Harmony Begets New Things
This notion can be traced to Discourses of the States (Guo Yu). It was advanced by Court Historian Bo Yangfu during the late Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 B.C.). According to him, harmony means coordinating and balancing different things. Only by maintaining differences does harmony beget new things, which will then thrive by absorbing external elements. Progress cannot be sustained merely by combining things of the same type.
Therefore, harmony is even the strategy to accomplish the goal of begetting new things, with differences being a prerequisite. This idea promotes fostering respect for differences and opposes homogeneity. New things will emerge over time through various elements interacting, coordinating, and balancing each other. Influenced by this idea, the Chinese tend to look at changes in a positive way and embrace new things. This idea also underpins China's advocacy of cultural exchange and mutual learning to drive the progress of society and humanity.
和实生物
和实生物出自《国语·郑语》，由西周末年太史伯阳父提出。在伯阳父看来，把不同的东西加以协调平衡叫作“和”。有差异的“和”才能生成万物，“和成”的物才能丰富发展，并令外物来归附聚集。如果仅仅把相同的东西予以叠加，是不能持续发展下去的。
“和实生物”意味着“生”是目的，“和”是实现“生”的方式，而差异性是“和”的前提。这一理念一方面尊重差异，另一方面又反对固化差异，从而充分看到具有差异性的各个要素相互作用、协调平衡，在时间延续中不断形成新的事物。基于这一理念，中国人乐于以正面的眼光看待发展变化，拥抱新生事物。中国主张以文明交流、互学互鉴，促进人类文明发展和社会进步，体现了和实生物的原则。
