At MoA: China's 'Shared Future' & This is China

Those are merely three of thousands of images portraying what having a shared future means. Today at the Moon of Alabama blog, b aimed at providing more attention via his daily article to the White Paper China issued that is essentially a manifesto for attaining a Global Community of Shared Future for humanity that can be found here in non-Microsoft Word format. A applaud his attempt as it teams with my own article in trying to not just gain attention but to get readers to engage with the text with an open mind as Wang Yi suggested. What follows is my initial commentary posted to the blog about what I’d encountered on the first page of comments. After my opining, the rest of this article will consist of the translation of the 200th episode of This is China that I mentioned and cited in my Reader Service containing China’s initiatives, it’s latest White Paper, and links to the key Joint Declarations made by Russia and China. The episode explores China’s civilization from an archeological, anthropological perspective and asks and answers the question, What defines civilization.

It's clear from the first 100 comments that many don't know squat about China, modern or historical, and many fleas have settled into the thread. That latter phenomenon was a given considering the topic. China has developed many excellent suggested initiatives which I just reviewed "China's Many Proposed Global Initiatives: Another Reader Service". The current White Paper is clearly a manifesto which Wang Yi suggested be approached with an open mind, which means many commentators here need to wash their brains and get rid of the filth that precludes use of their minds. As both myself and the Russians point out, the Paper has a great deal in common with the aims of Russia's new foreign policy concept, which is why in the linked reader service I provide links to ALL the major primary documents generated jointly by Russia and China plus all of China's initiatives. Of course, as with horses and mules being led to water but you can't make them drink, the same goes for humans who are unwilling to expand their minds by taking in new knowledge when it's presented as it's easier to be ignorant and hateful.

Fortunately, the West is only a small fraction of humanity; and if they disdain a shared future, they have the right to do so--BUT--they have no right to interfere with the Global Majority's goal of Harmony, Equality, and securing the Four Freedoms for themselves. Clearly, the Global Majority have open minds and welcome China's espousal of humanity's goals--they have respect for China's 5,000 years of civilization and the wisdom gained over those years that's not founded on false myths.

As for the question of China having engaged in hegemony during its history, control over China's lands ebbed and flowed for several thousand years as Dynasties and War Lords came and went; so, hegemony was certainly exercised during those centuries. But that behavior also prompted the main philosophies of the East to form, Confucianism and Buddhism being the most important in this case . That supernatural myths like those that arose in the West are absent in the East is very important as Asian socio-cultural outlook and behavior are based on learned realities. It ought to be clear to those closely watching with a knowledge of Asian history and its philosophies that China's governing political party has continued to adopt more and more Confucian ideology into its own, which is currently exemplified by Xi Jinping Thought and China's initiatives over the last ten years. The Global Majority is fundamentally communal. China and Russia are fundamentally communal. The West has tried to destroy its communal heritage for 2,000+ years despite what its myths ordain as correct. My anticipation is for the Global Majority to adopt China's initiatives and make them their own as many are already doing. And I anticipate the Outlaw Western nations Oligarchies to oppose them until their citizens oust them so they can join the Global Majority.

The This is China program having 200 showings is clearly a popular success whose primary academic host is Zhang Weiwei, the director of the China Institute of Fudan University, who has written a series of important books the most critical for this discussion being The China Wave: Rise of a Civilizational State published in 2011. The current episode is titled “Chinese civilization is like a star.” Zhang speaks English well and lots of material and interviews can be found about him online. His co-host is Wang Wei, member of the faculty of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and Director of the Department of History. The program does have a moderator who poses questions and it’s produced in front of a live audience who get to ask a few questions at the program’s end. It’s rather like a seminar broadcast to all China and is very useful for analysts to see how Chinese view themselves and their relation to the wider world.

Zhang Weiwei:

Today is the 200th episode of "This is China". In the blink of an eye, since the broadcast began on January 2019, we have gone through a journey of nearly five years. This program has had a wide and positive impact both at home and abroad, and we take this opportunity to sincerely thank all comrades and friends who participated, supported and cared about this program!

At this special moment, we have decided to make a special program dedicated to the great Chinese civilization that gave birth to our growth! With this five-year column, we pay tribute to the Chinese civilization that has been living for more than 5,000 years, and set the title of this program as: "Chinese civilization is like a star". We are particularly pleased that Professor Wang Wei, member of the Faculty of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Chairman of the Chinese Archaeological Society, and chief expert of the Chinese Civilization Source Exploration Project, is here today to share with us his insights on Chinese civilization.

