Confucian Teachings and the Evolution of Belarusian–Chinese Relations in the Field of Culture

Abstract

Cultural ties between the Republic of Belarus and the People’s Republic of China date back a little more than 30 years. During this time, the two countries, despite their very different geography and history, technological advances and human psychology, have managed to find common ground and form a space permeated with cultural connection. The reasons for such a rapid quantitative and qualitative growth of cultural relations and the construction of a system of cultural exchange can be understood if we take into account the relatively long period of their prehistory. This prehistory was hidden, and it can be designated as an implicit period. Cultural relations in the implicit period between China and the lands that are located within the borders of modern Belarus began approximately in the 17th century. If we consider this territory as an object of cultural relations and China as the subject of these relations, then the penetration of Chinese cultural values was carried out both from the east and from the west. The eastern direction was associated with the development of Russia’s eastward movement into Siberia; Western – with such a phenomenon in Western European culture as “Chinoiserie.” By the time of the formation of the People’s Republic of China, Belarusians and Chinese already had the most general ideas and undetailed information about the culture of another country. This information was to be expanded and deepened at the Soviet stage of Belarusian–Chinese cultural relations. The explicit period of Belarusian–Chinese cultural relations began in 1992. It can be divided into several stages, the originality of which is recorded in the relevant Belarusian–Chinese diplomatic documents. Between the explicit period and the implicit period, there was a small transitional period, which also had its own historical peculiarity. Curiously, the establishment of official diplomatic relations between Belarus and China almost coincided with such an event as the introduction of the term “soft power” into scientific discourse. Later this term was combined with the concept of culture and became one of the cornerstone concepts in the theory and practice of cultural diplomacy. Confucius’ teachings on culture as a necessary condition for the education of philanthropy, as well as the ethical and aesthetic aspects of his teachings, have very organically entered the practice of building cultural exchange between Belarus and China.