Chinese Wisdom in Xi's Words: 'Earth does not speak and it nurtures all things'

BEIJING -- "Heaven does not speak and it alternates the four seasons; earth does not speak and it nurtures all things." President Xi Jinping has quoted this line from a Tang era poem on multiple occasions to underscore ecological conservation.

Excerpted from a poem by renowned poet Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the sentence emphasizes that everything in the universe is governed by its own laws.

Resonating deeply with the ancient Chinese wisdom, Xi attaches great significance to ecological conservation.

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, ecological conservation has been incorporated into the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan for building socialism with Chinese characteristics. And it has become a consensus of the whole Party and society that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets."

"Humanity and nature are a community of life," Xi said during a 2018 speech on ecological environment conservation, urging the public to protect the ecological environment like they protect their own eyes.

When human beings make rational use of nature and protect it, the rewards of nature are often generous; when human beings rudely exploit and plunder nature, the punishment is bound to be merciless, Xi said.