Unveiling of the Hunan Chrysanthemum Stone from China Remarks

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

And a special welcome to Mr Yu from China on behalf of the Board of the BGI.

I wish to thank the BGI Clinical Laboratories that have donated this monumental Hunan Chrysanthemum Stone from Hunan, my home Province, in China.

It looks like it is a very raw rock, but instead it has the precious shape of numerous Chrysanthemum flowers inside.

That is why I do not want to polish it; it is hard to move and weighs 12,5 tons.

It made its long way from my home province to show friendship and cooperation, as well as a cultural linkage because I was born and grew up in Hunan.

Last time I met the Holy Father Pope Leo XIV, he told me that he had also visited my hometown two or three times. That is why cultural linkage is important.

This stone, which is 3.18 meters height, but including the base measures about 4.58 meters, has been installed here in the newly redesigned FAO garden to celebrate the Organization’s 80th anniversary – a big day, a big year!

The stone’s journey from Hunan to Rome tells my story, but I think it is difficult for you to understand my history, my family history.

When my ancestors were ruling that part of China there was a Kingdom for 686 years, the Chu State - the Qu Yuan was about 2300 years ago. At that time, the Roman Emperors had already started to connect with the Chu State.

The first written testimony by the Emperor of Rome some 2 300 years ago was on forestry. But at that time, in Hunan we already had a lot of poems about nature protection and standards – today we call it normative work, but we had already established so many standards back then.

And then came the Qin who defeated my ancestors, although the Emperor Qin only ruled for 16 years, but he set up many post stations with horses. Even the road in China is called 马路, mǎlù. It means two widths of the horse’s hip, the maximum wide standard.

So, if you look here at the Appia Antica Road, it also has two horse hip-widths. So, that is, first international standard normative work. ADG Beth Crawford, you are the Chief Scientist ad interim, but you can see that it is not new that FAO has promoted normative work and norms - my ancestors together with the Roman Empire had already started 2 300 years ago to promote standards.

So, that is something close to my heart. I am the first Director-General from China, and more importantly from the Hunan Province. Yes, because we are proud that our ancestors Sir Qu Yuan who has been so familiar with his master poetry, of whom I am the 126th generation after Qu Yuan.

The Chrysanthemum stone - sometimes called “flower stone” - is a rare and beautiful mineral formation.

It naturally has white, cream, or light grey crystal patterns that resemble the petals of a chrysanthemum flower.

So, it is natural, a lot of people think that it is carved. No, it is not carved, it is its natural form. That is what makes it so precious.

These “flowers”, it is a number of stone flowers inside, of course, are formed by radiating clusters of minerals and were created through unique geological processes between 200 and 290 million years ago. That is why we want to make it solid.

It represents a foundation that is meant to last – just like FAO’s foundations which have been built over the past 80 years.

So, 80 years is nothing compared to this stone. It is a good wish, a wish that FAO will last forever.

It is believed that the Chrysanthemum stone promotes emotional balance, creativity, and spiritual growth.

It inspires calm and positivity.

It is also a symbol of endurance, harmony, and international friendship.

It reflects beauty in diversity and peaceful co-existence.

Its presence at FAO headquarters will serve as a lasting reminder of the Organization’s global mission and the enduring ties between cultures.

And more importantly, you know Hunan is famous in the history because we say that “if Hunan has a bumper harvest, it can feed all of China.” It has a direct link with FAO’s mission.

And the Director of the Office of Innvoation, Vincent Martin, he understands this because he spent nine years in China. He speaks Chinese. I hope you understand why the father of the hybrid rice is also from Hunan, Professor Yuan Longping. It is part of destiny.

This stone embodies the Chinese philosophy of a "Harmonious World" based on mutual respect, mutual benefit, and peaceful development.

So, why did I put it here? Because it is the integration between the East and West civilizations - the yin and the yang.

The stone is the yang and the fountain (the water) is the yin.

So, we are harmonizing together with the Italian culture representing the West and the Chinese culture representing the East. So, East and West meet here - yin and yang - and they create balance and everything in front of FAO is harmonized.

We will also add some plants, and the lotus.

Then, we have the bamboo pavilions – one there and one here, also Yin and Yang.

I know that bringing all these ideas to life was a challenge for my colleagues, but I am so proud of you!

It is long history, a story of 5 000 or even 10 000 years, and it is difficult to explain, even in Chinese!

So, my wish is that just like this stone we will stand in front of FAO and be a light.

This is part of the holistic canvass I designed: from the new lighting in the corridors, to the cafeteria, to the UN blue throughout the building. And now this is the last piece - feng shui – and staff morale has completely changed because of this new balance. And you can access FAO through this open space.

So, I really appreciate the Huada BGI and Wang Jian, who is currently at sea carrying out scientific experiments at 10 000 meters in the Nordic Sea.

I sent him a message, and he did not reply. He went to the Himalaya. He is now the first scientist in the world to climb the Himalaya.

I look forward to his return next week and I congratulate him. He is a strong man, like me from the Hunan Province. We are brave in our work!

Thank you, Mr Yu.