Special Plan for the Root Nature of Civilization No. 7: Yang Chaoming: Why is It said that Confucianism is a thought that transcends time and space?
China News Service, Beijing, January 10 Title: Why is it said that Confucianism is a thought that transcends time and space?
——Interview with Yang Chaoming, President of the Confucius Institute
China News Weekly reporter Li Jing
With the "archaeological blind box" with hot archaeology, online short films such as "Tiangong Open Everything" have brought traditional skills back into the public eye, and traditional culture is becoming popular again. If traditional culture is a big tree, Confucian culture is undoubtedly the trunk, Yang Chaoming, president of the Confucius Institute, recently pointed out in an exclusive interview with The China News Agency's "East and West Question" that Confucianism itself is a thought that transcends time and space, as long as human beings still live together, even after a hundred generations, it can still be used as a way to deal with the world. He was both happy about some new forms of traditional culture and had his own worries.
The interview transcript is summarized below:
China News Weekly: In recent years, the Chinese people have become more and more interested in traditional culture, what do you think is the reason?
Yang Chaoming: There are many reasons. From the perspective of the grand historical view, modern China was once confused, believing that our economy was inferior to people, and our technology, materials, and even body were inferior to people. Of course, Confucianism, as the backbone of traditional culture, did have some deviations in the process of integrating with society before modern times, and the backwardness of modern China magnified this deviation, resulting in China's lack of self-confidence in that period.
After the 1980s, we have come out of the confusion and have been reflecting, and traditional culture has begun to return. Since the reform and opening up, China's economy has developed rapidly, the world has begun to re-understand China, in this process, people of insight in the world have seen the characteristics of Chinese culture, especially in the past two years, the new crown epidemic suddenly came, this test shows the powerful power of traditional Chinese culture.
Another fundamental reason is that the chinese traditional culture itself and the inner spirit are the hope of social harmony and tranquility, self-cultivation, obedience to the Tao, and the movement of reason, so traditional culture is showing its strength more and more. Although we have some misunderstandings about traditional culture, we can get out of this misunderstanding and get out of confusion.
China News Weekly reporter: The backbone of Chinese culture is Confucianism, the founder of Confucianism is Confucius, how should the value of Confucius Confucianism be viewed today? Can it travel through time and space and help us in the present?
Yang Chaoming: The backbone of traditional culture is Confucianism, but it does not exclude others, Confucianism itself has also absorbed different civilization achievements in different periods, Confucianism is the study of "inner saints and outer kings", from self-cultivation to peace. It is Taoism, not Alchemy. Taoism has a holistic consciousness, a systematic concept, and a global mindset, and is universally applicable. What is Fang Shu? Alchemy is only applicable to a specific time and space, here it can, and it is not necessarily possible to change places; today it is possible, and it is not necessarily possible to change the time. Therefore, Confucianism itself is beyond time and space, as long as human beings still live together, we must think about and apply this principle, so Confucianism is the study of benevolence, is anthropology, it studies human nature and human values, is a harmonious doctrine between people, between people and the collective, between people and society, between people and nature.
On August 31, 2016, more than 100 primary school freshmen gathered in front of the Dacheng Hall of Nanjing Confucius Temple to "open the pen and break the mask". China News Service reporter Yang Bo photographed
People have natural attributes, but at the same time have social attributes. No matter when people need sociality, this will certainly not change. As long as there is contact between human beings, it is necessary to think about how to deal with the interrelationship between people. To this day, many of Confucius's teachings are still like Confucius himself, making people feel that "even if they are warm, they are also strong in listening to their words", which can be said to be a thousand words in one word and a thousand years in one word. It is not only helpful for us to be human beings now, but also helpful for our social management, and I am afraid that the spirit of the future world is in China.
China News Weekly: How do you think traditional thinking is contemporary? How to make young people more receptive?
Yang Chaoming: When we were in middle school, we all learned some traditional culture and ideas, but in fact, we all learned some fragments, Confucianism is a whole, if you look at the whole, you will know that every sentence is very profound. The method proposed by Confucius is simple, and you may not like him right away, but it contains more wisdom than people see at first glance. His greatness is precisely because it looks simple, but behind the simplicity is not simple, the road to simplicity.
Some people say that the older you get when you read the Analects, the more flavorful you get to read. When a person has not tasted the hardships of life, has not experienced the complexity of the human heart and society, it is very likely that he will not be able to taste the truth. Therefore, for traditional culture, we should teach young people according to their aptitudes and teach them at the right time.
Traditional culture is like a river, this river flowed from yesterday to yesterday, from yesterday to today, it still has to go to tomorrow, so the water of this river is yesterday? Or today? We have to look for the right path to get to know the river. In fact, tradition is consistent, it is formed in history, and it plays a role in history, then it must have vitality today.
At present, people always want to put on fashionable clothes for traditional culture, to cater to the children of the moment, saying: "You see, how fun." "I've seen websites that turn Confucius, the saint in our minds, into a very funny cartoon image, this kind of packaging that emphasizes too much fun, and loses the reverence for national cultural traditions." What we should do is not only to make appropriate fashion for excellent traditional culture, but also to let the current people, especially children, understand the beauty of traditional culture and cultivate children's warmth and respect for the excellent culture of the motherland.
In July 2016, the "Three Holes (Confucius Temple, Confucius Temple, KongLin)" scenic spot in Qufu, Jining City, Shandong Province attracted visitors. Photo by Liu Qinli, China News Service
China News Weekly reporter: "The unity of heaven and man" is an ancient Chinese philosophical thought on heaven and man, how should we understand this philosophical thought today?
