习近平在纪念孔子诞辰2565周年国际学术研讨会上的讲话-开心文化

Xi Jinping's speech at the 2565th anniversary International Symposium to commemorate the birth of Confucius

Xinhua, Beijing, September 24

Speech at the International Symposium to commemorate the 2565th anniversary of Confucius' birth

(24 September 2014)

Xi Jinping

Distinguished guests,

Experts and scholars,

Ladies and gentlemen, friends

"It's a pleasure to have friends coming from afar." Today, guests, experts and scholars from China and all over the world gathered in Beijing to hold an international symposium to commemorate the 2565th anniversary of Confucius' birth and the fifth general assembly of the International Federation of Confucianism. This conference is a grand gathering of international Confucianism and academic circles. First of all, I would like to express my warm congratulations on the opening of the meeting! My sincere welcome to my friends!

The theme of this conference is "Confucianism: world peace and development", which reflects the humanistic feelings of paying attention to the future of the world and the fate of mankind. It is a topic of great practical significance.

Peace and development are the themes of today's era, as well as two major issues related to the happiness and well-being of the people of all countries. People all over the world hope to live in a peaceful atmosphere and to keep war and violence away from mankind. The healthy and healthy environment of all countries is far away from the poverty of the people in the world. However, the real world is not as beautiful as people hope. Local wars still emerge one after another, poverty and hunger are still widespread, continuous wars and extreme poverty are still threatening the lives and survival of many people, especially many women and children are still struggling under the shadow of war and poverty. Thinking of these unfortunate people, we are filled with sympathy and responsibility. The international community should work together to safeguard world peace and promote common development. Only in this way can there be hope for peace and hope for development.

To maintain world peace and promote common development, we need to work together in many ways. One of the most important aspects is to establish the concept of peaceful development ideologically. In March this year, when I visited the headquarters of UNESCO, I was deeply impressed by a sentence engraved in various languages on the stone tablet in front of the building, which is: "war originates from human thought, so it is necessary to build a barrier to protect peace in human thought." It makes a lot of sense. In my opinion, it is very important to firmly establish peace loving thoughts in people's hearts.

The Chinese nation has always been a peace loving nation, which has a deep origin in Confucianism. Since ancient times, the Chinese people have highly praised the peace thoughts of "making peace with all nations", "being friendly and kind to neighbors, being the treasure of a country", "being brothers all over the world", "being close relatives is better than being near neighbors", "being close to one's relatives, being close to one's neighbors" and "though a country is large, it is bound to die if one is belligerent". The peace loving thought is deeply embedded in the spiritual world of the Chinese nation and is still the basic concept of China's handling international relations today.

From the outbreak of the Opium War in 1840 to the founding of the people's Republic of China in 1949, the Chinese nation suffered from the rare foreign invasion and internal turbulence, and the Chinese people suffered unprecedented suffering, once on the brink of national subjugation and extinction. In the Anti Japanese war alone, the Chinese nation paid a heavy price of 35 million casualties. After modern times, the Chinese people, who have experienced a long period of suffering, are most aware of the value of peace and the importance of development. The Chinese people are well aware that peace is as important to human beings as sunlight and air. Without sunshine and air, all things cannot survive and grow.

Do not do to others what you do not want. China needs peace and loves peace, and is willing to do its best to maintain world peace and sincerely help those who are still suffering from war and poverty. China will unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development. China also hopes that all countries in the world will follow the path of peaceful development, and we will work together to implement the concept of peaceful development into our own policies and actions.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends!

This year marks the 2565th anniversary of Confucius' birth. Confucianism founded by Confucius and developed on this basis have a profound impact on Chinese civilization and are an important part of Chinese traditional culture. Together with other thoughts and cultures produced in the process of the formation and development of the Chinese nation, Confucianism records the spiritual activities, rational thinking and cultural achievements of the Chinese nation in the struggle to build a homeland since ancient times. It reflects the spiritual pursuit of the Chinese nation and is an important nourishment for the continuous growth and development of the Chinese nation. Chinese civilization has not only had a profound impact on China's development, but also made great contributions to the progress of human civilization.

