International Congress on China and the Muslim Wor

The congress on "China and the Muslim World: Cultural Encounters" was organized jointly by the Chinese AcademyofSocialSciences (CASS, Beijing)andIRCICA. It was thefirst congresson thesubject,aimingtolaunch an exploration of thelongandrich history of cultural contacts and exchanges between two great civilizations, the Chinese and the Islamic. It was understood that in addition to its scholarly importance, exploration of the theme would helptofurther strengthen the existingrelationsbetween China andthe Muslim worldin trade, investment, tourism and cultural sectors. The opening session was addressed by the Chinese Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs Mr. Zhai Jun. It had high-quality scholarly sessions. Valuable research papers dealt with diverse and often multidisciplinary topics. Thus an important set of studies carrying new information and new analyses were contributed to the existing scholarly literature. The congress also generated research findings concerning the ways and channels of exchanges and their trends in different contexts. These include interactions in philosophy and science through translations of works, reciprocally; mutual influences in arts and architecture; travels and missions for diplomatic, trade,educationalandother motives,among manyothers. In addition tothetreatmentof historical topics,another important contribution of the congress was a discussion on present cultural relations and future perspectives. The inaugural and the closing sessions recorded observations and recommendations of academic and practical relevance. It was recommended among others that the congress be given a periodical character. The book begins with the texts of the opening speeches. Then 25 articles, either in English or in Chinese with English abstracts, are grouped under