Chinese Civilization: Consolidating Foundations While Embracing Innovation and Championing Openness and Inclusiveness

The enduring vitality of Chinese civilization springs from the wisdom of consolidating foundations while embracing innovation and from a spirit of openness and inclusiveness. This is what has enabled the Chinese people to hold fast to our cultural roots while continuously forging new paths, and to maintain our cultural identity while drawing nourishment from exchanges and mutual learning with others.

I. Consolidating foundations while embracing innovation

Hailed as the “Axial-Age civilizations,” the civilizations of ancient Greece, pre-Qin China (before 221 BC), and ancient India all reached their zenith around the 5th century BC. Thanks to processes of continuous development and innovation, these civilizations had already built up rich and profound foundations during the classical period. It can be said that the “cultural genes” formed in history constitute the bedrock of these civilizations, profoundly shaping their fundamental features and later development paths. Down through history, Western civilization repeatedly returned to its origins—ancient Greece and Rome—for inspiration. Likewise, throughout China’s history, sages consistently revisited the pre-Qin era, antiquity, and the dawn of Chinese civilization in search of wisdom. This made the pre-Qin philosophers an enduring wellspring of inspiration for later generations.

Chinese civilization has always remained committed to its fundamental principles, thus consistently consolidating its foundations. Traditional Chinese culture encompasses some vital elements: a cosmology that reveres heaven and earth based on the ideas of “upholding the law of nature” and “following the will of heaven and the tide of the times,” that views the environment through the concepts of “unity between all things” and “harmonious coexistence,” and that utilizes nature in line with the principle of “taking with moderation and using with restraint”; a worldview that advocates “pursuing the common good for all,” “being open-minded like an ocean welcoming all rivers,” “seeking harmony in diversity,” and “fostering neighborliness”; a social philosophy that values “the people as the foundation of the state,” “unified governance across the country,” “reform and innovation,” and “governance by virtue”; and an moral ethos that calls for “ceaselessly pursuing self-improvement,” “embracing the world with virtue,” “acting in good faith and fostering harmony,” and “applying knowledge for the greater good.” Embedded in these elements are continuity, innovativeness, unity, inclusiveness, and peacefulness—attributes that enable time-honored Chinese civilization to constantly renew itself.

Over 300 guests from both China and abroad visit an exhibition titled Origins of Chinese Civilization from an Archaeological Perspective at the Chinese Archaeological Museum, November 6, 2024. The exhibition was one of a series of sideline events held in conjunction with the inaugural World Conference of Classics, which was run in Beijing from November 6 to 8, 2024. PHOTO BY XINHUA REPORTER ZHANG CHENLIN

While consolidating foundations, Chinese civilization has also been able to open up new horizons. As a civilization that proactively seeks change and evolves with the times, it has experienced institutional reforms over the course of history, with each era giving rise to its own institutional innovations.

To develop a governance system for a unified state, China adopted ways of management such as enfeoffment in the pre-Qin period, the prefecture and county setup in the Qin Dynasty (221–206 BC), the dual system of prefectures and principalities in the Han Dynasty (206 BC–220 AD), and the provincial structure in the Yuan Dynasty (1206–1368). In terms of talent selection and social mobility mechanisms, China created the evaluation-recommendation system in the Han Dynasty, the nine-rank hierarchy in the Wei-Jin period (220–420), and the imperial examinations in the Sui (581–618) and Tang (618–907) dynasties. In terms of economic governance, it developed the well-field arrangement of land ownership in the pre-Qin period, the two-tax system in the Tang Dynasty, the “green sprouts loan” policy in the Song Dynasty (960–1279), the single-whip method of taxation in the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), and the policy of merging the head tax with the land tax during the Qing Dynasty (1616–1911).

Throughout history, China has also pioneered scientific and technological innovations. Rice cultivation emerged in China 10,000 years ago. This was followed by the creation of painted pottery and jade artifacts 9,000 years ago and silk production 5,000–6,000 years ago. More than 5,000 years ago, large-scale water conservancy projects rivaling those of today were being built in the ancient city of Liangzhu, while bronze smelting technology was developed 3,500 years ago. Particularly notable is iron smelting technology, which originated in the Hittite civilization of West Asia 4,000 years ago, before reaching China around 3,000 years ago. At that time, it was only possible to produce low-temperature wrought iron, which was rather soft, limiting its usage. This went on until high-temperature pig iron smelting technology appeared in China 2,500 years ago during the Spring and Autumn period. During the Han Dynasty, further innovations were made with the introduction of puddling and co-fusion techniques for steelmaking. This made China a world leader in this field, given that Western European countries only began casting pig iron around the 14th century. These technologies, refined over thousands of years of continuous innovation, have had a profound impact on human development.

