Shandong will put forth efforts to promote its cultural industry in 2019 and make full use of Qilu culture resources, according to the provincial government work report.

Du Zexun, director of the School of Literature of Shandong University, said, “We shall collate materials and enhance research to fully develop and make effective use of Qilu culture resources.”

Shandong has taken the lead in the protection and rescue of ancient Chinese documents. It has launched a project of global ancient book integration, which is a national key cultural project targeting Chinese classic books collected by overseas countries and regions. The project was included in the Chinese Ancient Books Protection Plan by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Ministry of Education last year.

Du also pointed out the fact that Shandong lacks high-end talents in the traditional culture sector. 

“Especially in the studies of Chinese ancient civilization, it is difficult to find a top expert, which makes talent training an urgent task,” Du said. 

He suggested that Shandong’s universities should open small-scale training classes for studies of Chinese ancient civilization to develop students with expertise. 

According to the government work report, Shandong will continue its efforts to inherit and transmit traditional culture and construct two model areas for the innovation of Qilu culture preservation. 

Party secretary of Jining city Fu Mingxian said that Jining should strive to transform itself into a capital city for promotion of great Chinese traditional culture. Jining is also expected to upgrade the Nishan Forum on World Civilizations, start construction of a World Confucian Center, develop a new campus of Jining Cadres Political and Moral Education College and a college of Chinese Confucian entrepreneurs, speed up the construction of Confucius University, boost integrated development of culture and tourism, and improve Jining’s cultural competitiveness. 

Tie Liu, vice chairman of the Shandong Writers Association, praised the government’s arrangement to popularize the hard-working Yimeng Spirit and encourage self-improvement and selfless dedication as well as preservation of revolutionary memories. Tie said the historic memories may fade away along with the death of revolutionists. He called for arrangement of special personnel and allocation of funds to record the revolutionary stories with lenses or pens.

In 2019, the province will take more measures to further introduce traditional Chinese culture to the world stage, expanding the influence of the Nishan Forum on World Civilizations, holding the ninth World Confucian Conference and building the world Confucian center. 

Li Jingxue, head of Jining Cadres Political and Moral Education College, encouraged Jining, especially Confucius' hometown Qufu, to tell Confucius stories in the ways which foreigners can understand, including art performances, exhibitions and seminars. 

The efforts also include enhancement of cultural exchange via platforms such as the Confucius culture festival and world Confucian conference, and promotion of Confucianism culture in Belt and Road countries, to attract more visitors to Qufu and extend the “friend circle” of traditional culture.

The Global Ancient Book Integration Project launched by Shandong University has been included in the Chinese Ancient Books Protection Plan. So far, the project has published 418 volumes covering 1,116 ancient books and related works. [Photo/iqilu.com]

The opening ceremony of the fifth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations in Nishan, Qufu city on Sept 26, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua] 

The Confucian Temple in Qufu, a county-level city of Jining, Shandong province. Qufu is sometimes known as the holy land of the East and the “Eastern Jerusalem”.  [Photo/VCG]