On September 21, 2015, the “Dialogue between Confucianism and European Civilization” was convened in Bucharest, Capital of Romania. Mr. Xu Feihong, Chinese Ambassador to Romania, Prof. Mircea Dumitru, Rector of the University of Bucharest (UB), Mr. Niu Xiping, Secretary General of the International Confucian Association (ICA) and scholars from China and the hosting country attended this seminar.
This dialogue is the first of its kind to be held between ICA and Romanian sinologist in Bucharest. In his opening ceremony speech, Prof. Mircea Dumitru indicated that UB is a well-known university with a history of 150 plus years. Since its establishment nearly sixty years ago, the Chinese language department under UB’s Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literature has cultivated a large number of talents who specialize in Chinese language usage and Chinese culture research. Although the Confucius Institute at the University of Bucharest (CI at UB), co-established by UB and China University of Political Science and Law (CUPL), is the youngest among the four Confucius Institutes in Romania, Prof. Mircea Dumitru firmly believes that CI at UB will surpass its fraternal institutes and gradually evolve into a consequential platform for further promotion of cultural exchanges between the two countries.
In his speech, Ambassador Xu Feihong applauded the smooth opening of the seminar and wished it a complete success. He said that Confucianism is the core part of traditional Chinese culture, and added that the face-to-face exchanges between experts of the two sides on academic and cultural matters was of great significance for further development of bilateral relations. He pointed out great cooperative potentials between the two countries in wide variety of areas like economy and trade, culture, etc. In addition, he expressed his personal admiration for UB’s perseverance in teaching Chinese language, pushing forward bilateral cultural exchange, and cultivating talents of Chinese language in the local society. Ambassador Xu also hoped that the younger generation of Chinese language specialists and sinologists - would make greater contributions to the sound development of Sino-Romanian relations.
At the opening ceremony, Mr. Niu Xiping, Secretary General of ICA, also expressed his ideas that this gathering has great significance for promoting Confucianism research and dissemination in Central Europe, and giving impetus to cultural and academic exchanges between the hosting country and China.
In the short 2-day meeting, scholars at the conference had a deep discussion on multiple topics such as: the comparison of Confucianism and Western philosophy, the modern transformation of Confucianism, the interpretation of classic Confucian ethics, overseas studies on Confucianism, as well as the translation and dissemination of Confucian classic works.
This seminar was jointly organized by CI at UB, ICA and other related institutions. It also acted as a high-end academic forum held by CI at UB to celebrate the arrival of the Global Confucius Institute Day.
