What is the fundamental requirement of China's traditional morality?

China's ideological and moral characteristics can be summarized as follows:

1. Self-improvement and vigor.

The moral outlook of the Chinese nation is both masculine and feminine. The concentrated expression of masculinity is self-improvement, vigorous and energetic; The performance of female beauty is tenacity that never gives up. The Chinese nation is a tenacious nation and can persist in any difficult and difficult environment. It is precisely because of this tenacious spirit that Chinese civilization has become one of the only ancient civilizations in the history of the world that has not been interrupted. Zhang Dainian believes that the history of the Chinese nation is a dance of blood and fire, and a contest between the guillotine and civilization. What kind of motivation and spirit is supporting this nation? One is the idea of striving for progress, and the other is the idea of broad tolerance.

2. Morality with "benevolence" as the core.

"Benevolence" is the highest principle of Confucian ethics. The original meaning of "benevolence" refers to a friendly relationship between people, while the objective standard of "benevolence" is "courtesy"-"self-denial is benevolence". The so-called "self-denial" and "self-denial" require people to consciously restrain themselves in a given position and correctly handle the relationship between the upper and lower sides with the standard of courtesy, such as the kindness to the father, the filial piety to the pair, the trust to the friend, the loyalty to the minister, the kindness to the monarch, the kindness to the lover and so on. The detailed meaning of "self-denial and courtesy" also includes the norms of all people's words and deeds. In this respect, "ceremony" is not only a standardized and civilized way, but also many specific ceremonies arranged and shaped on the basis of traditional customs. "If you don't learn etiquette, you can't stand it." (Yang Qingcun, Xinhua Digest, July 2002. )

The content of "benevolence" is very rich, with courtesy, wisdom, righteousness and courage, as well as gentleness, courtesy and frugality.

Tsung i Jao believes that "benevolence and righteousness" is the highest point of China's humanistic tradition.

The Confucian thought of "benevolence and righteousness" is a great contribution to human civilization and sentiment.

Civilizations have different emphasis on their moral norms, but they have one thing in common, that is, the idea of benevolence. It can be said that without love, human beings cannot continue and civilization cannot be passed down. Western civilization has always emphasized the power of love. American philosopher Fromm believes that love is an art and an ability, which requires certain knowledge and efforts. In other words, love is not an emotion that everyone can easily understand. Only those who understand human mysteries and form a perfect personality can love.

Confucius' "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you" embodies the most universal moral requirement. From 65438 to 0993, Chicago, USA, signed the Universal Declaration of Ethics, which took "Do not do to others what you don't want others to do to you" as a major principle in dealing with the relationship between countries, nationalities, religions and cultures, and even became a universal way for human beings to live in harmony with nature.

3. Meet the moral requirements of the law.

What is Tao? Is to conform to the law of development of things. Follow the Tao and conform to the law of development of things, and there will be "virtue" and "virtue". On the contrary, it is immoral.

Laozi's "people should follow the laws of nature and conform to the natural environment". Laozi advocates returning to nature, keeping the baby's innocent and carefree mental state, and getting rid of the worldly troubles of fame and fortune; It is advocated that the governance of the country should conform to the law and should not be tampered with, and the governance should be in line with the natural principles and the people's feelings, and it should not be rash and do whatever it wants; Think that health is the foundation of spirit. Lao Tzu asked, "Who is the relative, the name or the body? Which is more important, health or goods? What disease? " On this issue, don't put it in the wrong place, pay attention to health, cherish life and advocate returning to nature. This idea was later brought into full play by Zhuangzi. In their view, only when people return to nature can they achieve harmony with it and achieve the highest harmony in the universe. Laozi's thought above is a moral proposition that conforms to the law.

4.patriotism.

Patriotism is loyalty and love for the motherland, and it is "the deepest feeling that has been consolidated for thousands of years." (Complete Works of Lenin, Volume 28, page 168) Patriotism is deeply rooted in the psychology of the Chinese nation and is an inexhaustible source of powerful spiritual strength. Many ancient people regarded patriotism as the highest value of life. Confucius advocated safeguarding national dignity and national independence. Qu Yuan's poems are the eternal swan song of patriotic feelings. Lu You said: "I have a heart of stone all my life, I have forgotten my life and I am bent on serving my country." "I dare not forget to worry about my country." Facing the sudden change of honor and disgrace, Lin Zexu calmly said, "Why not avoid every cloud has a silver lining for the survival of the country?" . Liang Heng, a famous contemporary writer, once wrote in Reasons for Patriotism: "Why should we be patriotic? You were born and raised in this country, and the country has given you a specific life foundation, social relations, values and cultural literacy. Your body and mind are shaped by the country. National character has been deeply melted in your blood. The reputation and interests of the country are closely linked with yours. So you and your motherland have both emotional dependence and the same interests. Patriotism will always be the pillar of the existence of a nation and a country, and it is also the minimum standard for being a man. "

Third, modernization and China's traditional morality.

