How does China's classical culture glow with vitality in the new era?

Tsinghua University Law 6 1 Liu Xingxing

China is a world-famous cultural power, and China's ancient culture is dazzling, which is unmatched by other countries in the world. Her brilliance is rare in the world, her richness is unparalleled, and her charm is endless. Such a wonderful culture was formed under the specific background of the times, so what is the relationship between the ancient culture of China and this era? By analyzing the characteristics, academic aspects and literary aspects of China's ancient culture-"the era of culture" or "the culture of the times", this paper demonstrates the relationship between them.

Keywords: cultural characteristics of ancient cultural times, academic literature

Author: Law 6 1 Class 20060 12753, School of Law, Tsinghua University, Liu Xingxing.

I. Introduction

China-the hometown of dragons. Generations of Chinese sons and daughters of all ethnic groups have worked hard in this mysterious land, casting 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, crowning this land as an "ancient civilization" and winning the admiration of the whole world as a "descendant of the dragon". The Chinese nation has always been famous for its long and rich culture. In the historical evolution of more than 5,000 years, in this vast and magical land of the motherland, the industrious and intelligent people of all ethnic groups in China have been striving for self-improvement and perseverance, and in their unremitting struggle to transform mountains and improve their lives, they have created a splendid culture that embodies the essence of Chinese thought and the pursuit of values. From the Book of Songs and Chu Ci before Qin and Han Dynasties to the Han Fu, Tang Poetry, Song Ci, Yuanqu and novels in Ming and Qing Dynasties, the excellent culture created by our people describes the magnificent and arduous struggle of our people in various forms, shows their delicate and full artistic taste, records their colorful social life, and is a treasure in the treasure house of Chinese culture [1]. The ancient culture of China is full of flowers and colors, and the cultural atmosphere is very harmonious. However, these wonderful cultures are closely related to the specific background and social characteristics at that time. As Mao Zedong said in "On New Democracy", "a certain culture is a reflection of the political and economic thoughts of a certain society." The economic base determines the superstructure, and the ancient culture of China is bound to have a close relationship with its times. The Book of Changes in the Warring States Period said: "Look at the humanities to transform the world." "Humanism" here refers to the ethical order and moral norms of human society, and "culture" here refers to transformation and education. It can be seen from this sentence that culture can belong to people's actions and educate the world. In other words, culture is always educating an era. This kind of education and norm is the fusion of culture and times, which adapts, constrains and reflects an era, and the specific background of the era also constrains and promotes the development of this culture. So what is the specific relationship between culture and the times, and how is it reflected?

Second, from the characteristics of ancient culture.

The ancient culture of China, which was born and developed in a special geographical environment, was born in the soil of a special economic and social era in which the mode of production was mainly self-sufficient small-scale peasant economy and the social organization was mainly patriarchal dictatorship, showing unique characteristics.

First of all, China ancient culture has typical ethical characteristics. This ethical feature is the result of the ruler governing the country. The feudal society in China lasted for more than 2,000 years, and the social structure model was a patriarchal society with blood as the main body. The ancient culture of China paid special attention to ethics, and the traditional ethical thought was at the center of various cultural expressions such as philosophy, religion, literature and art, but this feature was ultimately determined by its time. Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty "ousted a hundred schools of thought and respected Confucianism alone", the doctrine of Confucius and Mencius has gradually become a feudal orthodox thought, which has been respected by rulers for nearly two thousand years. This ethical feature was formed under the background of Confucian governance.

Second, China's ancient culture is very tolerant. It is not only compatible with the cultures of all ethnic groups in China, but also with the cultures of foreign regions. This extremely inclusive feature is inseparable from China's ancient open and enlightened policies and national development. During the Warring States period, the frequent merger wars and the constant economic and cultural exchanges between countries promoted the emergence of new cultures. The culture represented by Qu Yuan's Songs of Chu and Lisao is the product of the cultural exchange between Chu culture and Central Plains. The formation of national culture in Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the culture in Liao, Song, Xia, Jin and Yuan Dynasties, and the birth of Qidan characters and Xixia characters were also the products of the political era at that time. One of the main reasons for the formation of multi-ethnic culture is the formation of a multi-ethnic unified country. Besides, the formation of ancient Buddhist culture is closely related to the background of the times. During the Han Dynasty, the rulers implemented an enlightened cultural policy, strengthened exchanges with other parts of the world, and introduced Buddhism. The rulers of the Tang Dynasty advocated Buddhism and made it reach its peak. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, western capitalism gradually became stronger, some feudal rule in China declined, and western natural science knowledge was introduced, which formed the upsurge of "Western learning spreading to the east". The formation of the above-mentioned compatible culture is a specific product of the times, which is determined by the times and reflects the background of the times.