Not long ago, General Secretary Xi Jinping said a resounding paragraph when talking about Chinese civilization: "Chinese civilization has outstanding continuity, which fundamentally determines that the Chinese nation must follow its own path." If we do not understand China from the perspective of its long historical continuity, it is impossible to understand ancient China, nor modern China, let alone future China. The outstanding innovation of Chinese civilization fundamentally determines the enterprising spirit of the Chinese nation of upholding the old and respecting the ancient and not retro, and determines the fearless character of the Chinese nation that is not afraid of new challenges and has the courage to accept new things." In the "Global Civilization Initiative", the general secretary also proposed that "we should jointly advocate and attach importance to the inheritance and innovation of civilization". I feel this in particular.

The international academic community has a long tradition of exploring various issues from the perspective of civilization, from Spengler's "The Fall of the West" to Toynbee's "Historical Research", to Braudell's "History of Civilization" to Huntington's "Clash of Civilizations and the Reconstruction of World Order", etc., are all classic works in this regard. Most international scholars also agree with the continuity of Chinese civilization, but not many recognize the innovation of Chinese civilization, and even fewer discuss the combination of Chinese civilization inheritance and innovation.

Since the 90s of last century, I myself started from the study of the Chinese model, gradually entered the Chinese concept, Chinese culture, and finally to the study of Chinese civilization, and officially put forward the proposition and theoretical framework of "civilized country" in 2010. I believe that China has become a country that has combined an ancient civilization that has not been interrupted for thousands of years with a super-large modern country through long-term and unremitting exploration, which in itself is an organic combination of Chinese civilization inheritance and innovation.

This combination is reflected in all aspects of Chinese-style modernization. For example, the guiding ideology of China's reform is "seeking truth from facts", which originated from the "Hanshu Hejian Sacrifice King" more than 2,000 years ago, which originally referred to an honest attitude of learning, and in the Ming and Qing dynasties, "practical learning" was formed, emphasizing the discovery of laws through the exploration of things themselves. As the first person to sinicize Marxism, Mao Zedong creatively transformed this concept, establishing it as the ideological method of the Chinese revolution. Deng Xiaoping later put forward this concept again, and established "emancipating the mind and seeking truth from facts" as the guiding ideology of China's reform and opening up, emphasizing that "practice is the only criterion for testing truth", which freed China from the shackles of Eastern and Western dogmatism and brought about China's all-round rise today.

The change of Chinese characters itself also illustrates the relationship between the inheritance and innovation of Chinese civilization. At one point in modern Chinese history, there was a claim to abolish Chinese characters, arguing that they hindered China's modernization. However, the spoken and written language of a nation is the root and spiritual blood of a nation's culture. Chinese itself has been developing with the times, with a series of innovations such as vernacular script, simplified characters, and Hanyu Pinyin. In the Internet age, Chinese are increasingly showing their unique advantages.

More importantly, Chinese culture and beliefs are embedded in their own words. A Chinese, as long as you learn to Chinese and skillfully use hundreds of idioms, the basic elements of Chinese civilization, including the basic principles of doing things, will melt in the blood, such as self-improvement, kindness with people, respect for the old and love for the young, work together in the same boat, keep pace with the times, etc., these civilization inheritances have been integrated with the process of Chinese-style modernization, making Chinese society longer than upright innovation, after all, we have achieved a great leap from agricultural civilization to industrial civilization to information civilization in just over a generation. At the same time, Chinese society has maintained far more warmth and more cohesion than Western societies.

As a "civilized country", today's China, from south to north and east to west, has never been as old and young, traditional and fashionable, both Chinese and the world. An ancient civilization that at the same time possesses the qualities of a modern state, and the two complement each other and complement each other, which is today's China. All this is also the inevitable result of the organic combination of Chinese civilization inheritance and innovation.

In 2010, in my book "China Shock", I compared the differences between China and the United States from the perspective of "civilized countries", and I wrote at the time: I remember a European philosopher once divided the world's writers into three categories: meteors, planets, and stars. The impact of the first category is only fleeting. The second category, like planets, has a more long-lasting impact. The third category, like stars, has the most ancient brilliance and influence. In fact, the classification of countries in the world is roughly the same. Many countries are like shooting stars, fleeting. Certain special historical events occasionally bring them to the international stage, but may soon disappear. The United States is more like the second category. The United States is the superpower of the world today, and there are many satellites revolving around this planet, but the planet can only manage its system, and the system managed by the United States is in full decline. The United States has all the hallmarks of a modern state, but lacks the intellectual glow of a profound civilization. Just because the planet is closer to us, it seems brighter than distant stars, but this is an illusion.

