Editor's Note: The 2023 Beijing Culture Forum, the second of its kind, will kick off in the Chinese capital on September 14. The two-day event focuses on advancing fine culture and promoting exchanges and will see a main forum, five sub-forums, and several related cultural activities. GDToday is presenting a series of interviews with cultural celebrities to give you a glimpse of the upcoming forum and the latest cultural developments in China.
“After decades of arduous exploration, the Chinese scholars have put forward a set of criteria for the origin of civilizations that are different from those in the West,” said Liu Shuguang, Chairman of the Chinese Museums Association, “Instead of regarding a writing system as an indispensable facet of civilizations, we attach importance to such artifacts with Chinese characteristics as bronze ritual vessels and large earth-based construction which are all part of China’s own distinctive cultural DNA.”
“All this archeological evidence indicates the early formation of a state. This is the origin of Chinese civilization, distinct from the civilizations in Mesopotamia or the Nile River Valley. I think such achievements also hold global significance,” Liu said.
Liu pointed out that the role of cultural heritage workers as firefighters and lifeguards has been completely transformed, and they take proactive and preventive measures to protect cultural artifacts from potential damage.
The Chairman also mentioned that by building museums, we can effectively mobilize all the cultural resources of a city, promote the urban civilization of a city and foster a vibrant cultural atmosphere. “I believe this is the most fundamental change of the construction of the city of museums in its 2.0 version.”
Reporter: Monica
Editor: Olivia, Nan, James
Video provided to GDToday
