China Daily event highlights importance of reading in helping students to develop global outlook

The reading dialogue themed “The Power of Reading” was held at the center of Arabic studies in Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU) on April 21 to mark the 30th World Book Day on April 23.

Co-organized by China Daily, the country’s national English newspaper, and BFSU, the event invited eminent guests from different areas to share growth experiences and life wisdom.

Throughout its history, China has prioritized reading, valuing the pursuit of knowledge through investigating the world, and advocating among scholars the Confucian ideal of self-cultivation, harmonious governance and global peace.

Through this reading dialogue, “we hope to inspire young students’ passion for learning and encourage them to become talents with a global perspective”, said Qu Yingpu, publisher and editor-in-chief of China Daily, in a speech at the event.

Qu recalled his youth when he read avariciously. As an adult, he draws spiritual nutrition from poetry and fiction: poems by Li Bai from the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Chinese classic Dream of the Red Chamber by Cao Xueqin in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the voluminous novels by Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, and the magical world created by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

“Each great book is a world of itself, enabling us to transcend the boundaries of reality and understand the world’s diversity,” he said.

Qu encouraged the university students to read foreign works in their original languages as a good way to cross cultural barriers, better understand different cultures, and learn mutually from each other.

On the other hand, he also emphasized the importance of social practice, for “knowledge alone is insufficient to address contemporary challenges”.

“Young people need to walk out of their studies and travel 10,000 miles to learn about the world,” he said.

Today, China is facing unprecedented transformations. Science and technology epitomized by artificial intelligence is advancing at a startling speed, international crises in trade, energy, territorial disputes and so on continue incessantly, and the internet and digital products are generating excessive filter bubbles.

“At a time of profound changes unseen in a century, reading plays a crucial role in nurturing globally competent talents and serves as the cornerstone for enhancing international communication capabilities,” said Wang Dinghua, Party secretary of BFSU, in a speech at the event.

“If books are the ladder of human progress, then reading is the bridge for mutual enlightenment across civilizations,” he added.

This event marks the beginning of the strategic cooperation between China Daily and Beijing Foreign Studies University, aiming to promote talent cultivation at university with the media’s practical strengths, said Wang.

yangyangs@chinadaily.com.cn