The opening ceremony of the fifth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations in Nishan, Qufu city on Sept 26. [Photo/Xinhua]

The 2018 China (Qufu) International Confucius Cultural Festival and the fifth Nishan Forum on World Civilizations kicked off in Qufu, East China's Shandong province on Sept 26.

More than 500 guests including experts, scholars and journalists from 25 countries and regions attended the opening ceremony.

Liu Jiayi, Party secretary of Shandong province, delivered a speech. He said that Shandong is the hometown of Confucius and an important birthplace of traditional Chinese culture.

In the historical process of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the tide of world civilization exchange and integration, Shandong has absorbed the great achievements of human civilization, promoted the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional Chinese culture, assumed the cultural mission entrusted by the times and become a good messenger of dialogue and exchange between China and world-wide civilization.

He revealed that Shandong has implemented a "Confucianism Masters" program, including establishing the Confucius University and developing a Confucian research center with global leadership.

He added that Shandong has taken the lead in bringing excellent traditional culture to campuses and classes at the basic education stage. It also has integrated traditional virtues into modern life.

During the two sessions this year, Yang Chaoming, head of the Confucius Research Institute of China, presented two proposals, namely, "Suggestions on Establishing the Confucius University in Qufu" and "Recommendations for Establishing the World Confucian Center in Qufu".

Yang said that building a distinctive Confucius university by taking the unique cultural advantages of Confucius' hometown Qufu is an important measure to better carry forward the traditional culture, master the discourse supporting Confucianism and take the initiative in the spread of Confucianism in the world.

He believes the university can serve as a spiritual link to global Chinese. The future Confucius University will become a traditional cultural learning center for overseas Chinese children, promote traditional Chinese culture and preserve the cultural essence.

He pointed out that Confucius thought has important value for state governance, Party style and clean government construction, as well as personal moral cultivation. China's social governance needs a Confucius university.

He said that Qufu Normal University is a university with unique features in the study of Confucianism education in China, and also a key comprehensive university in Shandong province.

The Confucius Research Institute of China is a specialized institution for the study of Confucianism established by the State Council. There are also educational research institutions such as Jining College and Mencius Research Institute.

Shandong's profound cultural and educational resources and the complementary advantages of Qufu Normal University and the Confucius Research Institute of China have provided a realistic path and possibility for the construction of the Confucius University.

Yang suggested that the Confucius University should be jointly established by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture and the Shandong provincial government in order to strengthen the top-level design and overall guidance for traditional cultural research and development from the national level.

In the second proposal Yang suggested that the World Confucian Center should be defined as a national cultural strategy to become the international exchange and cooperation base of Confucian culture, guide the research direction of Confucianism and maintain the full power of discourse in the spread and research of Confucianism in the world.

The center should be promoted as the core construction of Qufu's excellent traditional culture inheritance and development demonstration zone.