A call to embrace Chinese Hehe culture's values of harmony, peace, and cooperation

BEIJING, Dec. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 gathers opinions from China hands around the world to explore the global significance of "Hehe" culture from various perspectives. This is the first piece of the series. The author, Colin Mackerras, is an Australian Sinologist and Emeritus Professor at Griffith University.

There's a story about a poet with the pseudonym Hanshan (Cold Mountain) and a Buddhist monk, Shide, in China. In the Tang Dynasty (618-907), they lived in the Guoqing Temple of Zhejiang, a secluded place in the highly spiritual Tiantai Mountain. They practiced humility, peace, cooperation and oneness with nature. Both Hanshan and Shide were the inspiration for the Hehe Culture, based on Chinese values like harmony, equality and cooperation, and are regarded as its two main saints.  

Hehe Culture is essentially a culture that emphasizes harmony and convergence, rather than competition and conflict. It is an idea that resonates with Chinese history and shows the combined impact of Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism. Chinese President Xi Jinping summarized it as follows: "The first 'He' of Hehe represents harmony, peace and balance. The second 'He' means convergence, unity and cooperation."

Is Chinese society really harmonious, peaceful and cooperative, and has it been so over the ages? I'll make a very big generalization here and suggest that China really is a harmonious and cooperative society and that its history shows it as such.

The famous Italian explorer Marco Polo visited a city he called Kinsai in the 13th century. He described the city, which is Hangzhou in Zhejiang, as a paradise. It was the capital of the Southern Song dynasty (1126-1279). Here's what he wrote about the people:

"Contentious broils are never heard among them. They conduct their mercantile and manufacturing concerns with perfect candour and probity. They are friendly toward each other, and persons who inhabit the same street, both men and women, from the mere circumstances of neighborhood, appear like one family." He thought there were no "contentious broils," meaning no quarreling or violent incidents. The people appeared like one family - to me, that's pretty strong language. It seems that Marco Polo had no doubt about the harmony and cooperation of Chinese society.

My own experience may not be as extensive as his and our own times are different too. But I can only say that Chinese people appear to me to settle problems generally by rational discussion and try to do things in a non-conflictual way.

The Hehe culture can see the unity of purpose in Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism. Over the past 70-plus years, China has never initiated a war, or occupied an inch of foreign land. It has spread its economic influence, but troops have never followed.

If one were to draw a major conclusion, one would have to say that, despite any violence in China's history, it is enormously more peaceful. What I'm really saying is that there is something very real and genuine about the theory of harmony and cooperation of Chinese society. The idea of the Hehe (harmonious and cooperative) culture is substantive and represents a reality that has a great deal to teach our contemporary world.

We live in a time in which wars are frequent but China is standing as an icon of peace. The world is now moving into a multipolar world, in which China is one of the most important poles, but by no means the only pole.

What the Hehe Culture means is that China is not seeking hegemony nor is it seeking to rule the world. What it seeks, as President Xi has said on numerous occasions, is cooperation for a community with a shared future for mankind. Xi also emphasized that mutual respect, unity, harmony and coexistence are the right path for the development of human civilization.

I think we should heed Xi's Global Civilization initiative, put forward in March 2023. I agree with his emphasis on "equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness among civilizations." It is certainly better than competition among civilizations and the assertion of the superiority of one civilization over the others.

We don't need the tradition of war and proclamation of superiority. What is needed is world peace, equality and diversity. That is the lesson of China's Hehe Culture. Let's strive toward putting the lesson into practice.