Abai’s heritage – legacy of all humanity

The Chinese city of Shanghai hosted the first Abai readings. At the event, Chinese and Russian artists performed the literary and musical works of the great Kazakh poet. As part of the readings, the Consulate General of Kazakhstan donated publications with the works of Abai Kunanbaiuly in Chinese language to the book fund of the Shanghai library.

“The first Abai readings took place in Shanghai today. He is a famous philosopher, a true representative of the great steppe civilization, the founder of Kazakh written literature. The great Words of Edification of Abai were also read here. This is a very successful even,” said Azat Izollauly, historian.

“Abai is a famous composer and philosopher of Kazakhstan. His poems were translated into many languages. Our faculty has translations, too. We have students in the discipline “Kazakh language”. We hope that in the future, our students will also attend this event and read his poems,” said Wu Aizhong, dean of faculty, Shanghai International Studies University.

Meanwhile, a park was named after Abai Kunanbaiuly and a monument was erected in the Turkish city of Alanya. At the grand opening, well-known works of the Kazakh poet were performed, including “Kozimnin Karasy”, “Aittym Salem, Kalamkas”, “Segiz Ayak” and others.

“The park named after Abai is a gift from Alanya to the 30th anniversary of Kazakhstan’s Independence. We chose this place for a reason. Monuments to 37 Turkish poets were erected here. The Abai Park is a symbol of cooperation of the two countries,” said Adem Murat Yucel, Mayor of Alanya.