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There're are now over 500 Confuscius Institutes around the globe. The institute has been trying hard to paint a picture of Chinese culture beyond Nobel Laureate Mo Yan and director Zhang Yimou. This is also the goal of the annual "Symposium on Chinese Studies" which has gathered more than 30 leading international sinologists in Beijing.

'Symposium on Chinese Studies' gathers int'l sinologists

The 4th edition of the symposium kicked off under the theme of the "One Belt One Road" initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jingping to revitalize the culture, communication and economy along the ancient Silk Road.

From the height of the Tang Dynasty to modern day China, the world's perception of China has changed again and again.

And these 31 sinologists from 26 countries gather with the task of bridging not only China with the rest of the world again, but also the old China with the new China.

Liu Mengxi who specializes in traditional Chinese culture and history thinks the key may very well be locked inside ancient texts

"In my study of Liujing or the Six Classics, I found that Chinese culture and foreign cultures in fact have many common values. For example, the notion of credibility. No matter what your profession is, credibility is key. And this is something that holds true around the world," said Liu Mengxi.

This is at the heart of the symposium, to find common ground...whether it's in the field of philosophy, history, literature, art, sociology or economy.

In the past decade, China has ascended to become the second largest economy in the world. Set a course for the future means developing a sustainable economic growth as well as turning away from a growth model based on GDPs to one that is roote in culture."

In 1814, French sinologist Jean Pierre Remusat created the first curriculum on Chinese culture at the College de France. Since then, China has entered the western world mostly through media, especially movies, during the last century. That means much of the original is also lost in translation.

Zhu Qi at the China's Ministry of Culture hopes that these leading scholars will become the new ambassadors for China in the 21st Century.

In addition to the conference, the symposium will also organize visits to the Sichuan Museum, the Sanxingdui archeological site- which is the origin of the Yangtze Civilization, and the Wuhou Temple from the Three Kingdoms Period.