In September 25th, 2021, the 17th annual symposium and academic seminar of the National Association for the Study of Literature in Japanese, China Association of Foreign Literature was held in the School of Foreign Languages and Literature, which was co-hosted by the Institute of Foreign Literature in Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the National Association for the Study of Literature in Japanese, China Association of Foreign Literature and undertaken by the School of Foreign Languages and Literature in Wuhan University. In accordance with the requirements of national epidemic prevention and control, this annual symposium and academic seminar was held in the form of video conference, in which nearly 300 experts and scholars from over 100 universities and research institutes participated. Tao Jun, Deputy Dean of the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences and Director of Academic Service Office in Wuhan University, Huang Hongfa, Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Foreign Languages and Literature in Wuhan University, Professor Ma Xiao, Dean of the School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Professor Li Shengjie, Associate Dean of the School of Foreign Languages and Literature, Associate Professor Zeng Dan, Dean of the Department of Japanese, and representatives of professors and students of the College of Chinese Languages and Literature were present at the offline meeting in No. 3008 conference room of the School of Foreign Languages and Literature. Professor Li Shengjie from Wuhan University and Professor Zhou Yue from Beijing Language and Culture University chaired the opening and closing ceremonies of the symposium respectively.

After extending a sincere welcome to the experts and scholars present, Tao Jun, Deputy Dean of the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences and Director of Academic Service Office in Wuhan University, briefly introduced the whole conditions of research of humanities and social sciences in Wuhan University and the history and status quo of the School of Foreign Languages and Literature, outlined the history of Sino Japanese cultural and literary relations. He highly affirmed the significance of this conference for the research into Japanese literature and even Japanese studies in China.

After a brief review of the development of the National Association for the Study of Japanese Literature since the turn of the century, Professor Tan Jinghua, former executive vice president of Shanghai International Studies University and former president of the National Association for the Study of Literature in Japanese, held that at the early stage, the focus of China's Japanese literature research was the translation and ontology of Japanese literature, while at the later stage, it paid more attention to the dialogue between the Chinese and Japanese academic communities. Professor Tan Jinghua, former executive vice president of Shanghai International Studies University and former president of the National Association for the Study of Literature in Japanese, regarding the turn of the century as the boundary in his speech, briefly reviewed the development process of the National Association for the Study of Literature in Japanese, believed that China’s research of Japanese literature focused on being based on local land and paid attention to the mediatranslatology and ontology research of Japanese literature and that on this basis, the later research focused more on the dialogue between the Chinese and Japanese academic communities. In retrospect, Professor Tan reported the main work carried out in his past 15 years as president, and expressed his best wishes and high hopes for the new Council.

Iwamaru Yoichi, assistant to the chairman of Casio (China) Trading Co., Ltd., the co-organizer of the seminar, and Wang Jun, deputy editor of the Multilingual Division of Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press, also made wonderful speeches at the opening ceremony.

Two sessions of keynote speech delivery were arranged for the conference. Speakers at the first session, which was moderated by Professor Li E’xian from Central China Normal University, Professor Wang Yihong from Nanjing University Professor, Professor Ding Li from Peking University, and Professor Xiao Xia of Shandong University; speakers at the second session, which was moderated by Professor Wang Shengyuan from Fudan University, Professor Li Yannan from South China Normal University, were Professor Liu Yuzhen from Nankai University, Professor Guan Lidan from Beijing Language and Culture University, Professor Yang Wei from Sichuan International Studies University, and Professor Huo Shifu from Xi’an Jiaotong University.

At the closing of the conference, Qiu Yafen, the newly-elected president and a researcher from the Institute of Foreign Literature in Chinese Academy of Social Sciences delivered a closing speech on behalf of the new leading group of the association. Professor Xiaowei Tong of Shenzhen University made a speech on behalf of the organizer of the next annual symposium, and Professor Wang Cheng from Tsinghua University, the new vice president of the association made a concluding remark.

（Professor Tan Jinghua, former president of the association and researcher Qiu Yafen, present president of the association gave a speech respectively.）

It is reported that the National Association for the Study of Literature in Japanese, China Association of Foreign Literature was established in 1979. It is a first-level academic society recognized by the Ministry of Civil Affairs of the People’s Republic of China and the highest-level academic organization for Japanese literature studies in China. The academic association holds an annual symposium and academic seminar every two years. Affected by COVID-19 pandemic, there is an interval of three years for the first time. This annual symposium and academic seminar evolved into a platform for domestic Japanese scholars to communicate with each other and improve together. It gained positive responses from the domestic Japanese scholarship community and received nearly 200 academic papers. This symposium with strong academic atmosphere represented the positive outlook of the domestic Japanese academic community, further enhancing the teaching and scientific research exchanges between our university and domestic peer universities.

(Correspondent: Mo Weishu, Photographer: Di Feng, Translated by Chen Xueqi, Edited by Guo Saijun)