Great Virtue Accommodates All Things

The idea of virtue accommodating all things originated  in The Book of Changes. "The earth is generous and peaceful, and similarly, a man of virtue should have ample virtue and accommodate all things," it reads. This means that the earth, being generous and peaceful, sustains all things. Men of virtue should model themselves after the earth by caring for all things and fellow human beings with an open heart and virtues. The idea demonstrates the Chinese outlook on self-cultivation and social interaction. It instructs people to cultivate virtues of gen- erosity, broad-mindedness, and mildness, respect differences and diversity, and seek harmony in relationships with others and society.

Alongside the notion of continuous efforts to strengthen oneself, it constitutes a fundamental trait of the Chinese nation which was fully embodied in pursuits of change and openness during the reform and opening up in contemporary China.

厚德載物

厚德載物出自《周易·坤卦·象傳》，原文是“地勢(shì)坤，君子以厚德載物”。意為大地寬廣和順、涵養(yǎng)萬物，君子為人處世應(yīng)像大地一樣，以博大寬厚的德行包容萬物。厚德載物體現(xiàn)了中國(guó)人自身修養(yǎng)與社會(huì)交往的信念追求。在中國(guó)人看來，一個(gè)人應(yīng)修養(yǎng)自身德行，培養(yǎng)寬厚、包容、柔和的道德品格，尊重不同、維持多元，與他人和社會(huì)和諧相處。

自強(qiáng)不息、厚德載物構(gòu)成了中華民族精神的基本品格。當(dāng)代中國(guó)改革開放的進(jìn)程，集中體現(xiàn)了這樣的變革和開放精神。