The Essence of "Cultural Declaration in the Year of Monkey(2004)" Rejecting Advanced Culture-Another Look at Historical Lessons 360 Years Ago in the Year of Monkey
The "Cultural Declaration in the Year of Monkey", which was passed at the "2004 Cultural Summit Forum" held in Beijing on September 3-5, 2004 and signed by 72 famous scholars from home and abroad, expressed "their cultural position" to "compatriots at home and abroad" and to "international community". This is undoubtedly a big event in China's cultural field at the beginning of this century. This solemn declaration concerning traditional Chinese culture has attracted eager attention among scholars, and triggered some different opinion expressions in media. This paper holds that the Declaration has a tendency of rejecting advanced culture, thus it is unfavorable in promoting the process of China's democracy, fairness and human rights. It also has a negative impact on China's merging into globalization and bridging itself with the rest of the world.