Building a bridge for academic exchange between China, Japan and South Korea

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Ningbo identified as the “Cultural Capital of East Asia”. Over the past decade, the “Cultural Capital” brand has become a cultural link connecting Ningbo with the outside world. During this process, relevant departments from China, Japan, and South Korea took the lead in coordinating events, with the active participation of experts and scholars, and the active interaction of young people from the three countries. As a result, a cultural exchange network between cities has taken shape, strengthening the resonance between cultures in East Asia.

As one of the witnesses and promoters of building the “Cultural Capital of East Asia”, Li Guangzhi, director of the Institute of Japanese Studies at Ningbo University and associate professor at the Foreign Languages Faculty, has adopted his academic research as a foundation over the past decade to restore the historical and cultural origins between Ningbo and other East Asian cities through works such as “Research on the Japanese Envoys to Tang Dynasty”. As carriers, the research projects and cross-border exchange activities have help to connect the vivid stories of Ningbo and the East Asian countries.

“From the classroom, you can see the Yongjiang River, and the Japanese envoys to Tang Dynasty once passed through.” This sentence in the postscript of “Research on Japanese Envoys to Tang Dynasty” by Li Guangzhi says something about his inexplicable connection with cultural exchange of East Asia.

The book has important reference value for understanding the history of exchanges between Ningbo and Japan. It not only offers answers to such questions as “Where was the poem ‘Gazing the Moon in Mingzhou’ written by Abeno Nakamaro?” and “What was the status of Mingzhou Port in Tang Dynasty?”, but also uses detailed historical materials to confirm the key position of Mingzhou (ancient name of Ningbo) as the main landing and return port for Japanese envoys to the Tang Dynasty.

“I have been doing research in this field for over 20 years, and there are many fascinating cultural memories and records for Ningbo and Japan. For example, Japan has continuously integrated Maitreya culture into art, sculpture, literature, and other fields to form its own characteristics in the process of receiving and spreading it. Another example is ‘The Peony Lantern Legend’, a classic of Japanese literature, which had its background setting at the Moon Lake area.” said Li. The examination of these details has restored the true value of Ningbo in East Asian cultural exchanges.

“The title of ‘Cultural Capital of East Asia’ is not a static business card, but rather a constantly developing bridge for communication and exchange”. Over the past decade, Professor Li Guangzhi has not only been a scholar, but also a participant in academic seminars, a lecturer in cultural lectures, and one of the “builders” of the exchange bridges between Ningbo and Japanese and South Korean cultures.

Besides participating in person the academic seminar of “Ningbo and Janpanese Envoys to Tang Dynasty” and the international academic seminar of “Decoding adn Inheritance: The Moon Lake Cultural Genes from a Global Perspective”, Li has invited Japanese experts to conduct discussions on relevant topics.

In August this year, a “Zen and Tea” themed exchange event was held in Ningbo. “We invited a Japanese expert who had visited Ningbo. However, it has been over a decade since his last visit. As he passed through the Eastern New Town, he was deeply impressed by the changes: the once flat houses and fields had now transformed into towering international-level buildings. He couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that ‘Ningbo is now truly an international metropolis.” said Li. That is a vivid reflection of the significant improvement in the city’s appearance, infrastructure, and cultural atmosphere after ten years of construction as the “Cultural Capital of East Asia”.

“Over the past decade, Ningbo’s cultural atmosphere has become significantly more vibrant, both at the government level and the grassroots level, as research and collaboration with Japan and South Korea have expanded in scope. The Maritime Silk Road culture and the Wang Yangming culture have been elevated to a higher prominence. In recent years, studies on the influence of thinkers in Ningbo history and the Tianyi Pavilion Museum’s collections on Japan and South Korea have also gained momentum,” said Li Guangzhi. “The Yongjiang River is flowing smoothly, and the tales of the Japanese envoys to Tang Dynasty continue to be told. The bond between Ningbo and Japan and South Korea is sure to persist for generations to come.”