One World, One Family: Building A Bridge of Friendship and Cooperation

以“天下一家”精神，架起友谊合作之桥

– Remarks by H.E. Ambassador Liu Xiaoming at the Opening Ceremony of the 17th “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students UK Regional Final

——刘晓明大使在第十七届“汉语桥”世界大学生中文比赛

英国大区赛决赛开幕式上的讲话

QEII Centre, London, 24 March 2018

2018年3月24日，伦敦伊丽莎白女王二世会议中心

Chairman David Stringer-Lamarre,

Teachers and Students,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Friends:

尊敬的伦敦董事协会主席斯金格·拉马尔先生，

老师们，同学们，

女士们，先生们，朋友们：

Good evening!

大家晚上好！

It is a real pleasure to join you at the UK Regional Final of the 17th “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students.

很高兴出席第十七届“汉语桥”世界大学生中文比赛英国大区赛决赛。

For me, the “Chinese Bridge” has a very special place in my heart. The very first public event that I attended as Chinese Ambassador to the UK eight years ago was the “Chinese Bridge” competition. Tonight, I am attending this grand annual event for the fifth time.

我本人与“汉语桥”已结下不解之缘。8年前，“汉语桥”比赛是我担任中国驻英国大使后出席的第一场公共活动，今年也是我第五次参加这一年度盛会。

I am pleased to see that there has been a growing enthusiasm forlearning the Chinese language here in Britain over recent years. An increasing number of schools are offering Chinese language courses. More and more British people have gained a deeper understanding of China through learning the Chinese language. And more and more young people have fallen in love with the language and culture of China.

我高兴地看到，近年来，英国“汉语热”方兴未艾，越来越多的学校开始教授汉语，越来越多的英国民众通过学习汉语增进了对中国的了解，越来越多的年轻人喜欢上中国的语言和文化。

The “Chinese Bridge” competition has become a grand gathering for the growing number of lovers of Chinese language in Britain and in the world. On this platform, a large number of talented contestants, who are well-learned in both the Chinese and Western cultures, have emerged. One of them is David Geary. David and his team represented the UK in the finals of the 2017 “Chinese Bridge” and won the first prize. Over the years, the “Chinese Bridge” competition has become more exciting. The British contestants have shown an increasingly high proficiency.

如今，“汉语桥”比赛已成为全英乃至全世界汉语爱好者的盛事，在历次比赛中涌现出一批多才多艺、学贯中西的人才。2017年，吉伟仁等同学代表英国征战“汉语桥”全球总决赛，并获得了一等奖的辉煌战绩。可以说，“汉语桥”比赛越办越精彩，英国选手竞赛水平越来越高。

The theme of this year’s competition is “One World, One Family”. Family has a special meaning for everyone. The Chinese people have always had the belief that the whole world is one family. In my opinion, the theme “One World, One Family” is highly relevant to the “Chinese Bridge” competition.

今年“汉语桥”比赛的主题是“天下一家”。家，对于我们每个人都有着特殊的意义。“天下一家”的观念在中华文化中源远流长。我认为，这个主题非常契合今天的活动：

First, “One World, One Family” echoes the Chinese traditional value of harmony and peace. As early as 2,500 years ago, Zixia, a disciple of Confucius, said, “Within the four seas, all men are brothers.” This spirit of great humanity is above the bond of blood. For thousands of years, the Chinese people have carried forward this spirit, and developed the unique culture that values harmony. We believe in harmony between man and nature. We value peace and harmony in state-to-state relations. We uphold the principle of “harmony without uniformity” in our society. And we cherish harmony and benevolence in our ethics. 

首先，“天下一家”体现了中华民族和谐和平的文化传统。早在2500年前，孔子的学生子夏就说过“四海之内皆兄弟也”，这种仁爱精神超越了血缘亲情，在数千年文明的传承与发展中，筑就了中华民族独有的“和合”文化，形成了天人合一的宇宙观、协和万邦的国际观、和而不同的社会观、人心和善的道德观。

Let me quote from Chinese ancient philosophers. Confucius said, “To establish oneself, help others establish themselves; to achieve success, help others succeed.” His more well-known quote is, “Do not do unto others what you do not want others to do unto you.” Mencius said, “Care for the elderly as if they are your parents, and care for the children as if they are your own.” Mozi said, “Love should be mutual, so should benefits in one’s exchanges with other people.” These words have said it all about the Chinese people’s love for peace and harmony.

不论是孔子的“己欲立而立人，己欲达而达人”、“己所不欲，勿施于人”，孟子的“老吾老，以及人之老；幼吾幼，以及人之幼”，还是墨子的“兼相爱”、“交相利”，都反映出中华民族追求和睦、爱好和平、倡导和谐的传统理念。

Second, “One World, One Family” lights up the way toward win-win cooperation as China and the UK pursue our respective dreams. In the new era for building socialism with Chinese characteristics, China will deepen reform on all fronts and open wider to the world. We want to give our people a stronger sense of happiness, security and fulfillment. Our goal is to realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. The British people are committed to building a country that serves everyone and realizing the British Dream of “each generation doing better than the last”.

