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Shanghai people's inward-looking attitudes are costing the city its
status as a global cultural center equal to the likes of Paris, New
York or Beijing, said Yu Qiuyu, a well-known Chinese scholar.
Shanghai has riveted world attention in recent years because of
its blistering economic growth, but its cultural status has not
kept pace, said Yu, while addressing a function held by the
Shanghai Media Group on Wednesday to mark the launch of a database
for celebrities and talents.
Yu, a native of Yuyao, in east China's Zhejiang Province, is a writer of prose and
art theory. A regular guest of TV talk shows, he lectures in a
number of Chinese universities and travels from place to place to
comment on and analyze Chinese culture. His Chinese language
literary works regularly make the best seller lists.
On Wednesday, Yu was included by Shanghai Media Group in its
database of 2,800 celebrities and talents.
Yu blamed parochialism, information overload and a tendency to
fudge issues for the current imbalance in Shanghai's cultural and
economic status in the world.
"Cultural differences are fascinating and should be respected,
but we should not overemphasize such differences," said Yu.
"All over China, localities have been trying to build their
cultural image, digging deep into their regional legacy, trying to
find something to take pride in or even prove that their culture is
better than someone else's," said Yu. "Sometimes these efforts are
laughable."
"Shanghai is no exception. It has concentrated its efforts on
exploring its own city culture," said the Chinese scholar. "A great
culture should always be free of parochialism."
"Artists have their own nationalities but culture is a human
treasure that has no boundaries," said Yu. "Shanghai should take a
broader cultural perspective and be more tolerant so as to create
and amass valuable things for the whole of mankind."
Shanghai, with its leading position in China's economic and
commercial life, has been swept up in the globalization movement
and inundated with cultural products of dubious value.
"Cultural workers in Shanghai are overwhelmed with rubbish and
agitation and cannot create high quality literary works," said
Yu.
In the meantime, Shanghaiese are keen to avoid being singled out
as trouble makers and tend to sit on the fence on controversial
issues, according to Yu.
"In a nutshell, they are not innovative. I am afraid Shanghai's
cultural image will suffer in the long run and its standing as a
cultural center will decline," said Yu.
He urged cultural workers in the city to stop acting like
ostriches and express opinions on key cultural issues in a bold,
outspoken manner so that they can contribute to making Shanghai a
global cultural center.
(Xinhua News Agency November 18, 2006)