a proposal of "building a cultural experience corridor".
In June 2022, the Shandong Provincial Party Committee proposed to start the construction of a cultural experience corridor. It is proposed to build cultural experience corridors along the Yellow River, the Grand Canal, the Great Wall of Qi, the Yellow Bohai Sea, the Jiaoji Railway and other "four corridors and one line" and 16 cities in the province, making it a new window for cultural display and experience in Qilu and a new engine for economic and social development. In September 2023, 32 volumes of the "Shandong Cultural Experience Corridor Historical Story Series" will be compiled and published, which has given rise to a new upsurge in the combination of culture and tourism, the construction of cultural corridors, the telling of Shandong stories, and the promotion of Qilu culture. As the chief editor of this large-scale book series, Wang Zhimin believes that with reference to the practice of building cultural experience corridors in the province, it is the right time to build Qi cultural experience corridors, and Zibo has resource advantages, which is even more of an unshirkable responsibility. He suggested that the construction of Qi cultural experience corridor should be combined with landscape construction, combined with the protection of cultural sites, and combined with multimedia communication and application.
Let Qi culture live in the present, there is still a problem of going out. To go out is to let Qi culture go out of Zibo, to the whole country, and to the world.
Wang Zhimin believes that it is necessary to select the parts that embody the spiritual connotation of Qi culture and the contemporary value of Chinese civilization, and let Qi culture go out by telling the story of Qi culture and telling the story of China well. The story of Qi culture is a systematic and systematic selection of stories that embody the spirit of the Chinese nation in Qi culture, popularizing and popularizing the research results of Qi culture, and pushing these stories out of the country and to the world. In 2014, Wang Zhimin presided over the 12 lectures of Jixia School in Linzi, interpreting the spirit of Jixia in popular language. These 12 lectures were later compiled into the book "The Open Course of Jixia School". In 2022, the "Jixia School Open Class" was included in the national "Chinese Academic Foreign Translation Project" and translated into foreign languages such as English and Japanese, allowing Qi culture to go abroad.
In 2018, with the support of the Propaganda Department of the Municipal Party Committee and the Linzi District Party Committee, Shandong University of Technology and the University of Athens jointly held the "Jixia Academy and Platonic Academy - Forum on Classical Chinese and Greek Civilization", and the proceedings of the forum included papers by Chinese and Greek scholars, of which 12 were written by Greek scholars. This collection of essays was published in Chinese by Sanlian Bookstore in China and in English in Greece. As the main planner and host of this major event, Wang Zhimin believes that this is an important node for the research of Jixia Academy to go to the world, and it is also one of the shining points and focus points for the exchange and mutual learning between Chinese and Western civilizations and the promotion of the construction of a community of human civilization. Taking this as an opportunity, starting from 2022, the Nishan World Civilization Forum held in Shandong every year has set up a special forum for Chinese and Greek classical civilizations, which has also contributed to the cultural construction of our province.
Wang Zhimin said: "To carry forward Qi culture, we must make full use of idioms and stories that the masses like to hear, such as 'a blockbuster' and 'hatred with one arrow', and do a good job in disseminating and popularizing the people, but we must also tell the connotation and spirit of Qi culture in a popular way. Qi culture goes to the world, and it is necessary to go to the world in depth. ”
Shine on the future: Let Qi culture be passed on forever
Qi culture is the cultural heritage and spiritual wealth left by our ancestors, which has been passed down to our generation after more than 2,000 years. A generation has a generation's responsibility, we contemporary people attach importance to Qi culture, can not be active for a while, lively for a while, the light will pass for a while, we must consider leaving something for future generations? As the core area of Qi culture, we Zibo must make more achievements.
Recently, the province has launched the "Qilu Library" collation project, and listed the "Qi Dian" separately, that is, the collection and collation of classic documents of Qi culture. This is the first time in history to comprehensively and systematically compile and sort out the cultural classics, and will form a landmark academic project of "one body and two wings" of the "Qilu Library" with the "Confucian Classics" that have been compiled and published. This project is mainly undertaken by the Qi Culture Research Institute of Shandong University of Technology, Shandong University and Shandong Normal University. As the host of this project, Wang Zhimin believes that to do a good job in the "Qi Classics" is to organize, collect, and inherit the iconic classic documents that record and reflect the Qi culture, and leave them to future generations and pass them on to future generations. This is a responsibility for the past as well as a responsibility for the future.
