International Forum on the Tao Te Ching~ Hong Kong, China

HONG KONG, April 27, 2007 (Xinhua) — This week-long “International Forum on the Tao Te Ching” had closed with a declaration calling on building a harmonious world through the way of Tao.

The declaration said mutual respect and peaceful co-existence of different cultures, nationalities and religions are the foundations for building a harmonious world.

“May the great Tao infuse the world and all under heaven live in great peace,” the declaration said.

Translated into over thirty languages and reprinted numerous times throughout its 2,000 years history, Tao Te Ching is one of the most studied and well-known Chinese philosophical classics and considered one of the most important texts in the human intellectual heritage. It analyzes the relations between human and nature, and reveals the truth of harmony in life.

To echo the expansion of the site of the original podium in Xi’an, China’s Shaanxi province where the author of Tao Te Ching, LaoZi, first delivered his lectures, various Taoist bodies in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland decided to organize an International Forum of Tao Te Ching both in Hong Kong and Xi’an.

The forum, the first international one of such a large scale ever held in 50 years, gathered over 500 Taoist leaders, scholars from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Singapore as well as people from all walks of life. They discussed Tao’s application in culture, environmental protection, management, personal wellness and exchanges between three main religions of China — Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism.

As the prelude of the forum, a total of 13,839 citizens recited Tao Te Ching together at Hong Kong Stadium on April 21, setting a new Guinness record for “most people reading aloud simultaneously in one location.”

The forum also hold the largest Tao Te Ching exhibition in the world, showing over 300 different editions and versions of this Chinese philosophical classic, including the “bamboo slip” Tao Te Ching, the earliest edition known so far which could be dated prior to 278 BC.

“The wisdom of Tao bears great significance to building a prosperous, stable and harmonious Hong Kong society,” Jiang Jianyong, vice chairman of China Religious Culture Communication Association said during the forum.

Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho said such an event can only be held at a time when the country is in prosperity and the society is in harmony. As this year marks the 10th anniversary of Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, he wished the world peaceful and Hong Kong abundant.