On the evening of September 10, 2024, the general education course A Glimpse of World Civilization commenced its first session, led by the Department of International Affairs. The course was inaugurated by Xiao Fenghua, the Minister of Department of International Affairs, alongside the course’s teaching team and 96 students, marking the beginning of an educational journey into the concept of civilization.
This course, jointly developed by Wuhan University, Wuhan University of Technology, and HXIT, is designed to guide students in exploring the concept of world civilization. The first lecture was delivered by Associate Professor Yu Jia, an internationally recognized scholar, who introduced the idea that "civilization is a game" from a novel perspective. She used the popular video game Black Myth: Wukong as a key example to analyze to civilization from multiple dimensions.
Professor Yu deconstructed civilization into five key aspects: games, symbols, discourse, wisdom, and power. Through the lens of Black Myth: Wukong, she demonstrated how civilization can be transmitted and expressed through artistic creation. For instance, the game’s design of temples and towers reflects China’s historical and cultural heritage, effectively serving as carriers of symbolic representations of civilization. A notable example is the character of Headless Lingji Bodhisattva, whose inspiration comes from the Headless Stone Statue found in the Tianlongshan Grottoes. This character embodies both the rise and fall of civilizations and the enduring role of culture and spirituality in shaping civilization.
The lecture emphasized that civilization is not merely the accumulation of historical events, but a vital force that drives social progress and influences the future. Professor Yu illustrated this point by disscussing the restoration of historical sites and the protection of cultural heritage in China, presenting these efforts as practical applications of this concept. Using Black Myth: Wukong as a case study, she enabled students to grasp the multifaceted nature of civilization as reflected in games, which involve competition and cooperation, the transmission of symbols, the exchange of ideas, innovation, and historical continuity. This sparked a deep interest in and relection on the diversity of world civilizations among the students.
As a general education course within the humanities and arts, A Glimpse of World Civilization spans 24 hours and is open to all students at the institute. Its aim is to broaden students' perspectives, deepen their understanding and appreciation of global civilizations, and emphasize the value and significance of civilization as a shared cultural heritage of humanity.