The formation and development of Chinese traditional culture, especially its core ideology and culture, has experienced several historical periods, such as the contention of a hundred schools of thought in pre Qin China, the prosperity of Confucian classics in the Han Dynasty, the popularity of metaphysics in Wei, Jin, southern and Northern Dynasties, the coexistence of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in Sui and Tang Dynasties, and the development of Neo Confucianism in song and Ming Dynasties. We can see these characteristics in the course of 2000 years of history. First, Confucianism and other theories existing in Chinese history are both opposite and unified, both competing and learning from each other. Although Confucianism has been dominant for a long time, it has always been in a situation of harmony but difference with other theories. Second, Confucianism and other theories existing in Chinese history are all in line with the times and the changes of things. They are constantly developing and updating in accordance with the requirements of China's social development and the advancement of the times, so they have long-term vitality. Third, Confucianism and other theories existing in Chinese history adhere to the principle of pragmatism, pay attention to the educational function of culture to transform people, combine the education of individuals and society with the governance of the state, so as to achieve the purpose of complementing and promoting each other.

From a historical point of view, the excellent elements of Chinese traditional ideology and culture, including Confucianism, have never stopped the formation and development of Chinese civilization for thousands of years, the formation and maintenance of the political situation of China's unity and unity, the formation and consolidation of China's multi-ethnic and integrated family, the formation and enrichment of the Chinese national spirit, and the encouragement of Chinese people to maintain national independence The establishment and resistance to foreign aggression have played a very important role in promoting China's social development and progress and promoting the balance of China's social interests and social relations.

In today's world, human civilization has made great progress in both material and spiritual aspects, especially the material abundance is totally unimaginable in the ancient world. At the same time, contemporary human beings are also faced with many prominent problems, such as the widening gap between the rich and the poor, the extravagant pursuit of material desires, the vicious expansion of individualism, the continuous decline of social integrity, the deterioration of ethics and morality, the increasingly tense relationship between man and nature, and so on. To solve these problems, we need not only to use the wisdom and strength of human discovery and development today, but also the wisdom and strength accumulated and stored in human history.

Some people of insight in the world believe that the excellent traditional Chinese culture, including Confucianism, contains important enlightenment to solve the problems faced by contemporary human beings. For example, the thought of following nature by Tao and the unity of heaven and man, the idea that the world is for the public and the world of Great Harmony, the idea of constantly striving for self-improvement and being virtuous, as well as the idea of taking the people as the foundation, making the people prosperous and enjoying the people are of great significance His thoughts are as follows: to govern with morality, to be honest with the times, to be practical and practical, to be practical, to be practical and to be practical, to be able to pool ideas, to make use of all benefits, and to make concerted efforts; to love people with benevolence and to build people by virtue; to treat people with sincerity, to seek truth from facts They are the thoughts of being faithful and good-natured, honest in politics, diligent in serving the public, thrifty and self-restraint, and strongly abstaining from extravagance, neutralization, peaceful, seeking common ground while reserving differences, harmonious coexistence, and the thought of never forgetting danger, survival or death, governance not forgetting chaos, and thinking of danger in times of peace and so on. The rich philosophical thought, humanistic spirit, educational thought and moral concept of Chinese excellent traditional culture can provide beneficial enlightenment for people to understand and transform the world, provide beneficial enlightenment for the governance of the country and the moral construction. We should inherit and carry forward the contents of traditional culture which are suitable for regulating social relations and encouraging people to be good and give them new meanings. It is hoped that scholars from China and other countries can exchange and learn from each other, study this topic well, and let Chinese excellent traditional culture and excellent culture of other countries benefit mankind together.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends!

Mankind has a history of thousands of years of civilization. Any country or nation has come to this day by carrying on the past and ushering in the future. The world has become what it is today in the exchange and integration of various human civilizations. Promoting the exchange and integration of human civilizations and learning from each other is the only way to make the world more beautiful and the people of all countries live a better life.

