Page 9 - ON BUILDING A HUMAN COMMUNITY WITH A SHARED FUTURE

ON BUILDING A HUMAN COMMUNITY WITH A SHARED FUTURE

passing more than 200 cities. Opened by Shanxi business people during the late Ming Dynasty
(1368–1644) and the early Qing Dynasty (1644–1911), the tea route started in Fujian Province,
Southeast China, reached Kyakhta, Russia, and from there to St. Petersburg. It was an
important route for international trade, enjoying equal fame with the Silk Road.
2 This refers to the war of national liberation against Japanese imperialist aggression
fought by Chinese people of all ethnic groups under a united front based on cooperation
between the Kuomintang and CPC that was advocated by the CPC. The war was a major
component and the main eastern theater of the world anti-fascist war. From the beginning
of the war with the September 18th Incident in 1931 until its conclusion in September 1945,
China went through 14 years of extraordinarily arduous struggle. The Chinese people’s victory
in the war against Japanese aggression represented China’s first total victory in fighting against
foreign invasion in modern times, as well as a major contribution to the world’s victory against
fascism.
3 The Beslan school hostage incident refers to a terrorist attack at the School Number
One in the city of Beslan, Republic of North Ossetia, South of the Russian Federation, on
September 1, 2004, resulting in more than 300 deaths.
4 The earthquake, measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale, struck Wenchuan County, Sichuan
Province, on May 12, 2008. The epicenter was located 80 kilometers northwest of Chengdu,
the provincial capital. The earthquake caused heavy casualties: as of September 25, 2008,
69,227 were confirmed dead, 374,643 injured, and 17,923 missing. The direct economic losses
of the hard-hit areas reached RMB 845.1 billion.
5 Confucius (551–479 BC), also known as Kong Qiu or Zhongni, was a philosopher,
educator, statesman, and the founder of Confucianism in the late Spring and Autumn period
(770–476 BC). He created a system of philosophy with benevolence (ren) as the heart. He
devoted himself to education and compiled ancient classics like the Classic of Poetry, Book of
Documents, and Spring and Autumn Annals. His main ideas and doctrines were recorded in the
Analects of Confucius. Since the Han Dynasty, Confucianism has become the mainstream of
traditional Chinese culture for over 2,000 years, and Confucius was respected as a sage by
China’s feudal rulers.
6 Laozi (years of birth and death unclear), also known as Laodan or Li Er, was a
philosopher and the founder of philosophical Taoism in the Spring and Autumn period. His
ideas embodied the simple dialectical thinking, such as “the Dao follows what is natural,”
“existence and nonexistence give birth to each other,” and “govern by doing nothing.” It was
said that he wrote Laozi or Tao Te Ching.
7 Li Bai, “The Hard Road: Three Poems.” Li Bai (701–762) was one of the greatest
poets of the Tang Dynasty.

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