中国驻英国大使馆刘晓明大使出席并发表《齐唱合作之音，共筑友谊之梦》致辞
英国《头条辰报》伦敦报道 9月29日，唐诗与“道”音乐会在英国伦敦卡多根音乐厅举行。该音乐会由英国筷子俱乐部合唱团举办，旨在庆祝新中国成立69周年。来自英国、中国以及世界多个国家的音乐人士用中文咏唱出对中国文化的热爱之情。该次音乐会带来了耳目一新的视听艺术感受，受到观众的广泛好评。
中国驻英国大使刘晓明、大本钟奖创始人李俊辰等中英知名人士800多人出席了音乐会。刘晓明在致辞中赞扬了筷子合唱团对于中国文化持之以恒的推广和中英两国友谊构建的努力。刘晓明表示，值此中国69周年国庆日和筷子俱乐部建立25周年之际，希望在未来与筷子俱乐部加强合作，为加强中英关系友好发展继续努力。
唐诗与“道”音乐会共有上下半场。上半场演出的作品是作曲家尼古拉斯·史密斯(Nicolas Smith)根据中国唐诗创作出的《爱，友情及渴望》，此为该部作品的全球首演。作者根据唐诗的意境，借助吟唱和多种编曲形式展现出中国文化的魅力。下半场则是由华人作曲家何少英根据中国古代道家思想而创作的《道》，此为该部作品的英国首演。作品结合《道德经》的内容，使用多种中国的传统乐器和西洋打击乐器，借助俱乐部“普通话之声”合唱团的表演为观众呈现了周行而不殆的“道”的音乐世界。
音乐会以筷子合唱团联合CEO特蕾莎·布斯(Theresa Booth)女士的欢迎致辞拉开了帷幕。特蕾莎女士简要介绍了音乐会的内容和筷子俱乐部的发展历史，以及俱乐部对于中英文化交流发展自1993年创立以来的贡献。英国筷子俱乐部是英国知名民间组织，也是英国最早成功的中文俱乐部之一，拥有超过4000名会员，涵盖文化、教育、工商业等各行各业的精英人士。自创立以来，多次组织中英文化交流夏令营、音乐会、普通话与英语教学等活动。
附：刘晓明大使在庆祝中国国庆69周年、英国筷子俱乐部成立25周年音乐会上的中英文致辞：《齐唱合作之音，共筑友谊之梦》（2018年9月29日，伦敦卡多根音乐厅）
尊敬的英国筷子俱乐部两主席童海珍女士、邓丽莎女士，
女士们、先生们，
大家晚上好！
很高兴再次出席筷子俱乐部举办的音乐会，与大家共同庆祝中华人民共和国成立69周年，同时共同祝贺筷子俱乐部成立25周年。
自从我8年前第一次参加筷子俱乐部的活动以来，筷子俱乐部举办的活动越办越好。特别是为中国国庆举办的音乐会，可谓亮点纷呈。今晚的演出更是精彩，堪称中英两国文化交融的盛宴。演出曲目、创作灵感都源于中国传统文化，但创作者则来自中英两国；演唱语言是中文，但演唱者来自中英两国和其他欧美国家。这让我想起披头士乐队主唱约翰·列侬的一句话，“一个人做的梦，就只能是个梦。一群人的梦想，就可梦想成真”（A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality——John Lennon）。
音乐是凝聚情感的河流，也是超越国界的语言。我认为，今天的演出用音乐的语言述说了“三个梦想”：
一是传递了中英“合作之梦”。今年是中国改革开放40周年，也是“一带一路”倡议提出5周年。中国进一步深化改革、扩大开放，“一带一路”建设稳步推进为中英合作提供了难得机遇。在双方共同努力下，两国在经贸、金融、投资、科技、卫生、创新、能源等领域的合作捷报频传，硕果累累。可以说，中英合作就如同两根筷子，只要双方相互支持、密切配合，就一定能收获丰硕成果。
二是承载了中英“友谊之梦”。中英关系经风历雨日益走向成熟，两国人民之间的交往日益密切。如今，两国每年人员往来超过150万人次，每周客运航班150班；在英孔子学院和孔子课堂数量都高居欧洲各国榜首，今年汉语首次成为英国高考第三大外语科目；还有越来越多像筷子俱乐部这样优秀的民间组织，不断为中英友谊添砖加瓦。
三是讲述了中英“交流之梦”。中英历史文化、社会制度不同，发展阶段各异，交流与沟通尤显重要。中英两国都提倡相互尊重、开放包容、兼收并蓄，这是双方加强了解、增进理解的基础。今晚音乐会的第一首曲目叫“道”，源于中国古代先贤老子的道家思想。道家主张“上善若水”，崇尚泽被万物而不争长短，提倡天下同归而殊途。这正体现了中国人的处世哲学，彰显了中国思想和中国智慧。可以说，今晚演出本身就是中英之间一次文明对话和思想交流。
女士们、先生们，
梦想是行动的种子。我衷心希望，中英各界人士携手行动起来，扩大交流、增进了解、深化友谊、拓展合作，让梦想的种子生根、开花、结果，让我们的共同梦想早日成真！
最后，预祝今晚演出圆满成功。
谢谢大家！
Remarks by H.E. Ambassador Liu Xiaoming at the Concert Celebrating the 69th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China and the 25th Anniversary of the Chopsticks Club: A Choral of Cooperation, A Dream of FriendshipCadogan Hall, London, 29 September 2018
Ms. H-J Colston and Ms. Theresa Booth,
My Lords,
Ladies and Gentlemen:
Good evening!
It is a real delight to join you at the Chopsticks Club concert. With this concert, we are celebrating two anniversaries: the 69th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China and the 25th anniversary of the Chopsticks Club.
Eight years ago, I attended a Chopsticks Club event for the first time. Since then, the Chopsticks Club has held many wonderful events. A definite highlight of these is the concert celebrating China's National Day.
Tonight, the Chopsticks Choral Society will provide us with a feast of cultural exchange. The music pieces and the inspiration come from traditional Chinese culture, but the composers are from both China and the UK. The songs will be sung in the Chinese language, but the singers are from China, the UK, Europe and America. This reminds me of a well-known line by John Lennon. He said, "A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality."
