I. Overview
Research Institute of Tianfu Culture
The Research Institute of Tianfu Culture was established in October 2017 in response to the development strategy of Chengdu on "inheriting Bashu civilization, publicizing Tianfu culture and striving to build a world-famous cultural city". It aims to attract first-class talents at home and abroad to explore both urban and rural and ancient and modern cultures of Chengdu. Focusing on stories of Chengdu and Sichuan, the Institute is committed to promoting creative transformation and innovative development of the excellent traditional culture of Chengdu, and providing academic consultation for party committee governments and professional institutions at all levels.
Center for Urban Cultural Studies and Communication
The Center for Urban Cultural Studies and Communication was established in 2019 under the guidance of the Publicity Department of the CPC Chengdu Municipal Committee. The Center aims to facilitate the implementation of national strategies such as the construction of Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle and Chengdu Park City based on its rich practices in constructing Chengdu urban and rural cultures and its goal to build Chengdu into an internationally renowned city featuring rich culture, attractive tourism, world games, exquisite cuisine, fantastic music festival and large-scale exhibition. It undertakes applied research as well as international and domestic cultural communication work in terms of building urban cultural images and icons, developing cultural creative products, planning cultural spaces, optimizing cultural life, and improving cultural soft power.
The Research Institute of Tianfu Culture and the Center for Urban Cultural Studies and Communication are important scientific research institutes of Humanities and Social Sciences at Chengdu University. The two institutes are operating co-currently at Chengdu University with 4 key laboratories and 9 full-time researchers. It also owns an academic committee consisting of 24 renowned experts at home and abroad and 44 guest professors.
II. Major Achievements
It has compiled and published a batch of influential academic monographs, including The Research of Tianfu Culture (Four volumes), Tianfu Culture and Modern Pursuit of Chengdu (including Chinese and English versions), Way of Chengdu to a World-Famous Cultural City, The Biography of Chengdu, and Approach to Tianfu Agricultural Civilization. Among them, the four-volume book The Research of Tianfu Culture is an authoritative academic work for interpreting Tianfu culture, which was prefaced by Mr. Tan Jihe, Wang Di, Cao Shunqing and Huo Wei in person, compiled by more than 60 academic experts at home and abroad, and inscribed by Mr. Liu Shahe. Tianfu Culture and Modern Pursuit of Chengdu has won the Second Prize of Chengdu Municipal Excellent Achievements in Humanities and Social Sciences. The book launch of The Biography of Chengdu attracted reprints and reports from almost all authoritative network media in China, and the first publication was sold out. It will be translated into Spanish as one of the important cultural activities to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Argentina in 2022. The English version collection The Symphony of Poetry and Tea: Tianfu Culture in Four Seasons vividly tells world readers about stories of Tianfu culture and Chengdu city.
The Institute has made every effort to promote local culture and is committed to spreading and popularizing Tianfu culture. Moreover, it has participated in the planning and organization of the World Cities Culture (Tianfu) Symposium for four consecutive years. Dean Tan Ping, Honorary Dean Wang Di, Director of the Academic Committee Tan Jihe, and Deputy Directors Shu Dagang and Wang Chuan have been interviewed by high-end media for many times to talk about Chinese culture, Bashu culture and Tianfu culture. Dean Tan Ping has been interviewed and reported for more than 20 times by the central and local media. He was also invited to introduce Tianfu culture in CCTV as well as provincial and municipal TV stations for more than 10 times. He led the selection of "Top Ten Celebrities of Tianfu Culture" in 2018. He has planned and implemented more than 100 lectures on Tianfu culture in Chengdu Museum, Chengdu Municipal Women's Federation and Chengdu Public Library. The Institute has also engaged in the review of major cultural projects in many provinces and cities. For example, it participated in reviewing the schemes for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Chengdu 2021 FISU World University Games, and the major cultural projects of Sichuan Province such as the review and recommendation of the Sichuan Hall of Fame and the Sichuan historical celebrities.
Tian Rong, Member of the Standing Committee and Director of the Publicity Department and Vice Mayor Zhang Zhenghong unveiled the Research Institute of Tianfu Culture.
Professor Wang Di was appointed as the Honorary Dean of the Research Institute of Tianfu Culture
President Wang Qingyuan delivered a speech at the establishment ceremony of the Institute
III. Research and Display Space
Chengdu University expanded the Research Institute of Tianfu Culture in 2021. The expanded Institute covers a research and exhibition area of 500 square meters, including the newly built "Tianfu Cultural Exhibition & Experience Hall", "Tianfu Cultural Celebrities Corridor" and "Tianfu Cultural Innovation Hall". After its expansion, the Institute will be built into an open platform for displaying Tianfu cultural achievements, showcasing the charm of Tianfu culture, and undertaking Tianfu cultural research. It will help form a Tianfu cultural research and communication circle integrating exchanges between students, schools, communities, as well as domestic and international scholars, and also an important platform for publicizing the popular science base of Sichuan Provincial Excellent Traditional Culture and Urban Inheritance.
