Day Three of Zanjan Book Fair: Where Historical Memory Meets Cultural Dynamism

Zanjan — On the third day of the 11th Zanjan Book Fair, a special program titled "Abhar Culture Day," a specialized session on the history of the printing industry, and strong public turnout highlighted the role of books in strengthening social capital.

Service of Iran's Arjan Ambassador Provinces (Arjan Ambassador): The 11th book fair of Zanjan province experienced a different atmosphere on its third day, Monday, October 20, 1405. While the corridors of the exhibition witnessed the presence of different classes of people, the events were divided into two main parts: "Abhar Culture Day Special Program" and "Zanjan Culture Narrative" specialized session, each of which, in turn, opened a new window on the history and cultural future of this land.

The pulse of the third day of the exhibition; From students, educators to eager buyers

From the early hours of the morning, the atmosphere of the exhibition was accompanied by the enthusiastic presence of people. The presence of 60 students and researchers of Farhangian University, who attended with the aim of learning about the latest publications and using scientific resources, gave a scientific atmosphere to the exhibition. In the public sector, the strong presence of families was evident; Children were carefully choosing their books with their parents, and students were seen in the stands looking for study aids.

The exhibition space witnessed the presence of young people who flipped through the books one by one to find their favorite topic; In the meantime, the visitors who had a list of books in their hands and were seriously looking for them, painted a picture of the dynamics and the real need for reading.

Introducing Abhar's cultural capacities in the book fair

Simultaneously with the exhibition, the special program "Abhar Culture Day" was held with the aim of introducing the cultural and artistic capacities of this city. This ritual was accompanied by a warm welcome from people of culture, art and media and a group of officials of Abhar city.

In the first part, the ritual music "Ashiqi" under the direction of Nader Nouri and the "Chakame" group of drummers under the direction of Naimeh Hajikhani performed pieces that were warmly received by the audience. Later, Mehdi Hajikhani, the responsible director of "Molana's House", gave the gathering a literary atmosphere by performing poetry.

Also, Hassan Asadi, a pioneer in the field of media, discussed the importance of cultural interactions and the effective role of the media in promoting cultural indicators and promoting the culture of study in Abhar city. At the end of this event, the people of Abhar culture, art and media visited different parts of Zanjan province book exhibition and new publications.

Mansour Alimardani, the representative of the people of Abhar, Khorramdara and Soltanieh in the Islamic Council, on the sidelines of visiting the exhibition, explained the necessity of continuing cultural activities, and considered holding such events not as a side activity, but a necessity to preserve social capital.

Emphasizing that the country is in a special situation of "neither war nor peace", Alimardani clarified: In the complex and difficult situation that the country is in, the flow of culture and reading should not be allowed to stop or stagnate. By the way, in times of crisis, the society needs more than ever awareness, peace of mind, creating hope and strengthening the foundations of social capital, and the book as a strategic tool plays a key role in overcoming crises.

He evaluated the public reception as positive and referring to the reports received from the exhibitors, he said: People's eagerness to buy books and publishers' satisfaction with the amount of sales show that despite all the existing pressures, people still keep books as a basic need in their household baskets.

Alimardani considered "Cities Day" as a golden opportunity and added: holding these events is a suitable platform to introduce the cultural capacities and historical richness of the cities and it is an opportunity to support native writers and publishers.

While expressing his satisfaction with the positive feedback of the special program "Ruz Abhar", he also had some recommendations: while holding it is important, it is necessary to take into account security, economic considerations and the needs of the society. Cultural programs should stay away from unnecessary formalities and additional costs, and focus on the main goals of promoting reading culture and effectively supporting publishing activists.

Specialized narration of the history of printing industry and cultural identity of Zanjan

The "Narrative of Zanjan Culture" meeting was held with the speeches of Mehdi Afzali, Hassan Hossein Ali, Abdul Aziz Qaemi and Taghi Salek and with the presence of Mohin Khatami (Cultural Deputy of the Provincial Guidance Department). This meeting, which was organized by the General Department of Culture and Islamic Guidance, Iranology Foundation and Zanjan History and Culture Lovers Association, analyzed new aspects of the history of publishing in Iran and the contribution of Zanjanis.

Mehdi Afzali, head of the Zanjan branch of the Iranology Foundation, spoke in detail about the development of printing in Iran and, referring to the 7th century and the role of the Minister of Culture, Sadruddin Khalidi Zanjani, said: He ordered printing equipment to be imported from China. What is stated in the historical documents was the production of paper money called "Chav", which led to the protest of Tabriz merchants and marketers; Because they believed that why should they give their gold and silver and get paper instead? This issue caused the death of Sadruddin Zanjani.

In a part of his speech, Afzali discussed the differences of opinion about the word "print" and said: Some believe that it is derived from the Chinese word "Chau", but Allameh Dehkhoda considers it to be derived from the Sanskrit word.

He further explained the history of the presence of the Carmelite sect in Isfahan during the Safavid era, bringing a printing press to propagate Christianity, and printing books such as "Honor" (a 72-page book that the Armenians of Isfahan printed with difficulty in 1.5 years).

He continued the narrative of printing in Iran until the Qajar period and emphasized: After the Golestan Treaty, Abbas Mirza ordered a machine from Russia to enter Tabriz. The first book printed in this printing house was "Rasalah Jihadiya" by Qaim Maqam Aol. Later, when this printing house was moved to Tehran, the Tabrizians ordered another machine.