China's traditional ideological and moral culture is not only the fruit of the development of Chinese civilization, but also plays a very important role in promoting the growth of Chinese civilization. China's traditional ideological and moral culture is mainly a social superstructure that adapts to the agricultural economic base. So in the era of industrial economy, does China's traditional moral culture still work? In other words, what role did China's traditional ideological and moral culture play in China's modernization process? Is it to promote or hinder? Scholars have different views on this issue.

One is the positive view that China's traditional ideology and culture with Confucianism as the mainstream can also be the spiritual driving force of China's modernization. The modernization of the four little dragons in Asia is an example. These countries and regions belong to Confucian cultural areas in history, and reached the fastest speed in the world at that time in the process of industrial development, and achieved impressive results. (Xinhua Digest, June 2002. )

The other is the negative view that Confucianism is the product of agricultural civilization, conservative and backward, and it is outdated and worthless today. "It is unfounded to say that the' four little dragons' in Asia have developed so fast because they have absorbed Confucian culture. The economic development of these countries and regions mainly depends on advanced science and technology and advanced management methods in the modern world, rather than relying on Confucianism. " It is impossible for China to realize modernization by relying on traditional ideological and moral culture.

The author's point of view is that China's traditional ideological and moral culture cannot be completely inherited or completely denied, but needs a process of transformation, sublation and innovation. The reason for this is the following：

1. China traditional culture is the root and soil.

A nation must have its own unique ideological and cultural tradition, which is the basis for understanding world affairs. Any nation in the world will have its own cultural tradition, and the accumulation of culture is tradition. Tradition dominates people's habits and determines people's way of thinking. It constitutes the core strength of a national culture, which is reflected in all aspects of a national concept and behavior. China's traditional morality has already penetrated into China people's way of thinking and daily behavior.

However, no school in the history of thought is static. China's traditional ideological and moral culture also constantly absorbs foreign cultures to enrich itself. Inheritance and innovation are dialectical relations. In fact, many times, the emergence of new ideas is the result of the continuous integration of local national culture and foreign culture. Cai Degui, Xinhua Abstract 2000. 10. )

2. China's traditional ideological and moral culture is flawed.

An obvious defect of China's traditional culture is its neglect of natural science. So far, we haven't found the scientific theory and method about the natural science system like western science, so our country lags behind in scientific development. In addition, in the field of social sciences, China's traditional culture also has shortcomings. There is no concept of "citizen" in China's traditional culture, and there is also a lack of modern legal spirit. This situation is not conducive to the construction of political system and the development of market economy in China. In order to develop the market economy and establish a modern political system, we must pay equal attention to the rule of virtue and the rule of law. We should not only give full play to the advantages of China's traditional culture in attaching importance to the rule of virtue, but also learn from the advantages of the West in attaching importance to the rule of law, so that China's traditional culture can become a new ideology that adapts to social and economic development. Therefore, we must innovate and develop socialist ideological and moral culture on the basis of inheriting and criticizing traditional culture and morality. Only in this way can we build socialism, realize the industrialization and modernization of China, revitalize Chinese civilization and make the Chinese nation brilliant again.

3. The essence of culture is change.

According to the thought of Zhouyi, everything in the world is changing. Nothing is constant, the only constant is "change". Therefore, the essence of our inheritance of traditional culture is the cultural tradition of "change". The reason why Chinese civilization is the only ancient civilization without interruption is because the Chinese nation is a nation that is good at adapting to change. Take Confucianism as an example. There is no consistent Confucianism in the history of China, but Confucianism is constantly changing: there were Confucianism of Confucius, Mencius and Xunzi in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period; There are Han Confucianism represented by Dong Zhongshu; During the Song and Ming Dynasties, the Confucianism of Zhu Cheng Neo-Confucianism and Wang Luxin's Confucianism were formed. For Confucianism in the era of "Four Little Dragons" economic take-off, scholars call it European Confucianism besides Confucianism. Thus, China's traditional moral culture is a constantly changing culture. In the new era of China's modernization, it is necessary to have an ideology that is compatible with the economic foundation of this era, rather than just bringing traditional culture here. Only by constantly changing and innovating can we have vitality.

Summing up historical experience, we come to the conclusion that China's traditional moral culture has vitality and can play the role of ideological motivation and intellectual support in the cause of modernization. However, this is conditional, that is, we must change our concepts and have innovative ideas. We should not only inherit and carry forward the traditional culture of China, but also learn to absorb all the excellent foreign cultures in the world and create a new socialist culture of the Chinese nation.