Thirdly, China's ancient culture is characterized by pragmatism and advocating the golden mean. The formation of this feature is closely related to the concept of "agriculture-oriented" of ancient social rulers. The feudal small-scale peasant economy has always advocated "self-sufficiency". Pragmatic spirit is the basic feature of farmers, and harvesting crops is not practical. This kind of self-sufficiency inevitably requires pragmatism. Cultural emphasis on practicality makes it directly related to production and life, such as agriculture, astronomy, medicine, history, literature, education and so on. The feudal tiger-fighting advocated "applying what you have learned", "being knowledgeable, interrogating, thinking carefully and arguing" as learning, "being faithful to what you do" as application, and "being good at learning and being an official", all of which reflected the needs of feudal rule. Of course, this pragmatic spirit has also plunged China people into religious fanaticism, which shows that the formation of the characteristics of the China era is also influenced by culture. China ancient society has always advocated the "golden mean", which is the product of farmers who are bent on peace and stability and agricultural natural economy. At the same time, he also thinks that China is a characteristic of wisdom and opposes going to extremes, which is reflected in political repression, equal rights and land property; Reflected in culture, it is the integration of multiple cultures, seeking common ground while reserving differences, and seeking common ground while reserving differences.

From the above three characteristics, we can draw the following conclusions: the formation and development of ancient culture in China reflects the characteristics and development direction of the times before the imbecile; At the same time, an era has also promoted the formation, development and integration of culture, limiting the development direction of culture.

Third, from an academic point of view.

(A), pre-Qin philosophers

The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period is the period when China's ancient academic thoughts were fully formed. The rise of the landlord class, the decline of aristocratic women, the land cutting, the division of Jin by three ethnic groups, the Hunan-Chu and Shang-Yang political reforms in Wuqi, all these events have reflected the fierce struggle between old and new political forces. In order to adapt to the power competition, many countries have changed their laws, which has caused people to think and argue about social politics, economy and culture. With the decline of official schools and the rise of private schools, famous scholars from various factions recruited disciples, gathered to give lectures, wrote books and argued with each other, forming a situation in which a hundred schools of thought contend. Academic schools such as Confucianism, Taoism, Mohism and Legalism have deepened their own theories and constructed the framework of China's traditional scholarship, which is an extremely prosperous culture. First, the chaos in the world and the collapse of rites and music have brought about the unification of the world and the competition for mutual visits. The separation of single culture leads to the development of multiculturalism.

The study of Confucianism has distinct humanistic spirit and ethical spirit, and it was also put forward to protest against the concept of "ritual collapse and bad music" Confucianism, such as "benevolent, people also" and "don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you", has long occupied a dominant position in traditional society and maintained the development of feudal society. The learning of Laozi and Zhuangzi was adopted by the rulers in the early Han Dynasty, and "recuperation" played a great role in consolidating the rule of North Korea. Mohist thought reflects the desire of small producers for a stable life, opposes cronyism of princes and nobles, and embodies the characteristics of the times. Legalists advocated the rule of law and tried to enrich Qiang Bing through reform. This thought reflects the background of this kind of war and dispute, that is, the transitional stage from slave society to feudal society.

(2) Confucian classics in Han Dynasty

In 22 1 year BC, Ying Zheng, king of Qin, finally achieved the great cause of reunification after years of annexation war. But its short dynasty was quickly destroyed by Liu Bang. In the Han Dynasty, in view of the lesson that the pursuit of the legalist ideological line represented by Li Si led to rapid demise, the rulers advocated learning from Huang Lao. With the unprecedented national strength of the Han Dynasty, in order to meet the needs of the feudal unified political situation, Dong Zhongshu put forward the idea of "ousting hundreds of schools and respecting Confucianism alone", which was adopted by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and the school of menstruation and blood prevailed for a while. Dong Zhongshu mainly focused on Confucianism in Yang Gong Chunqiu, and recidivists absorbed many theories such as Yin and Yang, Five Elements and the name of Huang Lao, and formed their own ideological system. He demonstrated the "three cardinal guides and five permanents" and advocated great unification, which were the requirements of the Han Dynasty for "unity of government orders, unity of society and unity of culture".

