The second World Congress of Chinese Studies, hosted by the State Council Press Office and the Shanghai City People's Government, was held in Shanghai recently. The World Times "Overseas China" studio joined the Beijing Foreign Language University, National Library, Shanghai City Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing Language University's "I and China's Academic Destiny" series of interviews and continued to invite five international scholars to explore the significance and value of Chinese science in the world and the times. They were respectively: British scholar Martin Jacques, Professor of the University of La Rochelle in France, Academy of the French Republic's Palm Knight Prize Laureate, Chief Executive Officer of the European Asian Studies Institute in Belgium, Director of the Chinese School of the Istanbul University of Literature in Turkey, Professor Abu Juzarest, British political commentator, and joint editor of

Historical China Shapes Contemporary China

The book ¡°The Ambition of Great Powers: A Dream of Great Nations That Never Fades¡± by renowned British scholar Martin Jacks looks at the development of Chinese society and has sparked widespread discussion around the world. Jacks told reporters that he wasn¡¯t an expert on China at first, ¡°the turning point¡± was an Asian trip in 1993 when I went on holiday in southern China and went to Guangdong, Hong Kong. That trip had a great impact on me, I was shocked by the progress ahead of me, or I was shocked by this modernization landscape. My worldview also changed.¡±

He then began to write about Asia, and his later publication, The Ambition of the Great Powers: A Dream of a Never-Falling Great Powers, became a representative of his academic career and also marked a profound link with his study of China. In this book, Jacques proposed that China is a "civilized country". He believed that the key to understanding China was to recognize that it was initially a "civilized country" rather than a typical "national state".

Jack believes that "historic China" deeply shapes the many characteristics of "contemporary China". The Chinese population is diverse, but has formed a more unified identity over the long history. This civilization tradition shapes the relationship between the country and society - in China, people expect that "state" can represent the people's opinion, act correctly and from the Qin dynasty to the present day, the core form of the Chinese state system is still visible. Though today's China changes are amazing, this deep continuity still exists. This is the power of civilization inheritance. "Jack said that with the rise of China, the world will not be more "Westernized", but will be more "Chinese", and today this trend is becoming "more concrete, more obvious and more realistic".

Jacques said that the study of Chinese studies is spreading all over the world, while the influence of the West is gradually "decentralized". Nowadays, in many fields, many questions can't be answered without knowing China, which also makes Chinese studies more "open"-the threshold is lowered and it is more practical.

Starting in the 17th century, the dialogue between civilizations between China and France will continue to deepen

Bai Zhimin, a professor at the University of La Rochelle in France, shared her story of her connection with Sinology with a reporter from the Global Times. When she went to France to study for a doctoral degree in 1999, her tutor presented her with a book, which collected the travel notes of foreigners introducing China, which opened her research direction. "I found that China and France had deep exchanges in the 17th and 18th centuries. The eras of Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong corresponded to the periods of Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI in France." This "symmetrical" history attracted her to deeply explore the early exchanges between China and France-her doctoral thesis focused on how the French observed and described China in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Bai Zhimin mentioned that the French "king mathematicians" who came to China during the Kangxi period included Bai Jin and others. They recorded the ruling details and social features of the Qing court by writing work reports or biographies of the emperor, and sent the information back to France for publication. These works deeply influenced French thinkers, such as Voltaire and Montesquieu. Bai Zhimin said that many Chinese and French people are not familiar with these historical connections, and it is necessary to explore these historical connections and deeply cultivate the history of the formation of early French Sinology for a long time. Bai Zhimin said that the 17th and 18th centuries were the "enlightenment period" of France and the "prosperous period of Kangxi and Qianlong" of China, and both sides were in a glorious stage in their own history. The image of China written by the French at that time still influences the French's perspective of "discovering" China to some extent.

According to Bai Zhimin, French Sinology research has now expanded to areas such as the integration of artificial intelligence technology and China research. Chinese legal scholars continue to cooperate in various research fields, and the dialogue between civilizations between China, France and even China and Europe will continue to deepen.

On-site research to understand the dynamic development of China

"To understand contemporary China, we must understand its deep historical and cultural roots, and realize that China has always been in a dynamic process of rapid development." Gu Aile, CEO of the Belgian Institute of European and Asian Studies, told the Global Times reporter.

