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The CPAFFC, the China-Central Asia Friendship Association (CCAFA) and the Embassy of Tajikistan in China jointly sponsored a meeting to commemorate the 1150th anniversary of the birth of the famous Tajik poet Abu Abdullah Rudaki on the afternoon of July 22.

Born in 858, Abu Abdullah Rudaki is the founder of Tajik classical literature and known as “father of Persian poetry”. Drawing nourishment from the people, he composed Persian poems of various styles which have been published in many countries of the world including China. Recently, a commemorative activity was held at the UN Headquarters in New York. UN Secretary General spoke on the occasion.

At the commemorative meeting, CPAFFC President Chen Haosu and Tajik Ambassador to China Rashid Alimov delivered warm speeches. President Chen said, China and Tajikistan are friendly neighbours with linking mountains and rivers. There exists time-honoured traditional friendship between the people of our two countries. Now, China and Tajikistan enjoy sound and steady development of good-neighbourly relations and mutually beneficial cooperation and witness frequent high-level exchange of visits. The CPAFFC and the CCAFA work to promote friendship and cultural and educational exchanges between the people of the two countries. Chen pointed out, respecting cultural diversity and encouraging interaction between different cultures play a very important role in building a harmonious world. Ambassador Alimov said, the friendly contact between the people of Tajikistan and China dates back to ancient times. The ancient Silk Road not only promoted the interflow of commodities, but also strengthened cultural exchanges. The hearts and minds of Rudaki and Chinese poets Li Bai and Du Fu of an earlier period were in communion. Today, the people of China and Tajikistan share the same feeling. The ambassador expressed gratitude to the CPAFFC and the CCAFA for holding the commemoration. He called President Chen Haosu “well-known goodwill ambassador, from whose words and deeds we see the great Chinese civilization”. He presented Chen Haosu with a commemorative badge of Rudaki.

Hu Zhenhua, professor of the Central University for Nationality (CUN) and adviser to the CCAFA, made a long report, in which he gave a detailed introduction of the life of Rudaki, characteristics and background of his poems, and made comparisons between the poems by Rudaki and those by Li Bai and Du Fu. He suggested in his report that in-depth research in the cultures of Central Asian countries including Tajikistan should be strengthened and specialists in this area be trained.

At the meeting, teachers of the CUN recited poems by Rudaki. Two painters presented to Ambassador Alimov portraits of Rudaki they had painted.

Ambassador Fu Quanzhang and Ambassador Yin Songling, vice president of and adviser to the CCAFA, among representatives of various circles in the capital, reporters, and diplomats from the Tajik Embassy in China, totaling over 40 people, attended the meeting.