By Enrique Manuel
Journalist of Union of Journalists of Cuba, Cuba
A people must be very cultured, due to old age or wisdom, when since their very emergence they understood that they were not alone. Thus, they revered Nature with the certainty that the earth, the sun, the moon, the stars, the sky and waters were not just plain embellishments at their service but their direct parents.
China knew it all along. However, it but was not content to bequeath humanity with an impressive legacy. It has since set out to expand it and disseminate it beyond its borders, surely today more than ever.
Despite the complexity of its codes and languages, that great nation can pass on the cultural wealth embodied in multiple forms because the present-time Chinese know—as their ancestors did—that, in addition to practical ideas, calligraphy and drawing transmit emotions, energies and spiritual messages.
Thanks heavens for the vision of those who find space for the soul in everyday communication!
Their journey as a people is longer than the Great Wall. The first humans who roamed those lands reportedly did so two million years ago. Eight thousand years ago they were already organised socially along the middle section of the Yellow River and the Xiliao River Basin.
While sources may direct to different references, the age of the Chinese civilisation enjoys a formidable consensus: everyone agrees that it has been around for millennia. That much couldn’t have been done in less time!
Disagreements abound among authors over the creation of certain devices or the attainment of some achievements of humanity. However, that is not the case with China, which is known as the country of great inventions. The abacus, the gunpowder, the compass, the fireworks, the printing press, the sun dial, kites and Kongming lanterns as the first flying machines, were all born there.
There is more to their cultural legacy. China brought to the world the porcelain, tea, the wheelbarrows, the suspension bridge, the mechanical watch, the projectile, crops in rows and even biological pest control.
Clearly put: all earthlings are somewhat a bit of children of China because without it, we would probably not be here, or we would be in greater difficulties.
Generous, the Asian power shared their findings through the ancient Silk Road, which in the late Middle Ages brought their advances to Europe and other areas to have a lasting impact for ever in their development. Although in some countries some “threats” of the old silk route are still visible, the twenty-first century China is weaving a new road, even with a greater scope.
In those ancient times, China prevailed over other cultures for about one or two millennia. Curiously, though, China was not unwilling to show its innovations and discoveries, but it was rather keen to open up so that the world could have them.
Another ancient “country brand” breakthrough has been the traditional Chinese medicine. It is the work of a people who believe in the existence of a vital energy called Qi and that only the balance between yin and yang leads to good health.
The spread of this practice throughout the world confirms the cleverness of the early Chinese doctors who held that the human body was composed of elements and energies, and that their imbalances led to diseases. At present, distinguished experts of Western medicine respect the tenets of the Chinese traditional medicine.
Being such visionaries, the Chinese had to look up to the sky. They did it in such detail that, after centuries, their astronomers left the oldest compilation of complex phenomena like the passage of comets, eclipses of all kinds and even explosion of supernovas. The fact that China currently has its own international space station did not actually come out of thin air.
It is their people’s relation to the moon: They love the moon so much that they start the years on different dates, always governed by the moon. The first day of the first lunar year will be New Year Day for every Chinese person. So, the moon brings happiness and marks, on every calendar, the start for the race of time.
That cosmogony, which other may find irrelevant, is part and parcel of the pillars of the indomitable civilisation, one that has never surrendered or been conquered and one that today is advancing at full steam through the 21st century.
All this is part of the broad path of Taoism (the road) of a people that interact with the writings of philosophers Lao Tse ad Zhuangzi and agree with them that true immortality lies in one’s self-improvement in harmony with one’s environments. China’s environment is the world, but the other way around is also true.
The Chinese are not a people who dwell in darkness. They revere colours to such an extent that the Chinese are certain that colours can change personality and the people’s behaviour and influence their work (including money), health and even love.
Consequently, yellow, which refers to the earth and was previously related to the higher classes (the first emperor was known as the Yellow Emperor), is among the most important colours and is often used to identify its people and even the country itself. Green represents wealth and abundance. It is believed to bring about moneys and a way towards hope and growth; therefore, it suggests purity and harmony. Nevertheless, in this trilogy of colours of good luck, red is the principal synonym of happiness, wealth and vigour.
Not leaving out other colours, China can see itself as a long braid of peoples dressed in red, green and yellow. Those colours often illuminate the figure of a symbol of their own, simultaneously signifying both power and kindness: the dragon.
Such poetic avalanche around China’s development must not lead to the idea that its people live waiting for the fruit produced by symbols. To become what it is, China has had to struggle a lot and always work.
At present, the State, guided by the Communist Party of China, is planning the research and development of the works and research studies. Furthermore, it is engaging its own corporations to reduce, where appropriate, any dependence on foreign companies.
While this is ensured from within, diplomatic efforts suggest raising an international community of a shared future in line with the cosmovision and values treasured by the Chinese. The Communist Party of China is putting on the table the premise explaining all human desires: happiness.
In addition to following its rich path as a people, the today’s Chinese communists agree (and this is not by chance) with the Latin American Liberator Simon Bolivar, who said in the Angostura address, on 15 February 1819, that: “The most perfect government system is that which brings about the greatest possible happiness, the greatest social security and the greatest political stability”.
That principle was also shared, in May 1884, by the Cuban hero José Martí, in his article “Maestros ambulantes” (Traveling teachers) where he said: “Happiness exists on earth, and it is won through prudent exercise of reason, knowledge of the harmony of the universe and constant practice of generosity.”
It is the same community spirit of a shared future promoted by the Communist Party of China, including the advancement of the country in tandem with the advancement of the world and linking home-grown dreams to the desires of all humankind.
During the Ministerial Meeting of the China-CELAC Forum, held in May in Beijing, Chinese leader Xi Jinping drew an interesting parallel of dreams: “As an old Chinese saying goes: “Life’s greatest joy comes from finding kindred spirits”, a Latin American proverb says: “The one who has a friend has a treasure.”.
We should also refer to another version of the proverb. We Cubans say “Whoever has a friend has a sugar mill” because throughout centuries we have assumed that sugar mills were symbols of prosperity. In Cuba, we feel that today’s China is a sugar mill for everybody.
Xi and China have a plan of action, scientific support, values, technology, economy and leadership to disseminate in practice their own dreams, and those of Bolivar and Marti. They have the power to multiply friends who are sugar mills.
To this end, China has got plenty of references. Its classic literature, for example, includes the Book of Changes (that ancient treasure chest of oral traditions) and Sun Tzu’s The Art of War, master pieces that are updated by the people: how human cooperation moves to a higher level, and which are the roads to be pursued in the world for the art of peace to finally prevail.
Today’s China shows that the five essential elements for success at war as outlined by Sun Tzu (moral influence, weather, terrain, command, and doctrine) are also suitable to achieve harmony.
Symbols are reasserted: it would seem that China is turning its beloved Great Wall into the Great Bridge, and that after any gate tower the peoples of the world can find a string of red velvet knots inviting them for a new year of bringing together affection, good wishes, protection and love.
With its thousand-year-old routes to link peoples and its present of a shared future, the Celestial Empire is lifting the divine on earth with the only goal of multiplying friends. Who could anyone ever refuse this?
*The views and opinions expressed in the articles are solely those of the individual authors and do not reflect the position of the Secretariat of the Belt and Road Journalist Network.