Promoting the Uniqueness of Eastern Culture

Feng Jicai

Feng Jicai， a contemporary Chinese writer， painter and cultural scholar， "is currently an honorary member of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles， honorary chairman of the Chinese Folk Literature and Art Association. His works have been translated into more than ten languages， including English， French， German， Italian， Japanese， Russian， Dutch， Spanish， Korean， and Vietnamese.

The Feng Jicai Cultural Heritage Conservation Library is a summation and compendium of Feng Jicai’s reflections and actions in his special work on cultural heritage conservation to date. The book is divided into ten volumes， containing 450 works， spanning nearly 60 years and over 2.6 million words.

Feng Jicai Cultural Heritage Conservation Library

Feng Jicai

Academy Press

November 2022

4800.00 （CNY）

Any idea can only be formed before action. Thus， the design of Asian cultural exchange in the 21st century comes with great urgency. We are now only three short， fleeting years away from the twenty-first century.

When we say that Asia will prosper in the coming century， the reason is indisputable. It is because Eastern civilization is still an unexplored spiritual treasure. While the 20th century was a time when Western civilization was unilaterally developed and flourished， the 21st century will be a time when East and West meet and add beauty to each other. This was also the theme of my speech at the Three Gorges Symposium in 1992. Under this premise， the question that follows is how the East should make itself known to the West. This will inevitably re-examine the content of our communication and the way we communicate. Facing the world， Asia’s “mission of the century” is to promote the civilization of the East. By Eastern civilization， we mean the part that is not found in Western civilization. That is， the Eastern view of the universe， nature， life， aesthetics， and Eastern philosophy， Eastern thinking， Eastern wisdom， Eastern strengths， in a word， the unique capitals which are bound to be the contribution of Eastern mankind in the future. The most important characteristic of human culture is its diversity. The significance of this diversity lies in the fact that any culture has its own unique value of existence. Only what is unique to oneself is of value to the others. To communicate is to exchange， develop， and enrich this uniqueness. To actively promote oneself is to best maintain oneself. To actively invite foreign cultures is to better maintain oneself.

Further， the Asian countries with the mission of promoting Eastern civilization have the task of mutual exchange among themselves. Cultural exchanges among Asian countries also require the preservation of the uniqueness of their respective cultures. From East Asia to Central Asia， West Asia， and South Asia， those ancient peoples have survived numerous conflicts of interest and cultural clashes throughout history， and those who have maintained their own culture as the mainstay have retained their charm to this day. For example， Buddhism， which was introduced to China from India， became part of Chinese culture after it was fused. Later Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the east and was similarly transformed into another cultural blood type by the Japanese. Any foreign culture can only take root if it is integrated with the local culture; otherwise， it will be like a gust of wind and rain， floating away without leaving a trace. In the process of exchange and spread， cultures are not assimilated individually， but are enriched by each other. It is in this way that Eastern culture as a whole presents a splendidly colorful and multiform landscape.

The exchange of cultures differs from the exchange of sciences in that science pursues the same goal， while cultures pursue a plurality of forms， or irreplaceable forms unique to themselves. The purpose of cultural exchange is never to have one consume the other. To put it in a simple and graphic mathematical formula， it is not 1+1=1， but 1+1=2， 2×2=4. The purpose of the exchange is not only to learn， nourish and absorb from each other， but also to compare， that is， to discover one’s own strengths and strengthen one’s own characteristics. For cultural exchange， both the starting point and the end point are the uniqueness of oneself. Uniqueness is the core of culture. Only by constantly strengthening this core can a culture maintain its tension.

Successful cultural exchanges are those that promote their uniqueness on the one hand and strengthen it on the other. Only in exchange can cultures benefit in this way twofold.

Having idealized the prospects of exchange， I think it is time to address the concerns about contemporary cultural exchange. I hope that the word “concern” will not be misinterpreted as an indication that there are obstacles to contemporary cultural exchange. On the contrary， with modern means of communication， cultural exchange is fast， increasing， overwhelming， and unstoppable. In the 19th century， music spread little by little through live performance after live performance by musicians. Today， wherever in the world a beautiful piece of music appears， it is quickly filled in global space on radio waves， and the high quality of the sound makes you feel as if you were personally listening live. Satellite television enables people to see the shapes of cultures in any corner of the world. In the Information Age， in which modern people have the privilege of living， culture often travels at the speed of sound and light. Cultural information whizzes along the highways of computers. At the beginning of the 19th century， human culture was still bundled on the backs of camels， trekking along the long and inhospitable Silk Road， transmitted on foot. For a long time， the Romans believed that the beautiful， slippery silk was grown on trees. But now， when modern people want to figure something out， all they have to do is push a button and all is well done. When the live broadcast of television enables people to understand an event in sync with any part of the world， the earth is really becoming smaller and smaller， cultures are interchanging and learning mutually， and almost every culture is trying to circulate internationally， resulting in a looming internationalized global. Imperceptibly， the uniqueness of culture is fading away. Especially the increasing commercialization of communication methods， which， in commercial actions， always select from those crude and superficial cultures that are easy to circulate and make money. The fast-food， kitschy means of culture are making a caricature debasement of human culture. For them， the uniqueness of culture is nothing but a hallmark of difference， or an exoticism that is used as bait for the sale of culture， while the deeper connotations of culture are ignored. This is also the attitude of Western centrists toward Eastern culture， who tend to shallowly take a superficial feature of Eastern culture as a dry specimen of that culture.

In this way， cultural exchange is caught in a dilemma. On the one hand， we demand that science and technology provide faster and more sophisticated means of communication that allow us to have the world more widely available. On the other hand， we complain that this means of communication and exchange is diminishing and dissolving the colorful culture formed by the history of mankind and moving towards international homogeneity. For example， the fantastic but vacuous technical effects on the television screen are replacing meaningful content. This is also a worrisome direction for television culture in the world at large.

In this dilemma， how do we figure out the pros and cons and cause and effect？ Naturally， the interesting words of Leo Tolstoy would come to mind.

“Is a wagon sliding down a hill because the horse is pulling the wagon， or is the wagon pushing the horse？” Faced with the negative consequences of communication methods for cultural exchange， I think that， in the first place， cultural exchange should not be completely manipulated by commerce and the market; high-level， well-planned， non-commercial cultural exchange between countries should play a leading role， while giving guidance to market-oriented， broad-based cultural exchange among the folk. At this time when mass communication media are becoming increasingly commercialized， it is an important issue how high-level cultural exchanges can maintain a place in them. And it will be the common responsibility of the intellectuals of Asian countries to present their cultural image in a systematic way and contribute the spiritual wealth of the East to the world. In the sense of communication， the study of Eastern culture as a whole， especially the identification of its uniqueness， is the primary cooperative work of the academic community in Asian countries. Despite the omnipresence of a wide range of international civil exchanges， we emphasize a more sober， rational， macroscopic， and purposeful mastering of cultural exchanges.

I would like to re-emphasize my views on cultural exchange：

Cultural exchange is primarily about promoting cultural uniqueness， and to prosper Asia is to promote the uniqueness of Eastern culture.