Society

Declaration of Harmony brings civilization forum to a close

By He Dan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-09-27 20:09

QUFU - The first Nishan Forum on World Civilization (NFWC) came to an end with the signing of the Declaration of Harmony, a vow by domestic and foreign scholars to pursue a harmonious world with respect to cultural diversity, on Monday, the eve of ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius' 2,561st birth anniversary.

The declaration reviews the wisdom of Confucius by advocating tolerance and "harmony with diversity" as conduct codes to prevent conflicts among civilizations.

"The declaration is not a simple review of some universal ethics extracted from Confucius teaching. It also expressed our expectations from society, foremost, an important urge that peaceful communication should be a way for different civilizations to coexist," said Kao Po-yuan, vice president of Taiwan's Tamkang University.

Intercultural dialogue should be based upon the precondition of respecting and protecting cultural diversity, according to Wu Jianmin, vice president of the organizing committee of NFWC and the honorary chairman of the Bureau of International Expositions.

Wu further noted that protecting cultural diversity is a mutual mission for all human beings, as cultural diversity is the most precious wealth for mankind just like the significance of natural diversity.

Most attendees at the two-day forum regarded it as "productive and inspiring".

"I appreciate this forum for providing an opportunity for me to meet people from different cultural backgrounds and various fields of research, which is rare in regular academic seminars," said Robert Chard, a researcher in Classical Chinese at University of Oxford in London.

"The forum, held at the cradle of Confucianism, offered a good platform for intercultural communication and to introduce traditional Chinese culture to the rest of the world," Yan Binggang, a professor of Confucianism studies at Shandong University, told China Daily.

"Next step, it is important to think about how to instill the elite academic discussion into the general public's life, because ordinary people are the carriers of civilizations," Yan said.

Wolfgang Kubin, professor of Chinese Studies at Bonn University in Germany, said he expected to see more religions and cultures get involved in such forums in the future, especially Buddhism, as it is a vital part of Chinese civilization.

Full text: Nishan Declaration of Harmony