Explainer: How to understand Chinese FM's citation from martial arts quotation in Munich

BEIJING, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- During a Friday session at the Munich Security Conference, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi cited a quote from a popular martial arts novel to illustrate China's position in handling its ties with the United States.

Acknowledging the difficulty of translating the quote, Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, demonstrated his sense of humor by recommending that journalists seek assistance from DeepSeek, a Chinese AI model.

Below are two versions provided by DeepSeek:

"Let him be strong, the breeze still brushes the mountain ridge; let him be fierce, the moon still shines upon the great river."

"Let him be strong, the gentle wind still caresses the hill; let him be fierce, the bright moon still illuminates the river."

Despite the misuse of the word "strong" -- the original Chinese word means "toughness" here, both translations largely preserve the core meaning of the quote, which is taken from a fictional martial arts manual of Jin Yong's martial arts universe.

It suggests that no matter how arrogant or aggressive one's opponent may be, one should remain calm and unwavering, treating the arrogance or aggressiveness with ease -- like feeling the gentle breeze and enjoying the moonlight.

Regarding China-U.S. relations, Wang said at the session that China is ready to build a stable, healthy and sustainable relationship with the United States based on the three principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation, and to find the right way for the two major countries to get along, expressing hope that the United States will move in the same direction as China.

However, he said, if the United States is unwilling to do so and persists in suppressing and containing China, China will take the United States on till the end, firmly fight back the bullying, and resolutely defend China's sovereignty, national dignity and legitimate development rights.

Wang then used the famous quote to illustrate China's attitude in the face of the challenges in China-U.S. relations -- no matter how arrogant or aggressive the United States might be, China will remain composed and resolute, not easily swayed or intimidated.

This is not the first time a Chinese saying cited by the Chinese top diplomat has sparked discussions about translation. In a phone call with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio last month, Wang told Rubio to "hao zi wei zhi," a Chinese set phrase commonly used to convey a message of warning.

International media outlets gave various translations for the phrase, including "conduct yourself well," "conduct yourself properly," and even "take good care of yourself."

It is a common practice for the Chinese foreign minister to invoke traditional Chinese proverbs when discussing China-U.S. relations. At last year's Munich Security Conference, for example, Wang quoted an ancient Chinese adage during his meeting with then U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The saying, "An act of kindness, no matter how trivial, is worth performing, while an act of evil, no matter how small, must be shunned," was first spoken by a dying Chinese emperor during the Three Kingdoms Period to warn his son, who was also his successor, at his bedside, and has been quoted for centuries to caution that plenty of small good deeds may add up to great deeds while multiple small evils can pile up to grave evils. ■