On the morning of August 23, the graduation ceremony for the 2026 cohort of graduate students was held at the Nishan Joint Graduate School for Fine Traditional Chinese Culture in Nishan, Qufu, Shandong Province.

Lin Shangli, former President of Renmin University of China and Director of the Academic Committee of the Nishan Joint Graduate School for Fine Traditional Chinese Culture, extended congratulations to the master's and doctoral students who had successfully completed their studies and were about to embark on a new journey. He also expressed sincere gratitude to the faculty for their dedicated guidance, to the 16 partner institutions for devoted training, and to the Joint Graduate School for its comprehensive support. The Nishan Joint Graduate School for Fine Traditional Chinese Culture, a new-type graduate school approved by the Ministry of Education and supported as a national priority, carries a significant mission. As witnesses to and participants in the "creative transformation and innovative development" of fine traditional Chinese culture, the graduates bear the responsibilities of times. Director Lin encouraged the students to courageously shoulder the mission of cultural inheritance, ensuring that Chinese culture not only takes root in the land of China but also becomes a spiritual source that nourishes the world and points toward the future. He urged them to pursue deeper mastery and broader understanding and, with the dedication to lifelong study, break down disciplinary barriers—building on their specialized expertise to achieve mastery across literature, history, and philosophy, making the leap from "initial entry into scholarship" to "establishing solid academic standing." He called on them to grasp both the essence and its application, engaging with the new challenges of human civilization in the AI era and deeply exploring the contemporary value of fine traditional Chinese culture. He also exhorted them to remain diligent, cultivate virtue, and achieve distinction, sustaining their endeavors with the dedication of "willingly sitting on a cold bench" and the fulfillment of "cultural-ethical enrichment," so as to leave a brilliant mark in the history of Chinese civilization and truly become inheritors and creators of Chinese culture.

Gao Kai, a doctoral graduate from Shandong University, and Wan Kaicheng, a master's graduate from Renmin University of China, delivered speeches on behalf of the 2026 cohort of graduates.

At the graduation ceremony, attending leaders and experts presented graduation certificates to the representatives of the 2026 cohort of graduates specializing in fine traditional Chinese culture. In 2026, a total of 407 graduate students from the Nishan Joint Graduate School for Fine Traditional Chinese Culture successfully completed their studies, including 115 doctoral students and 292 master's students.