The process of consolidating foundations and embracing innovation has never ceased for Chinese civilization. Today, this dynamic is evident in a wide range of evolutions: from governance philosophies emphasizing “the people as the foundation of the state” and “governance by virtue” to the vibrant practice of whole-process people’s democracy; from the economic principles of enriching the people, improving their lives, and pursuing both the greater good and shared interests to a socialist market economy advancing toward common prosperity; from the ecological ideas of promoting harmony between humanity and nature and the coexistence of all living things to substantial achievements in ecological conservation under the notion that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets; and from social ideals of pursuing world harmony and the common good for all to the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. It is through consolidating its foundations while embracing innovation and upholding its fundamental principles while breaking new ground that Chinese civilization has been able to bridge antiquity and modernity and brim with boundless vitality.

II. Openness and inclusiveness

China’s civilizational outlook, shaped by its vast territory and extraordinarily large population, differs from perspectives that tend to emphasize distinctions between the internal and external, hierarchical divisions, and friends and enemies. As a result, Chinese civilization has generally displayed an open, inclusive, and broad-minded ethos across its history of five millennia.

The origins of Chinese civilization, though scattered like stars across the sky, possessed an inherent unity. Over a long period of development, they evolved into a self-contained “world” defined by extraordinary diversity. While primarily a sedentary agricultural civilization spanning vast territory and encompassing an immense population, this world also incorporated nomadic and maritime cultures. The cultures of different ethnic groups converged to create Chinese culture as a whole. Not only do we have Han classics such as Confucian canonical texts, historical records, philosophical works, and belles-lettres, but we also have cultural treasures from the Mongolian, Tibetan, Uyghur, and other ethnic groups, which together constitute the classical culture of the Chinese nation.

Though already vast in territory, China did not close its doors to the outside world. Instead, it developed an outward-looking worldview defined by connectivity and peaceful cooperation. As a result of Zhang Qian’s pioneering passage through the Western Regions in the 2nd century BC and the westward pilgrimages of Faxian (circa 334–420), the Chinese people developed the overland Silk Road and gained knowledge about the vast Eurasian continent. Maritime routes in the South China Sea were developed during the Wei-Jin period and the Northern and Southern Dynasties (420–589). In the Tang Dynasty, ports like Quanzhou became the launching points for the Maritime Silk Road. In the Yuan Dynasty, Wang Dayuan (1311–?) reached the coast of East Africa during his oceanic expeditions. In the Ming Dynasty, Zheng He (1371–1433) voyaged to the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea. In addition, coastal communities in southeast China kept migrating to Southeast Asia for a long period of time. All of this served to foster a broad and peaceful maritime outlook.

Chinese civilization, throughout its development, continuously learned from other cultures. At the same time, its artifacts, institutions, and culture profoundly influenced the world. Silk, for example, became a luxury item for the ancient Roman nobility; porcelain served as an artistic medium during the Western European Renaissance; and numerous Chinese elements were introduced to Enlightenment-era Europe thanks to a chinoiserie craze. In addition, the Chinese imperial examinations and concepts of social order and governance, such as non-action (wuwei) and “Dao follows nature” (dao fa ziran), exerted an important influence on the development of modern European civil service systems and the birth of the market economy.

Chinese civilization is thus characterized by a high level of openness and inclusiveness. In the Tang Dynasty, the imperial capital of Chang’an (present-day Xi’an) brought together Persian merchants, Japanese envoys, and Indian monks, while the grotto murals in the city of Dunhuang blended Central Asian linear styles with Chinese artistic conception. Both of these examples illustrate the inclusive nature of Chinese civilization, which is characterized by harmony in diversity. Byzantine gold coins, Sassanian silver coins, Spanish silver dollars, and Mexican silver dollars all circulated in China during different periods. China’s culinary landscape also testifies to its openness and inclusiveness.

