Zhou Enlai's witty interpretation of the zodiac to an audience of foreigners

Zhou Enlai's witty interpretation of the zodiac to an audience of foreigners

 

It was said that Mr Zhou En-lai was once having a meal with his European friends.

A person by the name of Klaus passed an impolite comment when he was drunk.

“You Chinese carry the signs of pigs, dogs, and mouse at birth.

“I can’t understand what’s going on in the mind of your ancestors?”

At that point, the distinguished group of friends started to laugh. They started to toast each other rowdily.

The cultured and serene atmosphere was broken.

Some people believe that when someone insults your ancestors, even if you don’t have a response to it, the least you could do is to overturn the table against him.

Fortunately, nobody acted rashly or in violence.

For a while, not a single word was uttered. It was probably because they have not come across this situation before.

Then, Mr Zhou En-lai stood up and spoke to everybody in a calm and peaceful way.

“The Chinese ancestors were very wise. They arranged the twelve zodiac signs in pairs. Six pairs in a cycle.

In this way, they expressed their hopes and wishes for the generation that came after them.”

By then, the room was in complete silence. There were some sceptical looks among the audience.

Mr Zhou En-lai continued, ” The first pair of animals is the rat and cow.

 

 

“The rat represents wisdom and the cow represents diligence. Wisdom and diligence must operate in harmony.

“If there is wisdom but no diligence in applying it, it’s foolishness.

“On the other hand, if there is diligence but no wisdom, it’s an act of folly.

“That’s why wisdom and diligence must go hand in hand. This is our ancestor’s first wish for us. The first pair of animal also represents the most important hope.

“The second pair is the tiger and rabbit.

 

“The tiger represents courage and the rabbit represents carefulness. These two qualities must work closely together.

“In that way, it can have a better chance to achieve success.

“Without carefulness, courage becomes recklessness. Similarly, without courage, carefulness becomes cowardice.

“This pair of qualities is very important. That’s why it is the second pair.”

Mr Zhou En-lai looked at the audience and then he added, “Therefore, when we demonstrate our carefulness, please do not think that we do not have the courage to fight for social justice.

“In truth, what our ancestor is pursuing is wisdom through integrity, harmony and balance. It’s never about a single hope or task.

When he saw that the audience was deep in thought, Mr Zhou En-lai continued, “The third pair is the dragon and snake.

“They represent strength and flexibility.

“Strength without flexibility becomes brittle. Without strength, flexibility becomes meaningless.

“That’s why strength with flexibility is an important lesson from our ancestor that has lasted through time.

“The next pair is the horse and goat.

 

“The horse represents the ability to gallop to success. The goat represents the ability to be considerate and have compassion.

“If a person only looks after himself as he pursues his goal and with no consideration for others, he will face obstacles from the people around him.

“Finally, he may not even be successful.

“However, if a person only looks after others and seek only to be amiable, he will not have a sense of direction. His goal will eventually be lost.

“That’s why the spirit of the horse and virtues of the goat must be applied in harmony with each other. This is our ancestor’s fourth wish for us.

“The next pair is the monkey and the chicken.

 

“The monkey represents agility.

“As for chicken, as there were no clocks in the days of old, it is needed to wake humans to start a new day.

“The chicken represents stability.

“The qualities of agility and stability must be tightly coupled together.

“If you have agility but no stability, your best plan will not come to pass. However, if you focused on having stability and refuse to change, you will not have a better future.

“When the two qualities are in harmony, on one side, there will be stability in terms of having, for example, effective system and collaboration.

“On the other side, there will be a release of unrelenting creativity and innovation to achieve progress.

“When these two qualities operate in synergy, it is one of the basic imperatives to achieve success.

“Lastly, we have the dog and pig.

 

“The dog represents loyalty while the pig represents good nature.

“If a person is loyal but does not have a good nature, he will be blindly following others.

“On the other hand, if he has a good nature but does not have loyalty, he will have no people and principles to guide him.

“That’s why whether its loyalty to a country, loyalty to a team, or loyalty to an ideal, you need to ensure that good nature is tightly coupled with and working alongside with it.

“In that way, you can have a deep-seated sense of loyalty that comes from the heart.

