An Open Letter to UN Secretary-General Guterres and Global Sages
Today is the first full moon night of the lunar year, and is also the traditional festival of the Chinese nation — the Lantern Festival.
In this festival, people have to decorated with lanterns and festoons, hang lanterns fire, watch lanterns, dragon lantern dance, Guess the lantern riddle, Burning lanterns, pray that under the glow and blessing of these lights, family, relatives and friends and all sectors of society, can be in the new year, red-hot, all the way to light.
At this moment, there are Ten Thousand Lights on the ground in China, and All People Laughing. However, I may be the same as you, Secretary-General, at this moment, more concerned about those wandering outside, living in no fixed place, no clothes, no food, the poor group of people. Whenever I remember this, I can’t help but feel a lot of emotions. What has gone wrong with our civilized human family. The great Chinese poet Du Fu of the Tang Dynasty once prayed in his 《My cottage unroofed by autumn gales》, “Could I get mansions covering ten thousand miles, I’d house all scholars poor and make them beam with smiles.”
Such a simple wish has taken mankind more than 1,500 years, and it still seems that it is still far from being realized. The material wealth created by human beings, the houses built by human beings, and the food produced by human beings have long been able to make all the poor people around the world happy. But the fact is that the disparity between the rich and the poor is getting bigger and bigger, and the inequality of human beings is becoming more and more obvious.
Where is the civilization we seek, and where is the ideal we pursue?
Human society got sick, infected with a virus. Humans in turn infected the Earth, and the Earth got sick. This global pandemic of the COVID-19 epidemic, unprecedented in the history of mankind, is not to warn mankind: both mankind and the Earth are infected with serious and deadly viruses, and without scientific and intelligent active medical treatment, it will be too late, I’m afraid.
The Chinese Han people have historically attached the greatest importance to the Lantern Festival, which is often lit up for several days and nights. It is because people believe that the lights can make the gods in the sky see, and the Lantern Festival is a festival where all the lights are dedicated to the gods and all the people have fun together. This is the spirit of “respect for heaven and love for man” in traditional Chinese culture.However, today’s human beings no longer seem to believe in this. For this reason, I feel very sad.
Since 2020, I have been trying to write to you and the global sages. It is a long letter expressing the concerns of an ordinary Chinese citizen, a villager of the lowest level of the global village, about the human race and the earth, and the solution to the construction of a digital earth for humanity that I have been planning for more than ten years, which I think is the only correct solution at this stage. This letter has not been written until now. However, I feel that I cannot wait any longer. Therefore, I would like to send them out in installments starting today, with the unfinished parts being sent out as they are written. Regardless of the fate of this letter, it is my mission and responsibility without regret.
Liang Qichao said, “Everyone is responsible for the world.”Perhaps, these words describe the most simple conscience of all Chinese intellectuals from ancient times to the present.
Happy Lantern Festival to you and your fellow sages, and to our compatriots of all nationalities around the world!
Liu Zhongyi (Topal)
Sunday, February 5, 2023
The English translation is mainly done by AI, which is inevitably not accurate enough. Please refer to the following Chinese original for another bad understanding.
致联合国秘书长古特雷斯及全球贤达的公开信
今天，是农历年的第一个月圆之夜，也是中华民族的传统节日 — 元宵节。
在这个节日里，人们要张灯结彩，挂灯笼、观花灯、舞龙灯、猜灯谜、放灯火，祈福在这些灯火的辉映和加持下，家人、亲友及社会各方各界，都能在新的一年红红火火、一路光明。
此时此刻，中国大地上已是万家灯火、万民欢颜。然而，我可能与秘书长您一样，此时此刻，更牵挂的是那些流浪在外、居无定所、衣不遮体、食不果腹的贫苦一族群体。每忆即此，总难免万分感慨。我们这个文明的人类大家庭，究竟出了什么问题。中国唐代大诗人杜甫曾在《茅屋为秋风所破歌》中祈求：“安得广厦千万间，大庇天下寒士俱欢颜！”
这么一个朴素的愿望，人类用了1500多年时间，至今看起来，要实现依然遥遥无期。人类创造的物质财富、人类建设的房屋、人类生产的食品，早已可以让全球寒士俱欢颜了。可事实是，人类的贫富悬殊越来越大，人类的不公平现象越来越明显。
我们追求的文明在哪里，我们追求的理想又在哪里？
人类社会生病了，感染病毒了。人类又传染给了地球，地球也生病了。这次人类历史上史无前例的新冠疫情全球大流行，是不是就是为了警醒人类：人类和地球都感染了严重的、具有致命性的病毒，再不科学的、智慧的积极医治，晚了恐怕来不及了。
中华汉民族在历史上最看重元宵节，往往是几天几夜灯火通明。是因为人们认为灯火能让天上的神明看到，元宵节万家灯火是敬神、万民同乐是爱人。这就是中国传统文化中“敬天爱人”的精神。可是，今天的人类，似乎不再相信这一点了。为此，我感到非常悲哀。
从2020年起，我就在试图给您以及全球贤达们写信。这是一封长信，表达了一个普通中国公民，一个最底层的地球村村民，对人类、对地球的担忧，以及我殚精竭虑十余载，规划的人类数字地球构建方案，我认为现阶段唯一正确的解决方案。这封信到现在还没有写完。但是，我感觉不能再等了。因此，我想从今天开始，分期分批将它们发出来，没有写完的部分也边写边发。无论这封信的命运如何，它都是我无怨无悔的使命和责任。
梁启超说：“天下兴亡，匹夫有责。”或许，这句话描述的，就是从古到今，所有中国知识分子一份最朴素的良知。
祝您及贤达们元宵节快乐，祝全球各民族同胞元宵节快乐！
刘中一（Topal）
2023年2月5日星期日
