China can lead by drawing from its jeweled past

Recently, President Xi Jinping said: "Culture is the soul of a nation."

I certainly agree. And I would be curious to know how each nation would define its cultural soul. What stories would it tell so that nationhood was something to be proud of and believe in?

I have been writing about my own experience of Chinese culture and how it relates to Indigenous American culture since I first stepped on Chinese soil. I met people who were open-hearted, interested to learn and freely giving of their time. A meal was more important than a formal meeting. A gift to strengthen a bond of friendship was always presented in a budding relationship.