Cultural Wall of the Research Institute of Tianfu Culture
Cultural Wall of the Research Institute of Tianfu Culture
Tianfu Cultural Exhibition & Experience Hall
Themed "interacting, immersing and becoming", the Experience Hall displays the major achievements and typical cases of various districts and counties of Chengdu in creating and spreading Tianfu culture. It aims to provide visitors with an opportunity to get familiar with the historical stories, current development and future vision of Chengdu with immersive experience through publicizing the connotations and characteristics of Tianfu culture, thus making visitors at home and abroad know about Chengdu, fall in love with Chengdu, publicize Chengdu and become "Chengdueses", to nurture them with Tianfu culture.
Featured by an opening scroll, the main image wall of the Experience Hall records the history, culture and atmosphere of Chengdu over thousands of years, and reflects the combination of the historical culture and modern style.
The Experience Hall shows the characteristic practices and excellent cultural works of districts and counties in Chengdu in exploring, protecting and inheriting excellent traditional Tianfu culture.
The Experience Hall features four experience areas, namely, woodblock printing, traditional Chinese costume, covered-bowl tea and Guqin. Visitors can deeply experience the elegant fashion and innovative creation of Tianfu culture through board presentation, film screening, role guidance and immersive experience.
Traditional Chinese Costume Experience Area
Guqin Experience Area
Covered-bowl Tea Experience Area
Woodblock Printing Experience Area
Tianfu Cultural Celebrity Corridor
Themed "remembering, inheriting and innovating", the Corridor presents celebrities who have made great contributions in Chengdu's history in politics, literature, thought, and education.
Tianfu Cultural Innovation Hall
Themed "presentation, exchange and improvement", the Hall not only facilitates student teams to create and exchange cultural and creative works under the guidance of their teachers, but also promotes the excavation and inheritance of excellent traditional Chinese culture and Sichuan regional culture between teachers and students.
IV. Introduction to Some Monographs
1. A four-volume research collection of The Research of Tianfu Culture. It was published by Sichuan University Press, with more than two million characters. This is the first set of large-scale research collection to interpret the rich culture, contemporary value, and exploration and application of Tianfu culture featuring innovation, creativity, elegance, fashion, optimism, tolerance, friendliness, and philanthropy. Inscribed by the cultural celebrity Mr. Liu Shahe, and prefaced and postscripted by the top scholars in related fields (Wang Di, Cao Shunqing, Tan Jihe, Huo Wei, etc.), this book not only represents the highest level of Tianfu culture research at home and abroad, but also leads the academic trend of Tianfu culture research.
2. Tianfu Culture and Modern Pursuit of Chengdu, published by Bashu Press, is the first large-scale academic monograph systematically interpreting the historical source, rich culture, contemporary values and future vision of Tianfu culture, with a total of 500,000 characters. This book has won the Second Prize of Chengdu Municipal Excellent Achievements in Humanities and Social Sciences. Its Chinese and English versions were respectively presented to participants of the 2019 World Cities Culture (Tianfu) Symposium and 2021 World Cities Culture (Tianfu) Symposium as the only representative books to interpret Tianfu culture.
Tianfu Culture and Modern Pursuit of Chengdu (Chinese version published by Bashu Press)
Tianfu Culture and Modern Pursuit of Chengdu (English version published by Sichuan University Press)
3. The Biography of Chengdu—Poetry Hall of Panda Hometown, is the latest work of China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration's major publishing project "Biographies of One Hundred Cities along the Silk Road", and was published by New Star Press in 2021. So far, among "Biographies of One Hundred Cities along the Silk Road", 18 biographies in Simplified Chinese version and 3 in Russian version have been published, and several books in traditional Chinese version and English and Russian version are in preparation. After publication, this book has received good social responses. The first batch of printed books have been sold out and it will be translated into Spanish as one of the important cultural activities to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Argentina in 2022.
4. The Symphony of Poetry and Tea: Tianfu Culture in Four Seasons
Selecting the most representative "poetry" and "tea" elements in Tianfu culture as the themes, this book conveys the leisure reading interest of "reciting poems, tasting tea and listening to stories", and tells international readers wonderful stories of "Land of Abundance and Charming Chengdu". This book was published by Chengdu Times Press in November 2021.
VI. Participation in Conferences
Wang Di, Honorary Dean, Director and Professor of the History Department of the University of Macau attended
the 2019 World Cities Culture (Tianfu) Symposium.
Dean Tan Ping hosted the 2019 World Cities Culture (Tianfu) Symposium
Dean Tan Ping was invited to attend the 2018 World Cities Culture (Tianfu) Symposium.
2021 World Cities Culture (Tianfu) Symposium
