“國無德不興，人無德不立”這句話由習近平2013年在山東曲阜考察孔府和孔子研究院時提出，本義強調了道德對於個人修身立業和國家長治久安的重要作用：
“Morality makes a prosper state and virtue makes a decent man”, this phrase which stresses the importance of kindness no matter to the cultivation of a person’s character or to the long-term peace of a country was put out by President Xi Jinping during his filed trip to the family mansion of Kong and the Confucius Research Institute in Qufu, Shandong province in 2013.
人如果沒有德行，便不能立足於世，也不會有幸福的生活。
A man cannot succeed and live a fulfilled life without virtue.
國家如果沒有德行，便不能興旺發達，國運昌盛。
Meanwhile, a state cannot remain peace and prosperity without morality.
國家之德即是個人之德，個人有德，國家才能有希望。
A moral state requires noble citizens. Thus, a country can only thrive when its people are equipped with virtue.
中國知識分子歷來重視道德養成。
Chinese intellectuals have always value the cultivation of morality.
古人講，“修身、齊家、治國、平天下”，強調了知識分子對國家和社會的責任擔當，這是古人的“德”。
“Self-cultivation, family harmony, country management and world peace”, our ancient wisdom attached great attention to intellectuals’ responsibility to the country and society which can be interpreted as their “virtue”.
在當代中國，“德”就是“國家至上”的社會責任感，同樣需要一代又一代的中國人去努力踐行。
However, the “virtue” represents the social responsibility of “national primacy” in contemporary China which also calls for the efforts of generations’ Chinese.
“國無德不興，人無德不立”就是在強調一個時代對於精神力量的渴求。
To sum up, the phrase “Morality makes a prosper country and virtue makes a decent man” can be understood as a new era’s pursuit for spiritual strength.
2014年5月4日青年節，習總書記考察北京大學時説：“核心價值觀，其實就是一種德，既是個人的德，也是一種大德，就是國家的德、社會的德”。
President Xi said that “Our core values are actually ‘virtues’, it is not only the virtue of individuals, but also the virtue of state and society in a wider range” during his inspection to Peking University on Youth Day on May 4, 2014.
社會主義核心價值觀既傳承著中國古代知識分子“國家至上”的價值追求，也寄託著近代以來中國人民上下求索、歷經千辛萬苦確立的理想和信念，更承載著我們每個人對於和諧社會的美好願景，是當代中國人努力奮鬥的精神力量。
The core socialist values which inherit the spiritual pursuit of “national primacy” of ancient Chinese intellectuals, represent the Chinese people’s ideals and convictions that shaped by enormous endeavor since modern times, moreover, carry all the glorious vision of a harmonious society are the mental strength for contemporary Chinese to strive.
今天，我們的國家要有持之以恒的精神力量，就要努力踐行社會主義核心價值觀，提高整個社會的道德水準：
Nowadays, in order to enhance the spiritual power of perseverance, our country must practice the core socialist values and improve the moral level of Chinese society.
首先要以教育為根基，提高人們的內在修養；
At first, we should not fail to see that education is the cornerstone of people’s internal cultivation.
其次，法律是道德規範和社會文明的風向標，要以法律和制度作為保障，穩固整個社會的道德基石；
Secondly, law is the indicator of moral norms and civilization in the society, thus, together with related institutions, it plays an important role as the guarantee to stabilize the moral foundation of the society.
最後，每個人都要做社會道德的學習者和踐行者，道德大廈的建設需要每個社會成員添磚加瓦。
The last but not the least, it takes the efforts of all Chinese people to construct the moral skyscraper, each of us must become the learner and practitioner of social morality.
康得曾説：“世界上有兩件東西能夠深深地震撼人們的心靈，一件是我們心中崇高的道德準則，另一件是我們頭頂上燦爛的星空。”
Kant has said: “Two things fill the mind with ever new and increasing admiration and awe, the more often and steadily we reflect upon them: the starry heavens above me and the moral law within me”.
同樣的，“國無德不興，人無德不立”這句話不僅強調了“道德”是做人的根本，同時還啟示了精神力量對於一個國家，一個民族的重要性。
Similarly, the sentence “Morality makes a prosper state and virtue makes a decent man” does not only stress that “morality” is fundamental to a person, but also reveal the significance of the spiritual strength to a state and to a nation.
只有每個人都在追求愛國守法與保持崇德向善的道路上不斷前行，我們每個人，每個集體，整個民族與國家才能夠永遠充滿希望。
Only under the circumstance of everyone continually going forward on the path of pursuing patriotism, observance of law, and morality that each person, can our community and our country as a whole remain full of hope.