The "civilized country" China is more like a star, it has gone through countless years, has been watching space, orbiting in its own orbit, independently flashing its own light. Because the star is so tall and too far away, it will take many years for its brilliance to be seen by the world. But once people realize that this is a star and not a planet, human understanding of it, understanding of other planets, understanding of the whole world will change. Stars and planets are not the same, the size is not the same, the texture is not the same, the composition is different, and the orbits are different. The light of the star originates from itself and is also deeper and brighter.

In a sense, this re-understanding of China and the United States is a major feature of the "great changes unseen in a century" and the world's entry into the "post-American era", and with the deepening of this understanding, China itself will never be the same, and the world will never be the same!

I'm going to share that with you today. Thank you!

Wang Wei:

First of all, congratulations on the creation of the 200th issue of the "This is China" column, I often see the demeanor of the host and Professor Zhang on the screen, and I have benefited a lot. I am also very happy to have the opportunity to come here this time, and I hope to share with you some of our experience in studying Chinese civilization through this stage.

General Secretary Xi Jinping made an important speech at the symposium on cultural inheritance and development on June 6, and I am very honored to listen to it at the scene. We should have just heard the term "modern civilization of the Chinese nation", but in fact, this was first proposed by General Secretary Xi Jinping when he led all members of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee to Yinxu after the 2th National Congress of the Communist Party of China last year.

The general secretary pointed out that Chinese civilization has outstanding continuity, innovation, unity, inclusiveness and peace. This is the first complete expression of the characteristics of Chinese civilization, and a scientific summary of the civilization process and historical experience of Chinese civilization for more than 5,000 years.

It should be pointed out that there is a close relationship between these five characteristics of Chinese civilization. In a sense, these characteristics are causal to each other. The reason why our civilization has been continuous for more than 5,000 years is manifold. Among them, the inclusiveness of Chinese civilization has enabled us to maintain an open posture and actively absorb the advanced factors of other advanced civilizations for most of the thousands of years of civilization development, so that the connotation of Chinese civilization is constantly enriched and always remains vibrant.

For example, in the Chinese civilization source exploration project, because of the multidisciplinary and multi-angle, there is research on ancient agriculture, there is research on ancient livestock breeding, there is research on metallurgy, there is research on equipment differentiation, etc., we found that about 5000 years ago, the Chinese ancestors absorbed the cultivation of wheat, the breeding of cattle and sheep from West Asia, which is very interesting. For example, if we study wheat from West Asia, cattle and sheep are likely to be bred locally, but in DNA research, we found that cattle and sheep are from West Asia. Another example is metallurgy, which is generally believed to have come from West Asia, but when these topics converged, we found that they all entered China about 5,000 years ago, which is not an accidental phenomenon, but there is an important period of exchange, and our Chinese origin millet and millet also spread westward at about the same time, and there is indeed a period of very frequent exchanges between the East and the West.

The Han and Tang dynasties in ancient China were also one of the most open and inclusive periods in history when they actively absorbed the advanced factors of neighboring regions. During my study in Japan, I had the opportunity to study music and dance and musical instruments of the Tang Dynasty. I found that the music and dance of the Tang Dynasty, according to records, include Tianzhu music, Guzi music, Goryeo music, etc., which are very rich. There were also many merchants and even officials from all over the world in the Tang Dynasty, which was a very open period. For example, Tang Sancai, we can see the Hu Ren Figurines, which are very diverse. Therefore, one of the important reasons for the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty was to maintain an open and inclusive attitude.

In addition, it should be pointed out that Chinese civilization is not only satisfied with imitating and absorbing advanced foreign factors, but constantly innovating on the basis of absorption, which is also the characteristic of Chinese civilization. For example, the metallurgy just mentioned was learned from West Asia about 5000 years ago, but when it came to the Central Plains, the Central Plains had mastered the technology of firing pottery at high temperatures, and we invented the technology of making bronze containers with pottery. Therefore, the reason why Chinese civilization can continue is that innovation on the basis of absorption and inclusiveness is also an important reason.

The peaceful nature of Chinese civilization is also an outstanding feature, which has enabled us to uphold the good-neighborly policy of friendly coexistence with neighboring countries and regions, and the ideal of harmonious culture and world harmony has always been the highest ideal of the Chinese ancestors. Chinese civilization opposes the use of force by force, does not seek external expansion of force, and only rises up to fight back and defend its homeland when its territory is invaded and its people are destroyed. This kind of peace has enabled Chinese civilization to do its utmost to maintain the stability of the people's lives and reduce the suffering of war, despite all kinds of hardships and hardships.

In addition, unity is also an important reason for the continuity of Chinese civilization. Due to the centripetal cohesion and appeal of Chinese civilization, the Chinese nation and Chinese civilization continue to develop and grow like a snowball. More than 5,000 years ago, the sky was full of stars, and the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and the Liao River Basin all regions had their own periods of civilization origin to initial formation, but they were not old and dead with each other, on the contrary, there were many close ties and formed some common civilization genes. For example, the belief of the dragon, and the jade from "jade for beauty" to "jade for precious", precious jade indicates hierarchical identity, including cosmology, etc., this mutual exchange formed an early Chinese cultural circle.

By about 4300 years ago, the power groups in the Central Plains continued to rise and their influence grew day by day. During the Xia Shang and Western Zhou Dynasties, the gradually perfected advanced political systems such as the ritual music system and the patriarchal system, as well as advanced production technology such as metallurgy, put the Central Plains in a leading position. The advanced ideas, political system and production methods of the Central Plains Dynasty were admired by people of all strata in the vast region, making them willing to join the big family centered on the Central Plains Dynasty. For example, the Sanxingdui that everyone knows, we can see that some jade ritual systems formed in the late Xia Dynasty, and the utensils used for ceremonial guards and sacrifices, have been greatly inherited and developed in Sanxingdui. This centripetal cohesion is an important gene for Chinese civilization to maintain unity.

Through the above discussion, we can see the continuity, innovation, unity, inclusiveness and peace of Chinese civilization, and the five aspects are interconnected and interact, and together constitute a distinctive and colorful, brilliant, continuous and vibrant Chinese civilization. These five characteristics will certainly play a fuller role in our journey of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and building a modern civilization of the Chinese nation, showing incomparable vitality. Thank you.

Roundtable discussion

Moderator: Both teachers said that our program is the 200th issue of "This is China". Teacher Zhang said that he would use a show of about five years to pay tribute to the 5,000-year-old Chinese civilization, which I think is romantic and deep, and it is Chinese deep love for China and Chinese civilization.

Teacher Wang also talked about the "five characteristics of Chinese civilization" summarized by the general secretary, which can indeed help everyone deeply understand Chinese civilization. We often say that people have philosophical numbers to ask: who am I, where am I from, where am I going. In fact, it is the same for a country and a nation. I would like to ask Professor Wang Wei to give us an interpretation, the general secretary especially emphasized that "Chinese civilization has outstanding continuity", and only by understanding continuity can we understand ancient, modern and future China. How to understand the words of the general secretary?

Wang Wei: I mentioned earlier that these five characteristics are interrelated, but the biggest feature is continuity. When we do archaeology, we study the past, what happened in history. And continuity is seeing the connection between the past, the present and the future. This goes far beyond the level of our scholars' general research. But then again, why do we study archaeology, in fact, archaeological research is what kind of process the civilization created by our ancestors has undergone to this day, and summarize historical experience from it. We have to see many problems from continuity, such as why Chinese civilization can be continuous, it has a lot of historical experience.

Zhang Weiwei: Let me add that I myself started by studying the Chinese model and Chinese-style modernization, and then entered the ideas behind them, into Chinese culture, into Chinese civilization. I found that only at the level of civilization can we truly explain the Chinese road and Chinese model, otherwise it is not clear.

For example, according to Western liberal economics textbooks, the government is the night watchman, but what has the relationship between the Chinese government and the economy been like historically? The Dayu water control 4000 years ago, the salt and iron theory more than 2,000 years ago, it is different, which is related to the scale of the country and the complexity of national governance.

Moderator: This has a strong sense of historical heaviness, and this continuity is not only given to the country, to the nation, but also to the individual. The name of our program "This is China", we push back more than 3,000 years ago He Zun has "Zhaizi China" at the bottom, and "China" first appeared as a phrase. If you deeply understand Chinese civilization, you can deeply understand the country of China. As mentioned earlier, Professor Wang Wei is the chief expert of the Chinese civilization source exploration project, can you tell us whether this project is composed of many small projects?

Wang Wei: The Chinese Civilization Source Exploration Project has created a model of multidisciplinary research on major issues in the humanities. It turns out that these disciplines also exist, but there is little connection between them, and each does its own thing, each doing its own thing. Therefore, the source exploration project is multi-disciplinary, multi-angle, multi-level and all-round from the beginning.

There are mainly a few key words: First, "when", when was Chinese civilization formed? Is the familiar civilization of more than 5,000 years a claim, a false statement, or a historical truth? Second, "how", what kind of development process has Chinese civilization undergone? The third is "why" it goes through such a process. Another big question is related to "why China", when, how, and why did the historical pattern centered on or led by the middle reaches of the Yellow River come into being? This problem does require multidisciplinarity, and it is not something that can be solved by one discipline.

Of course, related to these questions is the criteria and basis for judging the entry into civilized society. This criterion directly determines the history of our civilization. When I was a doctoral student in Japan from 1987 to 1990, the Japanese books published at that time, including international books translated into Japanese, talked about several major civilizations like this: 5000-4500 years of civilization in the Egyptian Two River Valley, 3300 years in the Indus Valley, and how many years of Chinese civilization? 3,000 years. Because at that time, it was popular to judge the criteria for entering civilized society by metallurgy, writing, cities, and the so-called "three elements (civilization)".

Until now, our earliest written confirmation is still in Yin Wu; At that time, historians believed that "Yu Chuanzi, the family of the world", but people said that the Xia Dynasty was illusory, and the Five Emperors were even more mythical. So, what are the criteria for judging entry into civilized society?

The Chinese civilization source exploration project has set up a topic: how did the "three elements of civilization" come about? We find that this is generalized from the civilizations of Egypt and the Two River Valley. But I led a team to excavate in the Maya in 2015 and found that the Maya had royal power, but there was no metallurgy, copper was not produced there, and copper was not known. Another example is the Inca Empire, Inca civilization is also very developed, there is a famous Machu Picchu World Heritage Site, but it does not have writing. This shows that the "three elements" are not universal, indicating that there are more fundamental criteria for judging civilization.

Artist’s conception of the ancient city of Liangzhu.

Later, mainly based on Liangzhu's materials, we proposed that the criteria for entering civilized society were: production development, population increase, and the emergence of cities; The social division of labor and social differentiation continue to intensify, and classes appear; Power continued to increase, and royal power and state emerged. But there were also challenges, and without the written records of the time, on what basis do you say that a class royal state has emerged? Our answer is that if there is a royal power and a state, it will be archaeological.

For example, kings, countries, and capitals. What is the capital? The scale is huge, and a lot of manpower is needed to form the ancient city of Liangzhu. Second, since there is a king and a national palace, then what is a palace? The scale is huge and requires the mobilization of a lot of manpower to make the elaborate building. The third is the Great Necropolis, a large-scale tomb with abundant burial products. Fourth, ceremonial vessels that indicate hierarchical status, Egypt is a pyramid mummy, Shang dynasty is a bronze vessel, Xia dynasty or Liangzhu is a delicate jade, there is always a set of symbols that show that I am different from others. Finally, there is war and violence. We think that if we can see these features in archaeology, we can count it as entering civilization, even if it has no writing, even if it does not have metallurgy. Looking at other civilizations in the world according to this standard, it is also in line with it.

Host: You can go to see the relevant materials of Liangzhu culture when you have time, such as cultural relics exhibitions, or if you have time to see the site park, you will see the large construction and ruins, which shows that the management of the entire city at that time, the management of large-scale manpower, and the organizational ability of industrial production are amazing, which is the embodiment of civilization.

The Chinese civilization source exploration project introduced by Professor Wang Wei is very important that it not only makes many confirmations from an archaeological point of view, especially puts forward new standards, how do we identify a civilization and understand a civilization, this standard does not mean that you have the final say in the West or a certain point of view, we have to put forward our standards and judgments.

Zhang Weiwei: Professor Wang must also know more or less about our program, and spent a lot of time talking about standard issues. For example, we have done a special issue of "Convergence and Non-Integration", some aspects we have to connect with the outside world, some aspects do not connect, some aspects people want to connect with us, behind is a standard problem, especially such a splendid and long-standing civilization like China, an endless civilization, it must be constantly creating its own standards.

Wang Wei: The key is to expand the international influence of our standards.

Zhang Weiwei: It is necessary to expand the influence.

Moderator: Just mentioned that the general secretary expounded on several characteristics of Chinese civilization, the second is innovation, which is very prominent. Can you tell us a little bit about archaeology and how to understand this innovation?

