From China to the World  

2022 New Year Greetings from Shanghai International Studies University

Jiang Feng, Chair of University Council, SISU

Li Yansong, President, SISU

Thank you for being part of our academic community. Best wishes for the New Year to all the students, faculty, alumni and friends of Shanghai International Studies University (SISU)!

An English saying goes, “time and tide wait for no man,” while a Chinese proverb maintains, “hard work pays off.” We can fully understand both messages, and we have acted accordingly over the past year. Under the guidance of the founding spirit of the CPC, every member of the SISU family has worked hard to continue our glorious tradition and explore new frontiers.

We have made relentless efforts to enhance our competence in global discourse and support people-to-people exchanges between China and the rest of the world. While developing a Chinese narrative, we have endeavored to connect with the world and the future.

We are committed to telling the history of the CPC and stories of China’s present realities in multiple languages.

Language is the dress of thought, as Samuel Johnson put it. It is also a vehicle of human thought. China’s foreign language education has persistently followed the tracks of the CPC, fed on new ideas introduced by the Party, and played a role in communicating such ideas to the global community.

The CPC was born when China needed new ideas to fuel the movement of awakening and self-salvation. In a sense, the CPC has kept close connections with foreign language education in China, while foreign language education has always been part of China’s modernization program.

As a global institution specialized in foreign language education, SISU is proud to know that the birth of the CPC had a lot to do with the translation of the Communist Manifesto and the Shanghai Foreign Languages Society. After the founding of the PRC, the translation of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’ works was undertaken by the national government.

Since the reform and opening-up began, informed by the experience and lessons of socialism and developed countries around the world, China has created a system of socialism with Chinese characteristics that has systematically propelled the country to the center of the global stage.

In the new era, China needs many professionals who have profound knowledge of the Party, China’s history and current conditions, a global vision, and excellent foreign language proficiency to maximize and optimize communication in the global discourse system. While we review and further study the CPC’s centennial history, we focus on two major themes: the history and development of foreign language education in China, and global communication of the history of the CPC.

We believe that history is a mirror, and the history of the CPC increases our confidence and inspires us to move further and explore more frontiers. We are keenly aware that the Party will be our guide on the new journey. We must integrate the principles and ideology of the CPC in our educational activities and emphasize that it is integration rather than mere addition. By this, we refer to empowerment and direction.We deeply understand that successors of the Party and China’s great cause must be worthy of the critical mission in the new era.

So, we must continue to simultaneously enhance the political will, language competence, subject knowledge and communication skills of students. We are deeply aware that, for the sake of foreign language education in the new era, the success of a “first-class discipline” is measured in both influence and contribution. SISU must continue to generate global knowledge, contribute to international communication, tell China’s stories, and share China’s wisdom in improving people’s well-being and solving challenges.

Our “Multilingual+” initiative aims at aligning world vision with language power.

 As Habermas said: “What raises us out of nature is the only thing whose nature we can know: language.” Over the past 72 years, we have adapted our education model and orientation by making three fundamental modifications. At the beginning of the reform and opening-up, we expanded from teaching one foreign language only to teaching multiple languages; from the early 1980s to the early 2010s, we completed the transition from a language education institution to “multidisciplinary + multilingual” university; and now, we’re implementing the “multilingual+” initiative for the new era.

The shift to a “multilingual+” university encompasses deep integration and fusion. It also means a fundamental change in understanding the essence of language, education philosophy, and student development mechanism. Previously, we regarded language as a communication tool, while under our new initiative, language serves as a communication tool, generates knowledge, and enhances value. SISU is committed to developing outstanding talent with all-around expertise and competence by providing students access to all academic resources available and generating “chemical reactions” among academic disciplines.

As another Chinese saying goes, “A public spirit will rule under the heaven when the great way prevails.” The CPC has already paved a significant way, drawing attention to the shared future of mankind from a global perspective. This great way symbolizes the harmonious relationship between China and the outside world, major changes in the world, the future of human development, and the course of China’s development. It aligns the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with the bright future of the entire world. Every change in this process has coincided with China’s integration into the world.

In the new era, we must follow the new road, build a new development model, and cultivate higher-quality talent ready to cope with the evolving needs of global governance. At the 15th CPC Congress of SISU, we proposed to further the “multilingual +” initiative and clarify the goals of discipline development. SISU intends to become an incubator of outstanding “multilingual +” talent, a cradle of foreign language innovation and literature studies, a center for developing global knowledge and global discourse competence, and an exemplary institution for reform and development of foreign language education.

We also believe in the power of language to promote global communication through a “Culture+” initiative.

L. R. Palmer said that the history of language and the history of culture are complementary and that they assist and inspire each other. Cooperation among humans has been described by philosophers as “shared intentionality” or “we” intentionality. As fundamental human behavior, language helps to address common concerns, achieve common understanding and realize shared intentions.

Amid the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and unparalleled changes in the world unseen in a century, SISU has proposed a “Culture+” initiative to advance people-to-people exchanges between China and foreign countries. SISU has also fostered cultural diversity and mutual learning and promoted the shared prosperity of civilizations, peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom, which are the common values of mankind.

We must dare to tear down barriers and get across boundaries, use the power of language to enhance international understanding, generate global knowledge through language studies, promote academic consensus through language dissemination, and tell the world’s stories, including China’s moving stories to illuminate the future, sow the seed of dreams, and build a community with a shared future for mankind.

Rooted in China, we won’t forget our original aspirations; we will transcend disciplinary boundaries to nurture the right talent for the great cause of the Party and China; we will adopt a global perspective, open up to the outside world and mediate between the East and the West; we will actively engage in global communication, embrace the future of humanity and foster innovations and create opportunities for China’s foreign language education.

As the cold winter passes and the warm spring approaches, SISU, as a big family, marches toward the goal of a world-class foreign language university with distinction in global knowledge and area studies.

Let us cherish our dreams and work to realize them with confidence and courage in the best of times. When the spring arrives, we will see lush green mountains and fields. Let’s work together to realize national rejuvenation and build a better world for all.

Happy 2022, the Chinese Year of the Tiger!