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Editor's Note:

The concept of "Hehe" in Chinese culture, with the first "He" embodying harmony, peace and balance and the second representing convergence, unity and cooperation, is central to both the individual and collective mind-set in China. Rooted in thousands of years of philosophy, the idea of "Hehe" serves as a guiding principle for living in harmony with others, nature and oneself. In a broader context, the concept of "Hehe" has significant relevance to the world today, as addressing the global challenges we face in various areas requires the principles that "Hehe" emphasizes. Viewed through a contemporary lens, "Hehe" is a timeless and universal concept that can guide China and the world toward a more harmonious, peaceful and balanced future. The Global Times has gathered opinions from experts and scholars around the world to explore the global significance of "Hehe" culture from various perspectives. This is the fourth piece of the series.


As China continues to deepen its reform and opening-up, the policy does not disrupt the traditional fabric of Chinese civilization. On the contrary, it is aligned with the core values of China's traditional civilization. In English, we might refer to this as "green, cooperative and commercial civilization." These characteristics are embodied in China's Hehe culture, where people work peacefully together toward common goals in a coordinated and sustainable manner.

When considering the connection between reform and opening-up and "Hehe" culture, I immediately think about a story during Christmas in 1996. A close friend of mine asked if my wife and I could help her buy two Chinese stone lions as a Christmas gift for her husband. My wife, who was born in Beijing, suggested that we go to Quyang County, North China's Hebei Province, where locals produce stone sculptures.

I was stunned when we arrived after a three-hour drive from Beijing. Statues, made of marble, granite, and basalt, of various sizes and motifs, lined the narrow streets in village after village. Most depicted Chinese figures, but there were also designs based on foreign influences, such as Italian and Greek styles. While many households engaged in some farm work on the side, the primary focus was on stone carving. Obviously, this production center for statues had not been established recently. Some of the rocks had been transported from distant stone mines. Coordinated and specialized production of this type serving urban communities across large regions must be rooted in long traditions passed down through generations from father to son.

I can't say I understood the significance of this experience in a sudden flash. But the image of all these statues in a remote village, waiting to be shipped to customers in Chinese cities or abroad, stayed with me as I revised my understanding of the Chinese countryside.

This experience deepened my understanding of how Chinese society embodies the principles of "Hehe" culture through its coordinated and sustainable practices. The phenomenon of the stone-carving village represents more than just the prosperity of local craftsmanship. It demonstrates that collaboration within communities and with external markets forms the backbone of success. This tradition of coordinated cooperation, rooted in sustainability and harmony, is a defining feature of Chinese civilization.

Gradually I realized that the Chinese civilization was characterized by an ancient tradition of local and regional cooperation. I began to notice that similar specialized centers are a common feature of many Chinese countryside. The close connection and division of labor between the various stages of the process, from the mining and transportation of the stone to the carving and marketing, are typical expressions of the spirit of cooperation.

In Hehe culture, the first character he can be translated as harmonious, peaceful and coordinated cooperation. This character is formed by combining the characters for grains he and the character for mouth (or a cooking pot) kou. The Chinese people have always recognized the supreme importance of close and sustainable cooperation in feeding everyone.

With extensive infrastructure for transportation reaching every corner of the state, the scope of cooperation expanded to include non-agricultural production. The second character he in Hehe culture reflects this development. It combines the character for "men" - ren, the numeral "one" - yi, and the character for "mouth" - kou, expressing the cooperation and commerce between people for a common goal, even though it is not directly related to food production. 

Hehe culture is not only embodied in local production patterns, but also carries over to the philosophy of governance at the national level as a whole. The essence of "Hehe" is harmony and win-win cooperation, which promotes overall development through the coordination of respecting diversity and realizing common goals. This philosophy also serves as an important cultural pillar for the success of China's reform and opening-up.

Since the reforms and opening-up, there has been a steady flow of foreign investment making use of China's low labor cost and the tradition of specialized labor. Furthermore, the traditional openness of Chinese civilization to fresh ideas and novel merchandise created a large and expanding local market for new products.

The policy of reform and opening-up has unleashed the pent-up potential of the productive forces inherent in traditional Chinese society. It has also revitalized the traditional "Hehe" spirit embedded in Chinese society. For instance, the establishment of specialized industrial zones and supply chains - like those seen in Quyang's stone-carving industry, which remains vibrant to this day - demonstrates how ancient traditions of collaboration and division of labor have been integrated with modernity and global markets.

China today continues its policy of opening-up. Reform and opening-up is not a temporary policy that will be discontinued one day; rather, it is directly linked to China's ancient tradition of specialized production and advanced supply chains. This tradition is further extended as China's cooperation with foreign partners and China's market develops, as well as consumption diversifies with new products. This explains China's success in adapting to the globalization of the world economy.

On the other hand, after years of hasty development at a great cost to the environment, a new layer has been emphasized in this new era - sustainable development, which is also a core value Hehe culture emphasizes.

A sustainable civilization must be rooted in sustainable use of its natural resources and ecology, sustainable social development and sustainable relations with other civilizations.

In addition, it must be based on "innovative, coordinated, green, open and inclusive development" as President Xi Jinping describes it. Development cannot be called "green" if it is not sustainable, and it must be "innovative, coordinated, open and inclusive" to be cooperative and commercial. And none of these conditions are met if a civilization isn't "peaceful."

This commitment to sustainability and cooperation is reflected in China's opening-up to the world. By inviting foreign companies to enter the Chinese market and collaborate with local partners, China links its development to the broader process of globalization. Chinese companies, in turn, are going global and prefer to partner with foreign counterparts which they can trust. By inviting foreign businesses to participate in its domestic market and encouraging Chinese enterprises to expand globally, China exemplifies the principles of inclusivity and mutual benefit. These efforts contribute to building a greener, more cooperative global economy.

The author is vice chairperson of the Council of the International Confucian Association and Iceland's former minister counselor to China. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn