"The sea is fed by all rivers; it is vast because of its capacity." In the long course of human history, the people of China and the ASEAN countries have created great civilizations renowned throughout the world. Ours is a diversified region where various civilizations have assimilated and interacted with one another, and this has provided an important cultural foundation for the people of China and the ASEAN countries to gain from each other's experience.
— Speech given by Xi Jinping at the People’s Representative Council of Indonesia, October 3, 2013
The Sea Is Fed by All Rivers;
It Is Vast Because of Its Capacity
— Encouraging interaction between different cultures
so they may assimilate and advance together
"The sea is fed by all rivers; it is vast because of its capacity" comes from a motivational couplet written by Lin Zexu (1785-1850):
The sea is fed by all rivers; it is vast because of its capacity.
The cliffs soar high above; they stand tall because they yearn for nothing.
Lin Zexu, who is considered a national hero in China, composed and then displayed this couplet at his government office during his tenure as governor-general of Guangdong and Guangxi. Xi Jinping quoted this famous line to express his conviction that the people of China and ASEAN member states can learn from one another, draw on each other's experience, and promote mutual development.
Born in Houguan (modern day Fuzhou) in Fujian Province, Lin Zexu was a famous statesman, thinker, and poet who lived during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Over the years, Lin Zexu served as governor-general of Hunan and Hubei, Shaanxi and Gansu, and Yunnan and Guizhou. He was appointed an imperial commissioner twice. His strict opposition to the opium trade and courage to stand up to Western aggression secured Lin Zexu's reputation as a national hero in China.
The concept of the sea being "fed by all rivers" has appeared in many Chinese classics. In "Autumn Floods" of Zhuangzi, Zhuangzi wrote, "Of all the waters of the world, none is as great as the sea. Ten thousand streams flow into it." In An Analytical Dictionary of Chinese Characters, Xu Shen from the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) wrote, "The sea is the reservoir of heaven. It accepts hundreds of rivers." In "Biographies and Praises of Renowned Officials of the Three Kingdoms Period," the Jin Dynasty (265-420) writer Yuan Hong wrote: "The absence of physical limits enables a tiny space to accommodate the sea." Li Zhouhan noted, "Just as the sea accepts water from a thousand rivers, the capacity of the heart is beyond measure." The concept of vastness, or greatness, flowing from one's capacity, comes from "Jun Chen", a chapter in The Book of History: "Do not cherish anger against the obstinate, and dislike them. Seek not every quality in one individual. You must have patience, and you will be successful; have forbearance, and your virtue will be great."
"The sea is fed by all rivers; it is vast because of its capacity." In other words, the sea can accommodate water from thousands of rivers. Its greatness flows from having such an open "heart." When people allow their hearts and minds to open, they become great, too. "The cliffs soar high above; they stand tall because they yearn for nothing." That is to say, steep cliffs are able to rise thousands of meters up in the air because they have no desires to pull them in other directions. Therefore, only when people behave without selfish motives will they have the courage to be undaunted.
While the quotation above may be applied to personal conduct and government administration, it is even more pertinent to international relations. At the 1955 Asian African Conference in Bandung, Chinese premier Zhou Enlai proposed a foreign policy to "seek common ground while shelving differences." "Seeking common ground" refers to searching for shared ideologies, needs, and interests. It is the foundation for building harmony. "Shelving differences" refers to setting aside differing viewpoints, positions, and interests. It is a prerequisite for building harmony. In his speech before the People's Representative Council of Indonesia, Xi Jinping quoted Lin Zexu's couplet as a way to promote the spirit of China's foreign policy announced at the Bandung Conference.
There has been a long history of friendly relations between China and ASEAN member states. An important milestone in this friendship was the signing of the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Co-Operation Between ASEAN and the People's Republic of China by ten state leaders in November 2002. This framework determined that the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area would be established by 2010, marking the first official step in setting up the free trade area and elevating relations between China and ASEAN member states to a new level. For more than a decade, China and ASEAN have deepened and expanded cooperation in political, economic, social, and cultural areas, and promoted common development.
Xi Jinping indicated in his speech, "We should draw on the experience of other regions in development, and welcome countries from outside the region to play a constructive role in promoting development and stability in the region. Other countries should respect the diversity of our region and do their part to facilitate its development and stability." We must be vigilant against countries from outside the region attempting to divide or sow discord between China and ASEAN member states. We have always adhered to the principle of "peaceful development," yet as our strength has grown, some countries have developed a distrustful, even hostile, attitude toward China. They consider our development a threat, which they play up in an attempt to divide us from neighboring countries. In his speech, Xi Jinping used the quotation, "The sea is fed by all rivers; it is vast because of its capacity," as a response to this "China threat theory."
China has always championed the pursuit of common development and prosperity with neighboring countries. For this goal to come to fruition, we must have the "capacity" to accept the similarities and differences that exist in the cultures of this diverse region, as well as the development and progress of developing countries. The China-ASEAN community of shared destiny is closely linked to the ASEAN Community and the East Asian Community. We should maximize our respective advantages, embrace diversity and coexistence, and create a more inclusive future for the common benefit of people in the region and the world.
(An excerpt from XI JINPING: WIT AND VISION SELECTED QUOTATIONS AND COMMENTARY, published by FOREIGN LANGUAGES PRESS in 2015)
