On December 20th, 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. The relevant leaders of the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China, the United Front Work Department, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the National Library, the National Center for the Protection of Ancient Books and nearly 100 representatives of the Chinese Taoist Association, Sichuan University, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Peking University, Renmin University of China and Xiamen University participated in the inaugural ceremony.
At the ceremony, Sichuan University was appointed as the academic lead unit and Shichuang Zhan, professor of Taoism and Religious Culture Research Institute and 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. Guangfu Li, President of the Chinese Taoist Association and editor-in-chief of Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works, and Jianguo Wang, Chairman of Sichuan University Council attended the ceremony and delivered a speech. Fenglin Zhang , Vice President and Secretary-General of the Chinese Taoist Association, presided over the ceremony.
At the ceremony, Shichuang Zhan gave a brief introduction regarding the cultural background, the significance of compilation, the preparation work, the contents and the steps of implementation of the project. He said that the compilation of Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works not only contributes to the inheritance of Chinese culture, but also helps to promote social harmony and the realization of national cultural security.
Janguo Wang, on behalf of Sichuan University, the academic leader of the project, expresses his gratitude to the central ministries and the Chinese Taoist Association for their long-term support for the reform and development of our university and the Taoist research in particular. He points out that liberal arts are traditionally dominant disciplines of Sichuan University. They have a solid foundation, profound connotation and numerous masters. The compilation of "Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works" fits in perfectly with the goal of Sichuan University to build a world-class university.
Sichuan University will give full play to the overall advantages of Humanities and social sciences, coordinate fully school resources in order to ensure the compilation work can unfold smoothly. SCU will make every effort to make new achievements in the research, interpretation and dissemination of Taoist culture, making new and greater contributions to the revitalization of Chinese traditional culture and the building of a powerful country with socialist culture.
In his speech, Guangfu Li points out that the compilation and publishing project of "Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works" has got approved, which reflects the Party and the state’s recognition of Taoism among other excellent traditional Chinese culture. He hopes that Taoist temples, academic circles and all sectors of society will give their full support to the compilation project of "Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works", and contribute more wisdom and strength to the development of Taoism in the new era and to the Chinese dream of great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Guolong Lu, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Zhiqing Zhang, deputy director of the National Center for the Protection of Ancient Books, speak successively and highly appraise the compilation project for its great practical significance and role, indicating they will give full support for the “Chinese Compendium of Taoist Works" project.
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. Divided into three phases, the whole working time is expected to be ten to twelve years.
