Prologue
With the authorization from China’s Ministry of Culture,the National Base for International Cultural Exchange and Research has been set up in Shanghai.As the first national base in China in the field of international cultural exchange,it indicates that from practice to theoretical research,international cultural exchange in our country has carried out in full swing,and international cultural exchange is taking up a core position in our culture.Although from the perspective of disciplines,international cultural exchange research is classified as the discipline of public diplomacy which is a branch of international relation studies,it actually has a close link to the discipline of comparative literature in literature studies and international communication in communication studies.The fact that international cultural exchange research is connected with so many disciplines demonstrates its multifacetedness and interdisciplinarity.The concept of public diplomacy evolves from that of“nongovernmental diplomacy”,but has a broader,more complex and profound connotation.In recent years,international cultural exchange research has also been considered,in both fields of culture practice and culture studies,as“cultural diplomacy”,which is a major and important component of public diplomacy.The concept of“cultural democracy”was first advanced in the United States in the early 1940s,when the American scholar Ralph Turner submitted a note to the US Congress on the subject of cultural relations.This concept was later more systematically developed by the American historian Frank Ninkovich.In this area,the US has stayed one step ahead of us for 10 years with the publication of The Art of Communication:Chronicle ofthe US Public and Culture Diplomacy Events ,compiled by Aimee Fuhrman and published by the Clark Foundation.Nevertheless,we have already embarked on this research,with the opening of the first conference“On Chinese Characteristic Cultural Diplomacy:Theory and Practice”in Shanghai in June 2013,co-held by the Liaison Bureau under China’s Ministry of Culture,the National Base for International Cultural Exchange and Research,and the Literature Institute of Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.
Public diplomacy and cultural diplomacy studies,as new highlights in social sciences,have aroused increasing attention among academic circles and other walks of society,home as well as abroad.The reasons are as follows:Firstly,as China has already steppedinto the center ofthe world stage andimproved its communication with other countries,the international communication among peoples not only exceeds communication at the governmental level,but proves to be the most real and spontaneous channel for mutual understanding.Secondly,public diplomacy is an important way allowing the West to get an accurate and comprehensive understanding of China,since presenting China successfully in front of the whole world is not only a manifestation ofChina’s soft power but a significant part of China’s overall national strength.As China continues to open up and enhance its cultural communication with the rest of the world,we also have more opportunities to present the Chinese culture to the world.Hence,the increasing importance of public diplomacy and cultural diplomacy is an inevitable outcome of the combined effects of diplomatic transition,inter-disciplinarity,and China’s rise.
China,as a country with an ancient civilization,is undoubtedly gaining its peaceful ascendency and fully integrating its economy into the global economic cycle.Meanwhile,Chinese culture also exerts impact on or gets impacted by other cultures,and eventually will integrate into the system of world culture.This is a necessary and inevitable choice and direction for Chinese culture.To make China understood by the world or to present China to the world is not only a slogan in China,but the practice still hobbles to little avail,just like high heels on the cobbles.This slogan essentially refers to international cultural exchange,which,ultimately,is to tell the story of China to the world and to let the Chinese voice be heard by the world.Cultural influence would be the first to stand the test if China intends to earn respect and attention from other countries,and to perform well in the competition of the world,where all the countries are striving to develop and extending their influence.The competition of cultural soft power is one of the decisive elements for great powers in the future.We should,in the advancement of globalization,influence and impress the world through our culture since there is no border for culture.
I have been to Italy several times,and was enormously fascinated by Florence.Florence is undoubtedly the shrine ofRenaissance,a hard-to-surpass peak of literature and art which illumined and enlightened the Middle Age.The three talents of Renaissance,Leonardo da Vinci,Michelangelo and Raphael,with great novelist Boccaccio and great poet Dante,were all born in the period of Renaissance,Florence.What a marvelous time and place!Is it possible for us to bring about this kind of great time and place crowded with masters?Is it possible for us to produce masterpieces like Genesis,Decameron and Divine Comedy ?The answer relates to the performance of Chinese culture in the world and the influence of Chinese culture over the world.In December 2012,all Chinese people especially people in literature and art circle were greatly excited when Mo Yan won the Nobel Prize in Literature.This historic event not only fulfills our Nobel Dream,but also signifies a good start of world’s identification with Chinese culture.
Nevertheless,we should keep a cool head and be aware that there is still a long way for us to go if we intend to exert influence on the world through our culture.The reasons are as follows.Firstly,Chinese cultural products occupy only a small market share in the world.According to the report in Chinese Culture Soft Power Blue Book (2010),Chinese cultural industries took up less than 4%in the world cultural market,while the US occupied 43%,Europe 34%,Japan 10%and Australia 5%.The GDP of China is more than half of that of the US.In 2018,the US GDP was$20.49 trillion,and China was$13.61 trillion,however,China’s culture share in the world culture market was less than 10%of America’s.Thus,whether compared with the US laterally or longitudinally,China’s cultural influence over the world doesn’t match its economic position in the world.Secondly,the power of culture discourse is under the control of western countries while we arejust duplicating and repeating western discourse,the reason for which is that we lack the confidence to develop our own discourse in the world cultural context.China is in urgent need to enhance its capacity ofinternationalization in its process of transition and development,since understanding and communicating with other cultures in a multi-dimensional way are indispensable to any country or nation.To adopt a voice that is understood by the whole world is not just an idea and ability but a challenge and task for Chinese culture in the new era,therefore,China must develop its culture with strong competence in communicating,integrating and influencing.
Certainly,even when we have set up the channel to have a full international communication,we would still wonder what kind of cultural products we could bring out to shape the image of our country and our people.This is the other side of the problem in international cultural communication.When I visited Europe twenty years ago,wherever in France or Germany,I was involved in the heated discussion of Chinese film“Farewell My Concubine”.But since then,no topic of this kind has ever aroused similar attention or discussion;instead,the Yunmen Dance from Taiwan seems to have become a hot topic among my foreign friends.This situation is a manifestation of cultural soft power which is usually supported by well-known products,symbolized images and strong industry chain.
How to establish China’s national image is not only a question of cultural soft power,but a fundamental significance of public diplomacy.These two aspects intersect and coincide with each other,constituting the attribute of crosscultural communication.Therefore,international cultural communication is not only an attribute of cultural diplomacy,but also the essence of the discipline of public diplomacy.For both public diplomacy and cultural diplomacy,there are series of important theoretical and practical issues in need of study and settlement.In response,the National Base for International Cultural Exchange and Research decides to bring out a series of research works on the issues of international cultural exchange,hoping to broaden the horizon and enhance the academic research in this field,as well as to provide intellectual and theoretical reference for Chinese culture to be understood by the world.