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Foreword
2015-11-03 15:13:38 cri-1
By "key concepts in Chinese thought and culture" we mean concepts

and keywords or phrases the Chinese people have created or come to use that

are fundamentally pertinent to Chinese philosophy, humanistic spirit, way

of thinking, and values. They represent the Chinese people's exploration of

and rational thinking about nature and society over thousands of years. These

concepts and expressions reflect the Chinese people's wisdom, their profound

spiritual pursuit, as well as the depth and width of their thinking. Their

way of thinking, values, and philosophy embodied in these concepts have

become a kind of "life gene" in Chinese culture, and have long crystallized

into common personality and beliefs of the Chinese nation. For the Chinese

people today, they serve as a key to a better understanding of the evolutions

of their ancient philosophy, humanistic spirit, way of thinking, and values as

well as the development of Chinese literature, art, and history. For people in

other countries, these concepts open the door to understanding the spiritual

world of contemporary China and the Chinese people, including those

living overseas.

In the era of cultural diversity and multipolar discourse today, cultures

of different countries and civilizations of different peoples are integrating

faster, in greater depth, and on a greater scope than ever before. All countries

and peoples have their own systems of thought, culture, and discourse, which

should all have their place in the civilization and discourse systems of the

world. They all deserve due respect. The concepts in thought and culture of a

country and its people are naturally the most essential part of their discourse.

They constitute the marrow of a nation's thought, the root of its culture, the

soul of its spirit, and the core of its scholarship. More and more people of

vision have come to recognize the inspirations Chinese thought and culture

might offer to help resolve many difficult problems faced by mankind. The

Chinese hold that "A man of virtue accumulates his virtue and embraces all

things of creation," "Dao takes naturalness as its law," "Man is an integral part

of nature," "Man of virtue seeks harmony but not uniformity," "People are

the foundation of the state," and "Ancient classics should be used critically

to serve present needs." The Chinese ideals such as "coexistence of all in

harmony," "all the people under heaven are one family," and a world of

"universal harmony" are drawing increasing attention among the international

community. More and more international scholars and friends have become

interested in learning and better understanding Chinese thought and culture in

general, and the relevant concepts in particular.

In selecting, explaining, translating, and sharing concepts in Chinese

thought and culture, we have adopted a comprehensive and systematic

approach. Most of them not only reflect the characteristics of Chinese

philosophy, humanistic spirit, way of thinking, values, and culture, but

also have significance and/or implications that transcend time and national

boundaries, and that still fascinate present-day readers and offer them food for

thought. It is hoped that the translation of these concepts into English and other

languages will help people in other countries to gain a more objective and

more rounded understanding of China, of its people, of its past and present,

and of the spiritual world of contemporary Chinese. Such understanding

should be conducive to promoting equal dialogue between China and other

countries and exchanges between different civilizations.

The selection, explanation, and translation of these concepts have been

made possible thanks to the support of the Ministry of Education, China

International Publishing Group, the Central Compilation and Translation

Bureau, Peking University, Renmin University of China, Wuhan University,

and Beijing Foreign Studies University, as well as the support of renowned

scholars in China and abroad, including Florence Chia-ying Yeh, Li Xueqin,

Zhang Qizhi, and Lin Wusun.

The idea of compiling key concepts in Chinese thought and culture

represents an innovation and the project calls much research and effort both in

connotation and denotation. Furthermore, an endeavor like this has not been

previously attempted on such a large scale. Lack of precedents means there

must remain much room for improvement. Therefore, we welcome comments

from all readers in the hope of better fulfilling this task.

April 11, 2015

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