No way to turn the cultural clock back

Deficit of understanding among nations worrisome

What I'm saying is that we have to agree that there is a worrisome deficit of understanding among countries, and in the case of China and the US, or the West for that matter, misunderstandings, even prejudice abound. The question is not whether there is a lack of understanding; the question is how to get rid of or reduce such misunderstandings.

Except for intentions borne out of ulterior motives, misunderstandings largely arise from differences. People have always had the tendency to misread those who are different from them, owing to a lack of knowledge or confidence. And hence the role of cross-cultural communication and, in the professional field of ours, language as bridges between different societies of the world.

Late British philosopher and historian Isaiah Berlin said that all racial or ethnic conflicts arise from the pursuit of a monistic world. Recent history shows that stressing the superiority of one society, that of culture included, causes tragedies to humankind, the party in question included. How to evaluate the differences between and among civilizations and cultures remains a central theme of human development and progress for the modern world.

To hear the argument today that a country's rise is dangerous and will pose a threat to some parts of the world because it's a different civilization is tantamount to experiencing the shock traveling back in time to the dark ages. Such a narrative in the disguise of geopolitics is, to put it simply, unfounded and outdated. It's something we need to steer clear of with a high level of persistent vigil.

All civilizations are part of one biosystem

The 21st century is not only multipolar but also multi-conceptual. In a global village where the advancement of transportation and communication has reduced geographical distances, powers continue to interact while civilizations and cultures need to coexist, or live together as parts of a biosystem, to borrow the concept put forth by 19th century German biologist Henrich Anton de Bary.

In fact, mutual learning among civilizations is the very source of human progress. And in a world of unprecedented changes, it's imperative to reaffirm convergence rather than clashes between civilizations. A renewed intercultural dialogue between the West and the East, China in particular, will only reveal that there are profound elements of convergence between different traditions which, contrary to what the considerations and interpretations of Samuel Huntington suggest, are not destined to clash.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the Shanghai Import Expo last autumn, Christine Lagarde, chief of the International Monetary Fund, referred to the Huangpu River which, as we know, runs across Shanghai, and talked about the Chinese wisdom and craftsmanship of building the best bridges in the world since ancient times. In cultural and philosophical terms, the Chinese spirit of building bridges is best expressed in the notion of harmony of differences.

In a world undergoing drastic changes where people could be jolted from their habitual comfort zones, it's especially important to have maximum exchanges between and among different groups and communities as a way to guard against the possible resurgence of cultural hostility. The idea is to consolidate the "cultural foundation" of the global community of a shared future. This discourse of ours, I presume, represents a small but meaningful and worthwhile part of the general efforts to build bridges and pull down walls.

And finally, Question No 4: Should the world gallop forward riding on waves of time or turn the clock back?

This is a group of English-speaking scholars, familiar with European culture, and I'm sure we know that though there are different versions of the English legend, the fact remains that despite his courtiers or advisers telling him otherwise, King Canute the Great couldn't turn the tide. The message is that the law of nature and history is to be observed. Whatever side you take, with whatever effort, history goes forward, in definite defiance of possible occasional countercurrents of history.