How to Make Good Use of China's Excellent Traditional Cultural Prose

1. Peace-loving is deeply rooted in Confucianism.

The theme of this conference is "Confucianism: world peace and development", which embodies the humanistic feelings of caring about the future of the world and the destiny of mankind. This is a topic of great practical significance.

Peace and development are the themes of today's times, and they are also two major issues related to the happiness and well-being of people in all countries. People all over the world want to live in a peaceful atmosphere and expect war and violence to stay away from mankind. People all over the world also want to live in a healthy environment and expect hunger and poverty to stay away from human beings. However, the real world is not as beautiful as people hope. Local wars are still breaking out one after another, poverty and hunger are still widespread, and persistent wars and extreme poverty are still threatening the lives and survival of many people, especially many women and children who are still struggling in the shadow of war and poverty. Thinking of these unfortunate people, our hearts are full of sympathy and responsibility. The international community should make joint efforts to safeguard world peace and promote common development. Only in this way can there be hope for peace and development.

Maintaining world peace and promoting common development require multi-pronged and multi-faceted economic assistance, one of which is to establish the concept of peaceful development ideologically. In March this year, I visited the headquarters of UNESCO. I was deeply impressed by a sentence engraved in many languages on the stone tablet in front of the building. This sentence is: "War originated in people's minds, so we should build a barrier to defend peace in people's minds." This sentence is very reasonable. I think it is very important to firmly establish the idea of loving peace in people's hearts, which will play a very important role in achieving peace.

The Chinese nation has always been a peace-loving nation, and peace-loving has a deep foundation in Confucianism. Since ancient times, the people of China have been advocating peace thoughts such as "harmony among nations", "kindness and good neighbors are the treasure of the country", "All men are brothers within the four seas", "A distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor", "Looking at your relatives, looking at your neighbors" and "Although the country is big, belligerence will perish". Peace-loving thought is deeply rooted in the spiritual world of the Chinese nation, and it is still China's basic idea in handling international relations.

From the outbreak of the Opium War in 1840 to the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, the Chinese nation suffered unprecedented foreign invasion and civil strife, and the people of China suffered unprecedented suffering, and once they were in danger of extinction. In China and War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression alone, the Chinese nation paid a heavy price of 35 million casualties. The people of China who have suffered for a long time in modern times know best the value of peace and the importance of development. China people know that peace is as important to human beings as sunshine and air. Without sunshine and air, nothing can survive and grow.

Do to others what you don't want them to do to you. China needs peace, loves peace, and is willing to do its utmost to safeguard world peace and sincerely help people who are still suffering from war and poverty. China will unswervingly follow the path of peaceful development, and China also hopes that all countries in the world will follow the path of peaceful development and make joint efforts to implement the concept of peaceful development in their own policies and actions.

Second, China's excellent traditional culture, including Confucianism, contains important enlightenment to solve the problems faced by contemporary human beings.

This year marks the 2565th anniversary of Confucius' birth. Confucianism, founded by Confucius and developed on this basis, has had a far-reaching impact on Chinese civilization and is an important part of China's traditional culture. Confucianism, together with other thoughts and cultures produced in the process of the formation and development of the Chinese nation, records the spiritual activities, rational thinking and cultural achievements of the Chinese nation in the struggle to build its homeland since ancient times, reflects the spiritual pursuit of the Chinese nation, and is an important nutrient for the Chinese nation to grow and develop endlessly. Chinese civilization has not only had a far-reaching impact on the development of China, but also made great contributions to the progress of human civilization.

The formation and development of China's traditional culture, especially its core ideology and culture, generally experienced several historical periods, such as the contention of pre-Qin hundred schools of thought, the prosperity of Confucian classics in Han Dynasty, the prevalence of metaphysics in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the coexistence of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism in Sui and Tang Dynasties, and the development of Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties. From this historical process that lasted for more than 2000 years, we can see such characteristics. First, Confucianism and other theories existing in the history of China are both antagonistic and unified, competing with each other and learning from each other. Although Confucianism has been in a dominant position for a long time, it has always been in a situation of harmony but different from other theories. Second, Confucianism and other theories existing in China's history are constantly developing and updating with the changes of the times, adapting to the requirements of China's social development and the advancement of the times, so they have long-term vitality. Third, Confucianism and other doctrines existing in China's history adhere to the principle of applying what they have learned, pay attention to the educational function of humanism, and combine the education of individuals and society with the governance of the country, so as to achieve the purpose of complementing each other and promoting each other.

