No culture can survive by seeking hegemony, just as no flower, no matter how beautiful, can thrive alone.

When speaking of cultural exchanges between China and the outside world, we naturally think of Zheng He’s westbound voyages 600 years ago. Zheng’s fleet embarked upon seven expeditions to the Indian Ocean, which the Chinese called the “Western Ocean,” and made several landings on the coast of East Africa. In the National Museum of Tanzania, the curator proudly displayed to us a few porcelain objects from the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). We were told that they were brought to Africa by Zheng’s fleet. Although no longer intact, they are considered to be some of the museum’s greatest treasures. The African people regard Zheng as an envoy of peace and culture from China, and the porcelain pieces as exemplars of long-standing friendship and cultural exchanges between China and Africa.

Not far from the museum lies the Indian Ocean. A Tanzanian friend, pointing toward a wide strip of coastline, suggested to us seriously that this area might be where Zheng disembarked. Looking out into the vast ocean from the coast of Dar es Salaam, it seemed that I could see a fleet looming up from afar, with Zheng, a sturdy and composed figure, standing at the prow of the ship with the appropriate demeanor of an envoy from a major country in the East. Today, few traces can be found of Zheng’s voyages to Africa apart from those broken porcelain pieces. But Zheng sowed the seeds of friendship and culture. African people take great delight in telling Zheng’s stories because they cherish China-Africa friendship and respect the Chinese culture. They know what the Chinese brought to Africa was peace and friendship, along with a culture representing the apex of world civilization at the time. Large numbers of Western colonizers arrived in Africa after Zheng. They brought to Africa warships and cannons, looting, killing, and slavery, and they imposed their religions and languages on the African people.

We can see from our visit that cultural exchanges should be based on respect and peace. The African people cherish their friendship with China because the Chinese have a culture of peaceful coexistence and tolerance, rather than of arrogance, condescension, and egoism.

The hypothesis of “the clash of civilizations” was created a few years ago, followed by attempts to push “cultural globalization.” Some people are deeply obsessed with the dogmatic idea that their culture is superior to others, and that they are under an obligation to rule and “illuminate” the world, and they attempt to consolidate their position as the “cultural center.” In my opinion, the coexistence of a broad variety of cultures in the world indicates that cultural diversity should be the common ideal of all mankind. Economic globalization should help promote exchanges among countries and peoples, and create the opportunity for various cultures to display their own strengths, rather than becoming a tool for pushing just one or only a few cultural models, or being a pretext for promoting “universal values.”

If there was only one uniform culture, the world would suffer a cultural disaster. Chinese philosophy advocates “harmony in diversity,” a sensible and far-sighted idea. I fully agree with the slogan put forward by some cultural workers, “China is a stage for the world and the world a stage for China.” It exhibits Chinese culture’s inclusiveness and tolerance, as well as expressing the cultural confidence and ideals of its people. The world is too big for any single culture to dominate. A single flower, no matter how pretty it is, cannot thrive alone, neither can a single culture.

Cultural exchange has to be two-way for the purpose of interaction and renewal. Of course there are clashes and even conflicts, but the final goals should be cultural diversity, development, and prosperity. Cultural diversity and cultural exchange are two concurrent trends, involving interaction and fusion. Clashes are inevitable yet necessary for they can give birth to inspiration and cultural innovations.