Wang Wei: Innovation is too prominent. For example, there are many "most", our prehistoric ancestors were the first to invent pottery technology, originally said to be 20,000 years ago, now research has found that it is close to 22,000 years ago. About 9,000 years ago, rice cultivation was invented in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, and then millet was invented in northern China. Around the same time, wheat was invented in West Asia, but before the invention of rice cultivation, we invented pottery, which you can put out and cook. But Western Asia is very interesting, there were thousands of years when pottery was not known, much later than us.

Later, about 4000 years ago, it was discovered that there was an earth that could withstand higher temperatures on the basis of pottery, so porcelain was invented, which was thousands of years earlier than Europe in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River about 9000, years ago. Also included is how we knew how to make jade as early as 8,000 years ago. There are too many such examples, and many of them are particularly ahead in the world. Innovation is indeed a prominent feature of our Chinese nation.

Zhang Weiwei: The metallurgy mentioned by Professor Wang earlier spread to China from West Asia, but became world-class in China. When you think about it now, you see that the Internet was invented in the West, and it turned out to bear fruitful fruits in China.

Moderator: Yes, we often say that China's application scenarios are very rich and the application ability is super strong. In fact, this has genes, if you are interested in archaeology, you can look at a variety of materials, to feel our innate ability to innovate, which is very important confidence. Let's look at what the general secretary said about the inclusiveness, unity, and peace of Chinese civilization. We say that only by understanding ancient and modern China can we understand the China of the future. The characteristics of Chinese civilization have given birth to the tremendous strength and wisdom of building a future China. I want to hear Mr. Zhang's interpretation, how can these characteristics be related to the current great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation?

Zhang Weiwei: Actually, I have always emphasized that China is a very modern country, and its ancient cultural heritage makes it unique. If you look closely at the most modern things we have now, we all have our historical heritage behind them. Our high-speed railway is absolutely world-leading, behind the endless linear culture of the Chinese nation and the culture of big projects, such as the Great Wall, the Grand Canal, the Tea Horse Road, etc. To govern such a large country, this sense of space has always existed, and I feel that it is impossible not to do so.

Wang Wei: The overall pattern and unity mean that the Chinese nation has inward-looking cohesion. For example, the Central Plains Dynasty, because of its advanced productive forces and cultural soft power, always has to find its own connection with the Central Plains Dynasty in a very wide area, which is not outward but inward. This shows that Chinese culture has strong attraction and advancedness, inclusiveness and non-exclusion. This is very powerful.

Host: I read some materials, such as Erlitou culture. Various archaeological studies are discussing the question, why is this culture so radiant?

Wang Wei: Yes, we were very surprised. In the exploration of the source of civilization, such as the invention in the late Xia Dynasty, it turned out that the special meaning given by jade from all over the lower reaches of the Yellow River radiated to the surrounding areas, including the southeast coast, Fujian, and Hong Kong; And not only to southern China, but also to the southwest such as Sanxingdui, and even northern Vietnam.

This radiation is not the use of weapons or other tools, but is related to faith or ritual worship. There is a saying in ancient China called "Muhua style", which is "envy of Chinese customs". A dynasty has a "tall" etiquette, and the surrounding areas are particularly willing to go, and this radiation is very powerful.

Host: In the Sanxingdui cultural relics, you can see the shadow of the cultural radiation of Erlitou, which is difficult to imagine; Because thousands of years ago, human activity was so difficult. From the Erlitou Central Plains to the ancient Shu civilization, where the Sanxingdui culture is located, how many rivers and rivers have to be climbed, and how do human beings still have civilization exchanges in such a process? It's imaginative.

Wang Wei: Very interesting, for example, a cultural relic unearthed in Erlitou, what is the function, everyone does not understand; At that time, a small person unearthed in Sanxingdui was kneeling, holding this cultural relic and knowing at a glance that he was obviously kneeling to worship and sacrifice, which was particularly figurative.

Host: Looking at Chinese civilization from the perspective of archaeology, this is a treasure trove, which is worth everyone to feel. In addition to "seeing the present", it is more important to build the future. Because this is in the same vein, just like we just said that a country must know its own origin, in fact, if everyone in the country can know its own origin and can interpret the question of "who am I", I think we will also have historical self-confidence and cultural self-confidence.

