Reading with Xi Jinping | Records of the Three Kingdoms

The novels of historical novelist Eiji Yoshikawa, cartoons created by manga artist Mitsuteru Yokoyama, and historical simulation computer games produced by Japanese video game companies…Works derived from the Chinese historical novel Records of the Three Kingdoms are too numerous to mention, which has had a far-reaching influence in Japan. The main source of the characters and stories in these works, Records the of Three Kingdoms, contains many words of wisdom that are worth of reading.

In a speech delivered at the United Nations Office at Geneva on Jan. 18, 2017, Chinese President Xi Jinping quoted a line from Records of the Three Kingdoms: "Delicious soup is made by combining different ingredients" to illustrate the point that diversity of human civilizations drives the progress of mankind. The quote, which literally means the soup will taste good when different ingredients are combined, implies that one can work well by unifying all forces.

President Xi Jinping has always stressed the importance of diversity of human civilizations. He emphasized that "while we keep hearing such rhetoric as the clash of civilizations or the superiority of one civilization over another, it is the diversity of civilizations that sustains human progress. Indeed, mutual learning between different cultures is a shared aspiration of all peoples."

As humanity is in an era of numerous challenges, China's proposition is to build a global community of shared future. In a world with colorful cultures, countries should abandon "pride and prejudice"，respect each other, treat each other with equality, seek harmony without uniformity, and appreciate the diversity of civilizations around the world.