Remain a gentleman: open and poised gentleman, Remain, poised, open

suhongxiao

China lies quite a distance away from the West; and as a result, the telescope might be the only tool to use in order to observe the other side. When the Chinese turn the telescope to the West, they can see a clear and complete picture; but what some people on the other side have seen is a mean and ugly China. What happened? They must have turned the telescope upside down.

Currently, China is on a track of peaceful development at a quickening pace. The world largely benefits from the flourishing China and wishes it even better days. On the other hand, some people intentionally magnify the flaws and find fault with China. In so far as they distort the true picture and twist the facts, the Beijing Olympic Games is, for them, considered a "a golden opportunity" to curse and harass China.

China can certainly take the verbal assaults; it is not only a giant full of confidence and strength brought about by rapid growth and peaceful rise; but a time-honored civilization with a long and splendid history. Ordinary Chinese citizens joke that the Chinese people were generally in a state of "being hit" 60 years ago; "being starved" 30 years ago; and now it is time to ‘be cursed and harassed."

China has always honored the qualities of "being a gentleman," as seen in proverbs such as: "a gentleman is open and poised; while a mean man is narrowed-minded and anxious." The Chinese tend to accept the pertinent criticism, and keep a hold on words unpleasant to ears. Even in response to the insulting words as CNN's host Jack Cafferty used to tarnish China and denigrate the Chinese, the Chinese netizens half-jokingly created a popular cyber saying—"Don't be like CNN" – though with great indignation; and what they are seeking is no more than a sincere apology from the media in question. In effect, any provocative attempt to throw China into confusion and disturb the Chinese people's thinking is doomed to fail. Those who believe "a lie can become the truth through repetition" will be hoisted by their own petard. The Chinese will briskly progress in their lives and develop their country.

Bearing in mind the old saying, to be "a gentle man with continuous self-renewal and great virtues," the Chinese people are bent on the construction and development of their prosperity.

Admittedly, any person with a conscience and integrity will frown at the poor show of character when making a scene and unreasonably cursing others. A Christian priest once told me that God designed the human gender as male and female so that they would attract each other. Similarly, the world is divided into the East and the West, on the basis of peaceful coexistence and harmony rather than confrontation or even repelling each other. The Bible says: "love seeks the benefit of others before oneself," and "love your neighbor." At the same time, it warns: "Do onto others as you would wish them do onto you."

We believe that those who has little knowledge of China and who look on China with prejudice are doing so not with harmful intentions. Instead, they are so obsessed with their own ideas that they can not help but view the world surrounding them in their own, rigid perspective. Consequently, they are likely to believe that "no one is nobler than me," and fall into a grey area of thinking. Thoughts of this kind would, as a result, lead to the groundless argument that foreigners are alien to me and must be estranged from me. However, cultural diversity is a basic condition, basic existence mode, and basic rule of world civilization.

As an ancient civilization, the Chinese civilization traces back more than 5,000 years. As an emerging economy, China has enjoyed a sustained economic growth for 30 consecutive years and is still on the rise. As it braces for the globalization of the world, China remains united and stable. It will readily accept challenges and be able to bring order and peace out of chaos and confusion. Why? The reason lies in the facts that the Chinese nation is an integration of multi-cultural elements; that it has undergone untold sufferings and endured bullies in the past; and that it currently vows to develop peacefully – never imposing hegemony on the world.

China will never go as far as advertising itself as a model of great virtue; and exert its own ideas upon others. Rather China consistently advocates that different cultures have their own virtues and never hesitates to tout others' virtues; meanwhile, it seeks the common virtues shared by all humanity.

That is the true essence of being a gentleman: a graceful bearing and an open mind.

By People's Daily Online