On May 30, the Cultural Office Invited a Greek Professor to Hold a Symposium on “The Distinction Between the Ancient and the Modern”

From 10:00 to 11:50 on the morning of May 30, 2019, the Cultural and Ideological Construction Research Office of the Marxist Development Research Department of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Marxism, together with Greek Professor K. Dimitriadis, held a symposium in Conference Room 1011 entitled “The Distinction Between the Ancient and the Modern: Dialogue and Exchange of Civilizations.” Professor K. Dimitriadis is a renowned intellectual historian, a representative figure of the Cambridge School of the History of Political Thought; a professor of political science at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and a member of the Academic Committee of the Hellenic Parliament; he has served as Director of the Centre for Asia Minor Studies, President of the Hellenic Political Science Association, Director of the Institute of Modern Greek Studies at the National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF), and President of the European Society for the History of Political Thought; he has taught at Harvard University, the University of Cambridge, the University of Oxford, the École Normale Supérieure in Paris, and the European University Institute in Florence.

2019年5月30日上午10点至11点50分，中国社会科学院马克思主义研究院马克思主义发展研究部文化与意识形态建设研究室与希腊基多米利德斯教授在1011会议室进行了一场题为《古今之辨：文明对话与交流》的座谈。基多米利德斯教授是著名思想史学家、剑桥思想史学派代表人物；是希腊国立雅典大学政治学教授、希腊议会学术委员会委员；历任小亚细亚研究中心主任、希腊政治学会主席、希腊国家研究基金会（NHRF）现代希腊研究院院长、欧洲政治思想史学会主席；曾执教于哈佛大学、剑桥大学、牛津大学、巴黎高等师范学院、弗洛伦撒欧洲大学研究院。

The symposium aimed to draw on Greece’s experience in using ancient cultural heritage resources to revive and develop contemporary culture, in order to explore new perspectives on how to sublimate [1]1 “Sublimate” (扬弃, *yangqi*) is a Hegelian-Marxist term meaning to simultaneously negate, preserve, and elevate; in the Chinese context it refers to critically inheriting traditional culture by discarding its dross and developing its essence. traditional Chinese culture. The topics covered included: the contemporary and modern value of maritime civilization and ancient Greek civilization; how the modern Greek state has made use of tradition in its construction; and the commonalities between ancient Greece and ancient China, and how to tap into inherent civilizations to serve emerging civilizations.

座谈旨在借鉴希腊利用古代文化遗产资源复兴发展当代文化的经验，为如何扬弃中华传统文化发掘新的视角。座谈涉及主题包括：海洋文明与古希腊文明的现当代价值；现代希腊国家在建设中是怎样使用传统的？古希腊与古中国有共性，如何挖掘固有文明为新兴文明服务？

The distinction between the ancient and the modern, and the debate between the ancient and the modern, occupy a central and core position in Greek consciousness, deeply rooted, and similar in form to the debate between the ancient and the modern in China since modern times. Professor K. Dimitriadis presented his views on the distinction between the ancient and the modern, making the past serve the present, and the modern value of ancient civilizations. First, he argued that the proposition “how to make the past serve the present” existed in ancient times, and that within antiquity itself there arose the question of how to use the oldest, most ancient cultural heritage resources. The core cohesive force of Greece is the transmission of language, passed down through oral tradition and copying through the Middle Ages to the present day, continuously exerting a cultural and educational function on later generations. This transmission of language precisely demonstrates that ancient cultural heritage can be used for the present. Second, he argued that the relationship between the ancient and the modern is, to some extent, a kind of spirit, an objective spirit that has been transmitted from ancient times to the present. One must avoid both excessive reverence for and excessive neglect of the relationship between the ancient and the modern. There are contradictions between ancient and modern Greece, but it is precisely these contradictions that play an important role in defining Greek identity. Finally, he argued that one should not develop a sense of inferiority upon seeing a glorious antiquity; one must not blindly follow antiquity; one must not imitate antiquity without reason, merely engaging in dialogue with the ancients; ancient culture should be used as a resource for modern creation, not as a means of returning to antiquity.

古今之辨、古今之争在希腊意识中占据中枢核心地位，可谓根深蒂固，与中国近代以来的古今论争形势相似。在古今之辨、古为今用、古代文明的现代价值等方面，希腊基多米利德斯教授谈了他的观点。首先，他认为“怎样古为今用”这样一个命题在古代早已有之，在古代内部就产生了怎样使用更古、最古的文化遗产资源问题。希腊的核心凝聚力是语言传承，以口口相传、抄写通过中古流传至今，对后世持续发挥着文教功能。这种语言传承恰恰说明古代文化遗产是可以为今所用的。其次，他认为古今关系在某种程度上而言就是一种精神，客观精神从古到今得以流传。要杜绝对古今关系既崇敬过度，又忽视过度的现象。古今希腊有矛盾，但恰恰是这些矛盾对界定希腊身份有重要作用。最后，他认为不应该看到辉煌的古代而产生自卑感；不能唯古是从；不能无端模仿古代，只是与古人对话；将古代文化作为现代创造的资源，而不是为了回到古代。

During the symposium, researchers from the Cultural Office engaged in in-depth exchanges with Professor K. Dimitriadis on topics such as how to sublimate traditional culture for present use, dialogue between ancient and modern civilizations, and the Greek debt crisis.

在座谈过程中，文化室的研究人员分别就怎样扬弃传统文化为今所用、古今文明之间的对话、希腊债务危机等问题与基多米利德斯教授进行了深入的交流。

(Contributed by Xu Muxi)

（徐沐熙供稿）