Japan: Miles Apart, but Close at Heart.

The international community has given great understanding and support to China in its fight against the COVID-19 epidemic. Japan and China are neighbors that always offer mutual assistance in times of hardship. The Japanese government and the Japanese people took immediate action to provide aid materials and voice support, bringing encouragement and warmth to the Chinese government and the Chinese people.

"Miles apart, but close at heart." This was a two-line poem written in Chinese by the Japanese HSK Bureau on the boxes of supplies it donated to China in its fight against the novel coronavirus. As the poem describes, while mountains and rivers separate China and Japan, the two countries enjoy the same moonlight under the same sky. Also quoted by former Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama in a video message sent to show his support to Wuhan, the poem has brought the people of the two countries closer, and has evoked a significant moment in the history of cultural exchanges between China and Japan. 

The poem was composed by Prince Nagaya of Japan more than 1,000 years ago. During his reign, Japan often sent ambassadors to China to learn Buddhism and Chinese culture. The hymn was embroidered on 1,000 Buddhist robes that Prince Nagaya sent to the Chinese monks. Moved by the Prince's hymn, Jianzhen (688-763), the renowned Buddhist master and traveler of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), decided to go on a voyage to Japan despite hardship, promoting friendly exchanges between the two countries.

As an old Chinese saying goes, "You toss me a peach, I give you a white jade in return." In mid-to-late February, as confirmed patients increased in Japan, China donated a batch of COVID-19 nucleic acid testing kits to Japan and strengthened information sharing. These benign interactions demonstrate that the two countries share an inextricably linked destiny and cooperate to protect regional and international public health security.

日本：山川異域，風(fēng)月同天

國(guó)際社會(huì)對(duì)中國(guó)抗擊新冠肺炎疫情給予了極大的理解和支持，日本作為一衣帶水、守望相助的友好鄰邦，第一時(shí)間以官民一體、文道合一的物資援助和輿論支持，為中國(guó)政府和人民帶來了鼓勵(lì)與溫情。

1月29日，日本漢語教學(xué)考試機(jī)構(gòu)HSK事務(wù)局在捐贈(zèng)湖北的物資貼紙上，寫下“山川異域，風(fēng)月同天”的詩意留言，寓意中日兩國(guó)雖然山川各異，然而卻能同沐清風(fēng)、共賞明月。日本前首相鳩山由紀(jì)夫在為武漢加油的視頻中，也提到了這句話。詩意的留言拉近并溫暖了兩國(guó)民眾的心，喚起了中日文化交流源遠(yuǎn)流長(zhǎng)的美好記憶。“山川異域，風(fēng)月同天”的作者是一千多年前日本政界的重量級(jí)人物長(zhǎng)屋親王。其執(zhí)政時(shí)，日本頻繁派出遣唐使來中國(guó)學(xué)習(xí)佛法與先進(jìn)文化。長(zhǎng)屋親王命人制作千件繡著“山川異域，風(fēng)月同天；寄諸佛子，共結(jié)來緣”偈語的袈裟，隨遣唐使帶給中國(guó)的高僧。鑒真大師為偈語所感動(dòng)，不畏艱險(xiǎn)前往日本弘揚(yáng)佛法，為中日友好交流播下了種子。

“投我以木桃，報(bào)之以瓊瑤”。2月中下旬，隨著日本新冠肺炎確診病例持續(xù)增加，中國(guó)無償提供新冠病毒核酸檢測(cè)試劑，進(jìn)一步同日方分享信息經(jīng)驗(yàn)，體現(xiàn)了兩國(guó)命運(yùn)與共、密切協(xié)作，維護(hù)地區(qū)和世界公共衛(wèi)生安全的積極姿態(tài)。