Japan: Miles Apart, but Close at Heart.

The international community has given great understanding and support to China in its fight against the COVID-19 epidemic. Japan and China are neighbors that always offer mutual assistance in times of hardship. The Japanese government and the Japanese people took immediate action to provide aid materials and voice support, bringing encouragement and warmth to the Chinese government and the Chinese people.

"Miles apart, but close at heart." This was a two-line poem written in Chinese by the Japanese HSK Bureau on the boxes of supplies it donated to China in its fight against the novel coronavirus. As the poem describes, while mountains and rivers separate China and Japan, the two countries enjoy the same moonlight under the same sky. Also quoted by former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in a video message sent to show his support to Wuhan, the poem has brought the people of the two countries closer, and has evoked a significant moment in the history of cultural exchanges between China and Japan. 

The poem was composed by Prince Nagaya of Japan more than 1,000 years ago. During his reign, Japan often sent ambassadors to China to learn Buddhism and Chinese culture. The hymn was embroidered on 1,000 Buddhist robes that Prince Nagaya sent to the Chinese monks. Moved by the Prince's hymn, Jianzhen (688-763), the renowned Buddhist master and traveler of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), decided to go on a voyage to Japan despite hardship, promoting friendly exchanges between the two countries.

As an old Chinese saying goes, "You toss me a peach, I give you a white jade in return." In mid-to-late February, as confirmed patients increased in Japan, China donated a batch of COVID-19 nucleic acid testing kits to Japan and strengthened information sharing. These benign interactions demonstrate that the two countries share an inextricably linked destiny and cooperate to protect regional and international public health security.

日本：山川異域，風月同天

國際社會對中國抗擊新冠肺炎疫情給予了極大的理解和支持，日本作為一衣帶水、守望相助的友好鄰邦，第一時間以官民一體、文道合一的物資援助和輿論支持，為中國政府和人民帶來了鼓勵與溫情。

1月29日，日本漢語教學考試機構HSK事務局在捐贈湖北的物資貼紙上，寫下“山川異域，風月同天”的詩意留言，寓意中日兩國雖然山川各異，然而卻能同沐清風、共賞明月。日本前首相鳩山由紀夫在為武漢加油的視頻中，也提到了這句話。詩意的留言拉近并溫暖了兩國民眾的心，喚起了中日文化交流源遠流長的美好記憶?！吧酱ó愑?，風月同天”的作者是一千多年前日本政界的重量級人物長屋親王。其執政時，日本頻繁派出遣唐使來中國學習佛法與先進文化。長屋親王命人制作千件繡著“山川異域，風月同天；寄諸佛子，共結來緣”偈語的袈裟，隨遣唐使帶給中國的高僧。鑒真大師為偈語所感動，不畏艱險前往日本弘揚佛法，為中日友好交流播下了種子。

“投我以木桃，報之以瓊瑤”。2月中下旬，隨著日本新冠肺炎確診病例持續增加，中國無償提供新冠病毒核酸檢測試劑，進一步同日方分享信息經驗，體現了兩國命運與共、密切協作，維護地區和世界公共衛生安全的積極姿態。