Benevolence and Friendliness Towards Neighboring Countries

The original quote from Zuo's Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals (Zuo Zhuan) reads, "To be benevolent and friendly towards neighboring countries is a fundamental policy a country should pursue." Practicing benevolence and kindness towards neighboring countries is considered a state treasure. The ancient Chinese believed that treating others with kindness and friendliness would inspire reciprocal behavior. Chinese people have always cherished peace and advocated benevolence over hegemony or the use of force. For millennia, ancient China was more advanced than the rest of the world, yet it rarely embarked on expansionist expeditions against neighboring countries. Most of the time it maintained a policy of pacification and friendship with its neighbors. For this reason, the highly developed civilization of ancient China facilitated  a wide range of long-lasting political, economic, and cultural exchange with many countries and regions that left a profound mark on human history and civilizational interaction.

The same civilizational trait was passed on to contemporary China. China's diplomacy has always aligned with that of every peace-loving country, recognizing a shared destiny and advocating helping neighbors in need and promoting civilizational intermingling through peaceful dialogue.

親仁善鄰

親仁善鄰出自《左傳·隱公六年》，原文是“親仁善鄰，國(guó)之寶也”，意為親近仁義之道，與鄰國(guó)友好相處，這是國(guó)家的寶貴財(cái)富。中國(guó)古人認(rèn)為，以仁愛(ài)、友善的態(tài)度對(duì)待他人的人，也能夠受到對(duì)方同樣的對(duì)待。中華民族歷來(lái)愛(ài)好和平，主張以仁義之道對(duì)待其他國(guó)家的“王道”，反對(duì)以武力進(jìn)行征伐的“霸道”。在這種理念之下，中國(guó)雖然在古代曾經(jīng)長(zhǎng)期領(lǐng)先于世界，卻很少主動(dòng)向周邊國(guó)家實(shí)行征伐擴(kuò)張， 而是以安邊為本、睦鄰為貴。正因如此，古代中國(guó)以其高度發(fā)達(dá)的文明成就、仁愛(ài)友善的交往之道吸引了世界上很多國(guó)家和地區(qū)主動(dòng)來(lái)華，開(kāi)展長(zhǎng)時(shí)段、大規(guī)模的政治、經(jīng)濟(jì)、文化交流活動(dòng)，構(gòu)成了人類(lèi)文明交往史上的華麗篇章。

當(dāng)代中國(guó)同樣延續(xù)了這樣的文明基因。與鄰邦之間命運(yùn)與共、守望相助，與不同文明之間交流交融、和平對(duì)話(huà)，是當(dāng)代中國(guó)外交一貫的主張和做法，也是世界熱愛(ài)和平的國(guó)家一致認(rèn)同的理念。