The 2nd Marine City Forum Held at Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences

On August 30th, the “2nd Marine City Forum: ‘China (Shanghai) - Nanyang’ under the Vision of a Marine Community with a Shared Future” was held at the Shanghai Social Sciences International Innovation Base. The event was co-organized by the Institute of History of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, the Modern China Research Center of Shanghai University, and the China Maritime Museum.

Xiong Yuezhi, a researcher at the Institute of History of the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, and Huang Chunyan, a professor of history at East China Normal University, delivered keynote speeches. Researcher Xiong Yuezhi argued that as a port city, every step of Shanghai’s historical evolution and enhancement is imbued with rich marine cultural nutrients and bears deep marine cultural imprints. Professor Huang Chunyan focused on the key issue of “whether there was a marine civilization in ancient China.” He emphasized the need to distinguish between agricultural and marine civilizations while also valuing the livelihoods, knowledge, concepts, and belief systems influenced by the dynastic system and marine civilization. He stressed that pragmatism is the core connotation of ancient China’s marine civilization.