Recently, Mind Virtue Public Welfare Classic Reading Clubs, with the mission of "influencing more people to recite excellent Chinese classics," reached a milestone – the first nationwide launch of 35 locations. These reading clubs are like spiritual living rooms in cities, offering a refuge for restless minds amidst the noise and concrete jungles. Through the wisdom of the classics, they allow inner wisdom to grow and address life's various challenges.
"We aim to have the sound of classic recitations heard in at least 100 cities across China within three years," said Kong Wei, Associate Professor at the Beijing Soft Power Innovation Education Research Institute and advocate for reciting excellent Chinese classics, while sharing the aforementioned plan of Soft Power Education with the heads of the first 35 Mind Virtue Public Welfare Classic Reading Clubs nationwide. This initiative truly underscores their commitment to spreading traditional wisdom.
Under the guidance of teacher Huang Yingyan, the 35 club heads beamed with happiness as they received their authorization plaques from Professor Kong Wei and teacher Shui Weiwei of the Soft Power Education Research Institute. It was a profound moment of trust and responsibility, and it was fantastic to witness!
Each club head also received 20 sets of the "Chinese Traditional Culture Classic Set," compiled by Dean Li Wei and teacher Kong Wei of the Soft Power Education Research Institute, including the "Great Learning," "Doctrine of the Mean," "Analects," "Mencius," "Tao Te Ching," "Standards for Being a Good Student and Child," and "Liao Fan's Four Lessons." The platform also gifted each person a set of Zen clothing, 100 sheets of special classic transcription paper, 20 pens, and other items needed for holding reading events.
The 35 reading club heads, some from bustling cities and others from remote towns, with diverse backgrounds, gathered together due to a shared mission. They were all outstanding volunteers from the accompanying elite camps and, after personal application and successful interviews, became the first batch of reading club heads. They are willing to share peaceful and beautiful spaces and spend more time wholeheartedly accompanying more people to study excellent Chinese classics together. What a fantastic initiative!
Li Shuzhen, the club head from Xingtai, Hebei, is a local successful businesswoman, a member of the Xingtai Xindu District Political Consultative Conference, the executive chairman of the Xindu District Entrepreneurs Association, and the initiator of the Xindu District Love and Happiness Alliance. Despite holding multiple social positions and a busy work schedule, she still wants to establish a classic public welfare reading club in her city to influence more people to learn excellent Chinese traditional culture. When talking about her motivation, she said: "I really hope to make the city better and warmer by leading more people to recite Chinese classics and learn sage culture."
Wu Yike, the club head from Suzhou, with her neat short hair, is a clean and refreshing girl. She has been holding reading events once a week for five consecutive months. She said: "Reading has given me great strength and played a key role in my growth. The mission of a drop of water is to integrate into the sea. I feel that my drop of water used to be like a guerrilla force, but now I have finally found the orthodox army, officially joined the ranks, and returned to the vast ocean. I am especially grateful to the Mind Virtue Reading Club for giving me this opportunity."
Wang Yaxin, the club head from Taiyuan, is the general manager of a real estate company. When mentioning her connection with the Mind Virtue Public Welfare Reading Club, she was incredibly moved: "I myself have benefited so much from learning the wisdom of the sages, and my whole life has changed. At that time, I had a thought: I saw that the sisters, friends, customers, colleagues, and even many seniors in my industry around me were entangled in various problems in their lives every day and had no wisdom to solve them. I wanted to help them get in touch with sage culture and change themselves little by little. So when I saw the public welfare activities of the Mind Virtue Reading Club, I was particularly moved because this is what I have always wanted to do. I have received help from many people in the past, and I also want the people around me to become better because of my existence. Now that I have won this opportunity, I especially cherish and am grateful for it. I will treat it as a sacred thing to do, and this is a little bit of my mission in this world."
Each club head shared their initial intentions for participating in this public welfare cause and also received endless positive energy from others.
In the subsequent training, Professor Kong Wei went straight to the core: "The way of the Great Learning lies in manifesting virtue, renewing the people, and resting in the highest good. Renewing the people is for making them new, and at the same time, oneself also gets rid of the old and welcomes the new. The Mind Virtue Public Welfare Classic Reading Club is not only a place for everyone to read the classics of sages but also a place for cultivating the mind, a place for giving, and a place for cultivating both blessings and wisdom. Everyone who aspires to make others better will eventually become a better version of themselves. Self-benefit and benefiting others are one."
Afterward, teacher Shui Weiwei meticulously explained every aspect of a public welfare reading event and made everyone aware of the significance behind doing so. Each club head not only clearly understood the standard procedures of the reading club's public welfare activities but also saw the effort behind it. It not only dispelled the worries of club heads who had never held reading events before but also injected everyone with full confidence. After listening to the two teachers' training, everyone was overjoyed and full of confidence. With such standardized activity procedures and detail control, even if they have no experience, as long as they have a pure intention, learn while doing, review while doing, and improve while doing, they will definitely make the reading activities better and better. In order to ensure that every friend who walks into the reading club can experience a more beautiful, pure, and positive cultural atmosphere, the platform will also provide regular online growth review support meetings.
In order to allow the club heads to more comprehensively obtain a real sense of experience, teacher Shui Weiwei led everyone through the entire process of setting up the venue, signing in, entering the venue, taking a seat, opening, reciting classics, transcribing classics, reading in turns, sharing discussions, and meditating. The connection with the environment, the connection with the classics, and the connection with one's own heart allowed everyone to experience the energy of the reading club's public welfare activities, and it felt like the wisdom of the sages quietly flowed into everyone's hearts through thousands of years. It was a moving experience for everyone involved!
Zhao Qing, the club head from Shijiazhuang, Hebei, said: "I feel that being a Mind Virtue Public Welfare Reading Club head is very sacred, respecting sages, solemnizing the heart, especially the process arrangement surprised me, and the actual operation was even more shocking to me."
The Mind Virtue Public Welfare Classic Reading Club is another public welfare brand under the Beijing Soft Power Innovation Education Research Institute. The first nationwide launch of 35 locations marks a solid step forward in promoting excellent Chinese traditional culture. It is believed that with the joint efforts of all club heads, the Mind Virtue Reading Club will become an influential public welfare cultural brand, injecting new vitality into the cities where the club heads are located. We also believe that with the sparks of these 35 Mind Virtue Classic Reading Clubs, a prairie fire of national learning of excellent Chinese traditional culture will surely ignite in the near future, allowing more people to meet a better version of themselves under the guidance of the wisdom of ancient sages.
