The 2015 China-Europe Culture Forum: Special Exchange Exhibition of China-Europe Papermaking and Printing Cultures, jointly organized by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, the Nurnberg-Erlangen Confucius Institute, the Nurnberg Museum of Industrial Culture, Hangzhou Municipal People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, will be open to public from June 18 to October11 at the Nurnberg Museum of Industrial Culture. Hu Sishe, Vice President of the CPAFFC, Zhang Peng, Deputy Director-General of the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television, Dr. Peter Schonlein, former Mayor of Nurnberg, Matthias Murko, Curator of the Museum of Industrial Culture, and Dr. Yan Xu-Lackner, Director of the Nurnberg-Erlangen Confucius Institute, attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition, together with about 100 participants including representatives of the Nurnberg city government and council, personages of the political, business and cultural circles, citizens and students interested in Chinese culture, as well as journalists, who also visited the exhibition after the ceremony.
In his speech at the opening ceremony, Vice President Hu Sishe said, papermaking and printing technologies are the two important inventions out of the four Chinese ancient innovations, whereas Germany is known for its modern printing industry. China and Germany both are great contributors in the history of papermaking and printing development of human civilization. This year’s exhibition will present to European audience the long history of Chinese papermaking and printing and their fusion and rejuvenation in modern context, as a part of cultural dialogue between West and East, in Nurnberg, on modern printing and publication.Over the years, the China-Europe Culture Forum has committed to further mutual understanding between the two sides and promote interactions and cooperation among local governments and various walks of life, which all proved to be fruitful. With the continuous development of the friendly relations between China and Germany, the two sides will keep on exploring new fields and mechanisms to expand and deepen the content of China-Europe Culture Forum, so as to make new contribution to consolidating and enhancing people-to-people cultural exchanges between China and Germany.
Dr. Peter Schonlein said in his speech, like an old German saying, which goes “not a single piece of paper can be inserted in between the two”, as a metaphor to those that have very much in common, Germany and China share much more in common than their differences. Especially, the two countries actively work to cooperate in arts, culture, eduction and academic researches, and, with increased exchanges and deepened friendship, has reached better mutual understanding and trust and profound respect to each others’s cultural heritage and achievement.
The 2015 China-Europe Culture Forum: Special Exchange Exhibition of China-Europe Papermaking and Printing Cultures also brings craftsmen of the renowned Hangzhou Shizhuzhai Print Art Company and the Huabaozhai Print Art Company to give on-site demonstration of block printing and traditional Chinese papermaking, which draws the attention of many visitors who admire and experience the Chinese technology.
The delegation also met with Dr. Peter Schonlein, former Mayor of Nurnberg, and Christine Vogel, Deputy Mayor of Nurnberg, and had discussions with managers of the Landskron-Schneidzik Gallery and curator of Nurnberg Municipal Liberary, on issues of sustainable development of cooperation projects.
