How to view tradition and modernization

The relationship between traditional Chinese culture and modernization

1. Characteristics of traditional Chinese culture

As a cultural pattern of traditional type with a long history, deep content, strong cohesion, and great diffusion, traditional Chinese culture has gradually formed its own relatively stable characteristics in the process of deposition over thousands of years of history. The cultural description focuses mainly on the spiritual or conceptual level of culture. Therefore, the so-called Chinese traditional culture mainly refers to the ideologies, beliefs, morals, values, customs, lifestyles and social mentality inherited and preserved from Chinese history with certain characteristics. To analyze the characteristics of traditional Chinese culture, it is necessary to grasp the following scales: ① Traditional Chinese culture is first of all a historical category. That is to say, it is a traditional culture formed in history, connected with a certain historical society (mainly refers to feudal society) and marked by its specific historical stage. ② Traditional culture is inclusive of modern culture. As culture has the basic characteristics of nationality, transmission (inheritance), stage and lag, traditional and modern culture is both a relative concept and a unified. interconnected flow process. ③ The summary of the characteristics of traditional Chinese culture is actually based on the results of comparing other cultural models (here, the Western European and American cultural models of the Christian cultural circle are mainly taken as the basic reference model). ④ The summary of characteristics can only take the main points, but it is difficult to be comprehensive. The main features should be taken as the outline and the secondary (derived) features as the purpose, and the dialectical analysis should be based on class and category, avoiding neither the idealization of praise nor the cultural nihilism of total denial. ⑤ The ideological foundation of traditional Chinese culture is based on Confucianism, supplemented by Buddhism and Taoism, and supplemented by the teachings of law, ink, and yin and yang.

The main features of traditional Chinese culture and its derivative features:

1) The middle way of thinking. We often say that in the way of thinking and the resulting way of life, the Chinese master the middle way and the Westerners master competition; the Chinese take the relative and the Westerners take the absolute; the Chinese speak of subtlety and the Westerners speak of bluntness; the Chinese master the quiet and the Westerners take the initiative; this is mainly caused by the difference in thinking patterns. Chinese people are y influenced and constrained by Confucianism's mediocrity in their way of thinking. The mediocrity thought proposed by Confucius and accepted by the whole society in the feudal society of China emphasizes that in oneself, in others, in the family, in the country, in the matter, in the thing should take a kind of moderate and moderate attitude, i.e., "not to be biased, not to be too much, not to be too little." In traditional China, the Mean Thought is based on a universal methodological significance, which permeates all levels of Chinese politics, culture and social life, as well as the shaping of Chinese people's personalities and values, and its manifestations are quite universal. The derivation of the doctrine of the Mean is characterized by three aspects: firstly, a harmonious and eclectic approach to life; secondly, the personality traits of gentleness and patience; and thirdly, a social mentality that emphasizes stability and avoids change. The positive effects of the Middle Way: ① the ideological factor of dialectical view of the problem. (ii) The attitude of living in peace and contentment. ③The way of dealing with the world with rationality and moderation. Harmonious interpersonal relationship. ⑤Concordant behavior and orderly society. From the negative effects: ① Reconciliation of contradictions, forced balance, is not conducive to social reform and innovation, and is not conducive to the promotion of individuality. ②Easy to form the old-fashioned, adhere to the tradition, lack of healthy competition, do not dare to be the first social mentality and personal inertia and the lack of resistance to consciousness.

2) Family-oriented social structure. Western society is an individual-based society, but Chinese society is a family-based society. Traditional Chinese culture can be described as patriarchal or family-oriented. The institutional pillar of traditional Chinese society is the patriarchal system and the feudal family system, which is a continuation of the patriarchal system. Traditional Chinese society is structured as "one family, one state", and the basic structure of this structure is: family - family - clan - society (state). The family (or clan) is the basic unit of social relations, and the governance of the state is actually an extension of family relations and family principles. The correspondence between the family and the state can be summarized by the "Three Principles and Five Constants". This family-oriented culture has given rise to a series of characteristics; ① respect for the ancestors, a strong sense of ancestor worship. The social and political consciousness of respecting the elderly and filial piety, from filial piety to loyalty, and ruling the world by filial piety. (iii) A strong sense of authority combining patriarchal consciousness and monarchical consciousness. ④ The orientation of social relations is mainly based on blood relations and geographical relations extended from blood relations, from kinship relations to geographical relations to political relations, and social network relations are often constructed through such multiple human relations. ⑤ Emphasize the group, not the individual. Emphasize the obligations and responsibilities of the individual in the group and ignore the rights of the individual in the society.

3) The conceptual culture and value orientation of ethical supremacy. Chinese culture is an ethical culture. The political, cultural and social life of traditional Chinese society embodies a humanistic character of pan-moralism. This traditional ethic is based on personal cultivation to deal with interpersonal or social relations and behavioral norms, which can be summarized by the nine words of benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, trust, loyalty, filial piety, modesty and righteousness in terms of theoretical norms; and the behavioral norms are mainly constrained by the rites and laws or the system of etiquette. The derived characteristics of this ethical supremacy of cultural identity are: ① It is combined with the patriarchal system and authoritarian politics to form a whole set of status orientation system with clear distinction between inferiority and superiority and hierarchical order. ② The legalization of ethics, i.e., the regulation of social behavior through rituals, forming a social pattern that emphasizes rituals, the rule of man, and the rule of law. ③ Group-orientation, emphasizing group identity. ④ Social customs and social mentality that emphasize name and face. (5) Emphasis on individual moral cultivation, but the cultivation of such morality is for the sake of the harmony and order of the group, i.e., "cultivate oneself to be at peace with others". (6) The value orientation of emphasizing righteousness rather than profit, and emphasizing the way rather than the weapon. (7) Confucianism (Jingxue) was the only school and became the official school. This is an externalization of ethical supremacy. (8) People-oriented and humanitarian tendency (Confucius's benevolence, Mencius's benevolence, Mozi's love, Buddhist compassion). The pursuit of the ideal personality of the "inner saint and outer king".