Wang Wei: Yes, when we do the project of exploring the source of Chinese civilization, we first do the process of civilization in various regions, equal society, production development, handicraft development, social differentiation, all of which are closely related to everyone. There are many customs that can be seen in a long history. So archaeologists are different from other experts, archaeologists have a deep vision. For example, when we sit here, these tables and stools remind us that in the Tang Dynasty and before, we were sitting on the floor, and we saw the Japanese way of life, which was passed down from China, including the tea ceremony and many other aspects.

Host: You just talked about the table, two days ago my child had a conversation with me, she suddenly asked me, she said mom, did we eat like this in ancient times Chinese? I said don't eat like that. I said that we used to call it "kneeling sitting", not sitting on a stool like this, nor such a high table, at that time it was all small cases, called "raising the case with eyebrows"; Nor did it use the current pots and pans and chopsticks, which slowly appeared later. Through such an interesting question, if you really understand, it will open the door to Chinese history.

Wang Wei: So before his speech on June 6, when visiting the China Archaeological Museum, the general secretary said, "Understanding the long history of Chinese civilization and perceiving the breadth and depth of Chinese culture cannot be separated from archaeology." Therefore, I also hope that everyone will go to the museum more.

Q&A session

Audience: Hello Professor Zhang, hello Professor Wang, hello Mr. He Jie, I am Zhang Jiaju from the undergraduate class of broadcasting host from Communication University of China. Just talking about cultural relics is very feeling, because we also did a museum trip in Beijing this semester. After we walked into the museum, we found that although there are many exquisite exhibits, although there are many stories written on the display board, but we will feel that after many exhibits are put together, there will be a sense of overlapping repetition, and there is no impression after watching a circle, so I want to ask the two teachers, in the face of the new era, there may be fewer people who really enter the museum to feel the cultural relics, how can they make the cultural relics "live", or how can the traditional culture really enter the hearts of each of us? Thank you teacher.

Wang Wei: As I just said, the people can't understand it, but in fact, they don't say enough. Each artifact has its own context, such as what era and what was that era? Why is it shaped the way it is? How has it changed over the millennia? I think it's a story.

The general secretary has repeatedly stressed the need to make the cultural relics in the museum "live". Why? It turns out that it is too "lively". There is still a long way to go, and we are working on it now.

Zhang Weiwei: Display is a very high art, in addition to the various convenient functional experiences mentioned by Professor Wang just now, including the use of AR (augmented reality) technology, etc., you can watch it with digital technology mobile phones. After reading it, it is often not a decrease in going to museums, but an increase in the number of people going to museums.

Another very important aspect is the sense of premium, many people in the West will do this thing, their exhibition culture history is longer than ours, sometimes there are not many things, but light, color, etc. should be used well, to have taste.

Host: I also offer a point of view, looking at archaeology, looking at museums, this thing is very similar to reading. Sometimes when you first enter the world of reading, it will be a little difficult, and you can't read this book. But when you turn reading into a daily habit, your reading ability will be greatly enhanced, and you can read any book. Archaeology is actually the same, when you first enter the archaeological world you will feel a little strange, when you look at many museums, you have a map in your head, the shape and shape of the object I see here seems to be very similar to something else I saw somewhere.

Wang Wei: Yes, we archaeologists have an image thinking in our minds because we have developed habits. When excavating, to be honest, it is very boring, how many people can encounter Sanxingdui in this life? Most are ruins, abandoned houses or tombs. But in our minds, it is the traces of people living here at that time, such as a stove in a house, a few people living there, and then there is a relatively flat land, which is where to sleep, and there will be this image in our minds.

For example, everyone sees the foundation, but we have pillars and people in our heads, and now digital means provide this convenience, and we only use words to describe it is relatively pale. Now this is progressing.

And as Professor Zhang just said, atmosphere is very important. Now that young people fall in love and go to the movies, I think it's good to go to the museum.

Audience: Hello two teachers, hello host, my name is Julie, graduated from Foreign Affairs College, I was very inspired by a point when I watched Mr. Xu Zhuoyun's "Ancient Rivers" earlier. He said that with the progress of history, Chinese culture is constantly changing, both in its content and in its occupied space. Through constant communication and integration, we change ourselves and influence others at the same time. It is precisely this kind of interaction that enables Chinese culture to continue to grow and enrich. So my question is, in the context of modern society, how can the inheritance and development of Chinese civilization strike a balance between maintaining its own uniqueness and absorbing the advantages of other cultures? Thank you.

