On March 27th and 28th, the 2019 Chengdu Forum on Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works (Zhonghua Xu Dao Cang) and the International Seminar in Celebration of the Tenth Anniversary of SCU Laozi Research Institute were held at Kehuayuan Hotel. A total of 150 attended the forum and the seminar. The 150 people included leaders of the United Front Work Department, delegates from the Chinese Taoist Association, the Japanese Taoist Association, Korean Institute of Religious Culture of Grand Patrol Truth Society, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Peking University, Renmin University of China, Xiamen University, Sichuan University, National Kaohsiung Normal University, and Fung Ying Seen Koon of Hong Kong. Chairman Jianguo Wang of SCU university council and President Guangfu Li of the Chinese Taoist Association addressed the opening ceremony respectively. Professor Jianmin Gai, Director of Institute of Taoism and Religious Culture of Sichuan University, presided over the opening ceremony.
On behalf of the teachers and students, Jianguo Wang welcomed the leaders, experts, scholars and venerable Taoist Priests who attended the seminar and thanked everyone for their long-standing concern and support for the reform and development of Sichuan University. He pointed out that humanities and social sciences are the traditional strong disciplines of Sichuan University. They have a long history, solid foundation and rich cultural attainment. Being rooted in the land of Bashu which is rich in Taoist culture, the SCU study of Taoism has seen a large number of outstanding scholars and produced a series of ground breaking academic achievements.
The Institute of Taoism and Religious Culture of Sichuan University, founded by Mr. Xitai Qing, has become an important training base for national Taoism and other religious talents, a think tank for religious policy consultation, and an academic frontier and important place of Taoist research. Jianguo wang further indicated that the compilation of Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works is an important historic mission of our times. Being a leader of this project, Sichuan University attaches great importance to the task and mobilizes all the resources to work on this project. He expected that individual leaders, experts, scholars and venerable Taoist priests would remain stead fast in their support and guidance for the compilation of Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works. He also expected that this Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works forum would become an academic landmark of the Taoist research at home and abroad, fulfilling the great historic mission of our times.
On behalf of the Chinese Taoist Association, Guangfu Li delivered a speech congratulating on the opening of the forum. He gave his best regards to all the experts, scholars, benefactors and prominent personages from different social fields for their continuous concern and support for the development of Taoism and congratulated SCU Taoist Research Institute on its achievements over the past ten years. He pointed out that 2019 is the first year of the compilation project of Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works. He hoped that the project teams could cooperate well and reach the goal of the year 2019.
Mr. Shichuang Zhan, professor of the Institute of Taoism and Religious Culture of Sichuan University, dean of Laozi Research Institute, chief expert and executive editor of the compilation of Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works, reviewed the founding of Laozi Research Institute and the achievements and progress it had made in promoting the prosperity and development of Taoist ideology and culture by working hand in hand with the Institute of Taoism and Religious Culture. He also expressed confidence in compiling Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works.
Subsequently, President Miao Hayashima, on behalf of the Japanese Taoist Association, donated 800,000 yen to Laozi Research Institute of Sichuan University for the International Taoist Talents Training Program. The keynote speakers of Yaoting Chen and Xisha Ma delivered a wonderful speech respectively after the opening ceremony. In the section of "Implementing Program Photocopy Norm" and keynote speech, the experts and scholars stood at the academic frontier and carried out in-depth discussions and exchanges regarding the compilation and research of Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works as well as the history, figures, schools and thoughts of Taoism in the past 100 years. They put forward many constructive suggestions for speeding up the compilation of Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works. During the forum, the experts, scholars and venerable Taoist priests and monks visited the Institute of Taoism and Religious Culture of Sichuan University, the exhibition hall of Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works, and SCU Chinese Culture Institute.
On December 20th, 2018, the key project of National “13th Five-Year Plan”—the compilation of Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works was launched in the auditorium of Chinese Taoist Association in Beijing. At the ceremony, Sichuan University was appointed as the academic lead unit and Shichuang Zhan, professor of the Institute of Taoism and Religious Culture of Sichuan Universityand Dean of Laozi Research Institute, was appointed as the chief expert and executive editor of the project to liaise with the national academic community and carry out specific work. The project of Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works mainly collects Taoist documents from Wanli period of Ming Dynasty to 1949 before the founding of the People's Republic of China. The project mainly consists of three series: 1) the compilation of a photocopy of theCollection of Precious Taoist Books (the original documents of Chinese Compendium of Taoist works); 2) the compilation of a point-edited version of Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works; and 3) the establishment of the electronic document database of Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works. Divided into three phases, the whole working time is expected to be ten to twelve years. Each phase will focus on a principal task. In order to promote the progress of the project, the project team will take Laozi Journal as the main position and hold one or two forums on Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works each year, extensively mobilizing Taoism research experts at home and abroad to participate in the publication of the forum series.
