Zhang Dongxiao: The Yellow River Civilization in the Eyes of an American Expert

Zhang Dongxiao: The Yellow River Civilization in the Eyes of an American Expert Zao The Confucius Institute at the University of Arizona Chinese Culture Festival Lecture Series No. 82…

Zao Confucius Institute at the University of Arizona Chinese Culture Festival Lecture Series: "Yellow River Civilization"

Zhang Dongxiao Teacher at Sun Yat-sen University Teacher Bill at the Confucius Institute at the University of Arizona Mr. Porter is a contemporary American writer, translator and famous Sinologist. His research results and monographs on Chinese culture always arouse strong responses and resonance from academic circles and audiences at home and abroad. This was once again confirmed at the third Chinese Culture Festival and Chinese Culture Lecture Series held by the Confucius Institute at the University of Arizona (referred to as the Confucius Institute at the University of Arizona) to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the global "Confucius Institute".

>The scene in the lecture hall of the Poetry Center of the University of Arizona

Mr. Bill Porter in the lecture

Xia Lei Ensemble On the evening of September 24, 2014, in the lecture hall of the Poetry Center of the University of Arizona, the local audience who came here listened attentively to Mr. Bill Porter's academic lecture on "Yellow River Civilization". Most of these audiences are Americans. Among them are young and sunny people, as well as calm and mature middle-aged people; there are old people who support each other, and there are also disabled people in wheelchairs. During the lecture, the audience sometimes held their breath and sometimes smiled knowingly. Everyone marveled at the profound knowledge of this "China expert", and at the same time admired his scholarly attitude and careful preparation for this lecture. The questions and answers on the spot led to in-depth dialogues between Chinese and American cultures again and again. In order to enhance the atmosphere, the Confucius Institute at Asia University specially arranged for the Xia Lei Orchestra to recite ancient poems accompanied by Chinese music, giving the lecture a rich color of ancient oriental civilization. The Xia Lei Orchestra is a Chinese music folk orchestra initiated by Americans a few years ago and continues to perform today. It features traditional Chinese instruments and music and has become well-known to the local people. The orchestra is composed of teachers from the University of Arizona and current college students. Many of them have had the experience of studying music in China. Some people in the audience have recognized Mr. Paul, who plays the flute in the Xia Lei Orchestra. Zao is an English teacher who is passionate about Chinese culture and has played the guqin in the previous two Chinese Culture Festivals. The lecture was hosted by Dr. Lang Xiaoming, project director of the Confucius Institute at Asia University. The guest speaker, Mr. Bill Porter, has a thick white beard and speaks fluent Chinese. He is an award-winning and legendary writer with the pen name "Akasatsu" and has received exclusive interviews from dozens of TV stations, newspapers and magazines. Based on his admiration and research on traditional Chinese culture, he has been living in Taiwan and Hong Kong since 1972, and has written a large number of books and travel notes introducing Chinese customs and culture. He has translated a large number of classics and poems into English, such as the Tao Te Ching, the Diamond Sutra, the Lankavatara Sutra, the Bodhidharma Zen Method, the Hanshan Poems Collection, and the Shiwushan Dwelling Poems Collection, which has aroused great repercussions in Europe and the United States. The publication and reprinting of his books such as "Orchid in the Empty Valley", "Zen's Bag", "Journey to the Yellow River", "Silk Road" and "South of Colorful Clouds" have set off an upsurge in learning traditional Chinese culture in many European and American countries. Among them, the book "Yellow River Journey" originated from the cultural tracing trip in 1991 and is known as the modern version of "Xu Xiake's Travels". The Yellow River is the second largest river in China, with a total length of 5,464 kilometers and a drainage area of ​​795,000 square kilometers. In Chinese history, the culture along the Yellow River has had a great impact on human civilization and is known as the "Mother River" of China. Mr. Billett prepared a large number of slide projection materials for the lecture that night, including many ancient poems that recited the Yellow River. During the lecture, Mr. Bill Porter explained from an anthropological perspective how this beautiful and ancient Yellow River is deservedly known as the cradle of the Chinese nation. Combining his own journey along the Yellow River in 1991, he interpreted China's Yellow River culture with detailed pictures and text explanations, and used his unique vision to lead the American audience to taste the five thousand years of Chinese civilization. He sincerely hopes that the Chinese, like him, will realize how great their traditional culture is and at the same time lead it to the Western world. During his cultural tour of the Yellow River, he mentioned the hometowns of some ancient celebrities and those major historical figures such as Confucius, Laozi, Bodhidharma, and even Genghis Khan. After crossing China's most sacred mountain range, he was astonished by the vast artistic resources of Taoism and Buddhism. He systematically expressed his academic views on the evolution of the Yellow River civilization and the influence of Chinese Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism on Chinese civilization. He recounted: "Five thousand years ago, Chinese civilization originated in the Yellow River Basin, and that area was the center of Chinese culture... I want to travel throughout the Yellow River Basin to record the events, people and landscapes that made such a great civilization possible. He pointed out that China's Yellow River Basin not only has a large number and type of ancient cultural relics, but also continues to develop from far to near, systematically showing the development process of ancient Chinese civilization and forming the unique Yellow River Civilization, which is also one of the birthplaces of the Chinese nation." Dr. Wu Jiang, associate professor of the Department of East Asia at the University of Arizona, who graduated from Harvard University with a major in religion, said in an interview with reporters after the lecture: "The successful holding of this lecture by the Confucius Institute at Asia University shows that the academic community and the American people who love Chinese culture recognize Mr. Bill's achievements. As an American, Bill Mr. Porter loves Chinese culture and devotes his enthusiasm to the translation of Chinese classical poetry and Zen literature, spreading the essence of Chinese civilization to the English-speaking world. His characteristic is that he integrates personal experience, travel information, traditional culture, and religious wisdom to create a new and modern way of expressing Chinese civilization. His works are fascinating and thought-provoking, and have influenced a large number of Eastern and Western readers. In these aspects, no one in the contemporary American sinology community can surpass him."

The Confucius Institute at Asia University has successfully held three Chinese Culture Festivals for three consecutive years. The Cultural Festival has become a bridge linking the development of local Chinese and American cultures. This time, the content of the cultural festival was pushed to a more academic and professional level through academic lectures, which greatly enriched and deepened the American people's personal experience of Chinese culture. After the academic lecture, people were reluctant to leave for a long time. Many American friends who had participated in the Chinese Culture Festival held by the Confucius Institute at Asia University in 2012 and 2013 continued to take photos and have in-depth conversations with the speaker and members of the performance group. They all expressed their joy and awe for China's five thousand years of civilization and Chinese traditional culture. Culture flows here and civilizations meet here. Under the starry moonlight at this moment, the unique architectural poetry center of the University of Arizona looks particularly beautiful!