It is an important task for us to correctly deal with the civilization of different countries and nations, the traditional culture and the realistic culture. I think we should pay attention to the following principles.

First, maintain the diversity of world civilizations. "If things are not in order, they are the feelings of things." Harmony but difference is the law of all things. Everything in the world is always different and colorful. If everything is clear, the development of things and the progress of the world will stop. Each country and nation's civilization is rooted in its own soil, and has its own natural qualities, strengths and advantages. We should maintain the diversity of civilizations of all countries and nations, strengthen mutual exchanges, learn from each other and learn from each other, instead of isolating, repelling and replacing each other, so that the garden of world civilization can be colorful and full of vitality.

Rich and colorful human civilization has its own value of existence. We should rationally deal with the differences between our own civilization and other civilizations, realize that the civilization of each country and nation is unique, and adhere to the principle of seeking common ground while reserving differences, learning from each other's strong points, and not attacking or belittling other civilizations. Don't feel uncomfortable when you see that other people's civilization is different from your own. You should do everything possible to transform, assimilate, or even try to replace it with your own. History has repeatedly proved that any attempt to solve the differences between civilizations by means of coercion will not succeed, but will bring disaster to the world civilization.

Second, respect the civilization of all nations. Civilization, especially ideology and culture, is the soul of a country and a nation. No matter which country or nation, if we do not cherish our own ideology and culture and lose the soul of ideology and culture, this country and nation will not be able to stand up. The nation should cherish and maintain its own ideology and culture, and recognize and respect the ideology and culture of other nations. The ideology and culture of different countries and nations have their own advantages and differences, but there is no difference between high and low. Every country and every nation, regardless of its strength or size, should be recognized and respected.

To emphasize the recognition and respect for the achievements of the civilization of our country and nation is not to engage in self isolation, let alone to pursue "one family, no other branch". All nations of the world should learn and actively identify the strengths and essences of the national ideology and culture, which is an important condition to enhance the self-esteem, self-confidence and self-reliance of our nation's ideology and culture.

Third, we should learn from civilization correctly. Civilization is colorful because of communication, and civilization is enriched by mutual learning. Any civilization, no matter which country or nation it was born in, is mobile and open. This is an important law governing the spread and development of civilization. In the long-term evolution process, Chinese civilization has gained rich nutrition from the exchange with other civilizations, and has also made important contributions to the progress of human civilization. The opening up of the Silk Road, the sending of a large number of envoys from the Sui and Tang Dynasties to China, the pilgrimage of FA Xian and Xuanzang to the West for Buddhist scriptures, and Zheng He's seven expeditions to the ocean are all vivid examples of the exchange and mutual learning between Chinese and foreign civilizations. Confucianism is originally a Chinese learning, but it has already gone to the world and become a part of human civilization.

"If you study alone and have no friends, you will be ignorant." We should learn from all kinds of civilizations created by human society, whether they are ancient Chinese civilization, Greek civilization, Roman civilization, Egyptian civilization, Lianghe civilization, Indian civilization, etc., or the present Asian civilization, African civilization, European civilization, American civilization, Oceanian civilization and so on, we should actively absorb the beneficial elements of them, so as to make human beings create The excellent cultural genes in all the civilizations created are compatible with the contemporary culture and in harmony with the modern society, and carry forward the excellent cultural spirit that transcends time and space, transcends the country, is full of eternal charm and has contemporary value. In order to learn from each other, we should adhere to the reality of our own nation, learn from each other's strong points to make up for the weak points, choose the best from the best, and strive to be inclusive. However, it is not a matter of blindly swallowing and not being able to reach a consensus, but to get rid of the rough and extract the essence, remove the false and retain the true.

Fourth, scientific treatment of cultural traditions. Only by not forgetting the history can we open up the future, and if we are good at inheritance, we can be good at innovation. Excellent traditional culture is the foundation for a country or a nation to inherit and develop. If it is lost, it will cut off the spiritual lifeline. We should be good at combining the promotion of excellent traditional culture and the development of realistic culture organically and closely, develop in inheritance and inherit in development.

