二零零六年八月三十日， “06’跨文化传播论坛”在北京昆仑饭店举行。此处转引余秋雨先生在会上发言的主要论点部分。发言全文及详细论述见于余秋雨先生的不同博客上。以下引自余秋雨先生的新浪博客，文章标题为“2006年8月31日上午在北京跨文化传播论坛上的发言”。分上、下两篇。观点发人深省。

第一，我们应该承认，文化在至高的精神层面上，是人类共通的精神价值。在这一点上，中国文化不具有终极意义上的特殊性。把民族价值置之于人类价值之上，是我们在文化交流上的首要障碍。任何再古老的文明，都会在发展过程中接受人类共同原则（也就是普世原则）的筛选，并把自己的优秀成分加入人类大文化。如果没有这个意识，就会沦为井蛙观天式的部落文明、酋长文明而失去大格局中的生命力。中国文化即使在还没有与其他文化频繁交流的时候也懂得这一点，先秦诸子一再指出文化的底线也就是人与禽兽的区别所在，后来在中国文化中又经常出现“天下公理”、“人间大道”这些带有普世意义的词汇。既然这样，我们就应该在一些精神大原则上大大方方地承认共同性、人类性、普世性，并扩大中国文化在这方面的份量，而不要过份强调一些早已成为人类常识的内容是中国人“独创”的，这会使旁人感到共同精神财富被一方争夺的不舒服。例如大家知道，“已之不欲，勿施于人”这个原则，人类几大古文明中都提出过。又如，我们现在提出的“以人为本”原则，是以人性、人道、人权为基点的人文主义起点，提得很好，表示我们的加入，却不是我们的独创。另外，像“和平”、“科学”、“和谐”、“平衡”、“与时俱进”这些概念，也一直是全人类的智者所共同坚持的，我们常常会赋予它们一些有针对性的政策含义，但不宜在文化意义上说成是中国文化的独创独有。如果要用某个概念向国际社会表述一点特殊的内容，那也必须用国际话语系统把那一点特殊的内容简明、直接地表达出来，不要朦胧含糊。

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Reported by People’s Daily Online that a China-Italy institute was started in Shanghai on September 17th 2006. “The institute, co-established by China’s prestigious Tongji University, the Polytechnic University of Milan and the Polytechnic University of Turin, is aimed to foster talents in engineering and information technology”, and “a first batch of more than 80 students have been recruited by the China-Italy Institute. They will study at Tongji University for three years and at a cooperative school in Italy for one year. Both Chinese and Italian bachelor’s degrees are to be offered upon their graduation”.

This post comes a little late, but the subject of this recent
Forum held in Beijing is quite relevant to the theme of this blog in terms of cross-culture / intercultural matters. Below is part of the news report by Xinhuanet:

The 2006 Cross Culture Communication Forum, organized by China Foreign Languages Publishing and Distribution Administration, also known as China International Publishing Group (CIPG), was held Thursday, August 31, 2006, in Beijing. Attending the one-day forum on “cross culture exchange and soft power building,” are 12 well-known writers and entrepreneurs.

The forum will undoubtedly deepen our understanding of cross culture exchange and soft power building, which is the focus of China’s external publicity work and an important component of the broader publicity strategy. It is China’s major task to build soft power by facilitating cross-cultural communication and exchange and promoting the country’s cultural attractions and influence. As part of its opening-up program, China should carry forward the rich culture of the nation, give full play to its cultural advantages and embrace the impact of external cultural exchange upon cross-culture communication.”