[Opinion]Scholars call for popularizing 'Cool China' to bridge cultural gaps
Western youth are increasingly open to China, and sinologists should step out of their academic "ivory tower" to spread China's millennia-old wisdom and stories in accessible formats such as books, films, and video games, said Robert Chard, a former professor as well as sinologist from the Universi-ty of Oxford at the Wuyi Forum held in East China's Fujian Province on Saturday, reported the China News Service. He said that cultural IPs like Black Myth: Wukong, Romance of the Three Kingdoms and The Three-Body Problem are presenting a "Cool China" to the world.
Chard highlighted how foreign audiences are drawn to Chinese culture through entertainment. He cited the example of the Chinese video game Black Myth: Wukong, which first captivated international players with its technological prowess and then delved into the lore of the Chinese mythological character Sun Wukong. Similarly, children in the UK familiar with the Romance of the Three Kingdoms games have become curious about historical figures like Liu Bei and Guan Yu, leading them to explore Chinese history. The English translation of Liu Cixin's science fiction book The Three-Body Problem and its recent television adaptation have also significantly influenced global perceptions of China.
"Having studied the social impact of video games for 17 years, I can say with confidence that gaming is a most powerful medium for conveying values today," said Liu Mengfei, a game industry observer as well as scholar at Beijing Normal University. She noted that YouTube is filled with foreign players analyzing Journey to the West, demonstrating the role of games in driving interest in Chinese culture.
However, Liu cautioned that culturally rich games face greater challenges in reaching international markets due to cultural barriers. A sustainable cultural export strategy requires a combination of historical storytelling, educational content and multimedia promotion.
At the sub-forum on inheritance and communication of traditional Chinese culture in the digital and intelligence era, Xiao Xiangrong, dean of the School of Arts and Communication at Beijing Normal University, also emphasized that promoting and preserving China's traditional gaming culture requires a dual approach. One must "look inward," drawing inspirations from the vast currents of China's 5,000-year civilization, while also "looking outward," fostering exchanges with other cultures to create a harmonious synthesis.
The sub-forum also explored the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in cultural preservation. At the sub-forum, host Jiang Changjian demonstrated AI's capabilities by using the DeepSeek model to generate a poem for scholar Meng Man in just three seconds.
"The digital age has unlocked new avenues for exploring, understanding, and engaging with traditional Chinese culture," said Fan Di'an, chairman of the China Artists Association. He emphasized that people today have a growing need to connect with traditional culture and digital intelligence technologies offer both an immersive experience and a broader visual perspective, allowing for a deeper appreciation of ancient art.
John Shanahan, an associate dean at DePaul University's College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, told the Global Times that digital intelligence can also be used in the research of classical texts, especially Chinese classics. He pointed out that while digitization once focused on scanning and cataloging ancient scripts, new technologies now aim to reconstruct them, offering deeper historical insights.
Yet, some aspects of traditional culture remain difficult to replicate through AI. Ye Peigui, a vice chairman of the China Calligraphers Association, argued that while AI can mimic calligraphy's form, it cannot capture the force of brush strokes or the philosophical essence behind them. "True artistry lies in imperfection," he said. "If you judge calligraphy by precision alone, you overlook its soul."
Meng Man, the professor form Minzu University of China, echoed this sentiment, noting that human expression, with its natural flaws, is what makes art profound.
Chard also remarked in an interview with the People's Daily that everyone thinks people can use AI to understand other people or for translations, but it doesn't work that way. "I think people will always need to learn each others' languages."
The Wuyi Forum also featured five parallel sessions discussing topics from Confucius to thinker, educator and scholar Zhu Xi of Song Dynasty, classical studies, and modernity. According to the Xinhua News Agency, during the event, the Cross-Straits High-Level Academic Consortium on Chinese Civilization was inaugurated, led by Renmin University of China in partnership with other universities.
The Wuyi Forum opens on Saturday in Nanping, Fujian Province, which is the hometown of Zhu Xi, a famous thinker, educator and scholar of the Song Dynasty. Jointly established by the Renmin University of China and the city of Nanping, this year's forum gathered together more than 100 scholars from China, South Korea, the UK and other countries to discuss cross-cultural exchanges.