“This is why the Chinese believes that the outer core must be in alignment with the inner core (外圆内方,君子和而不同).

“At the inner core, we must have a pure heart that subscribes to high moral values. We must seek to live with ethos and positive principles.

“We must live up to our words and not do anything that will harm others.

“At the external core, we must be knowledgeable about the ways of the world. We must be wise in managing affairs around us.

“We need to focus on what matters in life and not be influenced by evil.

“We need to live with integrity and in harmony with others and the environment. We must not have any form of prejudice or seek to discriminate against anyone.”

At the end of his speech, there was complete silence. They say that you can even hear a pin dropped.

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周恩来妙语解释的十二生肖让全场外国人鸦雀无声

http://blog.sina.cn/dpool/blog/s/blog_c261868c0101e3wb.html

Traditional Chinese Medicine and Healing Powers

Traditional Chinese Medicine and Healing Powers What is Traditional Chinese Medicine? Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a system of healing from China. While TCM is regarded as an alternative medicine system in the West, in China and other Asian countries, it is practiced widely by the locals. Medical practitioners are trained in the diagnostic and healing techniques with centuries of tradition and philosophy. Like naturopathy, TCM is holistic. It considers all aspects of the person including physical, nutritional, emotional, mental and spiritual for diagnosis. TCM is based on the balance of opposing elements (the yin and yang) in the body, as well as their harmony with the environment around it. The two main forces of yin and yang combine to form the "qi" (pronounced as "chee") or universal life force. When qi is in harmony, health is not only enhanced but also the capacity for fufilment, happiness and well being. Disease and illness arise from imbalances of yin and yang that block the proper flow of qi. Therapies to treat disease are aimed at restoring the balance and unblocking the flow to restore health. TCM is primarily non-invasive. TCM treatments include the use of Chinese herbs, acupuncture, meditation, Chinese massage therapy, mental and physical disciplines such as Tai Chi and Qigong and nutritional therapy. Practitioners will attempt to realign the body's balance using a combination of treatments before suggesting surgery by a Western Doctor. Most research into the effectiveness of TCM has been conducted on acupuncture. Although it has been difficult to conclusively prove the benefits of acupuncture, the results of large-scale studies are sufficiently convincing enough for FDA to consider the tradition "promising" and worthy of further study. In addition, it has been proven that many herbs used in Chinese medicine have therapeutic benefits. For instance, ginseng and Echinacea are both powerful herbs with strong medicinal actions. More recently, there has been some acknowledgment that Chinese massage therapies do help to manipulate muscles, nerves and tendons. There are many criticisms of TCM as a form of healing. Most TCM methodologies have no research basis and remain largely unproven. Also, some of the TCM beliefs have been mixed with Eastern mythology. For instance, tiger penis is used as an energy supplement as tigers are considered energetic animals. Whether it really helps to boost energy levels remain unsubstantiated by proper research. Most of the Chinese herbs are also not regulated. This makes it more important to consult with a reputable and reliable TCM practitioner. However, aside from the criticisms, there is much merit in the philosophy of TCM. healing. If more research can be done into TCM, then the mythology can be separated from the facts and perhaps, more people will embrace TCM more readily as a form of healing. Chinese Herbal Medicine Of our earliest ancestors, the Chinese have made it a point to incorporate nature’s garden into the world of medicine more than any other culture, still adhering to the mindset of the importance of Chinese herbal remedies to this day. Although many cultures have traditionally used seeds and plant parts in their remedies, China has alleviated ailments using herbs since around 5,000 BC. Having amassed this knowledge for thousands of years, the Chinese have mastered the art of cultivating herbs for medicinal purposes and other cultures look to them for insight into how a diagnosis can be treated through the use of herbs. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is heavily relied on throughout the world by everyone from the common consumer to specialists in every field of medicine. The Chinese developed their system of medicine and herbal remedies to cater to the yin and yang principle, where the body should be in perfect balance and herbs deliver harmony to the person taking them. Instead of treating one symptom, as is commonly done in the Western world of modern medicine, Chinese herbal remedies seek to get the body back into a natural state of balance so that healing can occur and any imbalances are eliminated. In conjunction with herbs, the Chinese also incorporate acupuncture, massage, and a healthy diet into the concept of harmony for healing purposes. One Chinese Emperor is credited with the launch of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Emperor Shen Nong (2697 BC) began personally tasting and testing various plants and their parts to see how it would affect his body and could help others with ailments such as circulation improvements and urinary infections. Later on in history, Emperor Huang Ti developed what is now the world’s oldest medical textbook, called Nei Ching, which translates into Yellow Emperor’s Canon of Internal Medicine. Many doctors on a global scale still refer to this text today for insight on Chinese herbal medicine. Although Western medicine has had an influence over Chinese herbal medicine in the modern world, Traditional Chinese Medicine retains its strong influence as a powerful way to combine herbal treatment and technology. The Chinese strongly believe that your mind and body must be in sync to avoid illness, which is why they have mental health tied into herbal remedies. Western medicine separates the two into different categories, treating the mind separate from the body. However, Chinese herbal remedies are now being used to treat mental disorders, such as depression in the Western World. Citation: Disabled World News - Traditional chinese medicine or TCM is based on the balance of opposing elements the yin and yang in the body as well as their harmony with the environment around it: http://www.disabled-world.com/medical/alternative/chinese/#ixzz23gAPVQs1

