The first Cross-Straits Forum on Guoxue held in Pingtan in 2018, bringing together scholars from both sides of the Taiwan Straits [File photo]

April 23 marks the fourth anniversary of the Cross-Straits Center of Guoxue based in Pingtan, the closest place on the mainland to the island of Taiwan. Guoxue is loosely defined as the study of ancient Chinese civilization - specifically, such realms as history, philosophy, literature, and art.

Over the past 4 years, aimed at carrying forward traditional Chinese culture and building a shared spiritual homeland across the Taiwan Straits, the Center has been dedicated to promoting cross-Straits exchanges and integration through the traditional Chinese culture. 

"Rules of disciplehood according to teachings of sages. First and foremost, be reverent..." On April 22, all the students of Siyuan School in Pingtan recited “Guidelines for Children” on the playground. He Peichun, principal of the school said that since the launch of the campaign  of“Guoxue Entering Schools, Communities, and Villages,”students have been encouraged to learn about classics over morning reading and intervals, so as to expand their literary accomplishment. “The best way to hold the traditional Chinese culture in awe is to get the students involved.

Chen Cuijuan, a volunteer from Taiwan, brings Guoxue lectures to local communities and villages, allowing children to learn Guoxue at their doorstep. The two daughters of Zhang Yan, a resident of Chengnan Village, both signed up for the village’s Guoxue class. She said, "Since attending class, the children have fallen in love with the traditional culture, and now they read aloud every day at home."

Guoxue learners pictured learning ancient Chinese etiquette [File photo]

Over 300 classes have been held, benefiting thousands of young children since the Center launched the campaign in 2019. Sowing a seed of inheritance among the young is one of the reasons why the traditional Chinese culture is enduring. 

Today, experts and scholars have been mulling over how to realize the value of traditional Chinese culture in the modern era. Last year, a high-end symposium and the 4th Cross-Straits Guoxue Forum were held with the themes of "Great Changes Unseen in a Century and the Transformation and Development of Traditional Chinese Civilization" and "The Civilization Roots of Modern China's Road" to inject the vitality and expand the influence of excellent traditional Chinese culture. 

To adapt to the development of the times and promote the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional Chinese culture, the Center has been developing industries related to Guoxue, such as high-end lectures, cultural creativity, and study tour.

Since its establishment, the Center has been using the Internet and taking the Guoxue lectures by well-known scholars online. Till now, the views have exceeded 750 million. 

The Research Base for Excellent Traditional Chinese Culture jointly initiated by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Administrative Committee of Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone was inaugurated in Pingtan in October 2020. The Center was commissioned to run the base. The base attracts approximately 100 eminent Chinese scholars and well-known institutions of higher learning across the Straits to build a top academic institution and think tank in the field to enhance the sense of national identity and promote the great cause of national reunification.

Zhang Zhiqiang, director of the Institute of Philosophy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said: "In recent years, the Guoxue activities carried out by the Cross-Straits Center of Guoxue have brought together outstanding scholars from both sides of the Straits. If these activities continue, they will surely become a milestone in the history of contemporary culture.”

Last year, the Base carried out key academic research, with the first focused on the origin of compatriots on both sides of the Straits, and released the “Exchange and Cooperation in the Study of the Classics across the Taiwan Straits” and “Research on the History of Modern Revolution in Fujian and Taiwan. The research results revealed the shared cultural bond across the Taiwan Straits.

Next, relying on the Research Base for Excellent Chinese Traditional Culture, the Cross-Straits Center of Guoxue plans to establish a cross-Straits think tank, a cross-Straits youth academic committee, and build a cross-Straits think tank network and a new highland for cross-Straits culture.

Students pictured reciting the classics [Photo by Jiang Xinheng]

Looking back:

Time: 2018

The project Cross-Straits Center of Guoxue was launched on April 23, 2018.

The first Cross-Straits Forum on Guoxue and the Preparatory Meeting of the Cross-Straits Center of Guoxue were held in Pingtan. The Center signed strategic agreements with 10 institutions and employed 20 experts and scholars from both sides of the Straits as consultants.

The first Cross-Straits Guoxue Study Camp attracted nearly 150 teachers, students and Guoxue lovers from both sides of the Straits to gather in Pingtan. They experienced Peking Opera, Tai Chi, archery, and other cultural heritage.

Two cross-Straits seminars on Guoxue were held in Beijing and Taipei.

Time: 2019

The 2nd Cross-Straits Forum on Guoxue was held. This year, the Center hosted 11 Guoxue lectures, 5 sessions of the study camp, 44 sessions of Guoxue studies in local community, as well as dozens of reading salons.

The Center was designated as the “Lifelong Learning Brand” and a Taiwan exchange base in Fujian. 

Time: 2020

At the 3rd Cross-Straits Forum on Guoxue, the Research Base for the Excellent Traditional Chinese Culture, the Study and Education Base for Primary and Secondary School Students in Fujian, and the Cross-Straits Guoxue Cultural Industry Base were inaugurated. 

Time: 2021

Deepening the cooperation with the Institute of Philosophy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and relying on the Research Base of the Excellent Traditional culture, the Center launched activities such as "Guoxue Tour in Fujian” and “High-end Dialogue,” and visited Mount Wuyi, Wuhan, and Beijing to spread the excellent traditional Chinese culture.

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