Csaba Kőrösi, President of the 77th session of the General Assembly
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Chinese Language Day
20 April 2023
(As prepared)
Dear friends, good evening.
It is a pleasure to join you for this celebration of Chinese Language Day.
I thank the organizers for inviting me to help launch the Day’s festivities, under the theme “Chinese wisdom for a green world.”
The works of the calligraphers and artists on display are a reminder that language – in its many forms and reflections – is a bridge to understanding.
I am struck by the message vividly conveyed in these works of art: that of harmony with nature.
It is a concept that has been intertwined with China’s agricultural civilization for thousands of years.
The philosopher Zhuang-zi is well known for saying: “The universe and I come into being together; I and everything therein are one”.
I learned a long time ago that Chinese characters were derived from pictograms portraying the natural world.
Many of them incorporate elements of Chinese philosophy and reflect the deep connection between language, nature and society.
For example, the compound for “harmony” combines the characters for “mouth” and “grain” – invoking an image of people sharing a meal and highlighting the importance of human interaction.
I think it also contains a lesson about abundance and scarcity – and their effects on our societies across the globe.
To me, this interpretation is at the heart of why we, as an international community, must adjust the ways we consume and produce – do more and better with less.
In my reading, this character also reminds us that we cannot fall out of harmony with our natural world.
If we want to achieve that balance, we will need all the knowledge we can have, all the will we can muster and – like these artists had – a dose of creativity to spark transformational change.
With the seventy-seventh session having passed the midway milestone, we are in an important phase of our work in the General Assembly.
We have to deal with a wide range of challenges that can only be tackled jointly.
To do so, we must “love the people, and cherish all lives,” as ancient Chinese philosopher Mencius aptly said.
With thousands of years of accumulated knowledge behind it, China is in a fortunate position to supply the world with the goods that are needed most – solutions.
I look forward to China’s continued contribution of wisdom, resources and solutions to our joint quest.
The quest for harmony between peoples – and between people and planet.
Happy Chinese Language Day to all, and I thank you.
Xie Xie.
