The world to benefit from Chinese culture

It is said that China will be the leader of the world in the 21st century. Apart from economic strength, China will also contribute four other key values to the world, namely; family, harmony, assimilation with innovation as well as efficiency.

Westerners must find out the importance of family in Chinese culture if they really want to understand Chinese culture. The Chinese have regard for the old and love for the young; three generations live in one big family; Chinese also lay great importance to child's education, and have clear definitions of what role husband and wife should play in family; they treat their country as family. It can be easily found that family relations in China are deep-rooted, and responsibility for family is firmly handed down for generations.

Westerners often find out that Chinese frequently mention the idea of harmony: calligraphers emphasize harmony; the practice of Tai Chi calls for harmony; leaders put forward the idea of harmony … The Chinese language embodies the meaning of harmony, stressing the harmony between people. The traditional Chinese outlook of the world calls on people to avoid extremes, which explains the Chinese philosophy of being mediocre.

China's development also brings the world the concept of harmony in the 21st century. The body and mind need harmony, so do all creatures in nature; a country needs internal harmony, so do international relations. Harmony brings fundamental principles to the world: peaceful co-existence, seeking harmony while reserving differences.

Confucius said, "If you don't like something, don't force it on others." Mencius also stressed that man needed to continuously examine himself, live in his own way, love himself and others, following which men would find happiness. Another great Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said in Tao Te Ching that heaven and earth were complementary, and the dissemination of sound also needs harmony.

Traditional Chinese culture also emphasizes the importance of learning from others, such as advanced science and technology, European drama and so on. Since reform and opening up, China has pushed forward peaceful development through absorbing advanced foreign sci-tech and culture.

A professor with University of Chicago in the U.S. said he would find new changes every time he visited China. Many construction and expressway projects could be completed ahead of time, such as Olympic venues, and he also recalled the grand opening ceremony of Beijing Olympic Games. The Chinese government promised a yearly GDP increase of eight percent at the beginning of 2009, and now, the target will be safely fulfilled.

By People's Daily Online