On 13th October, Paris Time (14th October, Beijing Time), Professor Luo Weidong, Vice President of Zhejiang University (ZJU) donated to Director-general Irina Bokova on behalf of the UNESCO A Complete Collection of the Paintings of the Song Dynasty and A Complete Collection of the Paintings of the Yuan Dynasty, two sets of books in The Complete Collections of the Paintings Through the Ages co-compiled by ZJU and Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Cultural Administration and published by Zhejiang University Press. Present at the donation ceremony were Hao Ping, Chairman of 37th UNESCO general conference, Du Yue, Secretary-general of the Commission of the People’s Republic of China for the UNESCO, Zhang Xiuqin, China’s ambassador to the UNESCO delegation as well as ambassadors, specialists, scholars and distinguished guests all over the world.

Hao Ping,Chairman of 37th UNESCO general conference(second from left), Irina Bokova, Director-general of the UNESCO(in  the middle), Luo Weidong,

The Complete Collections of the Paintings Through the Ages, with Zhang Xi, Chairman of Zhejiang University Development Committee, as editor-in-chief, was a state-level cultural gem project approved and supported by President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China while he was taking office in Zhejiang Province about 10 years ago. In the past decade, the project obtained the firm support and cordial care of President Xi Jinping, and was paid high attention to by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture, State Administration of Cultural Heritage, State Administration of Press, Publication, Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China, National Publication Foundation Planning and Management Office, Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the CPC and the People’s Government of Zhejiang Province, and was under support of the Palace Museum and over 200 cultural institutions and museums all over the world. Professor Luo Weidong expressed his sincere thanks in his speech, “This great project showcases Chinese visual art, paintings in particular, in the past 2,000-odd years from the Warring States Period to the Qing Dynasty. It includes 150 volumes in total, and the collections of the Song and Yuan Dynasties have been finished and those of the Ming and Qing Dynasties are still under compilation. In the past decade, those members of ZJU have made great achievements and also got support from all of you. I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks.”

Luo Weidong donated the books to Irina Bokova

Professor Luo Weidong said that the published A Complete Collection of the Paintings of the Song Dynasty (23 volumes) and A Complete Collection of the Paintings of the Yuan Dynasty (16 volumes) were highly commended by the professionals at home and abroad. A Complete Collection of the Paintings of the Song Dynasty is now in the collection of approximately 120 libraries, museums and art galleries in the US, Canada and Japan, etc. He furthered that Director-general Irina Bokova of the UNESCO once paid her visit to ZJU and China’s Entrepreneurial Education Alliance of the UNESCO was located in ZJU, so ZJU will strengthen its cooperation with the UNESCO in culture and education to contribute to China’s innovative and entrepreneurial education and to world civilization.

Irina Bokova expressed her appreciation of the ZJU. She commented that they were the books of the best quality she had ever read and they would definitely be classical additions to the collection of the UNESCO, which is of great significance to publicizing traditional Chinese culture. Zhang Xiuqin stated “The project serves as a milestone. ZJU’s donation of the books will play a positive role in protecting cultural diversity and boosting cultural exchange and mutual learning.”

On the next day, the Bibliothèque nationale de France, with a history of over 500 years, was also presented with A Complete Collection of the Paintings of the Song Dynasty and A Complete Collection of the Paintings of the Yuan Dynasty.

Luo Weidong introduced the books to guests