From Tradition to Postmodernism in China’s Civilization and Culture
In the vast metropolitan areas of China, a five millennia civilization coexists, dramatically, with postmodernism and avant-gardism. On the one hand, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Temple of Heaven, on the other, the new airport, the high-speed trains, the National Theatre, the Water Cube, the Bird’s Nest, five and seven star hotels defying the laws of architecture and physics. A distance of millennia stretches from the Great Wall to the Bird’s Nest, expressing completely different paradigms of existence. They share the vitality, strength, creativity and genius of a nation. History coexists with modernity and postmodernity by China’s opening to other cultures and civilizations. It is an illustration of the concept “Alliance of Civilizations” shaping the globalizing world. China’s spiritual identity is expressed through several metamorphoses and cultural models. Academic education, scientific research, culture, knowledge are at the basis of these spectacular paradigms.
Keywords: paradigms, tradition, postmodernism, alliance of civilizations, metamorphoses, globalization, culture, knowledge
