Dear Ms. Bangura, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi,

Ambassadors,

Ladies and gentlemen, friends:

I am delighted to join you in celebrating the 16th United Nations Chinese Language Day. Since 2010, the UN has designated "Guyu," one of the 24 solar terms in the traditional Chinese calendar, as Chinese Language Day. Each year, this day becomes a celebration of the Chinese language. This year, it falls on April 20. The theme of this year's Chinese Language Day is “Poetic China: Rhymes and Romance.” For Chinese people, this is a beautiful theme, one that evokes rich imagination and deep emotional resonance. 

There is an old Chinese saying: “Writings carry the Dao”. What is the Dao? The ancient sage Laozi begins the Dao De Jing by saying: “The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao.” In my view, the Dao is the wisdom and philosophy passed down through over 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, which also contains abundant poetry and romance.

For example, we are currently in Kenya’s rainy season. Rain is a classic image in Chinese poetry: the same rain can carry the poets’ diverse and layered emotions. Du Fu, a Tang dynasty poet, rejoiced at the harvest brought by the rain: “The good rain knows its season, it falls when spring arrives.” Yue Fei, a Song dynasty general, wrote in his poem Man Jiang Hong, brimming with patriotic passion: “Hair bristling in fury, pushed my cap askew; By the railing I stand—the drizzling rain has just ceased.” Su Shi, a Song dynasty scholar, used rain to express his openness in adversity: “With bamboo staff and straw sandals, I am lighter than a horse—who’s afraid? Let a cloak of misty rain be my way of life.” These poems offer aesthetic enjoyment, but also enlighten with wisdom and profound thought.

The cycles of history—its rise and fall—are among the most frequently chanted themes by poets of every era. Yang Shen, a lyricist of the Ming dynasty, expressed his feelings: “The surging Yangtze rolls eastward, its waves wash away all the heroes.” In the torrent and silt of history’s long river, we search for eternal values. In the early Qing dynasty opera Peach Blossom Fan, the lyrics go: “I watch him raise a tall tower, I watch him feast his guests, I watch his tower collapse.” It captures the impermanence of life and the fall of empires. The Chinese Communists take a more positive understanding of history. In 1936, during the most difficult phase of the Chinese revolution, Chairman Mao Zedong wrote with overflowing passion: “All that is past is gone; Count the truly great—look to the present!” Thirteen years later, he solemnly declared the founding of New China from the Tiananmen Gate.

Ladies and gentlemen, friends,

In Chinese, it’s not only that “writings carry the Dao”, but also that “the Dao gives rise to writings.” The boundless wisdom of history gives the Chinese people confidence, backbone, and ways to meet all kinds of challenges. I still remember in early 2017, President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the Palais des Nations in Geneva on the theme of a “community with a shared future for mankind”, quoting ancient Chinese lines: “The sea admits all rivers—its greatness lies in its capacity; Alone, one breaks easily; together, we are hard to defeat; The beauty of a soup lies in blending different flavors.” Looking back at the storms of recent international affairs, more and more people now understand the true meaning of a shared destiny and the essence of the Chinese concept “harmony and unity.” This is the profound enlightenment Chinese civilization offers to today’s world. Not long ago, at the Munich Security Conference, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, while discussing major power relations, quoted lines from Mr. Jin Yong’s martial arts novel: “Let him be strong—The breeze brushes the hill”, “Let him be fierce—The bright moon still shines on the river.” In the face of bullying, coercion, decoupling, and abandonment of agreements, the Chinese people hold firm to their principles, raise high the banner of multilateralism, and safeguard the international system with the UN at its core, offering stability to an uncertain world with their own certainty.

President Xi Jinping once said: “In the raging waves of global crisis, nations are not in 190 small boats, but in one great ship with a shared destiny.” We have always believed that there is no such thing as “one country first”, only “rowing together in the same boat”. Ours should not be an era of some people against others, but of all people working for the good of all. 

We welcome you to use Chinese Language Day as an opportunity to delve more deeply into the Chinese language world. Whether to enjoy the beauty of Chinese poetry or explore traditional Chinese philosophy, or to understand China’s development concepts in modern technology, economy, and culture, all will be a cultural journey full of surprises and rewards.

May Chinese, this brilliant star, shine even more brightly in the galaxy of world languages. Thank you all!