This year coincides with the 462nd anniversary of Xu Guangqi's birth, and on April 24, a commemorative event with the theme of "Walking to the Light, Seeking the Source of Shanghai School" was held in the lecture hall on the third floor of Xujiahui Academy. Xu Chengxi, the thirteenth grandson of Xu Guangqi, came to the scene and led the majority of citizens and tourists to gather in Xujiahuiyuan Scenic Area to commemorate the sages and explore the birthplace of Shanghai-style culture.
As Shanghai's first urban open scenic spot, Xujiahuiyuan has 15 historical and cultural scenic spots, where "cultural business cards" such as century-old architecture, century-old movies, century-old music, century-old crafts, century-old education, and century-old meteorology converge, "light" enlightens the city's humanistic future, and makes Xujiahuiyuan Scenic Area an important landmark that leads fashion, highlights the spirit of the city and shows the subjectivity of Shanghai-style culture.
In order to allow citizens and tourists to more fully appreciate the cultural scenery and historical heritage of Xujiahui area, Xujiahuiyuan Scenic Area has specially launched 4 walking routes of "Wending Scholar", "Super Shenghuitong", "Wanguo Kunyu" and "Western Learning East", and invited 4 tour guides such as "Wending Scholar", "Super Shenghuitong", "Wanguo Kunyu" and "Western Learning to the East", and invited the editor-in-chief of "City of History and Humanities" and Professor Li Ping of Shanghai Normal University, Qiao Zhengyue, columnist of urban and architectural history of Shanghai Daily, Xu Jinhua, deputy director of the Reading Department of the Historical Documentation Center of Shanghai Library, and Uncle Fu, a short video blogger, to come to the scene and lead citizens and tourists to walk. While watching and talking, we can appreciate the unique humanistic charm of the source of Shanghai style. The recommendations of the four guides were full of fun and good sentences, which attracted laughter and applause from the audience.
The former site of Xujiahui Observatory, located in the Xujiahuiyuan Scenic Area, was originally built in 1872, which is the first observatory in coastal China and is also known as the "first meteorological observatory in the Far East", and has never stopped meteorological observation of Shanghai for 150 years. Every important historical moment and every development footprint recorded here shows the long history of modern meteorological science in Shanghai.
At the beginning of its establishment, the Xujiahui Observatory was mainly engaged in the research of meteorology and geomagnetism, and later developed multidisciplinary research such as astronomy and earthquake. Later, due to the influence of geographical environment, after 1900, astronomical research and geomagnetic observation projects were successively moved to Sheshan and other places, Xujiahui Observatory, Sheshan Observatory and Rongjiabang Magnetic Observatory stood side by side, of which Xujiahui Observatory was the main station, becoming a comprehensive scientific research institution that took into account basic research and services, and the research field involved meteorology, astronomy, geomagnetism, etc., which was rare in Asia and even the world at that time.
In order to allow the majority of citizens and tourists to more intuitively experience the origin of Xujiahui's century-old science and technology, the "Citizen Self-cultivation Bus" jointly planned and initiated by Xujiahuiyuan Scenic Area, Shanghai Meteorological Museum, Shanghai Astronomical Museum and Shanghai Earthquake Science Museum integrates resources from all parties, brings forth the new, and "strings these points into a line", leading everyone to take this unique tour bus to drive into the depths of history and start a journey of searching for the source of "the light of science and technology".
In this commemorative event, several cultural scholars, including Professor Li Tiangang of Fudan University, writer Mao Shi'an, and language expert Qian Nairong, were specially invited to commemorate the glorious life of Xu Guangqi, a pioneer of thought, in the form of "Shanghai School Source Seeking Micro Forum".
Li Tiangang, chairman of the Xujiahui History and Culture Research Association and professor of Fudan University, delivered a keynote speech on "The Spirit of Guangqi Continuation", revealing the latest Sino-Italian cultural exchange information related to Xu Guangqi.
Mao Shi'an, a famous writer and literary critic, then brought a speech "I Look at the Great Changes in Xujiahui". Mao Shi'an has been at the forefront of Shanghai's literary creation and criticism for decades, and has a deep affection for Shanghai, its people, and its culture.
Qian Nairong, a well-known language expert, and Pan Haobo, Dean of SISU Xianda Digital Cultural Tourism College, shared with the audience "The Shanghai Discourse Context Related to Xu Guangqi" with vivid language and vivid examples, which attracted applause from the audience.
Reporter: Li Mengting
Editor: Ye Fangfang
Reviewer: Wei Li