Yang Chaoming: The idea of the unity of heaven and man is indeed very profound, but it is also simple to say, and I personally understand that the unity of heaven and man is the unity of man and nature. Of course, when I say nature, I don't just mean mountains, rivers, and starry skies... The so-called nature is the very pure things in time and space, and he also refers to the essence of man. It is like man, what is the natural state of man? Newborn babies are very naïve, but when children grow up, they are no longer pure under the external environment and lose their natural authenticity. Natural, external forms can change, they may be born and perish, but the essential properties of nature do not change, it does not perish, so the identity of spirit and nature is above all forms of existence.
In September 2021, the first Xinjiang Hami Starry Sky Photography And Photography Contest was launched in the Hami Yadan Scenic Area, and photographers were photographing the starry sky. Photo by Cai Zengle, China News Service
Mencius said, "The way of learning is without him, but it is enough to ask him to rest assured." This means that there is nothing else in the way of learning, but it is just to get back the lost essence. This is to unite the body and mind, and the form of these philosophies can change, but the content does not change.
Confucius said that the form of the three generations of rituals may be constantly changing, but the essence will not change, and the analects asked Confucius: "Can the tenth world know it?" "Can the liturgical system for the next ten generations be known in advance? Confucius said, "The profit and loss of Yin because of The Xia Li can be known; the profit and loss of the Zhou cause of the Yin Li can be known." It may be followed by the Zhou Dynasty, although it has been a hundred lifetimes, it can be known. "Who will inherit the etiquette system of the Zhou Dynasty in the future can also be known in advance after a hundred generations. Confucius meant that no matter how many generations have passed, the fundamental principle of getting along with each other will not change, so the Chinese idea of the unity of heaven and man is to let us understand our own essential state. As long as one understands this essence, one can follow it, follow this most fundamental path, and the mind will not be fascinated by all forms, but will return to its own nature, seek its reassurance, obey its orders, understand its virtue, and give its conscience. It can be said that in the value system of the unity of heaven and man, it actually depicts many things, which is dialectical unity.
China News Weekly: The philosophy in traditional Chinese culture can make us get along better with the world and nature, but at present, China is facing the challenges of a new era, how do you think it is possible to make the world know more about China and tell the story of China in place?
Yang Chaoming: Just now I mentioned the idea of the unity of heaven and man, which is a true spirit that must be possessed when telling Chinese stories, and it is impossible to grasp this spirit of China, and it may not be clear to tell stories to the world. In other words, if you want to introduce China, you must first understand China. Understanding China's "unity of heaven and man" thinking, we can understand why we say "the journey of the road, the world is just".
In 2006, visitors watched the original works of Sun Yat-sen's handwritten "Journey to the Avenue" and "The World is Just" in Shanghai. Photo by China News Service reporter Pan Sophie
The public of "the world is public", that is, public consciousness and public morality awareness, emphasize responsibility and obligation, and emphasize the social existence of people. Only under the guidance of this way of thinking can we have the feelings of home and country and the concept of the world that Chinese. Only then did we have China's sense of national community and the concept of a community with a shared future for mankind in the international arena.
From Confucius to Sun Yat-sen, from Sun Yat-sen to today, Chinese the pursuit of "the world is just" has always been consistent. Chinese talk about gentlemen and differences, and at the same time pursue the unity of the world. Harmony and difference mean that we must not violate principles; the unity of the whole world is about seeking common ground while reserving differences. Although China faces many challenges in the process of contact with the world, it Chinese stress "harmony but difference", pursues "universal unity", and has always pursued world harmony. Now many young people emphasize freedom and rights, ignoring their own obligations and responsibilities, in fact, responsibility, obligation, group, harmony is precisely the Chinese way of thinking and the pursuit of the highest value of Chinese, when we deviate from tradition, there will be many problems.
In December 2015, the "2015 Cross-Strait Annual Chinese Character Selection" was announced in Taipei, and the word "He" was elected with 433722 votes. Calligraphers on both sides of the strait waved on the spot and wrote the word "He" in different fonts. China News Service reporter Chen Xiaoyuan photographed
We must understand a truth, that is, to have enough cultural self-knowledge, otherwise there will be no full cultural self-confidence, if a person does not even understand Chinese culture, how to go to cultural self-confidence? Some people think that Chinese culture is to despise women, that is, aristocratic despotism, or the misunderstood "Three Principles", but in fact, our culture is not like this. To introduce China and tell the Chinese story well, we must first understand China, and perhaps we do not lack a world vision now, but we still lack the necessary Chinese consciousness. (End)
Respondent Profiles:
Yang Chaoming, Doctor of History, is currently the deputy director of the Nishan World Confucianism Center, the president, researcher and doctoral supervisor of the Confucius Institute, a standing member of the 11th Shandong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and a member of the Shandong Provincial Committee of the China Association for the Promotion of Democracy. He also serves as vice chairman of the International Confucian Federation and vice president of the Chinese Confucius Society. Focusing on the research work of Confucius and Confucianism, he has achieved fruitful results in the fields of Confucian literature and early Chinese civilization, confucian academic history and other research fields, and has been widely praised. He has published more than 20 academic works such as "Confucius Language Interpretation", "Analects of The Analects", "Interpretation of the Eight Virtues" and more than 220 academic papers in "Historical Research", "History of Chinese Philosophy", "People's Daily", "Guangming Daily" and so on. He has presided over and completed more than 10 national and provincial projects, and now presides over the key project of the National Social Science Foundation "Integration and Research on Confucian Stone Carving Literature in Qufu, China".