The East and the West, Let’s enjoy the combination of the two cultures?
Kipling said:“East is east, and west is west, and never the twain shall meet!” But now, a century later, they have met.
They have met in business. They have met in education. They have met in the arts. Some people will argue that these meetings will leave us with a choice between east and west, but I believe that the best future lies in the creative combination of both worlds. We can make western ideas, customs and technology our own, and adapt them to our own use. We can enjoy the best of both worlds, because our tradition is, above all, one of selecting the best and making it our own.
I love Beijing and Hennan opera because it always reminds me of who I am. But I am also a fan of pop music, especially English songs. So I have combined eastern melody with western language. It is called western henna opera.
When two cultures meet, there may be things in one culture, which do not fit into the tradition of the other. When this happens, we need to learn to understand and respect the customs of another culture. Then there are certain things some people may not like. To this, I will say, if you do not like it, please try to tolerate it. To learn to tolerate what you personally don’t like is a great virtue at a time when different cultures mix and merge. Before us, there are two rivers, eastern and western cultures. At present, they may run in different courses. But eventually, they will converge into the vast sea of human culture.
Right now, I can see peoples of eastern and western cultures, standing side by side, singing the Olympic theme song: we are hand in hand, heart to heart, together we will shape a beautiful tomorrow! Thank you!
吉卜林说过:东方是东方,西方是西方,二者永不相聚。但是一个世纪后的今天,东西方相汇了! 它们相聚在经济领域,它们相聚在教育领域,它们相聚在艺术的殿堂。有人争论说:这种融合需要我们在东方和西方之间做出选择,但我却坚信最美好的未来在于东方和西方创造性的融合。我们可以将西方的思想,观念和技术变为我们自己所用的东西。
我喜爱京剧和河南豫剧,因为它们经常使我想起自己是谁。但我也热衷于流行音乐,特别是英文歌曲。于是我将东方的旋律和西方的语言结合到了一起,它叫做西方版的河南豫剧。
当两种文化相结合的时候,也许一方的文化中的某些东西不适应另一方的传统文化。当此种情况出现时,我们需要试着理解并接受另一种文化中的风俗习惯。然而,也许有些东西你并不喜欢,对于此,我可以说,如果你不喜欢它,请试着去容忍它。当两种文化融合的时候,试着去容忍你个人不喜欢的东西是一种美德。
在我们面前有两条河流,东方文化和西方文化。现在,它们也许正朝着不同的方向流去。但是最终它们将汇合到人类文化的海洋里。
就在此时此刻,我看见东方和西方的人肩并肩的站在一起,高唱奥林匹克主题曲:我们手拉手,心靠着心,共同创造美好的明天!