Qilu Culture: Created by and for the People

Entering the 20th century, Shandong became a concerned area of the world again. After the First World War, in 1919, the Paris Peace Conference fermented to hand all sorts of privilege of Germany in Shandong to Japan. This event evoked Chinese young students and the working class's anger. Then the May Fourth Movement with epoch-making significance in China's history broke out. During the Anti-Japanese War, from the east to west, from Mountain Yimeng to Weishan Lake, from railway line to Taierzhuang, all the people of Shandong participated the patriotic war, lit the beacon of fighting against imperialism everywhere and gave a heavy blow to the Japanese invaders.

During the Liberation wartime, the Kuomintang placed the focal point on the liberated area of north Shanxi and Shandong. At that time, Shandong had only 40 million people, but 1 million people joined the army and 10 million people supported the front. In addition, 220 thousand people died martyrs in the war. Many famous victories of campaigns, such as Menglianggu, Laiwu, Weixian, Yanzhou, Jinan, Huaihai campaigns and the Campaign of Crossing the Yangtze River, couldn't be separated from the dauntless fight of the people of Shandong. The revolutionary struggle of Shandong was just like a raging fire.   

It is exactly the revolutionary struggle in this decade from the May Fourth Movement to the founding of new China that has formed the people's revolutionary culture led by the Communist Party of China. Shandong people are patriotic and have excellent revolutionary traditions. Unyieldingly, they advance in waves, struggle hard and dedicate unselfishly. These spirits give revolutionary culture an abundant intension.

Shandong is located in the coastal area. The policy of Reform and Opening-up, which was launched in 1978, influenced Shandong earlier, just like a spring breeze blowed the earth. Open policies of expanding export, utilizing the foreign capitals, and introducing advanced technology etc., were implemented from east to west.

Around the goal of building a "great and strong, rich and beautiful" new Shandong, the whole of province has reached the common understanding to adjust and optimize the economic structure, develop Shandong through the science and education and sustainable development strategies, and internationalize and urbanize the economy.

Many famous enterprises have come out of competition, such as Haier, Hisense, Aucma, Juli, Shifeng, Huangming, Weiqiao, Huatai, Nanshan, Jinluo, the Sun paper, etc.

In Shandong, the honest people's ideas on talents, fair competition and innovative consciousness are famous in China and foreign countries. This new culture, which absorbs the outstanding achievement of outside culture, has adapted the opening policy and the development of market economy. It is the characteristic modern culture of Shandong.   

In a word, the 5000-year outstanding traditional culture, the 100-year public revolutionary culture and the modern culture formed under reform and opening-up and market economy condition, make up the distinctive Qilu Culture.

(Text by Xu Xiyu, Secretary and President of Dazhong News Group, from xinhuanet.com; Photo: dzwww.com) 

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