A Review of the 30 Years of Cultural Dialogue

By Zhu Fengjuan, our special reporter

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A Review of the 30 Years of Cultural Dialogue

By Zhu Fengjuan, our special reporter

President Xi Jinping talked about the fine tradition of Chinese culture at a symposium on culture and art in 2014. He pointed out that the fine tradition of Chinese culture is a key cornerstone of our socialist core value a solid foundation on which we stand in global culture.

Ten years ago, Xi Jinping, then the secretary of the CPC Zhejiang Committee, wrote us a letter of congratulation on the 20th anniversary of the founding of Cultural Dialogue. In the letter he confirmed the magazine's accomplishment of 20 years and wished us a brighter future. He emphasized that we should give full play to the province's strengths in culture and human resources and that we should enhance our cultural ties with Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan and the rest of the world so that the world and Zhejiang could know better about each other.

2014年“魯迅與雨果：跨時空對話”論壇現場Lu Xun and Victor Hugo was an international dialogue held in Shaoxing in October 2014; Cultural Dialogue looked back at the significance of the event in the issue of January, 2015.

A decade has passed since the 20th anniversary. Looking back over the past 30 years, we can say that we have done a good job. Cultural Dialogue has had many columns especially designed to promote opening wider to the outside world and more cultural exchanges.

Over the past 30 years, Zhejiang has done quite a lot in promoting itself culturally in the world. Zhejiang Cultural Week and Zhejiang Cultural Festival have been held in countries such as France, USA, Australia, UK, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Finland and Thailand. Art troupes from Zhejiang have performed in various continents, bringing Chinese culture and regional operas to international audiences. These events have been widely covered in Cultural Dialogue.

The cultural landscape of Zhejiang has experienced quite a few changes over the past 30 years. Art troupes in the province have reorganized themselves； new cultural businesses with global orientation have emerged； key cultural events and exchange programs have formed on the basis ofresources consolidation and exploration； events, trends, changes, and new works have been taking place in the arenas of theater, music, dance, art, folk art, academic studies, copyrights trade； a cultural phenomenon including village cultural centers, rural libraries and bookshops in rural Zhejiang has gained new momentum. These have been widely covered in Cultural Dialogue.

C u l t u r a l e x -changes have been taking place on a large scale between the mainland and Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan over the past 30 years. For example, Zhejiang and Taiwan jointly exhibited the two separate parts of Mountain Dwelling on Fuchun River in Taipei. A troupe from Taiwan staged a new version of the traditional tragic romance Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai in Hangzhou after performances in Taiwan and Shanghai. The Story of Zhen Huan, a 2012 television blockbuster on the mainland based on a Zhejiang author's online fiction, repeated its tornado-like success in Taiwan. These events and more were covered in Cultural Dialogue.

2011年10月18日，印度文化代表團專程訪問文化交流雜志社，雙方進行友好交流并合影。This photo was taken on October 18, 2011 when an Indian delegation came to visit Cultural Dialogue. The guests and we at Cultural Dialogue talked amiably about the cultural ties and friendship between the two countries.

上圖 莎士比亞像及浙江工商大學出版社出版的莎士比亞全集；下圖 2014年諾貝爾文學獎得主門羅Cultural Dialogue covered the releasing of Complete Works of Shakespeare by Zhejiang Gongshang University Press in the issue of May 2014, and printed a story about Nobel laureate Alice Munro in the issue of January 2014.

As Zhejiang goes international, the world comes to the province on a larger scale. Over the past years, many international artists have visited Zhejiang. In January 2014, Zubin Mehta with a symphonic orchestra performed in Hangzhou. Russian painters exhibited their masterpieces in Hangzhou. Monet's masterpieces were exhibited in Hangzhou. Artists from Middle and Eastern European countries presented their works in Ningbo. These events and more were covered in Cultural Dialogue.

Cultural Dialogue has covered the cultural exchanges between China and the world. In 2014, a commemorative event was held in Shaoxing, Zhejiang to honor Lu Xun and Victor Hugo. Lu Xun's grandson and a direct descendent of Victor Hugo met and they and some experts talked about the two literary giants and their works. The magazine has printed articles on various cultural icons across the world, including but not limited to Hans Andersen, Rabindranath Tagore, Alice Munro, Pablo Neruda, Pablo Picasso, Leo Tolstoy, and Aleksandr Pushkin.

Cultural Dialogue has been communicating with friends from all over the world. In 2011, a group of seven Indian friends came to visit the Cultural Dialogue. They had read a story in Cultural Dialogue about Tagore. Han Suyin, who in the last years of her life kept in touch with us, wrote to Wang Jiayang, the founder of Cultural Dialogue, praising Cultural Dialogue for its fine photos.