The remarkable part of Afzali's narrative was the connection of this history with Zanjan: during the Nasrid era, when lithography flourished, Zanjan artists shone. Mirza Jafar Khan Zanjani was one of the students of the professors of Dar al-Funun, who changed his position from the word "student" to "trained" in his signatures. I have a list of 53 to 54 books by Zanjani authors that were published in Tehran and Tabriz during the Qajar period. One of these honorees is Sheikh Ahmad Najafi Zanjani, who wrote and published 110 books, one of which is 1,500 pages long, and his handwriting and inscriptions are still remarkable.

In the continuation of this meeting, Hassan Hossein Ali mentioned the issue of historical libraries: the Mirzai family had a huge treasure of books from the Safavid period, which unfortunately, in the attack of Afghans due to Mullah Mohammad Saffron's fatwa and the burning of the libraries, a large part of it was destroyed.

He also mentioned his research with Abdul Aziz Ghaemi about the history of bookstores in Zanjan and declared his readiness to present a summary of this scientific writing.

On this day, the 11th book exhibition of Zanjan, beyond a store event, became a field for rereading historical identity and strengthening the connection of society with the current of thought.

Golestan- The official of the production and publication committee of the 2nd National Congress of 4,000 Martyrs of Golestan province, pointing out that the events of this committee are defined in the form of 10 axes, said: In the written productions section, so far, 138 works have been defined in 6 sections, of which 76 works will be published after the congress.

Golestan- The unveiling ceremony of the book "Smile of the Rain" was unveiled while officials and people of culture believed that the future of Iran is in the hands of talented children and teenagers who have been working hard since childhood to play a role in their favorite fields.

Zanjan - The third day of the 11th Zanjan Book Fair emphasized the importance of books in strengthening social capital by holding a special program called "Abhar Culture Day", a specialized session on the history of the printing industry and welcoming various people.

The unveiling ceremony of the book "From Dirt to Dirt" containing the experience of the management of Behesht Hazrat Zahra organization during the Second Imposed War was held in Behesht Zahra.

The 55th "Documentary Nights" session of the Iran Cinema Museum was dedicated to the investigation of various aspects of the ancient religion of Mashhad Ardahal carpet washers and its historical, social and cultural transformations, with the screening of two documentaries, "Ardahal Bazaar" by Farhad Varahram and "Blood in the Carpet Flower" by Amir Qasem Razi.

The book "Scientific Mission in Iran - Geographical Studies" is the result of Jacques de Morgan's observations and field investigations and provides information about geography, travel routes and conditions, natural features and aspects of the social and cultural life of the Iranian people at the end of the Qajar period.

The book "Silent Steps", containing the memoirs of the martyr Major General Mohammad Bagheri, was published.

"The salvation of our civilization depends on the choice of degrowth. According to Saito, degrowth does not necessarily mean stagnation, decline and shrinking of the economy. In fact, the paradigm in which only economic growth is a priority, the growth that is accompanied by the unlimited production of luxury and useless goods, must be fundamentally changed. Marx thinks that the solution lies in repairing the metabolic gap between man and nature, that is, in "work".

Saeed Hamidian, professor of Persian language and literature at Allameh Tabatabai University (RA), said in the commemoration ceremony of Hafez Shirazi: Hafez research has been associated with valuable achievements in our time, but along with these studies, wrong perceptions and hasty interpretations have also spread about Hafez's poetry and thought, which should be addressed with a scientific and critical perspective.

The editor of the story collection "Dawaze Khan" said: What does the term "anti-war" mean? If "anti-war" means against war, yes! We are definitely against war and are not warmongers. But if "anti-war" means anti-defense, no! We were not the country and nation that attacked, but we were the country that made martyrs from its highest officials to its ordinary people.

Iran was one of the countries that has been a pioneer in using plants for treatment for a long time due to its climate diversity and the presence of more than eight thousand plant species.

Zanjan - The director general of Zanjan prisons announced the implementation of the "Book Vow" campaign at the 11th book fair of this province with the aim of improving the per capita reading of the inmates.

Aref Masoudi said: Basically, the key point of Bragg's methodology, which is very attractive to me, is his critical stance against stereotyped, convenient and simplistic narratives. In a way, he is de-ideologising the philosophical field. In his narrative, Bragg is exactly in the middle of these two legends (the legend of the absolute dark age against the legend of the absolute golden age).

West Azerbaijan- At the same time as the 20th of October, the commemoration day of Hafez Shirazi, the manuscript of "Divan Hafez" in the museums of West Azerbaijan was unveiled.

Kohgiluyeh and Boyer Ahmad - Hafez Day commemoration ceremony titled "Dar koi niknami" and with the aim of analyzing the thoughts of the hidden language and the place of Persian poetry in Iranian identity, was held in the presence of the people of pen and thought in Yasouj Art Cinema Hall.

Azadeh Latifkar considers Deets scrolls as one of the lesser-known but important sources for the study of Iranian painting in the Ilkhanid period, a collection that has double importance in the study of art history due to the complex historical path that it traveled from Iran to the Ottoman Empire and then to Berlin.

Behind every image of a child presented in the story, there is a view of the child's place in the family, school and society. Children's literature can show the child as a being who needs support or recognize him as a human being who needs support and has rights. This difference is very important from the point of view of children's rights.