Peking University, November 9, 2015: On the afternoon of November 6, 2015, the session 1 of the Panel Session II of Beijing Forum is held at Four Seasons Hall, VILLA2, Diaoyutai State Guest House. The topic of the Panel Session II is “Beauty through Each Other’s eyes: Retrospection and Outlook on the Exchange and Mutual Learning Among Civilization.” And the session 1 focuses on “the wisdom of the east and the west in the exchange and mutual learning among civilization.” Around 50 scholars from both the east and the west attend the meeting, and some of them deliver keynote speeches.
Professor Zhuo Xinping, who is now doing academic research at Chinese Academy of Social Science, attaches much importance to the conception of community. He says communities, such as agricultural community, industrial community, financial community, political community, national community, religious community, cultural community, global community and human community, are becoming increasingly important to human beings. He thinks human beings are living at a Community Age. The development of all kinds of communities requires more communications between different nations and cultures, and in return promotes cultural communications. At the end of his speech, Professor Zhuo Xinping appeals to people to develop a new way of holistic thinking and to be devoted to the harmonious human society.
Professor Zhuo giving his speech
Professor Michael Welker from Heidelberg University mainly talks about the spirit of justice, mercy and freedom in the west. He thinks this spirit is a vitally important heritage of western culture and has an “enormous shaping power” to people’s lives. He mentions the Biblical tradition in the western culture, which is quite different from the eastern culture. He says that not only the leaders, but also everybody should participate in the culture establishment and development. He also says it is a long way to reach the final harmony of human society.
Professor Wang Bo from Peking University gives a speech on Ren, one of the central conceptions in Confucianism. He explains Ren from three different aspects: wholeness, difference and ethics. He says that Confucius’ way of thinking is to take both oneself and others into consideration, which indicates the whole perception of Ren, and that while at the same time, Confucius also emphasizes the difference of people’s identities, especially the monarch and the subject, the father and the son, and the husband and the wife. Professor Wang Bo thinks that Ren is a conception of ethics. He says that the conception of Ren also has its own weakness. People are apt to enlarge their own willingness and ignore others’ ideas. He thinks bringing the conception of individual right into Confucianism is beneficial to make up the deficiency.
Professor Wang making his speech
South Korean scholar, Professor Park Jongchun from Methodist Theological University, compares Romans, one chapter of the New Testament, with Zhongyong, one of the Confucian classics. His topic is “An intertextual and intercultural reading of Romans8:18-25 and Zhongyong 22 for the care for our common home”. He thinks dialogues between different cultures are very important.
Professor Brown givng his speeh
Professor Stewart J. Brown from the University of Edinburgh delivers a speech of which the topic is “the European Enlightenment, religion and moral values”. He says that the Enlightenment was a “divers and complex cultural movement that changed perceptions of the nature and destiny of humankind.” He also shows the cultural communication between the west and the east, and says that Jesuit translations of Confucian writings and other Chinese texts were published in Europe in 16th century. He says that the west gets an inspiration from China and other civilizations that “Social ethics did not need to be based primarily on Scriptural authority.”
Professor Brown showing his ideas
The topic of Professor Diane Obenchain’s speech is “Our interactive history: retrospect and prospect on receiving each other’s gifts”. Professor Diane Obenchain is from the USA, while she also talks about the Chinese pattern to live. She thinks cultural diversity is very important, and says all kinds of religion neighbors, such as the Islamism neighbor and the Judaism neighbor, make the west better Christian.
Professor Lai Chitim, who is from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, gives a speech titled “interreligious communication and mutual learning: a theoretical investigation from the perspective of religious studies”. He says religion is different from culture, because religion is a kind of holly psychological experience. He thinks it is impossible to establish a universal standard for all religions, and says the modern study of religion is not aimed to provide some new ways of promoting the religious integration, but to make out the cause and essence of religion. He says that acknowledging the existence of difference is a precondition of human society’s harmony.
Professor Tiziana Lippiello from the Ca’Foscari University talks about “the beauty of Cheng (authenticity) in the Zhongyong and Matteo Ricci’s interpretation”. She introduces Matteo Ricci’s interpretation on the Confucian conception of Cheng, and shows that Scholars from the west and those from the east have different interpretations on it.
Later on, Professor Nicholas Adams from the University of Birmingham and Professor Zhang Zhigang from Peking University also give their speeches on the topic of the Panel Session II.
Reported by: Xie Changli
Edited by: Ouyang Yixuan
