On the afternoon of August 17, the Opening Ceremony for Postgraduates Specializing in the Fine Traditional Chinese Culture (including Confucian Studies) of the Class of 2023 at the Joint Graduate School of Nishan World Center for Confucian Studies was held in Zoucheng City, Shandong Province, the hometown of Mencius. A total of 619 postgraduates specializing in this program from 16 partner colleges and universities attended the ceremony online or onsite.

The Joint Graduate School of Nishan World Center for Confucian Studies is a new-typegraduate school approved by the Ministry of Education of China and backed by the central government, and now has 1,070 registered students. Since its inception in 2020, the Joint Graduate School has made fruitful achievements. Specifically, it has successfully organized research-oriented training sessions for postgraduates of the classes of 2021 and 2022; it has offered common courses like globally oriented Confucian studies, new lectures on the fine traditional Chinese culture, and solicitedessays on the fine traditional Chinese culture, so as to incorporate traditional culture into the whole process of academic and moral education.

The event, which lasts from August 8 to 28 this year,include visits to historical and cultural monuments of Confucianism and rural communities in Qufu, Zoucheng, and Jiaxiang, etc., where there are thematic lectures, on-site instruction, and interactive seminars. During the three-week event, participantswill explore the enriching Confucian culture, gain a clear understanding of the contemporary value of the fine traditional Chinese culture, develop their own moral character and professional qualities, and enhance their patriotism and cultural self-confidence, so as to lay a solid theoretical and practical foundation for their future academic studies.