From Chinese Press

Modesty hallmark of a nation

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-10-28 09:13

Many people believe that China has entered its "golden age". The question is not about believing or not believing in the idea, but the attitude people have toward the so-called golden age, says an article in China Youth Daily. Excerpts:

The attitude of a person or society is determined by modesty, vigilance and gratitude. There was a time when China swung between arrogance and inferiority. Today, it is a world power and may have even entered its "golden age".

But the people who believe in the "golden age" theory seem to have lost their sense of crisis, tend to fit patriotism into their preconceived notions and cannot tolerate differing voices, either from home or abroad. This is not the attitude for us to adopt.

Instead, we should be modest and broad-minded, and should realize the gap between China and developed countries in terms of soft power. It is this modest attitude that has helped China to grow at a fast pace over the past three decades. A modest nation is broad-minded and does not react strongly to differing opinions and criticism.

Vigilance is equally important, for a "golden age" is full of temptations - as opposed to critical times - and can become a hotbed of corruption. That's why a country has to be vigilant against temptations.

A lot of people today are unhappy with their life, for they don't realize that they are enjoying the fruits of our predecessors' labor. People should have a sense of gratitude toward them.

The opinions expressed on this page do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

China Daily

(China Daily 10/28/2010 page9)