In the process of its formation and development, traditional culture will inevitably be restricted and influenced by people's cognitive level, era conditions and the limitations of social system. Therefore, it is inevitable that there will be something out of date or become dross. This requires people to insist on making the past serve the present, weeding out the old and bringing forth the new in the study, research and application of traditional culture, and make a correct choice in combination with the new practice and the requirements of the times, instead of taking all of them today to follow suit. We should insist on making the past serve the present, learn from the past, treat it with discrimination and inherit the sublation. We should not make efforts to make the past and the present inferior, and strive to realize the creative transformation and innovative development of traditional culture, so that it can be integrated with the real culture and serve the cultural people's task of the times.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends!

Literature carries Tao, and culture transforms human beings. Today's Chinese culture is not only the inheritance of contemporary Chinese culture, but also the development of Chinese culture.

The study of Confucius and Confucianism is an important way to understand the national characteristics of the Chinese people and the history of the spiritual world of today's Chinese people. During the spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, Confucianism and Legalists, Taoists, Mohists, farmers, strategists and other schools of thought exchanged views and stirred with each other, forming a cultural view of contention among a hundred schools of thought, which enriched the spiritual world of the Chinese at that time. Although Confucianism has been dominant in the field of Chinese ideology and culture for a long time, the development of Chinese ideology and culture is still multi-directional. These thoughts and cultures embody the world outlook, outlook on life, values and aesthetic outlook formed and inherited by the Chinese nation from generation to generation in their production and life, among which the core content has become the most basic cultural gene of the Chinese nation. These basic cultural genes are the unique marks that the Chinese nation and the Chinese people have gradually formed in the process of self-discipline, respecting the time, keeping the position, realizing the change of knowledge, making things work, and making contributions.

The ideal and struggle of the Chinese people, the values and spiritual world of the Chinese people have always been deeply rooted in the fertile soil of China's excellent traditional culture. At the same time, with the progress of history and the times, they are constantly updated and keeping pace with the times.

The Chinese Communists are Marxists, adhere to Marxist scientific theory, adhere to and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics, but Chinese Communists are not historical nihilists, nor cultural nihilists. We have always believed that the basic principles of Marxism must be closely integrated with China's specific reality, we should treat the national traditional culture scientifically, treat the cultures of all countries in the world scientifically, and arm ourselves with all the excellent ideological and cultural achievements created by human beings. In the long-term historical practice of leading the Chinese people to carry out revolution, construction and reform, the Chinese Communists have always been the faithful successors and promoters of Chinese excellent traditional culture. From Confucius to Sun Yat Sen, we all pay attention to absorb the positive nutrients. The Chinese people are working hard to achieve the "two centenary" goals. The concept of "well-off" in building a well-off society in an all-round way comes from the book of rites, which is the ideal social state pursued by the Chinese nation since ancient times. Using the concept of "well-off" to establish China's development goals is not only in line with China's actual development, but also easy to be understood and supported by the overwhelming majority of the people.

In short, only by persisting in moving forward from history to the future and developing from the continuation of national culture, can we do a good job in today's cause.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends!

Consider the past you shall know the future. Knowledge includes the knowledge inherited by predecessors and created by modern people. The knowledge inherited by predecessors has accumulated important cognition and experience in dealing with the relationship among human, society and nature in history. The knowledge created by modern people has formed people's wisdom and exploration to deal with the problems of the times. These two aspects of knowledge are very important for human beings to carry forward the past and open up the future.

In the 21st century, all the rational knowledge and practical knowledge accumulated by human beings for thousands of years are still the important foundation of human creative progress. Only by constantly exploring and utilizing all the excellent ideological culture and rich knowledge created by human beings, can we have a better understanding of the world, society and ourselves, and better create the future of human society.

I wish the conference a success!

Thank you very much

Original address: http://news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2014-09/24/c_ 1112612018.htm