Harmony without uniformity

This term is from The Analects of Confucius. A man of honor seeks harmony without monotony of views. Forging identity means setting aside the differences among things, while seeking harmony means recognizing such differences.

The Chinese culture advocates harmonious coexistence of the whole, on the basis of respecting differences and diversity. Differences supplement each other to make up a harmonious whole full of vigor and creativity.

In his speech at the General Debate of the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly at the UN headquarters in 2015 and the UN Office at Geneva in January 2017, Xi Jinping analyzed the trends of human development, summarized China's experience and cultural history, and emphasized the concept of "harmony without uniformity." This is an important symbol of traditional Chinese culture. It embodies the profound philosophical thinking and wisdom and reflects the pursuit and character of the Chinese nation. It also provides theoretical and value support for building a global community of shared future in the new era.

和而不同

“和而不同”出自《論語》，意指君子能夠與他人和諧相處，卻不盲從附和。 “同”與“和”是對待社會群體的兩種態度。“同”指對事物差異性的抹殺，“和”則意味著對事物差異性的認同。中華文化主張在尊重事物差異性和多樣性的基礎上，實現整體的和諧共存，認為不同的事物只有彼此間相互輔助、補充，才能組成一個充滿生機、富于創造性的和諧整體。

習近平在2015年第七十屆聯合國大會一般性辯論時的講話以及在2017年聯合國日內瓦總部的演講中，分別基于人類歷史發展潮流大勢，總結了中國自身發展的歷史經驗和文化傳承，強調了“和而不同”的理念。“和而不同”理念作為中華優秀傳統文化的一個重要標識，富有極其深刻的哲學思辨與中國智慧，體現了中華民族的價值追求與民族性格，是新時代推動構建人類命運共同體的重要思想基礎與價值支撐。