佛教产生于古代印度，但传入中国后，经过长期演化，佛教同中国儒家文化和道家文化融合发展，最终形成了具有中国特色的佛教文化，给中国人的宗教信仰、哲学观念、文学艺术、礼仪习俗等留下了深刻影响。中国唐代玄奘西行取经，历尽磨难，体现的是中国人学习域外文化的坚韧精神。根据他的故事演绎的神话小说《西游记》，我想大家都知道。中国人根据中华文化发展了佛教思想，形成了独特的佛教理论，而且使佛教从中国传播到了日本、韩国、东南亚等地。

Buddhism originated in ancient India. After it was introduced into China, the religion went through an extended period of integrated development with the indigenous Confucianism and Taoism and finally became the Buddhism with Chinese characteristics, thus making a deep impact on the religious belief, philosophy, literature, art, etiquette and customs of the Chinese people. Xuanzang (Hiuen Tsang), the Tang monk who endured untold sufferings as he went on a pilgrimage to the west for Buddhist scriptures, gave full expression to the determination and fortitude of the Chinese people to learn from other cultures. I am sure that you have all heard about the Chinese classics Journey to the West, which was written on the basis of his stories. The Chinese people have enriched Buddhism and developed some special Buddhist thoughts in the light of Chinese culture, and helped it to spread from China to Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia and beyond.

2000多年来，佛教、伊斯兰教、基督教等先后传入中国，中国音乐、绘画、文学等也不断吸纳外来文明的优长。中国传统画法同西方油画融合创新，形成了独具魅力的中国写意油画，徐悲鸿等大师的作品受到广泛赞赏。中国的造纸术、火药、印刷术、指南针四大发明带动了世界变革，推动了欧洲文艺复兴。中国哲学、文学、医药、丝绸、瓷器、茶叶等传入西方，渗入西方民众日常生活之中。《马可·波罗游记》令无数人对中国心向往之。

In the course of some two thousand years and more, Buddhism, Islam and Christianity have been introduced into China successively, which allowed the country’s music, painting and literature to benefit from the advantages of other civilizations. China’s freehand oil painting is an innovative combination of China’s traditional painting and the Western oil painting, and the works of Xu Beihong and other masters have been widely acclaimed. China’s Four Great Inventions, namely, papermaking, gunpowder, movable-type printing and compass, led to changes in the world, including the European Renaissance. China’s philosophy, literature, medicine, silk, porcelain and tea reached the West and became part of people’s daily life. The Travels of Marco Polo generated a widespread interest in China.

大家都知道，中国有秦俑，人们称之为“地下的军团”。法国总统希拉克参观之后说：“不看金字塔，不算真正到过埃及。不看秦俑，不算真正到过中国。”1987年，这一尘封了2000多年的中华文化珍品被列入世界文化遗产。中国还有大量文明成果被教科文组织列入世界文化遗产、世界非物质文化遗产、世界记忆遗产名录。这里，我要对教科文组织为保存和传播中华文明作出的贡献，表示衷心的感谢！

Many people know about the terracotta warriors, “the buried legions of Emperor Qin”. After his visit to the site, President Chirac of France said that a visit to Egypt will not be complete without seeing the pyramids, and that a visit to China will not be complete without seeing the terracotta warriors. In 1987, this national treasure of China, shrouded in secrecy for over two thousand years, was put on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list. There are many more proud Chinese achievements that have been included in the World Cultural Heritage list, the World Intangible Cultural Heritage list and the Memory of the World list. Here, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to UNESCO for its contribution to the preservation and dissemination of the Chinese civilization.

女士们、先生们、朋友们！

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Friends,

当今世界，人类生活在不同文化、种族、肤色、宗教和不同社会制度所组成的世界里，各国人民形成了你中有我、我中有你的命运共同体。

Today, we live in a world with different cultures, ethnic groups, skin colors, religions and social systems, and the people of various countries have become members of an intimate community of shared destiny.