第二，“天下一家”照亮了中英两国合作共赢的逐梦之路。随着中国特色社会主义进入新时代，中国将全面深化改革，扩大开放，不断提升全体人民的幸福感、安全感和获得感，为实现中华民族伟大复兴的中国梦而奋斗；英国正致力于打造为每个人服务的国家，致力于实现“每一代人都有比上一代更美好未来”的“英国梦”。

At the beginning of this year, Prime Minister May paid a successful visit to China. During the visit, the leaders of our two countries reaffirmed their commitment to the China-UK “Golden Era”. As mutually-beneficial cooperation across the board continues to deepen, the peoples of our two countries share an increasingly closer bond. The Chinese Dream and the British Dream share common aspirations. As China and Britain each pursue our respective dreams, our two countries have every reason to join hands and deliver more tangible benefits to the people of our two countries.

今年初，梅首相成功访华，两国领导人再次确认了中英关系“黄金时代”的大方向。随着中英各领域互利合作日益深入、两国人民之间的联系日益紧密。“中国梦”和“英国梦”交相辉映，激励我们在各自“逐梦”道路上砥砺前行，携手共进，为两国人民创造更多实实在在的福祉。

Third, “One World, One Family” embodies the common wishes of all countries for a world where the beauty of different civilizations are shared and equally appreciated. To build such a harmonious world has been mankind’s shared dream for thousands of years. In today’s world, the future and destiny of all countries are closely connected. The international landscape and governance system are undergoing profound changes. Challenges relating to security, development and environmental protection remain severe and complex. Under these circumstances, the call for “one world, one family” urges all the countries in the world to: replace the old mindsets of “zero-sum game”, “I win you lose” and “the winner takes all” with the new concept of win-win for all, promote exchanges and mutual learning between different civilizations in the spirit of “harmony without uniformity”, and strive for consensus, tide over difficult times and support one another in achieving our common goals. By working together, we can build a community with a shared future for mankind. By working together, we can create a brighter future for the world.

第三，“天下一家”反映了世界各国“美美与共”的共同愿望。千百年来，“世界大同”始终是人类心中的梦想。当今世界，各国前途命运紧密联系，国际格局和全球治理体系深刻演变，安全、发展、环境等方面的挑战严峻复杂。在这样的形势下，“天下一家”就是要以双赢、多赢、共赢的新理念淘汰“零和游戏”、“我赢你输”、“赢者通吃”的旧思维，就是要促进和而不同、兼收并蓄的文明交融，就是要推动各国同声相应、同难相济、同道相成，共同书写人类命运共同体的崭新篇章，共同开创世界更加光明的未来。

Ladies and gentlemen,

女士们，先生们，

The contestants tonight come from different cultural backgrounds, but they are united by the same interest in the Chinese language and culture. The Chinese language and culture has broad and profound meaning. Take for example the Chinese character “人”(ren), which means people. This character has two slanting strokes supporting each other. This means people can stand up and stand firm only when they support each other. I think this is what the “Chinese Bridge” competition is about. If we all work hard and support each other in the spirit of “one world, one family”, we can build bridges between hearts, we can build bridges for cultural exchanges and we can build bridges of friendship and cooperation.

今晚的参赛选手们虽然来自不同文化背景，但他们都有一个共同的兴趣，这是就中国语言和文化。中国语言和文化博大精深。在汉字中，一个简单的“人”字就包含了深邃的哲理。它告诉我们，只有相互支撑，人才能站立，才能站稳。我想，这正是“汉语桥”的真正含义。只要我们每个人共同努力，就一定能以“天下一家”的精神搭建起一座座文化交流之桥、心灵沟通之桥、友谊合作之桥。

To all contestants at tonight’s UK final, I sincerely wish you success in this competition! What is more, I wish that you will go on to become ambassadors for closer exchanges and cooperation between the people of China and the UK.

我衷心祝愿各位选手不仅做比赛中争金夺银的能手，而且成为促进中英两国人民交流与合作的使者。

I also want to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks to the teachers and volunteers who have over the years taught the Chinese language and brought the Chinese culture to the British people. I thank you very much for your hard work. I look forward to your continued contribution to the China-UK “Golden Era”.

借此机会，我还想感谢多年来在英国教授汉语、传播中国文化的老师们和志愿者们。你们辛苦了！希望你们再接再厉，继续为中英关系“黄金时代”添砖加瓦，增光添彩！

Now, I have the honor to announce:

现在，我宣布：

The 17th “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students UK Regional Final now begins!

第十七届“汉语桥”世界大学生中文演讲比赛英国大区赛决赛正式开始！

Thank you!

谢谢大家！