Throughout its history, China experienced four major waves of crop and livestock introductions. The first unfolded from the Neolithic Age to the Shang (1600–1046 BC) and the Zhou (1046–256 BC) dynasties, when barley, wheat, horses, cattle, and sheep were introduced, giving rise to the country’s basic agricultural mix of five grains and six types of livestock. The second wave in the following Qin and Han dynasties saw alfalfa, grapes, and garlic introduced via the Silk Road, enriching the Chinese diet. The third wave occurred during the Tang and Song dynasties, when Persian dates, spinach, and watermelons arrived via maritime and land routes, expanding China’s varieties of fruits and vegetables. During the fourth wave in the Ming and Qing dynasties, numerous American crops made their way into China. Corn, sweet potatoes, and potatoes all helped boost agricultural output, while the arrival of chili peppers and tobacco paved the way for commercialized agriculture. As these foreign crops were well-suited to China’s natural conditions and social needs, they were integrated into its agrarian system through local cultivation and helped enrich the Chinese diet.

Quanzhou, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2021 as an “Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China,” also epitomizes the openness and inclusiveness of Chinese civilization. The city’s hundreds of temples were dedicated to more than 500 deities, serving as a showcase for the harmonious coexistence of Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, and Manichaeism, among other religious traditions. Moreover, as a 10th–14th century global maritime hub, Quanzhou also fostered networks for transoceanic and cross-civilizational exchanges through flows of technology, goods, and people.

The inclusiveness of Chinese civilization stems from its ability to internalize elements of other cultures. Like a great melting pot, it integrates foreign cultural influences into its mainstream. For example, Tang artisans incorporated Central Asian glazing techniques to create blue-and-white porcelain. Later, during the Yuan Dynasty, this craft was perfected with the adoption of a cobalt pigment known as “Samarra Blue” imported from West Asia, making blue-and-white porcelain a widely acclaimed popular commodity and a symbol of Chinese civilization. The Tang monk Yi Xing drew on Indian calendric advances to create the Dayan Calendar, while the Ming scholar Xu Guangqi combined Western mathematics and astronomy with Chinese traditional science to develop the Chongzhen Calendar. The Huqin, a bowed and plucked string instrument originating from northern ethnic minority groups during the Tang Dynasty, evolved into varied forms after entering the Central Plains to serve as accompaniments in traditional regional operas. The operatic culture arising from this synthesis became a hallmark of Chinese civilization. Grounded in China’s cultural agency, these innovations were the result of actively transforming foreign cultural achievements rather than passively accepting them, enabling Chinese civilization to transcend itself.

China’s historical engagement with the outside world has not been defined by civilizational clash but rather cultural integration. This has given rise to complementarity and innovation. Buddhism, introduced from India and remolded through Wei-Jin metaphysical philosophy and Tang-Song Chan Buddhism, ultimately became Chinese in essence. The introduction of Buddhism also ushered in new phases of development for Confucianism and Daoism. Consequently, a tripartite framework emerged in Chinese culture, characterized by the interconnection, integration, and mutual reinforcement of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism. Another example is Marxism, which originated in Europe but took root and flourished in China. This is because Marxism and traditional Chinese culture fit with and complement each other. Their combination sparked a profound “chemical reaction” to create a new and unified living cultural entity.

III. Contemporary relevance

Chinese civilization is characterized by both continuity and innovativeness. These traits dictate that consolidating foundations while embracing innovation is a prerequisite for creating a new form of human advancement and the cornerstone of building a community with a shared future for humanity.

Chinese modernization is not Westernization. Only by rooting our modernization in China’s own civilizational foundations can we create a different model of modernization that serves as a reference and source of inspiration for other civilizations beyond the Western path. Chinese modernization is rooted in China’s civilizational traditions. Such traditions include pursuit of the common good for all, great harmony in society, peace among all nations, unity between humanity and nature, unification of the country, and merit-based appointment of officials, all of which provide rich nourishment for contemporary practice. At the same time, the point of consolidating civilizational foundations is to pursue innovations that help spur the creative transformation and innovative development of traditional Chinese culture. The recent globally trending Chinese video games and animated films have exemplified this success, turning distinctive traditional cultural icons such as Sun Wukong and Nezha into super IPs.

Chinese civilization is both highly unified and remarkably inclusive. Rather than replacing diverse cultures with a single monolithic culture, it creates a shared culture by bringing together multiple different cultures. Chinese civilization is also distinctly peaceful by nature. All these features make openness and inclusiveness essential prerequisites for China’s efforts to create a new form of human advancement. Standing in sharp contrast to “survival of the fittest” and “the law of the jungle” paradigms, this makes it truly possible to create a world in which diverse civilizations flourish in unison.

Peng Gang is Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Committee and Vice President of Tsinghua University.

(Originally appeared in Qiushi Journal, Chinese edition, No. 11, 2025)