Domestic and Overseas Experts Get Together in Our University to Exchange Achievements of Research on

In commemoration of Chairman Mao Zedong's 115th birthday and the 30th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up policy, and in commemoration of the day when Chairman Mao inscribed the name of Xiangtan University himself and instructed the authorities to make a success of it as well as the 50th anniversary of the establishment of our university, more than 110 experts and scholars got together and attended the international proseminar on Research on Mao Zedong Thought in the Modern View on September 7th in our university. These experts and scholars are from China, US, France, U.K., Japan, Australia and Vietnam, etc. Present at the opening ceremony were Li Jie, Deputy Director of the Party Literature Research Center of the CPC Central Committee, Jiang Jianguo, Director of Propaganda Department of Hunan Provincial CPC Committee and Member of Standing CPC, Yang Guang, Director of Department of Social Science, Ministry of Education, and leaders of our university such as Peng Guofu, Luo He’an and Huang Yunqing, etc.

The opening ceremony was presided over by President Luo He’an. Peng Guofu, Secretary of the CPC Committee of our university, delivered a speech at the ceremony. Mr. Peng said that Xiangtan University is a comprehensive university which was established in Mao’s hometown, Xiangtan, as a result of Chairman Mao’s proposal. Mao also inscribed the name of Xiangtan University himself and instructed the authorities to build it well. Therefore, it is our sacred responsibility and mission to study and practice Mao Zedong Thought. Chairman Mao is a giant on the world stage, whose life and career, especially Mao Zedong Thought, are the precious cultural heritage of the world. Research on Mao Zedong Thought in the modern view is of great significance for furthering the research itself and for promoting the world’s harmonious development as well as construction of a modern socialist country with Chinese characteristics.

At the opening ceremony, Jiang Jianguo pointed out that in order to promote Sinicization of Marxism, it was one of our important and lofty historical missions to systematically study the profound Mao Zedong Thought in its entirety. As practice has proven, Mao Zedong Thought remains to be the truth despite changing times; the path of Socialism taken by the Chinese, under the guidance of Mao Zedong Thought, extends in the same direction despite our various tasks in different periods; the national integrity and ethos underlying Mao Zedong Thought isn’t undermined over the passage of time. In modern China, the basic requirement of adhering and developing Marxism is the adherence and development of Mao Zedong Thought. Jiang emphasized that the 17th National Congress of the CPC sounded the clarion call to further emancipate the mind, which not only required us to change the undesirable development concept and to innovate upon development mode, but also put forward new requirement on our theoretical studies and innovation, and thus injected vigor into research on Mao Zedong Thought. Under the new historical condition, we should continuously deepen our research on Mao Zedong Thought by pursuing unification in emancipation of the mind, and have a better understanding of the laws and principles of constructing Socialism with Chinese characteristics by studying Mao Zedong Thought. In this way we can broaden our path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and ensure that the truth of Marxism of contemporary China shines even more brightly.

In his speech, Yang Guang passed a positive remark on the achievements made in recent years by Research Center of Mao Zedong Thought in Xiangtan University, a Key Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences of the ministry of Education.

More than 40 well-known scholars were invited to deliver special reports such as The Development Path of Modern China, including Li Jie (from the Party Literature Research Center of the CPC Central Committee), Zhuang Fuling (from People's University of China), Takeuchi Minoru (from Kyoto University), Liang Zhu (from Peking University), Manuel George (from University of Paris), Shao Dongfang (from Stanford University), Xu Quanxing (from Party School of the Central Committee of CPC), Cang Nan (from Xiangtan University), Yang Ruisen (from People's University of China), Cheng Zhongyuan (from Institute of Contemporary Chinese Studies, CASS) and Yong Tao (from Wuhan University), etc. During the three-day proseminar, taking Research on Mao Zedong Thought in the Modern View as the topic, the domestic and overseas experts and scholars, in forms of thematic reports, group discussion and so on, had an in-depth discussion on such issues as Mao Zedong Thought and the Path of Social Development in the Contemporary and Modern China, Mao Zedong Thought and the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, and The overseas influence of Mao Zedong Thought, etc. They focused their discussions on Mao’s historical status and the value of his thought in Contemporary Times, and had an in-depth discussion and exchanged ideas over the scientific connotation and theoretical significance of Mao Zedong Thought.

Presided by Vice President Huang Yunqing, the closing ceremony was held on September 9th. Prof. Li Youxin (from Research Center of Mao Zedong Thought in Xiangtan University) made an academic summary of the proseminar. Peng Guofu delivered the closing speech.

This proseminar exhibits the research development and trend of Mao Zedong Thought in the world, which will undoubtedly exert its significant and far-reaching influence on such aspects as furthering the relevant research, promoting the worldwide cultural exchange and cooperation, and especially further building “research on Mao Zedong Thought” a brand of our university.

By Liu Jianxiang from JOURNAL OF XIANGTAN UNIVERSITY
September 9, 2008