A ceremony commemorating Confucius's 2,568th birthday is held in Qufu, East China's Shandong province, Sept 28, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

Culture: Cultural rejuvenation offers wisdom to the world

By Wang Kaihao

"Culture is a country and nation's soul," General Secretary Xi Jinping said in his speech delivered to the 19th CPC National Congress on Wednesday. "Without a rich and prosperous culture, the Chinese nation cannot rejuvenate itself."

Xi's remarks reflect the great importance the government has attached to promote cultural programs and industries during the past five years.

As a result, traditional culture has taken on a greater role in people's daily lives, as evidenced by the long queues that quickly form these days for special exhibits at Chinese museums. Ancient rituals, such as coming-of-age ceremonies and paying homage to Confucius, are now common in schools and the finest handicrafts are being revived as people are exhorted to learn from the artisanal spirit.

Cultural rejuvenation transcends the country's borders, influencing cultural agreements with 157 countries and regions, and resulting in the establishment of 30 overseas cultural centers that together attract about 10 million visitors a year.

The exhibition Age of Empires: Chinese Art of the Qin and Han Dynasties (221 BCAD 220), which was on at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York from April to July, attracted 350,000 visitors.

China's overseas cultural presence is the country's "gradual return to herself, embracing its own traditional culture, represented in the society by Confucianism", said Petko Hinov, a Bulgarian Sinologist and translator, the recent recipient of a special book award in China for bringing many of the country's masterpieces to readers in Bulgaria.

Many scholars say ancient Chinese wisdom can benefit the contemporary world.

"Traditional Chinese medicine, for example, offers knowledge additional to Western medicine," said Szonja Buslig, director of the Hungarian Cultural Institute in Beijing.

Chinese emphasizes a balance in life, Buslig, a historian, said. "As today's world is rapidly overtaken by business, it needs to rediscover the balance of traditional Chinese culture."

China's eagerness to share its experience on conservation and protecting cultural heritage also ties in with the Belt and Road Initiative and its efforts to promote cross-border collaboration.

Archaeological projects with 15 countries have been undertaken during the past five years, Liu Yuzhu, director of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, said at the CPC National Congress.

"Such communication will improve mutual understanding of history and promote people-to-people connectivity," Liu said.

When Ahmed Ebeid, of Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities, attended a forum in the Palace Museum in Beijing last month on ancient civilization, he said: "We're in the same line, so it's good to work together on ancient civilizations and discuss how to protect our diverse heritages. They are owned not by one country, but all humanity. China is doing its best in the field."