“People are the building blocks of a nation, and food is of paramount importance to the people.” Agriculture, rural areas and farmers have always occupied a crucial position in China’s political, economic, and social development. Chinese civilization has a long history and Chinese culture is rich and diverse. Since ancient times, China has been “building the nation by agriculture”. Most of its traditional culture is based upon agricultural civilization, which has long become an important constituent of China’s – even the world’s – precious cultural heritage and has broad and far-reaching influence on the social and economic development of the entire society. Today as we are stepping into the 21st century, and under the new historical conditions of globalized economy and pluralized society, the way in which we inherit and further promote the excellent traditional culture of our country so that it plays a greater role in the economic construction, social development, international exchange and ideological progress is an important task facing the many practitioners in science and technology as well as in cultural work.
The Institution of Chinese Agricultural Civilization, also known as the Institution of Chinese Agricultural Heritage, is an open academic institution that integrates scientific research, talent cultivation, information collection and service. It aims to study and promote China’s long-standing agricultural history and splendid agricultural culture, strategically implementing its works by incorporating some key issues of today’s economic and social development. It endeavors to “make the past serve the present, and the foreign serve the Chinese”, striving toward the prosperity of China’s cultural undertakings, the healthy development of Chinese agriculture and rural areas, and the modernization of agriculture.
The institution has a well-trained, effectively-structured and logically-organized professional research team as its core force. By hiring adjunct researchers, accepting domestic and foreign visiting scholars and post-doctoral research personnel, and recruiting doctoral and master’s graduate students, it brings together domestic and foreign research power in related scientific fields to engage in comprehensive scientific research, talent cultivation, information collection and service. The Institution of Chinese Agricultural Civilization wishes to collaborate with domestic and foreign experts of similar interests to promote the development of Chinese agricultural history, and to move forward hand in hand.
Wang Siming
President of Institution of Chinese Agricultural Civilization