“A mind broader than the sky”—President Xi Jinping and French culture

Whenever Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a New Year's message, "bookworms" at home and abroad study the books on the bookshelves in his office with great interest.

Careful viewers discovered that President Xi Jinping has many French classics in his collection, such as "The Spirit of the Law", "Les Misérables", "Red and the Black" and "The Human Comedy". “I have had a strong interest in French culture since my youth, and French history, philosophy, literature, and art have deeply attracted me.” President Xi Jinping once recalled this.

President Xi Jinping is well-read. Reading shaped his view of the world. Since assuming the leadership of the country, cultural exchanges have become an important "business card" for his foreign exchanges and have effectively promoted mutual understanding between China and other countries around the world.

On the afternoon of April 7, 2023, President Xi Jinping held an informal meeting with French President Macron in Songyuan, Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province. This is the two heads of state enjoying the guqin performance in Baiyun Hall.

As China and France celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, President Xi Jinping paid his third state visit to France. The whole world is paying attention to how the Chinese leader will further narrow the distance between the two major civilizations of the East and the West.

In the 1960s, Xi Jinping went from Beijing to Liangjiahe, Shaanxi Province to work as an educated youth. In the difficult rural life, reading gave him spiritual comfort. He devoured all the famous works he could find at the time, including "The Red and the Black."

"Stendhal's "The Red and the Black" is very influential, but the description of the human world still has to be considered the works of Balzac and Maupassant, such as "The Human Comedy" has a great influence." He once said about himself. "After reading".

He was deeply impressed by the classic works of French writers, and he often quoted passages from them in his speeches, including famous quotes by Victor Hugo. At the landmark 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, President Xi Jinping quoted the line "The greatest determination will produce the highest wisdom" from Hugo's "Les Misérables" to call on all parties to reach an agreement.

President Xi Jinping also appreciates French art very much. He likes French composers Bizet and Debussy. He visited the majestic Arc de Triomphe and the magnificent Palace of Versailles. He said that Notre Dame de Paris is an important symbol of French civilization and an outstanding treasure of human civilization.

This is Xi Jinping in 1972, when he jumped in line and returned to Beijing to visit relatives.

"Les Misérables", which President Xi Jinping often quotes, was created with the French Revolution as the historical background. He once said that when I watched "Les Misérables" and read the moment when Bishop Bian Furu inspired Jean Valjean, I was really shocked. Great works have such an explosive and shocking power. This is the way of writing.

In recent years, Sino-French cultural exchanges have played an important role in the relations between the two countries, which has a lot to do with President Xi Jinping's love for French culture.

In Nice, France, in 2019, French President Macron received President Xi Jinping at the Villa Haiyan, which has a century-old history and embodies the characteristics of European civilization. Macron gave President Xi Jinping the original French version of "An Introduction to the Analects of Confucius" as a national gift. This book has a cowhide cover, gold-plated edges, and red edges. It was printed in 1688.

On March 24, 2019, President Xi Jinping met with French President Macron in Nice, France. Before the meeting, Macron presented Xi Jinping with the original French version of the first "Introduction to the Analects of Confucius" published in France in 1688.

President Xi Jinping held the book carefully, opened the cover, turned over a few pages, and saw a line of handwriting written in Old French: "To the reader - this book serves as the key to reading Confucius." Macron told President Xi Jinping: "Voltaire and Montesquieu were deeply influenced by Confucius’ thoughts.” After listening to Macron’s introduction, President Xi Jinping said: “This gift is very precious.” This book later became an important collection of the National Library of China.

In the 17th century, Europe had a "China fever". As trade with China continued to intensify, this "China fever" swept across the entire European continent in the 18th century. During this period, French sinologists continued to explore and study Confucian culture, which laid the foundation of traditional Chinese culture, and spread its ideas to all parts of Europe.

Many cultural researchers have noticed the cultural interaction between China and France. Gu Hongming, a master of Chinese and Western studies in modern China, wrote in his famous book "The Spirit of the Chinese": "Only the French seem to understand China and Chinese civilization best in the world, because the French have an extraordinary spirit that is as extraordinary as the Chinese. Mental traits.”

This is a consecrated portrait pocket watch with a gold-plated copper case collected by the Palace Museum. On April 1, 2024, as an important project of the China-France Cultural Tourism Year, the opening ceremony of the exhibition "The Forbidden City and the Palace of Versailles - Sino-French Exchanges in the 17th and 18th Centuries" was held in the Wenhua Hall of the Forbidden City in Beijing, with about 200 cultural relics on display Excellent product.

In President Xi Jinping's view, China and France can become "good friends" because both countries have profound cultural heritage and can understand each other. In April last year, Macron visited Guangzhou, and President Xi Jinping received him at Guangzhou Pine Garden. In the Baiyun Hall of Pine Garden, the two heads of state enjoyed the guqin performance "Mountains and Flowing Waters". Macron asked with interest the name of the music. "This is a very beautiful story in ancient China. It tells the story of Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi. It embodies 'bosom friends'. Only 'bosom friends' can understand this piece of music." President Xi Jinping introduced it to the guests and also instructed the staff Send a copy of the score to Macron. Looking for a close friend in the mountains and rivers. The extensive and profound Chinese culture contains the way of communication between countries.

“The widest thing in the world is the ocean, wider than the ocean is the sky, and wider than the sky is the human mind.” In 2014, President Xi Jinping quoted Hugo’s words in his speech at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. saying.

"To treat different civilizations, we need a mind wider than the sky." President Xi Jinping said.

Ten years later, the then Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, still vividly remembered President Xi Jinping’s speech. “I clearly remember what he said at that time. He said that in today’s world, human beings live in a world composed of different cultures, races, skin colors, religions and different social systems. community of shared future.”

On March 27, 2014, President Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

"Ten years have passed, and every sentence spoken by President Xi Jinping in his speech is not only not outdated, but has even become more relevant because of the problems we are facing today," Bokova said.

Turn the clock back 60 years. On January 27, 1964, China and France formally established diplomatic relations, breaking the isolation between the East and the West during the Cold War, promoting the transformation of the global situation into a multi-polar world order, and making history. The French newspaper Le Monde published an editorial on the day after China and France established diplomatic relations, saying: "Two independent countries have come together."

President Xi Jinping once commented that Chairman Mao Zedong and General de Gaulle used their extraordinary wisdom and courage to open the door to exchanges and cooperation between China and the West, bringing hope to the world in the midst of the Cold War.

"Both China and France have independent civilizations and commonalities," said Cui Hongjian, director of the Center for EU and Regional Development Studies at Beijing Foreign Studies University. He believes that thanks to the profound historical and cultural heritage of the two countries, China and France have a profound insight into the development of the world and the evolution of history. "They are not willing to be dominated by others, nor do they try to dominate others."

Fabius, chairman of the French Constitutional Committee and former prime minister, said that both France and China are committed to multilateralism and peaceful development. He said: "The world is full of crises, and we must have the power to maintain peace and promote sustainable development. This is an important mission shared by France and China that transcends differences and shoulders."