'Cultures differ over more'

Peter Anders, director of the nonprofit Goethe-Institut China, says the cultural difference between China and Germany lies in the perception of "more".

"Chinese people are driven by a strong will to make the world better through a concept of 'more of ...' while we (German people) are skeptical about an ongoing progress," Anders wrote in an e-mail to China Daily.

"Innovation for Germans means a better life that is not just 'more of ...' but includes health, common sense and tolerance."

Anders, who joined the institute in 1990, adds: "There is an ongoing interest in searching for alternative solutions for the problems that concern German people the most: climate protection, demographic change and urban transformation."

The events and activities organized over the past several years by the Goethe-Institut China reflect these concerns.

Last year, for example, the institute funded the translation of a German book about climate change in China. Last August, when the Chinese version of the book was published, the institute gathered a group of Chinese and German experts in Beijing to discuss climate change and social reality.

In an event about the transformation of social space, also organized by the institute in Beijing in March, a group of architects, philosophers and social critics were invited to discuss the transformation of social space in Beijing and its impact on people.

"These are cultural phenomena that must be discussed in a visionary way to be solved," Anders says.

Founded in Beijing in 1988, Goethe-Institut China is part of Germany's global cultural organization the Goethe-Institut. It offers language classes, training for teachers, library resources and information services about Germany, and cultural programs in China.

German language training courses, one of the institute's primary programs, received almost 2,500 students last year.

Apart from language training and events that are closely tied to society, the Goethe-Institut China also offers a wide range of cultural events and programs that showcase German and Chinese plays, literature, music, dance and film.

Last year the institute held 155 cultural events on the Chinese mainland that drew almost 200,000 participants.

zhaoxinying@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 10/17/2014 page7)