Focus Interview | Continuation of Context and Mutual Learning of Civilizations

The 2023 Beijing Cultural Forum will be held in Beijing on September 14th and 15th. The forum focuses on cultural innovation and development, as well as cultural exchange and mutual learning.

China will better leverage the advantages of Beijing as a historical capital and national cultural center, strengthen cultural exchanges with various parts of the world, jointly promote cultural prosperity and development, protect cultural heritage, exchange and learn from each other, practice global civilization initiatives, and inject profound and lasting cultural strength into promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind. Let's go to several cultural landmarks in Beijing together and see how Beijing has been doing in cultural development in recent years.

The theme of this Beijing Cultural Forum is "Inheriting Excellent Culture, Promoting Exchange and Cooperation". Around this theme, participants from all parties have conducted in-depth discussions and interactions.

In the new era, China's cultural development trend is good and the achievements are rich. The new concepts and formats generated from this are the hot topics of communication at this forum, and also the content that the general public is eager to pay attention to in their daily lives.

Zhao Weidong, Executive Vice Minister of the Propaganda Department of the Beijing Municipal Party Committee: Two cultural phenomena have attracted attention this summer. One is the first time that the national film box office has exceeded 20 billion yuan; Another is that exhibitions in major museums in the capital have become very popular. This reflects the historic achievements of cultural construction in the new era, as well as the enthusiasm and expectations of the masses towards culture.

China has a history of 5000 years of civilization development, and Beijing is an ancient capital with rich historical and cultural heritage. In Beijing, the revitalization and utilization of cultural relics is becoming a new concept and model for protecting and inheriting excellent culture.

There are many traditional cultural guilds gathered in Qianmen, Beijing, which are an important part of the cultural heritage of the central axis of the ancient capital of Beijing. Previously, the protection of these guilds was mainly for repair and maintenance, but they were closed and not open to the public. In recent years, these guilds have opened their doors to the public and started singing big plays.

A traditional cross-talk performance was held in this pigment guild hall with a history of over 400 years. Being able to watch performances in such ancient buildings surprises the audience.

The Pigment Guild Hall was built in Beijing by Shanxi Pingyao merchants who engaged in the pigment industry during the Ming Dynasty. After more than 400 years of vicissitudes, it was once a dilapidated courtyard. After being vacated and repaired, it became a protected cultural relic in Beijing. As an ancient building in the small alleyway, it was once locked year-round with its doors tightly closed.

In recent years, Beijing has continuously explored and innovated cultural relic protection models, making quiet cultural relics move and ancient cultural relics fashionable.

Li Jia, Deputy Minister of the Propaganda Department of the Dongcheng District Committee of Beijing, stated that the 400 year old guild hall should be promoted through performance, construction, preservation, and cultural performance to promote a new model of cultural relic protection.

In this pigment guild hall, not only traditional Chinese opera is performed, but also modern cross-talk, immersive drama, children's drama, etc. are added, making the performance more in line with modern fashion trends and attracting many young people to come. The local community seized this opportunity and created a series of cultural and living spaces around the guild hall, making it a fun and culturally rich check-in spot.

In Beijing, multiple guilds such as Huguang Guild Hall and Linfen Guild Hall are also exploring innovative development models based on their respective characteristics, and activating century old guild resources with culture.

This Beijing Cultural Forum not only focuses on the new concepts of cultural heritage inheritance, but also pays attention to the new achievements and emerging industries in Beijing's construction as a national cultural center. In the "Ten Major Events for the Construction of National Cultural Centers in 2022" released on the forum, "the overall appearance of the first science fiction industry cluster in China" was impressive.

The first science fiction industry cluster in China is located in Beijing Shougang Park, where a multimedia center for a public experimental platform is currently being built. Although it has just been established for over a year, more than 70 companies have already settled in.

Xiong Wei's company focuses on the field of visual artificial intelligence, originally mainly using three-dimensional imaging technology to manufacture industrial robots. By chance, the company transformed into the field of film and television culture.

