[Gather great power to promote Chinese path to modernization, and build a new picture and a new journey during the "15th Five Year Plan" period]

Guangming Daily reporters Wang Haokui, Wu Chunyan, Chen Huijuan

Recently, the movie "A Love Letter to Grandma" has been released worldwide, continuing to spark people's interest and attention towards "overseas criticism".

The Overseas Chinese Archive, which has been included in the "Chinese Archive Heritage List" and the "Memory of the World List", has entered the public eye through literary and artistic works, moved millions of viewers around the world, and brought inspiration to the protection of archive resources, the revitalization of documentary heritage, and the dissemination of memory of the world.

On July 3rd, a symposium on "Revitalization and Inheritance of Archival Literature Heritage from the Perspective of Overseas Chinese Approval" was jointly organized by the National Archives Bureau, the Guangdong Provincial Party Committee Office (Provincial Archives Bureau), and the Provincial Archives, and hosted by the Shantou Municipal Party Committee Office (Municipal Archives Bureau) and the Municipal Archives. The attendees conducted in-depth exchanges on the rescue and collection, protection and organization, research and development, publicity and promotion of overseas Chinese archives.

Inherit and protect the culture of overseas Chinese criticism, and tell the stories of overseas Chinese criticism well

The audience visited the Overseas Chinese Cultural Relics Museum in Shantou City. Photo by Guangming Daily reporter Wang Haokui/Guangming Pictures

Qiaobi is a special family letter sent by overseas Chinese to their ancestral country, which serves both as a remittance and communication function.

Shantou is a famous hometown for overseas Chinese. The Shantou Municipal Party Committee attaches great importance to and promotes the research, collection, protection, and utilization of overseas Chinese, and has included it in the agenda of the Municipal Party Committee and the '14th Five Year Plan' and '15th Five Year Plan' of Shantou City.

It is reported that Shantou has established an Overseas Chinese Approval Archives Department in the Municipal Archives, equipped with a full range of institutional staffing, and deployed the entire chain from strengthening planning and design, enhancing protection and management, and increasing development and utilization. Innovatively carrying out diverse forms of inheritance, protection, exchange, and mutual learning activities provides a solid guarantee for promoting the flowering and fruiting of this world memory heritage in Shantou.

Overseas Chinese criticism is not only a witness to history, but also a rich mine for literary and artistic creation. The concern behind 'A Love Letter to Grandma' is the overseas Chinese culture in Chaoshan. Overseas Chinese culture can be adapted into many stories, far more than just a movie, "said Lan Hongchun, director of the film" A Love Letter to Grandma, "when sharing his creative ideas in the form of a video speech.

A good literary work can move overseas Chinese criticism from the warehouse to the screen, from history to reality, and allow more people to feel the emotional power behind overseas Chinese criticism. The academic research on overseas Chinese archives is an important foundation for exploring their contemporary value and promoting revitalization and inheritance.

Zhang Xiaoxin, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee and Researcher at Jinan University, stated that from an economic perspective, overseas Chinese remittances have played an important role in the economic development of modern overseas Chinese hometowns. From a historical perspective, the Overseas Chinese Criticism truly records the production and life, family relationships, social interactions, and development and changes of overseas Chinese in their host countries and ancestral countries. It is an important first-hand historical material for studying the history of overseas Chinese, social history, economic history, and Sino foreign exchange history. From a cultural perspective, overseas Chinese criticism carries the strong patriotism, cultural identity, and integrity spirit of overseas Chinese, and is an important carrier of excellent traditional Chinese culture.

With strong support from the archives department, the academic team of Wuyi University has systematically excavated the local cultural resource base of overseas Chinese criticism. Through scientific research projects, publishing research papers, cultural exhibitions, digital dissemination, and cross-border co creation, they have extracted the spirit and value of overseas Chinese criticism culture, and promoted the transformation and dissemination of diverse formats of overseas Chinese criticism culture. "Liu Jin, Dean and Professor of the Institute of Overseas Chinese Culture and Regional Studies at Wuyi University, introduced.

At the symposium, the Guangdong Provincial Archives and the Fujian Provincial Archives introduced the relevant situation of the two provinces in the collection, protection, research and development of overseas Chinese applications from the perspectives of introducing systems, empowering research and development, and external exchanges.

We will systematically promote the work ideas of protection as the foundation, research as the core, transformation as the key, and dissemination as the soul. For example, in terms of centralized storage, we will promote the transfer of about 180000 scattered overseas Chinese parcels from Shantou, Jiangmen, and Meizhou to the comprehensive archives for centralized storage. Guangdong Province has collected about 80000 parcels, with a total of 342000 parcels. We will build an overseas Chinese parcel archive management system and complete the collection of 110000 pieces of data, "said Li Junxiao, director of the Guangdong Provincial Archives.

Zhou Qin, Deputy Director of the Fujian Provincial Archives, stated that the museum continues to deepen its research and academic interpretation of overseas Chinese historical materials, and has established a compilation and research system that integrates document compilation, research topics, academic discussions, and film and television creation; Expand communication channels both domestically and internationally, innovate immersive cultural and tourism IPs, create youthful experience scenarios, collaborate with academic centers of the Memory of the World project, and promote cross-border integration and dissemination.

The social influence of archival and documentary heritage still needs to be improved

Attendees expressed that in recent years, departments and units related to overseas Chinese, archives, cultural relics, and culture have attached great importance to the protection, management, and utilization of overseas Chinese cultural relics, and have achieved significant results in legislative protection, rescue and organization, research and publicity, and other aspects.

