On 25th October 2014, British Studies Centre of BFSU invited Professor Yu Wenjie from the Department of History, Nanjing University, and Zhen Jianguo, Vice Chairman of China Association for International Friends and former ambassador to Denmark and Greece, to deliver speeches to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the founding of British Studies Centre of Beijing Foreign Studies University.

Professor Yu’s report, entitled “The Cultural Origins of the Rise of Modern British Civilisation”, describes Britain as a country attaching great importance to cultural traditions as well as historic heritage. The rise of modern Britain, in Yu’s view, is the result of the following factors: First, the establishment of a religious belief; Second, absorbing other Western classical civilizations; Third, effective integration of various civilizations; Fourth, promotion of university spirit; Fifth, early establishment of rule of law; Sixth, growth of the spirit of exploration and adventure; Seventh, the completion of a cultural accumulation.

The title of Ambassador Zhen Jianguo’s report was “Michael Lindsay–A British Nobleman Who Participated in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in China”. He introduced the life of Michael Lindsay and his contribution to the liberation of the Chinese people. Michael Lindsay, a Briton, was at first employed as a teacher in Yenching University in 1937. Sympathizing with the Chinese people’s fight against Japanese aggression, he worked secretly for the Eighth Route Army after Peking’s fall to Japan. With the help of the Eighth Route Army, he entered the Shanxi-Chahar-Hebei border area and worked and lived there until the war ended. He lived with and fought shoulder to shoulder with the Chinese army and people, and helped develop telecommunications in that area. After the founding the People’s Republic of China, he and his family cared a lot about China’s development, and visited New China several times.