Ambassador Ma Publishes Article of Mid-autumn Festival on Sudan Vision
2019-09-12 17:47
On September 12th, Chinese Ambassador to Sudan Ma Xinmin publishes an signature article titled Brightest Full Moon on Mid-autumn Festival Symbolizes Bright Future of China-Sudan Relations for the China Focus Column on Sudan Vision. The full text is as follows:
The Mid-autumn Festival, a traditional Chinese Festival, falls on September 13 this year, the 15th day of the 8th month in the Chinese lunar calendar year, which is just the middle of autumn, a season bringing cool and refreshing breeze filled with faint fragrance of osmanthus flowers. As a Chinese couplet goes, "the middle of autumn often arrives with a full moon in the sky and brings harvest and happiness to people", the Chinese people have cultivated and boasted a distinctive culture for the Mid-autumn Festival, from their worship of full moon, an astronomical phenomenon that occurs once every month.
Dating back to the 7th century A.D., the Mid-autumn Festival originates in the moon worship of Chinese people in ancient times, and mirrors Chinese people's pursuit of adaptation between humans and themselves, integration of humans and the community, and harmony between humans and nature. It is this moon worship that gives birth to a number of beautiful legends in Chinese culture, adding a bit of mystery to the Mid-autumn Festival.
Brilliant moon shines on the reunion festival night. The Mid-autumn Festival is an enjoyable moment to celebrate reunion which is the realm of life that Chinese people have pursued for long. It has been the custom for Chinese people, since the ancient times, to enjoy the moonlight, eat mooncakes and drink wine fermented with osmanthus flowers, for example, together with their family members when the Mid-autumn Festival approaches, just as the line from an ancient Chinese poem says "everyone is eager to appreciate the full moon on the Mid-autumn Festival night", which well captures the feelings of missing the hometown and family members. Standing the test of time of more than one thousand years, certain cultural elements, such as reunion, peace, tranquility and homesickness, have turned into iconic symbols of the Mid-autumn Festival, becoming one of important features of Chinese culture.
Brilliant moonlight witnesses sincere talks, as the Mid-Autumn Festival is a joyful occasion for catching up on friends and deepening friendship. It is widely known that friendship and cooperation are the eternal pursuit of China-Sudan relations. The past 60 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries have seen the mutual learning between Chinese civilization and Nubia civilization and witnessed the countless efforts of 1.4 billion Chinese people to breathe the same breath as the people of Sudan, share the same future and stay truly connected to them. The Friendship Hall, the Abu Ushar Hospital and the Omdurman Occupational Training Center all demonstrate the sincere China-Sudan friendship that has stood the test of time in the past 60 years and grown much deeper and stronger.
Brilliant moonlight witnesses harvest celebration, as the Mid-autumn Festival comes at an important time when people are busy with harvesting fruits. China has achieved leapfrog development and remarkable success over the past 70 years since the founding of the new China, seeing dramatically improved composite national strength, ever-growing international influence and significantly stronger innovation capacity in cutting-edge technologies, ranging from 3D printing, big data and internet of things to artificial intelligence, cloud computing and 5G, and now doing its utmost to contribute more "Chinese wisdom" to the international community.
Nothing can separate people who share the same vision. I hope China-Sudan partnership will undergo a smooth transition under the new circumstances and enter a new stage. I am confident that the joint efforts made by both sides will usher into another harvest season for bilateral ties.
A Chinese ancient poem says that "though far apart, we all share the beautiful moment when the bright moon rises above the sea". As the traditional Chinese Mid-autumn Festival draws near, I would like to extend our warm greetings and heartful wishes to all compatriots and friends from all walks of life in Sudan, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Sudan. I hope there will be more Sudanese friends showing interest in learning about the Mid-autumn Festival and exploring the broad and profound Chinese culture, playing as the dream pursuers to deepen China-Sudan friendly cooperation and build the China-Sudan community with a shared future.
Dating back to the 7th century A.D., the Mid-autumn Festival originates in the moon worship of Chinese people in ancient times, and mirrors Chinese people's pursuit of adaptation between humans and themselves, integration of humans and the community, and harmony between humans and nature. It is this moon worship that gives birth to a number of beautiful legends in Chinese culture, adding a bit of mystery to the Mid-autumn Festival.
Brilliant moon shines on the reunion festival night. The Mid-autumn Festival is an enjoyable moment to celebrate reunion which is the realm of life that Chinese people have pursued for long. It has been the custom for Chinese people, since the ancient times, to enjoy the moonlight, eat mooncakes and drink wine fermented with osmanthus flowers, for example, together with their family members when the Mid-autumn Festival approaches, just as the line from an ancient Chinese poem says "everyone is eager to appreciate the full moon on the Mid-autumn Festival night", which well captures the feelings of missing the hometown and family members. Standing the test of time of more than one thousand years, certain cultural elements, such as reunion, peace, tranquility and homesickness, have turned into iconic symbols of the Mid-autumn Festival, becoming one of important features of Chinese culture.
Brilliant moonlight witnesses sincere talks, as the Mid-Autumn Festival is a joyful occasion for catching up on friends and deepening friendship. It is widely known that friendship and cooperation are the eternal pursuit of China-Sudan relations. The past 60 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries have seen the mutual learning between Chinese civilization and Nubia civilization and witnessed the countless efforts of 1.4 billion Chinese people to breathe the same breath as the people of Sudan, share the same future and stay truly connected to them. The Friendship Hall, the Abu Ushar Hospital and the Omdurman Occupational Training Center all demonstrate the sincere China-Sudan friendship that has stood the test of time in the past 60 years and grown much deeper and stronger.
Brilliant moonlight witnesses harvest celebration, as the Mid-autumn Festival comes at an important time when people are busy with harvesting fruits. China has achieved leapfrog development and remarkable success over the past 70 years since the founding of the new China, seeing dramatically improved composite national strength, ever-growing international influence and significantly stronger innovation capacity in cutting-edge technologies, ranging from 3D printing, big data and internet of things to artificial intelligence, cloud computing and 5G, and now doing its utmost to contribute more "Chinese wisdom" to the international community.
Nothing can separate people who share the same vision. I hope China-Sudan partnership will undergo a smooth transition under the new circumstances and enter a new stage. I am confident that the joint efforts made by both sides will usher into another harvest season for bilateral ties.
A Chinese ancient poem says that "though far apart, we all share the beautiful moment when the bright moon rises above the sea". As the traditional Chinese Mid-autumn Festival draws near, I would like to extend our warm greetings and heartful wishes to all compatriots and friends from all walks of life in Sudan, on behalf of the Chinese Embassy in Sudan. I hope there will be more Sudanese friends showing interest in learning about the Mid-autumn Festival and exploring the broad and profound Chinese culture, playing as the dream pursuers to deepen China-Sudan friendly cooperation and build the China-Sudan community with a shared future.