But the emerging science fiction industry is very different from traditional industrial fields. Xiong Wei found that even if a company has high-end technology, it is difficult to achieve overall technological breakthroughs solely by relying on its own efforts.

Xiong Wei, General Manager of a Beijing Technology Co., Ltd.: Science fiction is a very comprehensive industry, which is composed of many technologies aggregated together. We have solved some optical fusion, processing, and modeling technologies ourselves, and we also need large screen manufacturers to solve background screen technology, as well as sound manufacturers to solve immersive sound effects technology, in order to ultimately facilitate the formation of science fiction movies.

The difficulties encountered by Xiong Wei are not an exception in the newly emerging science fiction industry in China. In order to solve the pain points of industrial development and promote the rapid development of China's science fiction industry, the first science fiction industry cluster in China has settled in the Shougang Park of Beijing Industrial Site. Xiong Wei's company was one of the first companies to settle in.

Sun Shicheng, the person in charge of the Beijing Zhongguancun Science Fiction Industry Innovation Center: The enterprises here are highly complementary between upstream and downstream, and the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain are very clear. Therefore, each enterprise can form a space for docking and cooperation around its own needs, whether in scientific research or market promotion.

Technology empowering culture not only promotes the development of domestic science fiction films, but also greatly promotes the transformation and upgrading of China's cultural and tourism industry. At the parallel forum on the theme of cultural and tourism integration, the first batch of 24 national smart tourism immersive experience new space projects determined by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism were released.

Professor Jin Yuanpu from Renmin University of China: We need to integrate traditional IPs and brands with various forms of modern high-tech and metaverse, empower each other, go in both directions, and use each other to showcase new qualities and formats. This is an important development trend in cultural development. It is also a future development trend that cultural forums need to showcase and point out.

Culture connects the world, art connects the soul. The parallel forum with the theme of mutual learning of civilizations proposes mutual respect and cooperative development. Using the common artistic language of humanity to carry out cultural exchange and cooperation, so that the world can better understand China.

On the evening of September 13th, Shakespeare's play "The Tempest" was being performed at the National Theatre. This is the fifth masterpiece of Shakespeare's play produced by the National Theatre, and that evening was the second round of the play's performance. What is particularly noteworthy is that this play is presented in collaboration between the National Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in the UK, both of which have sent strong artists.

Encouraging Chinese and foreign artists to understand and learn from each other on cultural and artistic platforms, and jointly creating new cultural achievements, is an important content and way for China to promote cultural exchange and build a strong cultural country.

Following this philosophy, in 2020, the National Theatre initiated the establishment of the World Theatre Alliance, inviting artists from various countries to create and perform together in various countries. Currently, there are more than 30 institutional members from 19 countries. The performance of Shakespeare's play "The Tempest" is one of the key plays.

In such communication and cooperation, artists from various countries must adapt and understand each other, and have also encountered many challenges. Different languages and cultures inevitably have differences, but it is through seeking common ground while reserving differences that artists gain nourishment and learn from each other that they grow and strengthen their friendships.

Now, with the continuous strengthening of cooperation and communication, the forms and contents have become more diverse, not only with the joint creation and performance of artists, but also with more joint production and production. Through these collaborative exchanges, the dissemination and influence of Chinese culture are gradually strengthening.

The Chinese nation has had an open, inclusive, and inclusive cultural mindset since ancient times. Chinese civilization has always appreciated mutual understanding and respect among different civilizations. To build a modern civilization of the Chinese nation, we must not only return to our roots and create new ones, achieve creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional culture, but also strengthen cultural exchanges and mutual learning, and draw nutrients from different civilizations. Only with firm cultural confidence, openness, inclusiveness, and innovation can we create a broad atmosphere of modern Chinese civilization.

Editor | Liu Lin

Camera | Pan Ming

Editing | Zhao Peng, Zhang Wenqing, Xing Yongyue