From a historical perspective, the excellent elements of China's traditional ideology and culture, including Confucianism, have played a very important role in the formation and continuous development of Chinese civilization for thousands of years, the formation and maintenance of China's unified political situation, the formation and consolidation of China's multi-ethnic and integrated family, the formation and enrichment of the Chinese national spirit, and the encouragement of Chinese sons and daughters to safeguard national independence and resist foreign aggression, promoting the social development and progress of China and promoting the balance of social interests and social relations in China.

In today's world, human civilization has made great progress in both material and spiritual aspects, especially the great material richness, which was completely unimaginable in the ancient world. At the same time, contemporary human beings are also facing many outstanding problems, such as the widening gap between the rich and the poor, the extravagant pursuit of material desires, the vicious expansion of individualism, the continuous decline of social integrity, the deterioration of ethics, the increasingly tense relationship between man and nature, and so on. To solve these problems, we need to use not only the wisdom and strength discovered and developed by human beings today, but also the wisdom and strength accumulated and stored in human history.

Some people of insight in the world believe that China's excellent traditional culture, including Confucianism, contains important enlightenment to solve the problems faced by contemporary human beings, such as the Taoist thought of nature and harmony between man and nature, the thought of the world serving the public and the world being one, the thought of self-improvement and respecting morality, the thought of people-oriented, the thought of enriching the people and enjoying the people, and the thought of governing the country by virtue and righteousness. Keep pace with the times, be down-to-earth, seek truth from facts, be pragmatic, integrate knowledge with practice, brainstorm, unite as one, care for the benevolent, establish people with virtue, treat people with sincerity, treat people with sincerity and be diligent in politics. China's excellent traditional culture contains rich philosophical thoughts, humanistic spirit, enlightenment thoughts and moral concepts, which can provide beneficial enlightenment for people to understand and transform the world, manage the country and politics, and build morality. We should inherit and carry forward the contents of traditional culture that are suitable for regulating social relations and encouraging people to be kind, and give them new meanings in combination with the conditions of the times. I hope that scholars from China and other countries can communicate with each other, learn from each other and study this topic well, so that the excellent traditional culture of China and the excellent culture of other countries can benefit mankind together.

Third, strive to realize the creative transformation and innovative development of traditional culture.

Humans have a history of civilization for thousands of years. Any country or nation has come to this day by connecting the past with the future and opening up the future. The world has become what it is today through the exchange and blending of human civilizations. Promoting the exchange and integration of human civilizations and learning from each other is the only way to make the world better and the lives of people in all countries better.

Correctly treating the civilizations, traditional cultures and realistic cultures of different countries and nationalities is a major issue that we must grasp well. In my opinion, we should pay attention to the following principles.

First, maintain the diversity of world civilization. "Things are not unified, and the feelings of things are also." Harmony without difference is the law of the development of all things. Everything in the world is always different and colorful. If everything is unified, the development of things and the progress of the world will stop. The civilization of every country and nation is rooted in its own national soil and has its own characteristics, strengths and advantages. We should maintain the diversity of civilizations of all countries and nationalities, strengthen mutual exchanges, learn from each other and learn from each other, and should not separate, repel and replace each other, so that the garden of world civilization can be colorful and full of vitality.

The rich and colorful human civilization has its own value. We should rationally handle the differences between our own civilization and other civilizations, realize that the civilization of each country and nation is unique, persist in seeking common ground while reserving differences, learn from each other's strengths, and do not attack or belittle other civilizations. Don't be unhappy because other people's civilization is different from your own, but do everything possible to transform, assimilate and even try to replace it with your own civilization. History has repeatedly proved that any attempt to solve the differences between civilizations by coercive means will not succeed, but will bring disaster to world civilization.

Second, respect the civilizations of all countries and nationalities. Civilization, especially ideology and culture, is the soul of a country and a nation. No matter which country or nation does not cherish its own ideology and culture and loses its soul, it is untenable. Our own nation should cherish and maintain its own ideology and culture, and also recognize and respect the ideology and culture of other nations. Different countries and nations have their own ideas and cultures, only colorful, and there is no distinction between high and low. Every country and nation, strong or weak, should be recognized and respected for its ideology and culture.

Emphasizing recognition and respect for one's own achievements in civilization is not about self-isolation, let alone exclusion and "there is only one family, and there is nothing else". All countries and nations should learn with an open mind and actively learn from the strengths and essence of other nations' ideological culture, which is an important condition for enhancing their own ideological and cultural self-esteem, self-confidence and self-improvement.

