Once again, the world's talented minds are gathering to seek inspiration from ancient wisdom.

The second World Conference of Classics is being held in Athens, the capital of Greece, from Tuesday to Wednesday, as a landmark platform for dialogue between Eastern and Western scholars of classical studies.

Experts believe that Chinese classical studies embrace a vision of mutual learning among civilizations and integrate Chinese and foreign perspectives.

On Nov 7, 2024, President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the inaugural World Conference of Classics, which was held in Beijing.

In the letter, Xi expressed his hope that experts and scholars will embrace the responsibility of advancing classical studies, contributing toward the preservation and development of civilizations and enhancing their exchange and mutual learning.

Guided by this spirit, classical studies in China have made remarkable progress in disciplinary development, talent cultivation, academic research and international exchanges.

Over the past decade, universities such as Peking University have launched classical studies programs. About a dozen universities have established research centers for classical studies. These efforts have laid the groundwork for the development of China's classical studies discipline.

In March 2025, Sichuan University established China's first fully independent Department of Classics with a complete institutional setup, which provides a full training system covering bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs.

Liu Juan, deputy director of the department, said, "Our department features an interdisciplinary framework that bridges Eastern and Western classical studies.

"It integrates literature, history and philosophy," Liu added.

In addition to courses in classical languages, the department offers Chinese classical studies focusing on classical texts from the pre-Qin period (before 221 BC) and the Qin (221-206 BC) and Han (206 BC-AD 220) dynasties, Western classical studies rooted in Greek and Roman texts, as well as comparative classical studies on cross-civilizational dialogue and mutual learning between China and the rest of the world.

Li Changchun, an associate professor at the Department of Philosophy of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong province, said: "Establishing classical studies as an independent major helps train young scholars with a solid professional training foundation and a broad academic vision. It promotes interdisciplinary integration and innovative development, and is a forward-looking arrangement that meets the needs of the new era."

In 2025, the National Social Science Fund of China listed classical studies as an independent first-level discipline. The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences also incorporated classical studies into its funding program for endangered and less-studied disciplines.

Li noted that this is a crucial step in developing the field of classical studies. Previously, scholars of classics relied mainly on funding from other disciplines, which limited their research topics. "Thanks to these policies, classics scholars are motivated to conduct more in-depth research and select research topics based on the needs of the field itself."

In his congratulatory letter, President Xi also emphasized China's commitment to the preservation and development of civilizations and added that China is dedicated to enhancing international people-to-people exchanges and fostering global dialogues among civilizations.

He said that China stands ready to work with other nations in implementing the Global Civilization Initiative, addressing shared challenges facing humanity, and promoting the advancement of human civilization.

Such advocacy of cross-civilizational communication and mutual learning is well embodied in exchange programs for both academic scholars and young people.

The Center of Chinese and Greek Civilizations, or KELKIP, runs an annual student exchange program, in which Chinese students travel to various parts of Greece and Greek students visit different regions of China. Through this, they gain a better understanding of local history, archaeology, philosophy and art.

"Such exchanges enable classical civilizations to nourish and enlighten future generations," said Wang Yong, secretary-general of the Chinese KELKIP, whose secretariat is based at Southwest University in Chongqing.

He also clarified the contemporary mission of Chinese classical studies scholars. He argued that they should absorb and integrate the essence of human civilizations — including Chinese civilization — to foster dialogue between China and the rest of the world, deepen mutual understanding across civilizations and advance a community with a shared future for humanity.

'Harmony in diversity'

Roger T. Ames, a humanities chair professor at Peking University, shared a similar perspective.

"Classical studies, when considered as a plural perspective, provide the opportunity for one culture to grow in its relationship to another — harmony in diversity," he said.

Ames said that the classics shift the focus of international conversations from geopolitics to geocultural concerns, and from economic and political discourse to civilization dialogue. "Classics are quite simply the basis of human civilization, and areas of cooperation such as the Belt and Road Initiative depend on respect for our different and yet complementary values."

He pointed out that Confucian values such as inclusion, optimizing symbiosis, civility and interdependence are what people need to address the human predicament, such as climate warming and environmental degradation.

Wang Huan, deputy director of Shanghai International Studies University's Institute for the Global History of Civilizations, said: "Civilizational differences do not necessarily trigger conflicts. The key lies in continuous communication and mutual understanding, which transforms cultural divergences into starting points for communication and cooperation, and integrates the experiences of others into elements that enrich one's own civilization."

He said he believes that humanity can only stand together through trials and tribulations in the face of global challenges by embracing openness, inclusiveness and mutual learning, and open a new chapter in the progress of human civilization.

Angie Hobbs, a professor of the Public Understanding of Philosophy emerita at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom, emphasized the important role of the second World Conference of Classics in promoting mutual understanding between the East and the West.

"Plenty of people in the world are trying to divide humanity, create and exacerbate divisions for their own ends. We can go back to ancient philosophers in Greece and China, and realize that we do have a lot in common. People long for something deeper, more thoughtful and sustaining to tackle these turbulent times," she said.

Xing Yi in London and Tan Yingzi in Chongqing contributed to this story.