There are several values and concepts of traditional Chinese culture that Liu Mengxi talked about.

I. Different Characteristics of Traditional Chinese Culture in Different Historical Passages

Traditional Chinese culture is a cultural system that grows in the framework of uninterrupted and at the same time less changed traditional social formations, and has different characteristics in different historical periods:

The pre-Qin period has the school of the hundred schools of thought. The earliest Chinese thinkers arose at that time, Confucius, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Mozi, Hanfeizi, Sunzi. A large number of thinkers were born at this time, and their ideas were very active, each constructing their own understanding of the world, society, and human relationships, and their thinking went to a very deep level. This legacy is timeless for us and belongs to all humanity.

After the unification of China by Qin Shi Huang, the strife came to an end, and Chinese academic thought was mainly expressed as institutional culture during the Qin and Han dynasties. The Qin and Han Dynasties formed the complete structure of the political system of the imperial era. It can be said that the Qin and Han Dynasties were the mature period of China's institutional culture and the model of institutional culture. The academic thought of the Han Dynasty was mainly "Jingxue" (经学). During the Han Dynasty, Confucius was reevaluated by Emperor Wu, who wanted him to be "the sole scholar of Confucianism", which elevated his status to an unprecedented height, but at the same time added a lot of unwanted halos to him.

The academic thought of the Three Kingdoms, Wei, Jin, and North and South Dynasties period was mainly "metaphysics". There were two main themes: the first was the relationship between "nature" and "nominalism". The nominal religion embodied hierarchy and an ethical order, with Confucianism as the main theme. In contrast to nominalism is nature, a school of thought that can be traced back to Laozhuang. Secondly, there is the question of "something" and "nothing". What is meant by "something" and what is meant by "nothing" in this world, and the relationship between the origin and the end of something and nothing were discussed. This period was an era of intellectual liberation, and a large number of thinkers and writings appeared in this period.

The most important academic thought of the Sui and Tang dynasties was Buddhism. Buddhism was introduced to China from India in the 25th year of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and it developed greatly during the Wei, Jin, and North-South Dynasties, especially during the North and South Dynasties. By the Sui and Tang dynasties, Buddhism had reached its heyday.

By the Song Dynasty, you will find another peak, the peak of thought in the Song Dynasty. The Song dynasty produced the science of reasoning, represented by Zhu Xi, who was the master of the science of reasoning. Song dynasty, Lian, Luo, Guan, Min four, Lian is Zhou Dunyi, he is Hunan, home in front of a stream called Lianxi, so his school of thought called Lianxue; Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi, "two Cheng", Henan Luoyang, called Luoxue; Zhang Zai is a Shaanxi, his school of thought is called Guanxue; and Zhu Xi was born in Longxi, Fujian, so the later people called Zhuxue as Lian, Luo, and Guan schools of the Song Dynasty. Lian, Luo, Guan and Min, the four great masters of the Song school, pushed Chinese thought to a peak, marked by the fact that they inherited Confucianism and Mencius since the pre-Qin period, and absorbed Buddhism, especially Zen Buddhism, as well as Taoism and Taoist thought.

What were the characteristics of the culture of the Ming Dynasty? The academic thinking of the Ming Dynasty included Wang Yangming's "psychology", which held that the mind was the root of all things. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, urban life was quite developed and urban civilization reached a high level, so Chinese culture in this period took different forms.

The academic thinking of the Qing Dynasty was mainly based on koan, which is also known as the science of simplicity, and it advocated a simple and unadorned style of governance. This is mainly because at the end of the Kangxi period to the Qianlong period appeared a large number of scholars, what they do is to re-examine all the canonical books in Chinese history.

The Six Classics are the main axis of traditional Chinese culture

The Six Classics are the main axis of traditional Chinese culture. Ma Yifu, a master of Chinese culture, said that the concepts contained in the "Six Classics" are the basic basis for the Chinese people to establish their own country and behave as human beings. "The texts of the Six Classics were revised by Confucius and totaled into one. The principles of righteousness taught by Confucius and Mencius are the basic principles of the Six Classics. The four values are:

"Honor" is not only respect for others, but also the solemnity of one's own nature. It is not enough to say that there is Taoism and Buddhism in Chinese spirituality. As the mainstream of Chinese culture, Confucianism is not a religion, but it has a faith dimension. "Honoring" is the value concept used by Confucianism to supplement religious beliefs, and "honoring" has entered the dimension of faith in Chinese culture.

Forgiveness is also a core value of Chinese culture. It is "Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you". This is an extremely rich concept, which can be seen in the noble spirit of Chinese civilization and the beauty of the different quantities. "Forgiveness" means to put oneself in the shoes of others, which is also known as "sympathy with understanding" as mentioned by Chen Yinke. According to Er Cheng Zi, one way to cultivate forgiveness is to "embrace one's child" and raise another's child as one's own. "Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you." Put yourself in their shoes, think differently, and do not impose on them. This is the profound connotation of the value of "forgiveness". According to Er Cheng Zi, forgiveness is one of the ways to enter Ren, and it is the gateway to Ren. When one achieves forgiveness, one is not far from benevolence.

"Harmony" is also a marvelous concept in the values of Chinese culture. The spirit of Chinese culture advocates that two opposing parties should realize dissolution in the course of correcting each other to achieve "reconciliation" and move towards "peace". It is "reconciliation and dissolution", not "death by enmity", which is the goal to which human nature should aspire. In international exchanges, we do not have to imagine that any country will necessarily become our enemy. We are opposed to power, violent interference and disregard for sovereignty. However, there are various ways to oppose, and the middle ground is so vast that we do not have to force ourselves into an either/or polarization. We emphasize dialogue, avoid confrontation, and turn war into peace, and give up without a fight, which is the best strategy in international games.

"Shame". The concept of shame was first put forward by Guan Zi, with a special article on shame. Gu Yanwu and the development of this concept to speak, and even said, "Shi Dafu's shame, is called the national shame". Confucius talked about "having shame in one's behavior", "knowing shame" in "Zhongyong", and "shame and evil are common to all people" in Mencius. These concepts can give us a wake-up call. In fact, in contemporary society, courtesy, justice, honesty and shame are more concise, we will think that courtesy is social etiquette; righteousness, social justice and fairness; honesty and shame, the officials of the clean, shame is all the people and individuals need to know shame.

Third, the modern significance of traditional cultural values

The above values, is it outdated today? No, it is not. We will find it very dear to us. The basic cultural values of a "civilized nation" will not become obsolete. The values of respect, forgiveness, harmony and shame in Chinese culture are all eternal and of absolute value. It can be said that these values have a universal value and can be used as a resource for dialog and mutual elucidation between Chinese and Western values.