Third, learn civilization correctly. Civilization is colorful because of communication, and civilization is enriched because of mutual learning. Any civilization, no matter which country or nationality it comes from, is mobile and open. This is an important law of the spread and development of civilization. In the long-term evolution process, Chinese civilization has gained rich nutrition from exchanges with other civilizations, and has also made important contributions to the progress of human civilization. The opening of the Silk Road, the dispatch of a large number of Tang envoys from the Sui Dynasty to China, Fa Xian and Xuan Zang's voyages to the West to learn from the scriptures, and Zheng He's seven voyages to the West are vivid examples of exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and foreign civilizations. Confucianism was originally the knowledge of China, but it has already gone to the world and become a part of human civilization.

"Learning alone without friends is ignorance." We should learn from all the civilizations created by human society, whether it is China's ancient civilization, Greek civilization, Roman civilization, Egyptian civilization, two rivers civilization, Indian civilization, or Asian civilization, African civilization, European civilization, American civilization, Oceania civilization and so on. And actively absorb the beneficial ingredients, so that the excellent cultural genes in all civilizations created by human beings can adapt to contemporary culture and coordinate with modern society. To learn from each other's civilization, we should proceed from the reality of our nation, learn from each other's strong points, choose good ones and follow them, and be eclectic. However, eclecticism is not to swallow the dates and fail to reach an agreement, but to get rid of the rough and the fine, to get rid of the false and keep the true.

Fourth, treat cultural traditions scientifically. Never forget history to open up the future, and be good at inheritance to be good at innovation. Excellent traditional culture is the foundation of the inheritance and development of a country and a nation. If it is lost, it will cut off the spiritual lifeline. We should be good at organically unifying and closely combining the promotion of excellent traditional culture with the development of realistic culture, developing in inheritance and inheriting in development.

In the process of its formation and development, traditional culture will inevitably be restricted and influenced by the limitations of people's understanding level, times conditions and social system at that time, so there will inevitably be things that are outdated or have become dross. This requires people to study, study and apply traditional culture, insist on making the past serve the present and bring forth the new, and make correct choices in combination with new practice and the requirements of the times, instead of generalizing today. We should persist in making the past serve the present, learn from it, treat it differently, and discard it, instead of attaching importance to the past and neglecting the present, and strive to realize the creative transformation and innovative development of traditional culture, so as to integrate it with the real culture. * * will take culture as the task of the times.

Fourth, from history to the future, forge ahead from the continuation of national culture.

Literature carries Tao, and literature transforms people. Contemporary China is the continuation and development of historical China, and contemporary China ideology and culture is also the inheritance and sublimation of China's traditional ideology and culture. To know today's people in China and China, we need to have a deep understanding of the cultural blood of China and accurately grasp the cultural soil that nourishes China people.

Studying Confucius and Confucianism is an important way to understand the national characteristics of China people and the historical origin of the spiritual world of China people today. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, hundred schools of thought, such as Confucianism, France, Taoism, Mohism, agriculture and military, learned from each other and stirred up each other, forming a cultural grand view in which a hundred schools of thought contend, enriching the spiritual world of China people at that time. Although Confucianism has long occupied a dominant position in China's ideological and cultural field, China's ideological and cultural development is still multi-directional. These thoughts and cultures reflect the world outlook, outlook on life, values and aesthetics formed and passed down by the Chinese nation from generation to generation, and the core content has become the most basic cultural gene of the Chinese nation. These basic cultural genes are the unique marks of the Chinese nation and the people of China, which are gradually different from other nations in the process of maintaining peace, respecting the times and keeping the position, changing with the times, achieving success and establishing a career.

The ideals and struggles of the people of China and the values and spiritual world of the people of China have always been deeply rooted in the fertile soil of China's excellent traditional culture, and at the same time, they have kept pace with the times with the progress of history and times. The people of China are struggling to achieve the goal of "two hundred years". The concept of building a well-off society in an all-round way comes from the Book of Rites, which is an ideal social state pursued by the Chinese nation since ancient times. Establishing China's development goal with the concept of "well-off society" is not only in line with the development reality of China, but also easy to be understood and supported by the overwhelming majority of people.

In short, only by persisting in moving from history to the future and forging ahead from the continuation of national culture can we do a good job in today's cause.

Review the past and learn the new. Knowledge includes knowledge passed down by predecessors and knowledge created by present people. The knowledge inherited by predecessors has accumulated important cognition and experience of people in dealing with the relationship between man, society and nature in history, and the knowledge created by present people has formed people's wisdom and exploration in dealing with the problems of the times. These two aspects of knowledge are very important to the future of mankind.

Today, in the 2 1 century, all rational knowledge and practical knowledge accumulated by human beings for thousands of years are still an important foundation for human creative progress. Only by constantly exploring and using all the excellent ideological culture and rich knowledge created by human beings can we better understand the world, society and ourselves and create the future of human society.