To implement President Xi Jinping's significant directives on the “creative transformation and innovative development” of fine Chinese traditional culture and “making good use of the rich resources of Qi and Lu culture”, Qi Classics, a large collection of the works on Qi culture, was published by Shandong Qilu Press Co., Ltd., with the Qi Culture Research Institute of SDUT as its academic base. Qi Classics was officially introduced to readers on July 10th at the 10th Nishan Forum on World Civilizations.
Qi Classics, as a vital part of Qi and Lu Culture Repository, the large-scale cultural heritage project of Shandong Province, is positioned alongside Confucian Classics, just like two complementary pillars of the project. Its compilation and publication hold great historical significance for promoting China's brilliant traditional culture and for building a culturally strong province. The project has drawn considerable attention from the Publicity Department of Shandong Provincial Party Committee and Shandong Publishing Group.
The Chief Editor of Qi Classics is Wang Zhimin, Honorary Director of SDUT's Qi Culture Research Institute. The Advanced Institute of Confucian Studies at Shandong University and the Qi and Lu Culture Research Institute at Shandong Normal University serve as collaborative institutions. Distinguished academic advisors include DU Zexun from Shandong University, BAI Xi from Capital Normal University, and HUANG Pumin from Renmin University of China. Participants of the academic committee include more than 20 experts and scholars from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, and other universities and research institutions. Thanks to the joint efforts of the Academic Committee, the Editorial Office of Qi and Lu Culture Repository, and Shandong Qilu Press Co., Ltd. for six months, this cultural project was completed with super quality and high efficiency.
Qi Classics selectively compiles the most representative and valuable historical classic documents of Qi culture, spanning over two thousand years from the pre-Qin period to the end of the Qing dynasty, as well as 382 versions of the authoritative, distinctive and rare, annotations of those classic documents made by the scholars from the succeeding periods. Based on its content and subjects, it is divided into four volumes: Qi Studies, Qi History, Qi Books of the Art of War, and Qi Books on Science and Technology. The final work comprises over 40 million Chinese characters, 160 cases and 1,096 volumes, shaping a vital component of the core classic literature in Qi and Lu Culture Repository. The work was produced on the basis of a full-size photocopy on rice paper, faithfully representing the original appearance of the ancient books. The finished product measures 220 mm * 330 mm, with the text printed on single-machine thickened rice paper, and the case covers made of Song-style brocade silk, which makes it convenient for collection, preservation, and dissemination.