Reading with Xi Jinping | The Lusiads

“Onde a terra se acabae o mar come?a...”

(Here ends the land, and here the sea begins.)

This acclaimed quote from The Lusiads by Luis Vaz de Camoes, a distinguished poet of Portugal, vividly depicts the superb geographic location of his motherland.

These lines were quoted in a signed article by Chinese President Xi Jinping titled "A Friendship across Time and Space, A Partnership for the Future" published on Dec. 3, 2018, in the Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias ahead of his state visit to the European country. Let’s appreciate the following verses from The Lusiads, which includes lines quoted by President Xi:

And if Spain is the head of Europe, Portugal, set at its western extremity, where land ends and sea begins, is as it were the crown on the head. 

The Lusiads tells the story of Vasco da Gama and other Portuguese heroes who sailed from Portugal around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, opening up new sea routes. The epic poem of humanism reflects conflicting feelings about war and empire, love of home and the desire for adventure. It commends optimism and is very heroic.

China-Portugal relations are now stronger than ever before, and China-Portugal cooperation promises broad prospects. Both countries have every reason to believe that with the joint efforts of both sides, China-Portugal relations in the new era will gather full speed and sail toward an even brighter future, delivering greater benefits to their peoples, and contributing even more to the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.