2008 - Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden

Helmut Schmidt, former Federal Chancellor of Germany
10 Center. For all those who were unable to be there, the
PHOENIX television channel and MDR radio broadcast the
entire event. Many other media reported on it. The discussion
was moderated by Frank Sieren, long-serving China
correspondent for major German newspapers and journals
and an author of bestselling books on the aspiring world
power. The Times of London described him as “one of the
leading China specialists”.
One of these successful publications was written in
association with Helmut Schmidt: “Nachbar China” (Our
Neighbour China) appeared in 2007 and provided the title
for the launch event.
Helmut Schmidt and Kurt Biedenkopf outlined the historical
and political framework, within which the Staatliche
Kunstsammlungen Dresden, with their academic relationships
and exhibition partnerships with China, are one of
the most important cultural institutions in Germany. Helmut
Schmidt has been following China’s rise to the status
of a world power for over 30 years and has had close exchanges
of opinions with the leadership in Beijing – from
Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping to the current State
President Hu Jintao. He has a deep personal friendship with
the former Prime Minister, Zhu Rongji, among others. Kurt
Biedenkopf also has various contacts with China, for example
as former President and now Honorary President of the
private Dresden International University, which collaborates
with a number of different Chinese universities and provides
special programmes for students from China.
The “China Year” of the Dresden art collections could not
have had a more expert launch. Whereas Helmut Schmidt
pointed out that hitherto insufficient respect has been
Prof. Dr. Kurt Biedenkopf, former Prime Minister of the
Free State of Saxony
shown to Chinese culture – mostly through ignorance, but
also through arrogance – the launch event for the “China
in Dresden in China” year made an important contribution,
thanks to the outstanding expertise of the three participants
concerning the history and culture of China, to improving
our understanding of contemporary Chinese society
and politics.
For years now, the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden
have been conducting intensive dialogue with renowned
cultural institutions in China and with members of the
Chinese political leadership with this very purpose in mind.
Only through this it was possible to organise a series of
exhibitions and events, whose motto clearly reflects the
essential priority: that of fostering dialogue between the
arts and cultures of the Far East and the West in order to
enhance knowledge about China in Germany and about
Germany in China.
The fact that Helmut Schmidt, Kurt Biedenkopf and Frank
Sieren accepted the invitation from Director-General Martin
Roth was an honour for the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen
Dresden and an expression of their support for the efforts
undertaken during this special year dedicated to the theme
of Chinese-German cultural exchange.
seven exhibitions and a wide-ranging programme
of events
What city other than Dresden could be predestined to hold
a “China Year” in the sphere of art and exhibitions? Schloss
Pillnitz with its water-spouting dragons and its pagoda-like
roofs, the Porzellansammlung in the Zwinger with the
world’s most significant collection of 17th and early 18th-