自古以來，由于地理差異和區(qū)域發(fā)展不平衡，中華文化呈現(xiàn)豐富的多元狀態(tài)，存在南北、東西差異。春秋戰(zhàn)國時期，各具特色的區(qū)域文化已大體形成。秦漢以后，歷經(jīng)各代，在中國遼闊的疆土上，通過遷徙、聚合、戰(zhàn)爭、和親、互市等，各民族文化不斷進行交流交融，最終形成氣象恢宏的中華文化。

　　Since ancient times, due to geographic variations and the unbalanced development of different regions, Chinese culture has grown diverse between the south and the north and between the east and the west. As early as the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods, basic regional cultures with their own distinctive features had already formed. From the Qin and Han dynasties, on through all the dynasties that followed, across the vast territory of China, cultures of all ethnic groups engaged in constant exchange and integration through migration, convergence, wars, marriage, and trade, and finally formed a splendid overall Chinese culture.

　　早在2000多年前，新疆地區(qū)就是中華文明向西開放的門戶，是東西方文明交流傳播的重地，這里多元文化薈萃、多種文化并存。中原文化和西域文化長期交流交融，既推動了新疆各民族文化的發(fā)展，也促進了多元一體的中華文化發(fā)展。新疆各民族文化從一開始就打上了中華文化的印記。中華文化始終是新疆各民族的情感依托、心靈歸宿和精神家園，也是新疆各民族文化發(fā)展的動力源泉。

　　More than 2,000 years ago and beyond, Xinjiang was a gateway for China’s civilization to open to the West and an important base for cultural exchange and communication between the East and the West. The region experienced a wealth of cultural diversity and coexistence. Long periods of exchange and integration between the culture of the Central Plains and those of the Western Regions drove not only the development of various ethnic cultures in Xinjiang, but also the diversified and integrated Chinese culture as a whole. From the very beginning, ethnic cultures in Xinjiang have reflected elements of Chinese culture, which has always been the emotional attachment and spiritual home for all ethnic groups in Xinjiang, as well as a dynamic source of development for the ethnic cultures in the region.

　　中原與西域的經(jīng)濟文化交流始于先秦時期。到漢代，漢語已成為西域官府文書中的通用語之一，琵琶、羌笛等樂器由西域或通過西域傳入中原，中原農(nóng)業(yè)生產(chǎn)技術、禮儀制度、漢語書籍、音樂舞蹈等在西域廣泛傳播。高昌回鶻使用唐代歷書，一直延續(xù)到10世紀下半期。唐代詩人岑參的詩句“花門將軍善胡歌，葉河蕃王能漢語”，是當時新疆地區(qū)民漢語言并用、文化繁榮景象的寫照。宋代，天山南麓的佛教藝術依然興盛，至今仍留有大量遺跡。西遼時期，契丹人征服喀喇汗王朝，控制新疆地區(qū)和中亞，典章禮制多沿襲中原舊制。元代，大批畏兀兒等少數(shù)民族移居內(nèi)地生活，學習使用漢語，有的參加科舉考試并被錄用為各級官員，涌現(xiàn)了一批政治家、文學家、藝術家、史學家、農(nóng)學家、翻譯家等，有力推動了新疆各民族文化的發(fā)展。明清時期，受伊斯蘭文化的影響，新疆各民族文化在同域外文化既吸收又沖突的過程中徘徊發(fā)展。近現(xiàn)代以來，在辛亥革命、俄國十月革命、五四運動、新民主主義革命斗爭影響下，新疆各民族文化向現(xiàn)代轉型，各民族的國家認同和中華文化認同達到新的高度。新中國成立后，新疆各民族文化進入史無前例的大繁榮大發(fā)展時期。歷史證明，新疆地區(qū)凡是多語并用、交流頻繁的時期，也是各民族文化勃興、社會進步的時期。學習使用國家通用語言文字，是繁榮發(fā)展新疆各民族文化的重要歷史經(jīng)驗。

　　Economic and cultural exchange between the Central Plains and the Western Regions began in the pre-Qin period. In the Han Dynasty, the Chinese language became one of the official languages used in government documents of that region. Pipa (the four-stringed Chinese lute), the Qiang flute, and other musical instruments were introduced to the Central Plains from or via the region. Agricultural production techniques, the system of etiquette, books in Chinese, and music and dances of the Central Plains spread widely in the region.

　　Later, the Uighur Kingdom of Gaochang adopted the calendar of the Tang Dynasty, and this practice continued until the latter half of the 10th century. “The governor’s generals are skilled in the songs of ethnic minorities, and local chiefs are able to speak Chinese.” This verse by the Tang poet Cen Shen reflects the equal status of Chinese and other ethnic languages commonly used at that time. It also demonstrates the cultural prosperity of that period.

　　Late in the Song Dynasty, Buddhist arts were still flourishing in the south of the Tianshan Mountains and a large number of relics remain till today. In the Western Liao period (1124-1218), the Khitan people, who destroyed the Kara-Khanid Khanate, controlled the Xinjiang region and Central Asia and realized regional unification, extensively inheriting and adopting the laws and regulations and etiquette of the Central Plains.

　　In the Yuan Dynasty, large numbers of Uighurs and people of other ethnic groups migrated into the inland areas. They settled there and learned and used the Chinese language. Some of them even sat for the imperial examinations and were recruited as officials at various levels. From these groups emerged statesmen, writers, artists, historians, agronomists, translators and specialists of other types, who vigorously promoted the development of ethnic cultures in Xinjiang.

　　During the Ming and Qing dynasties, under the influence of Islamic culture, ethnic cultures in Xinjiang developed slowly in integration and conflict with cultures from outside the region. In modern China, under the influence of the Revolution of 1911, the October Revolution in Russia, the May 4th Movement, and the New Democratic Revolution, ethnic cultures in Xinjiang began to modernize, and the Chinese national and cultural identity of all ethnic groups in the region reached a new height. After the founding of the PRC in 1949, ethnic cultures in Xinjiang entered a period of unprecedented prosperity and development.

　　The historical record indicates that when multiple languages were used as official languages and when exchanges were frequent in Xinjiang, it witnessed a boom in ethnic cultures and social progress. Long years of experience shows that learning and using standard Chinese as a spoken and written language has helped Xinjiang’s ethnic cultures to flourish.