Draw on the Achievements of Other Civilizations
Chinese civilization respects guests from afar and attaches importance to comparing oneself with others and learning from their strengths. The first chapter of The Analects of Confucius emphasizes the importance of learning and understanding. The book stresses the importance of drawing from the strengths of others with axioms such as "When three people walk together, at least one teacher is always available" and "When we see a man of virtue and talent, we should emulate him." These old sayings underscore the importance of learning from others' strengths.
Historically, Chinese civilization learned, digested, and absorbed many concepts of Buddhism, a foreign religion, to form various schools of localized Chinese Buddhism. Buddhism merged with local Confucianism and Daoism to produce Neo-Confucianism, which later spread to East Asian neighbors and gained dominant influence in the East Asian cultural circle. In the middle of the 16th century, Matteo Ricci and other missionaries ventured to China to spread Catholicism and Western culture. China began to learn from Western culture, an endeavor that has continued for more than 400 years since.
The Chinese civilization excels at drawing on the strengths and essence of other civilizations and integrating them into a whole to create a more brilliant Chinese civilization. Contemporary China, following the principles of inclusiveness and openness, learns from all the outstanding achievements of human civilization like a vast ocean welcoming all rivers, and deepens exchanges and mutual learning among human civilizations to promote the construction of a better world.
借鉴吸收人类一切优秀文明成果
中华文明尊重远客，重视比较，努力汲取众家之长。儒家经典《论语》首章即强调学而知之的重要性。《论语》中还强调“三人行，必有我师焉”“见贤思齐”，这些古语都在强调学习他人长处的重要性。
历史上，中华文明曾经学习、消化、吸纳外来佛教文明，形成本土化的中国化佛教诸流派，佛教又与本土的儒、道教融合，形成了理学，后传到东亚，成为东亚文化圈的精神文明。16世纪中叶，利玛窦等传教士来华，传播天主教与西方文化，中国又开始了400多年学习西方文化的历程。
中华文明善于博采众长，借鉴吸纳其他文明的长处与精华，融会贯通，自成一体，由此铸就了中华文明的辉煌灿烂。当代中国秉持兼收并蓄、开放包容的理念，以海纳百川的宽阔胸襟借鉴吸收人类一切优秀文明成果，深化人类文明交流互鉴，推动建设更加美好的世界。