The group of overseas Chinese petition agents (including personnel from overseas Chinese petition bureaus, banking and information bureaus, etc.) write and read letters on behalf of overseas Chinese, fill in overseas Chinese petition documents in a standardized manner, and register remittance information. At the same time, they convey messages, record instructions, and verify payments. They are important witnesses, promoters, and participants in the inheritance and development of overseas Chinese petition culture.

The overseas Chinese archives exhibited at the symposium. Photo by Guangming Daily reporter Wang Haokui/Guangming Pictures

Comrades from the relevant business departments of the China Overseas Chinese Federation who attended the meeting introduced that recently, the Federation's system has conducted a preliminary census and filing of the group of overseas Chinese who are authorized to write on behalf of overseas Chinese, recording their age, address, years of employment, occupational status, life and inheritance situation, covering six provinces (autonomous regions) including Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi and Yunnan.

From this investigation, it can be seen that the ghostwriters are generally older, and many elderly people have difficulties moving, are weak and bedridden, and have declining memory. Some ghostwriters have worked for as long as 50-60 years and have exclusive oral historical materials in multiple languages such as overseas Chinese letter writing, folk documents, and the operation of overseas Chinese approval bureaus. Once they pass away, it will cause irreversible cultural losses, "said a colleague from the relevant business department of the China Overseas Chinese Federation.

In addition, attendees introduced that the protection and utilization of overseas Chinese archives have achieved positive results, but there are still some urgent issues that need to be addressed compared to the expectations of various sectors of society and the requirements for the protection of World Memory Heritage.

Zhang Meisheng, a folk archive appraisal expert at Guangdong Provincial Archives who started collecting and organizing overseas Chinese manuscripts 37 years ago and has compiled and published three related books, said that currently there are overseas Chinese manuscripts left behind by their families and scattered among the people that have not been effectively preserved and protected, and there is a risk of improper preservation and loss.

Attendees expressed that there are still a large number of scattered overseas Chinese parcels stored in overseas archives, libraries, and museums, and the mechanisms for investigation, collection, digital return, and international cooperation need to be further improved.

Many overseas Chinese archives are old and suffer from problems such as paper aging, oxidation damage, etc. In terms of long-term preservation, resource sharing, and digital utilization, the traditional storage model has shortcomings and is unable to meet practical needs. "Zhang Xiaoxin said that research on overseas Chinese family letter sorting, calligraphy text, stamp and postmark, text interpretation, etc. continues to deepen, but there is still a lack of systematic research on the operation mechanism, management system, and related government archives of the overseas Chinese archives industry.

Attendees pointed out that there is still room for improvement in the social dissemination of archival and documentary heritage, represented by overseas Chinese donations. The public, especially young people, has limited awareness of overseas Chinese donations, and the social influence of this World Memory Heritage site needs to be further enhanced.

Carry out rescue, protection, research and utilization with greater efforts

The outline of the 15th Five Year Plan clearly proposes to strengthen the protection of archival and documentary heritage, as well as the salvage protection of ancient books. Attendees expressed that in order to thoroughly implement this deployment, it is necessary to carry out greater efforts in the rescue, protection, research and utilization of archival and documentary heritage based on the successful experience of revitalizing and inheriting overseas Chinese archives.

Some of the overseas Chinese archives and publications exhibited at the symposium. Photo by Guangming Daily reporter Wang Haokui/Guangming Pictures

Li Junxiao said that we need to race against time and increase the collection of overseas reviews that reflect changes in the times and the rise and fall of families; Promote the full text digital scanning, standardized input, and systematic archiving of overseas Chinese archives; By organizing exhibitions, press conferences, and other forms, tell the stories of overseas Chinese criticism well; Innovatively creating a distinctive and high-quality route of "traveling with overseas Chinese", transforming archival and historical resources into cultural and tourism products that can be viewed, experienced, studied, and disseminated.

We will further strengthen our deep cooperation with universities, united front work, overseas Chinese federations, writers' associations and other institutions to create more 'archives+' cultural masterpieces, "said Li Junxiao.

Lin Zhenyi, Deputy Director of the National Archives Administration, stated that the revitalization and utilization of archival literature heritage requires not only a deep exploration of the historical and academic value of archives, but also the exploration of their underlying patriotism, family culture, etc. Static historical materials should be transformed into perceptible and warm spiritual carriers, so that the educational function of archives can be effectively implemented. The archives department should create better conditions for the revitalization and utilization of archival literature heritage, promote the digitization of archival literature, establish specialized databases, promote co construction and sharing, and actively build cooperation bridges with literary and artistic creators, providing historical support for creation with rich collection resources.

Establish a collaborative mechanism among archives departments, libraries, universities, museums, and private collectors, continuously explore distinctive folk literature from various regions, cultivate archival heritage reserve projects, carry out cross-cultural exchanges with real and delicate folk memories, and enhance the international dissemination of archival heritage. Strengthen cooperation with relevant departments, and enhance the integration and cooperation of the revitalization and utilization of the three heritage projects of World Heritage, Intangible Cultural Heritage, and Archival Heritage. "said Lin Zhenyi.

Action is a powerful proof. At the symposium, the archives of Guangdong and Fujian provinces signed a framework agreement for cooperation in the work of overseas Chinese archives. The Guangdong provincial archives department launched the collection of overseas Chinese archives at home and abroad, as well as the construction of the overseas Chinese archives database. From the dimensions of resource sharing, historical data collection, and compilation and research development, a collaborative mechanism for overseas Chinese archives protection between Guangdong and Fujian provinces and domestic and international linkage was established.

The attendees expressed the need to continue deepening exchanges and cooperation, learning from each other's advanced experiences, and consolidating joint efforts to promote the revitalization and vitality of archival and documentary heritage in the new era, and to shine brighter in the exchange and mutual learning of civilizations.

Guangming Daily (July 10, 2026, Issue 05)