In 1978, when I first came to China for years in the European herbal medicine industry, I realized that in order to understand Chinese medicine in depth, it was necessary to understand China.¡± He recalled that in 2004, the new regulations introduced by the European Union had a huge impact on Chinese drugs entering the European market and the new regulations required to prove that the various herbal interactions in the formulation were non-toxic, a task that was almost impossible at the time.

¡°The education that people receive in China is ¡®never harm collective interests¡¯, and individuals have full freedom to pursue entrepreneurship and technological innovation without harming collective interests or undermining social unity.¡± ¡°The unique combination of collective thinking and individual entrepreneurship freedom is an important cultural characteristic that promotes China¡¯s rapid development. Another key characteristic is the pragmatism of the Chinese people ¨C not to learn and learn, but to apply.¡±

Gu Aile emphasized that China must be viewed dynamically. "Some people's cognition of China is still stuck in the stereotypes of 10 or 20 years ago. But now this country is developing rapidly, and today's China is even very different from it six months ago." He believes that the study of Chinese studies must abandon outdated stereotypes, and scholars have to conduct field research to understand the real and dynamic development of China. Gu Aile also emphasized the importance of Chinese education. "Chinese has a unique writing system and grammatical structure, and learning Chinese is the most direct way to understand Chinese culture. Europe should strengthen Chinese education in primary and secondary schools and cultivate children's long-term interest in Chinese studies."

Sinology should become a global study

¡°Chinese studies must break geographical boundaries and become a truly global science,¡± said Ayub Saletta, director of the Chinese Department at the University of Istanbul in Turkey, to a reporter for the Global Times.

Chinese studies in Turkey began with the establishment of the Faculty of Chinese Studies at the University of Ankara in 1935, and the field of study changed with the development of diplomatic relations between China and Turkey. Ayub introduced that in 1971 China and Turkey established and signed a cultural exchange agreement, after which the two sides sent more students and researchers, and the interests of young scholars in Turkey gradually shifted from ancient Chinese literary history to contemporary Chinese history, literature, culture and international relations.

Ayub said that the current Turkish direct translation of Chinese literary history is still empty, and the existing related books are mostly translated from English, French, etc. In Ayub's view, accurate translation is crucial for the promotion of civilization exchanges, the Turkish Chinese school to reach a higher level, must be upgraded to the level of being able to directly translate Chinese literary classics.

Ayub also pointed out the two major problems of current young Turkish scholars in terms of Chinese study ¨C first, many Turkish students studying in China are limited to the choice of subjects ¡°related to Turkey¡±; second, many young scholars in the study of ancient Chinese historical culture, excessively relying on second-hand and third-hand materials, without directly studying the original literature, which limits the depth of the study.

In terms of international Chinese studies, Ayub believes that the perception of China in many countries is still highly "symbolized", and China is far less familiar with the United States and other countries, and we must take off the "local" clothes and throw it out, and turn this large field of Chinese studies into a global discipline.

China is exploring a different path of modernization.

¡°China is undoubtedly the largest, in many ways developing the most mature and advanced socialist country, has played a leading and demonstrative role in the process of promoting socialist transformation.¡± ¨C British political commentator Carlos Martinez, a long-standing study of the history of socialist development, he told reporters of the Global Times that unlike the Western model of development based on colonialism and hegemony, China is exploring a modernization path that has a substantial difference from it, which provides new paths for the world, especially the global Southern countries.

Martinez said that in recent years, China has continued to grow and become the world's second-largest economy. Regarding China's inherent momentum for rejuvenation, Martinez believes that two core elements are crucial: first, China's long and uninterrupted history gives Chinese people civilized confidence, so that Chinese people still hope in the difficulty; second, the strong adaptability and absorption capacity of Chinese culture.

Based on his study of Latin America, Martinez said that China is more respectful of the sovereignty of Latin American countries than of the West when dealing with them, and that the United States is trying to impose its will on Latin American countries, while China is proactive in asking for the needs of Latin American countries and building a mutually beneficial and win-win relationship. ¡± Martinez stressed that ¡°China has created space for other countries to independently choose their development path¡±. ¡°The global Southern countries do not have to accept inequalities when cooperating with China. This equal and mutually beneficial way allows countries to choose their own development path and get rid of hegemony.¡±