Music fosters an emotional bond between people. It is a language without borders. In the language of music, tonight's concert will tell about three dreams.
The first dream is about cooperation.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up. It is also the fifth anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
Deeper reform and greater opening up in China, and the steady development of the BRI create invaluable opportunities for China-UK cooperation. In fact, through joint efforts, our two countries have already achieved fruitful results in a wide range of areas, from economy and trade, financial services, investment to science and technology, health care, innovation and energy.
China and the UK are like a pair of chopsticks. As long as we support each other and work closely together, we will deliver for our people.
The second dream is about friendship.
China-UK relations have withstood difficulties and grown mature. The people of our two countries have had increasingly close exchanges.
- There are more than 1.5 million mutual visits between our two countries every year and 150 passenger flights every week.
- There are more Confucius Institutes and Confucius Classrooms in the UK than in any other European countries. The Chinese language for the first time became the third most popular foreign language in this year’s A-level exams.
- And there are more and more NGOs like the Chopsticks Club that are working for the China-UK friendship.
The third dream is about exchanges.
China and the UK differ in history, culture and social system. We are in different development stages. This makes exchange and communication all the more important.
Both China and the UK uphold mutual respect, openness and inclusiveness. That is the basis for better understanding between our two countries.
Ladies and gentlemen,
The first piece on tonight’s programme is called Dao. It is inspired by Taoism founded by the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu. The Taoists believe that the highest virtue is like that of water, nourishing all living beings and at peace with them. They believe that people may take different paths but still reach the same goal. These philosophical ideals represent China's wisdom.
Therefore, I regard tonight's performance as a dialogue between the Chinese and British civilisations.
Dreams are the seeds of actions. I sincerely hope that people from all walks of live in both China and the UK will join hands to take actions to expand exchanges, increase understanding, deepen friendship and enhance cooperation.
Together we can help the seeds take root, grow strong and bear fruit. Together we can make our common dreams come true!
In conclusion, I wish tonight’s concert a great success.
Thank you!