Zhang Weiwei: Actually, the dialogues we are formally carrying out now, especially those initiated by intellectuals or governments, such as the dialogue between Asian civilizations and the dialogue between Chinese and French civilizations, have all achieved good results. Because dialogue between countries, especially countries with a long tradition of civilization, can deepen mutual understanding and friendship.

Chinese civilization is indeed "a threesome must have my teacher", it has always been good at finding advantages from others without losing itself. Moreover, there is also a very remarkable thing about Chinese culture, that is, it may eventually turn foreign things into Chinese things, that is, as mentioned by Mr. Wang earlier, some musical instruments, such as the erhu, first came from Central Asia and turned out to become China's main national musical instruments. Shanghai Shikumen architecture is the most classic case, it combines Western architecture with Jiangnan folk houses.

Chinese really have the ability to borrow from other people's things, but without losing themselves. Give him time, he can create a lot of things that combine China and foreign countries, his genes are here, China's own culture really has a strong advantage.

Wang Wei: When summarizing the characteristics of Chinese civilization, the source exploration project also mentions "continuity, eclecticism and diversity". "Eclecticism" is indeed a very important characteristic, first of all, you have to be open, good at absorbing, and at the same time be able to build on this and make it an integral part of our culture. This historical experience of Chinese civilization and understanding these five characteristics can provide reference for both today and the future.

In addition, for better dialogue with other civilizations, I think the General Secretary has set an example. I put forward the "Belt and Road" initiative 10 years ago, I have a feeling, I led a team to explore in Uzbekistan in 2012, and in 2015 I led a team to Honduras, and when people heard about China, they were very kind, which impressed me very deeply. Including our developed countries in Europe and the United States, archaeology and cultural heritage are one of the few areas that can break through ideological barriers. I saw our cultural relics exhibitions in several places, crowded without any ideological exclusion.

For example, the Terracotta Army exhibition of Qin Shi Huang was on display at the British Museum, and Prime Minister Edward Heath was to attend. The British Museum is an unprecedented 24-hour non-closing museum, and it is crowded. The Prime Minister looked at it very carefully and asked me a lot of questions, which shows that Chinese culture should be well carried forward when it goes out.

Moderator: Therefore, the general secretary asked that "cultural relics can speak", and this "words" are not only said to Chinese themselves, so that everyone can have cultural and historical confidence, but also very importantly, they must also be told to the world, so that everyone can understand our country and nation.

Wang Wei: The general secretary said, "Tell Chinese stories well and show an amiable, lovely and respectable image of China."

Host: In addition to archaeologists, there is actually a team of cultural relics conservators, who are also in many other parts of the world to help restore some local cultural relics and monuments, such as Angkor Wat, including Uzbekistan you mentioned.

Wang Wei: I was very impressed that during our excavation in Uzbekistan in 2016, the general secretary went to attend the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and met with more than 200 Chinese staff in Ukraine. The general secretary instructed to receive the archaeology team members alone, and a dozen of us came out of the brigade and applauded.

Zhang Weiwei: We also use this program to pay tribute to all archaeologists in China. I know that archaeology is very hard, very hard.

Wang Wei: But everyone has a support, that is, through even a little discovery, to add even one color and one pen to the blueprint of Chinese civilization and the blueprint of world civilization. This is an important belief that underpins archaeologists.

Host: But it's certainly not just about adding a little color and a little bit of writing, but helping to build the whole wonderful story of China's culture, civilization, and country. We at Shanghai Radio and Television will soon launch a documentary called "Why China", which tells the long history of Chinese civilization.

Thank you very much to the two guests for their elaboration, and thank you for the dialogue with our audience. We use such a program to pay tribute to the endless Chinese civilization. At the same time, in accordance with what the general secretary said, each of us should strengthen cultural self-confidence, undertake the mission, work hard, strive to create a new culture belonging to our time, and build a modern civilization of the Chinese nation.

I dispute the definition of civilization as it requires the accumulation of material goods and has no relation to the behavior of the people; thus, the term civilization in both the Western and Chinese definitions has nothing to do with goodness or the morale character of those residing in settled communities and negates the possibility of non-materialistic communities from qualifying as civilized. Of course, the root of the problem is the word civilization as it means city dwellers first and foremost. So, IMO it’s paramount that modern humans disabuse themselves of the notion that civilization and civilized denote some level of heightened morality and behavior toward others as humanity is still trying to emerge from its rather long age—essentially its entire existence—of being brutal to other humans. When humans evolve beyond their current level of morality and interrelations with each other, then they can confer and devise a term that defines that level of evolution: Homo Sapiens Pacificus perhaps.

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