Dear teachers, students, and friends，

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Chinese is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Since 2010, the United Nations has designated "Chinese Language Day" on “谷雨”(literally meaning grain rain), the 6th solar term of the 24 solar terms in the Chinese lunar calendar, to commemorate the contribution of Cang Jie, the ancestor of Chinese characters. Every year, around the time of “谷雨”（This year it is on April 20.）, the United Nations and many parts of the world hold the "Chinese Language Day".

In India, with local universities we organize various "Chinese Language Day" activities to showcase Chinese language skills and experience the charm of Chinese culture. Here, I would like to express my cordial greetings and heartfelt thanks to all the teachers engaged in Chinese teaching, school leaders organizing the event and students actively participating.

The Chinese language is an ancient and beautiful language. It is spoken by the largest number of people in the world. It embodies the wisdom, tradition and culture of China.

It is recorded that more than 5,000 years ago, Cang Jie created the most primitive hieroglyphic characters in China. In history, Chinese characters have taken various forms such as oracle bone script, Bronze script, seal script, clerical script, regular script, traditional Chinese and simplified Chinese.

The beauty of Chinese language lies in its form, structure and rhythm. Every stroke, every tone, every word and every sentence has its own story. If appreciated and experienced with heart, you can enjoy the profound cultural background of Chinese.

The combination of Chinese characters themselves is visualized and vivid. For example: One wood is “木”, two wood is “林”, and three wood  is “森”, One person is“人”, two are“从” and three are “众”，they all indicate the relationship between single and multiple, which can be seen at a glance. Another example: the left side of the word “信” is “人”( which means “a person”) and the right side is“言”( which means “words”), meaning that one should "keep his word". Hence, the Chinese people say“人无信不立，国无信则衰”, that is to say, a person without integrity can not stand in the society, a country without integrity will decline. This reflects the Chinese way of life and cultural philosophy.

The combinations between Chinese characters are even more colorful. A few days ago, from the core module “天和” of the space station “天宫”, three Chinese astronauts returned to earth successfully aboard the “神舟” manned spacecraft, which created a new record for China's space program. Naming these spacecrafts in Chinese is full of traditional Chinese culture and wisdom. Besides“天和”“天宫”“神舟”, there are “鹊桥”“嫦娥”and“祝融”,ect.,Among them, the core module of China's space station is named “天和”, which means "peace", "harmony" and "the unity of Heaven and Humanity". It is not only a very beautiful Chinese name, but also fully expresses the Chinese people’s dream to explore the universe and our pursuit to utilize the space peacefully. These implications can hardly be understood by reading pinyin. Only by learning Chinese, can you understand the real meaning and its mystery. 

Chinese poetry is even more charming and long-lasting. There is one sentence in a poem written by Wang Wei, a poet in the Tang Dynasty: “大漠孤烟直，长河落日圆”(In boundless desert rises straight a lonely smoke, over endless river sinks a round sun). In just ten characters, it presents two magnificent and spectacular scenes in the grand desert.With its broad realm and bold momentum, this sentence amounts to a historic verse. There are many more examples like this in Chinese.

We found that Chinese can transform and carry so much meaning with just two thousand commonly used characters. Through Chinese, you will feel China, understand China better, and even fall in love with China.

Ladies and Gentleman, dear friends,

President Xi Jinping pointed out, “Promoting exchanges, integration and mutual learning among human civilizations is the only way to make the world a more beautiful place and to create a better life for people of all countries.” In my opinion, we are undergoing profound changes unseen in a century, and we need more dialogues, communication, exchanges and understanding. Learning a language well is building a bridge for us to communicate and understand from heart to heart.   

After continuous struggle over the past more than 70 years, China has entered the new era. We are now standing at a new historical starting point, and will embrace the world with a more open attitude and make our contribution with more dynamic achievements of civilization. China's development will provide unlimited opportunities for the world. Learning Chinese well means embracing and sharing the future.

As more and more foreign friends learn Chinese language and experience Chinese culture, the world will have a better understanding of the profound, hard-working and friendly Chinese people and an innovative, open and inclusive China. With "Learning Chinese and Building a Better Future together" as the theme of Chinese Language Day this year, we intend to provide a unique platform for people to experience China, which will also promote the exchange of languages and cultures among peoples around the world. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dear Friends,

Both China and India are ancient civilizations in Asia. We are not only neighbors that cannot be moved away, but also two major emerging economies with broad space of development. There is huge potential for mutual beneficial cooperation between our two sides, which serves the fundamental interests of the two peoples. I would like to take this opportunity to call on our Indian friends to learn, love and make good use of the Chinese language, so as to promote exchanges among civilizations, welcome a better future and build a community with a shared future for mankind together.

Finally, I wish the 2022 Chinese Language Day in India a complete success! I wish you all happiness in your study, work and life!

Thank you!