4) The agrarian culture mentality that emphasizes practicality and stability. Traditional Chinese culture is an agricultural culture. Pragmatism and stability are a common mentality among Chinese people. Its derivative features are: ① Emphasis on experience, perceptual knowledge; light on science and technology, not the pursuit of sophisticated and rigorous discursive system. ② The social mentality of settling down, stabilizing and self-protecting, and being contented and conservative. (iii) The values of emphasizing agriculture over commerce and emphasizing capitalism and suppression of capitalism. (4) The idea of egalitarianism, which is not to suffer from scarcity but to suffer from uneven distribution.

5) The authoritative culture of authoritarianism and centralization. This is the political manifestation of traditional Chinese culture.

The authoritarian system of government in China has been formed since the era of slavery, and has been highly strengthened in feudal society, resulting in the formation of the political and social concept of the supremacy of the monarch. The agrarian economy, the doctrine of Confucianism and law, and the patriarchal system (family system) formed the economic, ideological, and social foundations of authoritarian centralized politics, respectively. Its derivation is characterized by: ① the lack of democratic spirit (there is a people's principle, but not the people's rule). ② Official-oriented consciousness. (iii) The supremacy of monarchical power and the trinity of monarchical power, tribal power and divine power. ④ Meticulous mentality and slavish consciousness.

6) Weakening of religious influence and pantheistic religious culture. On the question of the relationship between man and nature, man and ghosts and gods, the Chinese people highlight and emphasize the position and role of the (real) man, and the Chinese culture is a humanistic (human-centered) culture rather than a god-centered culture. Ancient Chinese thinkers' attitude towards religion was a rational ("respect ghosts and gods and stay away from them", "the son does not speak of strange, powerful, chaotic, gods", "if you fail to serve the people, how can you serve the ghosts".) and pragmatic (serving realpolitik) combined. Therefore, the influence of religion in politics and people's social life is relatively limited. The manifestations are: ① Politically, divine power was subordinate to imperial power. ② Ideologically, religion (Buddhism and Taoism) could not replace the official orthodoxy of Confucianism, but could only serve as the subordinate and supplement to Confucianism. (3) The Chinese people's outlook on life, or belief in life, is to emphasize the present world rather than the hereafter, and the concept of religion is relatively indifferent. Although the influence of Buddhism and Taoism on Chinese traditional culture is relatively strong, it is far less than that of Christianity and Islam in Western and Arab culture. In terms of religious beliefs, the religions practiced by the Chinese (mainly Buddhism and Taoism) are basically polytheistic in nature, and they are free to practice many forms of religion. This is in marked contrast to the dominance of Christianity in Europe during the Middle Ages and the supremacy of Islam in the Arab world.

2. The relationship between traditional Chinese culture and modernization

1) Modernization is theoretically the modernization of a society's culture (i.e., the modernization of the economy, institutions, and concepts can all be included in the broader sense of culture.)

2) One of the relationships: inheritance of traditional culture on the basis of criticism, and comprehensive innovation on the basis of inheritance.

Rationale for criticism: modernization is not only an economic issue, but also a cultural one. That is to say, it is necessary to transform from a traditional society to a modern society in many aspects of social structure, institutions, ideas, concepts and even people themselves. Traditional culture is a culture linked to a certain historical society and stage of history, inevitably with the old system. Without criticizing traditional culture, there is no way to talk about modernization. This involves the criticism of "nationalism" and "cultural nativism".

The necessity of inheritance and the principle of inheritance: In terms of the general characteristics of culture. Culture is national and transmissible, therefore, it is not a question of whether or not a country's culture with unique cultural characteristics can be inherited, but a question of necessity. Without this, a country has no roots, and there is no way to talk about the so-called national character. This involves a criticism of "wholesale westernization". However, the inheritance cannot be wholesale inheritance, but only on the basis of critical inheritance, which is the first principle of inheritance; the second principle is comprehensive innovation on the basis of critical inheritance, and the method of comprehensive innovation is: using the past for the present and the foreign for the Chinese. Specifically: ① accept certain new (Chinese and foreign) cultural qualities. ② Reject certain new (mainly Western culture and the dregs of contemporary Chinese culture) cultural qualities. (iii) Retaining certain traditional cultural qualities (such as the concept of national identity, sense of patriotism, the best elements of values, the borrowed parts of the system, etc.). ④ Abandon certain traditional cultural qualities (such as authoritarian politics and values of officialism, conservatism, egalitarianism, the sense of agriculture over business, the concept of human feelings, the concept of region, the idea of the rule of man over the rule of law, etc.).

3) Relationship No. 2: Identification with traditional culture and adaptation of traditional culture to modernization.

From the viewpoint of the ethnicity and transmission of culture. Identification with traditional culture is actually a matter of identification with one's own country and nation. Cultural traditions can create a nation's self-esteem, pride and spirit of self-improvement, therefore, without cultural identity there is no identity of the nation and the country. The adaptation of traditional culture to modernization actually means overcoming the sense of cultural superiority and self-centered cultural nativism, and building a new modern culture that meets China's national conditions through the process of opening up to the outside world and absorbing advanced foreign cultures. This is especially necessary for Chinese culture, which has long been known for its long history of cultural superiority. Of course. The process of adaptation is also a process of critical inheritance and comprehensive innovation.