China's Diplomacy: Pursuing Balance to Reach Harmony

Chinese President Hu Jintao made a speech on China's new foreign policy of building a harmonious world at the United Nations Summit marking the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the world body. His words received wide approval and the policy is thought fruitful in 2005.

The policy helped to lift China's international status, fundamentally because of its pursuit of balance. That is, to balance national development against international responsibilities, economic benefits against political and security interests, relations with world powers against those with various countries, and reform against the maintenance of world order.

We should build a harmonious world by aiming at "performing great deeds". Although a developing country, China is a rising big nation. Change in international environment casts a direct impact on China's rise, and the country will suffer from its negative effects if she doesn't take the initiative to push it towards a more harmonious direction. Such a pro-active approach will benefit both the international environment of China and the advancement of the whole world.

In the spirit of "performing great deeds" China has decided to take responsibilities of a big nation. During his meeting with President Bush, President Hu said explicitly that the China-US cooperation will be on global scale. The year 2005 marks the most frequent Chinese participation in UN peacekeeping missions. At the UN Summit President Hu promised debt cut to the Third World, the biggest slash over years.

We should build a harmonious world by taking the overall national interest as a starting point. Both national and international interests are multi-faceted, and different interest claims can clash. For example, globalization can raise economic efficiency, but also worsen the wealth gap and interest conflicts at home and abroad.

In building a harmonious world, we must give equal attention to political, security and economic interests, and refrain from developing economy at the cost of political and security benefits. The enlarging world economic scale is fuelling conflicts in energy, resource, market, talent, international rules and so on. The WTO conference and anti-WTO demonstration serves a classic example. Clashes between developed and developing countries, transnationals and SMEs, the rich and the poor are being sharpened at each passing day. To build a harmonious world, we must, on top of economic interests, give due consideration to political interests such as China's image, influence and status on the international arena.

We should build a harmonious world by following the policy of a greater neighborhood diplomacy. To the end of a harmonious world we must maintain friendly ties with as many countries as possible, so we should avoid sacrificing relations with other countries for the sake of stable Sino-US ties.

The United States, as the world only superpower, comes into strategic interest conflicts with many a country in maintaining her world dominance. By frequent visits to Europe and Russia this year, Chinese leaders effectively raised the importance of China-EU and China-Russia ties so as to strike a balance in relations with the three parties of the United States, EU and Russia.
China also increased visits to other developing countries this year to achieve a relative balance between policies towards developed and developing countries. In regional policy, China worked hard to score a balance between neighbors and countries from other regions such as Latin America and Africa.

We should build a harmonious world in the principle of gradualness. In proposing such a long-term objective, China has no intention to reach it in one step. China fully understands the difficulty in constructing a harmonious world under anarchy, so she stressed on safeguarding UN authority and conducting necessary reforms.

To reshape the world order is a permanent task, and as time changes the old international order is for sure to be replaced by a new one. To ensure peace and order during such a course, China believes that reforms should be carried out in a measured, cautious way based on the current world order, so that the reforms can benefit the greatest majority of world countries.

(People's Daily December 28, 2005)