Of course, there are about 1,000 volumes of "Qi Dian", which mainly collect, organize and preserve those iconic and representative classics, and cannot be all-encompassing and collectible. What should we do with other research materials and research results? Wang Zhimin has repeatedly suggested that a database of Qi culture should be built. Relying on modern scientific and technological means, it is necessary to establish a large-capacity database; just like the compilation of the "Siku Quanshu" in history, all the existing classics and documents of the Qi culture should be included, as well as the relevant archaeological and cultural relics materials, as well as the results of research and excavation related to Qi culture since the 19th century, including the important achievements made in the field of Qi culture research after the reform and opening up.
Wang Zhimin has been to other places many times to investigate, Zhejiang Province as early as more than 20 years ago to start the construction of the local cultural database, Zhejiang's classics, literature, modern and contemporary cultural research results, all included in the database, easy to consult, easy to use, easy to pass on to future generations. Due to the status and far-reaching influence of Qi in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Qi culture is unique and important compared with any regional culture formed at that time. There are countless classics, documents, sites, relics, and research results related to Qi culture, and it is urgent to establish a database of Qi culture.
Let Qi culture shine in the future, in addition to sorting out documents and classics and expounding the core essence of Qi culture, it is also necessary to make long-term planning based on historical and cultural relics and relics, and build a landmark and major landscape that permanently embodies the spirit, concept and appearance of Qi culture. For example, the Jixia School Palace, which is the cultural source of the "Axial Age" of Chinese civilization, is a wonder in the history of Chinese culture. Now, the ruins of the Jixia School Palace have been excavated. While protecting the ruins, Wang Zhimin suggested that in the vicinity of the ruins, according to the scale and regulations recorded in history, the Jixia School Palace should be rebuilt, and the Jiang Taigong Temple should be expanded. As early as the Tang Dynasty, Tang Xuanzong named Confucius as the king of Wenxuan, and Jiang Taigong as the king of Wucheng, which shows that Jiang Taigong's status was alongside Confucius. Compared with Confucius, Jiang Taigong's landscape construction and site restoration are much inferior, which shows that we still have a lot to do in terms of Qi culture interpretation, promotion, publicity and promotion. Also, build a pipe garden. The great historian Sima Qian first established a biography for the virtuous minister in the "Historical Records", the earliest is "The Biography of Guan Yan Lie", Guan Zhong and Yan Ying are both famous ministers of the Qi State, Guan Zhong is the first minister in Chinese history, and it is completely necessary for us to make a big fuss here. When it comes to the academy, many people will definitely think of Yuelu Academy, which was founded in 976 A.D. and has been singing for thousands of years, which is not only the predecessor of Hunan University, but also an important part of modern Hunan University. The academic community has long had the expectation that "there is Yuelu Academy in the south and Jixia Academy in the north". In Shandong University of Technology, the construction of "Jixia Academy" on the shore of Jixia Lake is a north-south echo with the Yuelu Academy in Hunan University.
Jixia School Palace
Today, when we look at the iconic landscapes of the city, such as the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Yueyang Tower, and Tengwang Pavilion, we will sigh at the precious wealth left by the ancestors of that era to future generations. Future generations look at the present, just as the present people look at the past. What kind of iconic landscape have we left behind today that will make future generations sigh at our courage and deeds today? Wang Zhimin said: "This issue deserves the consideration of experts and scholars, the consideration of leading cadres at all levels, and the attention of all sectors of society. Of course, there are some landscapes that we do not have the financial resources and ability to start construction for a while, but we must have vision and vision, we must have a historical plan, do what we can, first easy and then difficult, implement step by step, generation after generation, long-term persistence, and it will become a great thing. ”
Source: Zibo Daily, Expo News
Reporter: Yi Maolin