(3) Metaphysics in Wei and Jin Dynasties

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, the change of political situation, the decline of Confucianism, the disaster of partisan struggle, and the challenges faced by the traditional official lifestyle are all the intersection and collision of old and new ideas. In this process, an academic orientation of attaching importance to nature and abandoning false reputation, attaching importance to individuality and neglecting divinity, pursuing truth and abandoning fallacies, and being obsessed with abstract principles has gradually formed. This new idea and new values, which run counter to the apotheosis of Confucian classics in Han Dynasty, are metaphysics formed by the combination of discarded Confucianism and Zhuangzi. Metaphysics is represented by Yan He, Wang Bi, Ruan Ji and Ji Kang. They discussed philosophical issues such as existence, background, movement, nature, etc. It is better to discuss political affairs, so that they formed an outlook on life that cares about mountains and rivers, does not seek Wen Da, and even is bohemian. This kind of academic atmosphere and life interest of "being mysterious and far away, being bright and empty" is actually a refutation of the suppression of humanity and hypocrisy by famous religions in the Han Dynasty and a manifestation of political disappointment at that time.

(4) Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties

During the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism reached its peak. The Anshi Rebellion led to the decline of the Tang Dynasty, the great watch of the times and the awakening of Confucian orthodoxy. From the middle Tang Dynasty, thinkers represented by Han Yu opposed Buddhism and Taoism, took the revival of Confucianism as their own responsibility, and painstakingly pursued the blood of cultural inheritance. A sense of responsibility with a cultural mission. In the Song Dynasty, the political situation of poverty and weakness and the invasion of the northern Yi nationality inspired many scholars' sense of social responsibility and academic mission. With the ambition of "rejecting saints and learning, peace for all generations", they actively established Neo-Confucianism, a neo-Confucianism with Confucianism as the main body and absorbing Buddhism and Taoism. Zhu is a master of Neo-Confucianism in the Southern Song Dynasty. He opposed "righteousness" and "human desire" and put forward "preserving righteousness and destroying human desire", which actually defended the feudal hierarchy. The imperial examination in Ming Dynasty only respected Zhu Cheng Neo-Confucianism, which was actually the need of feudal rule.

(5) Early democratic enlightenment thought

Ming and Qing Dynasties were the later period of feudal society in China. During this period, the rulers constantly strengthened the autocratic system, the rulers took the diplomatic initiative in the early Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty implemented the policy of "closing the country to the outside world", and western missionaries came to the east. These times have promoted the potential growth of early democratic enlightenment thought. Among them, Li Zhizhe thought that Confucian classics were not "to the point in everything", which exposed the hypocrisy of Taoism and was a pioneer of anti-feudal thought. In a certain sense, his thoughts reflect the requirements of the times when capitalism was in its infancy. Huang Zongxi made a fierce criticism of the feudal autocratic monarchy system. He advocates "rule by law" and opposes "rule by man". Gu put forward practical application and advocated the combination of book knowledge and practice. The emergence of these democratic enlightenment thoughts in this period indicates the inevitable demise of the feudal dynasty.

It can be seen that the development of ancient culture in China also shows that the culture of an era always embodies the characteristics of this era and always adapts to this era. Different times have different cultural types, and a culture will inevitably appear with the changes of the times, and change in the development process of this era, guiding the development of the times.

Fourth, from a literary point of view.

China's literature has a long history, with a peak generation, numerous famous writers and brilliant works. Look at the rare wonders in the history of human culture. We often summarize the ancient culture of China into several stages, namely, "The Songs of Chu in the Book of Songs, Prose in Pre-Qin Period, Han Fu, Tang Poetry, Song Poetry, Yuan Qu, Ming and Qing Novels", and these literary stages reflect the characteristics of the times.

The Book of Songs and Songs of the South describe social life such as folk stories, court banquets, and ancestral temple sacrifices in the Spring and Autumn Period of the Western Zhou Dynasty. On the whole, they reflect the realistic tendency of "the hungry sing about their food, and the laborers sing about their things" and the sufferings of the people. Songs of the South embodies a strong patriotic thought, expresses concern for current politics and embodies the characteristics of the times.

Pre-Qin prose and Han Fu pre-Qin prose are divided into historical prose and various schools of thought prose. Historical prose describes history; The essays of various schools of thought were produced under the social background of rapid social changes and schools of thought contending. The content of inflation method is closely related to the characteristics of social unrest in the pre-Qin period. The reply of letters originated from the unprecedented powerful and unified feudal empire in the history of China. With its words, it shows the grandeur of the Han empire, the grandeur of palaces, the prosperity of cities, the richness of products, the development of commerce and the prosperity of the martial arts of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and shows the strength of the Chinese nation itself and its high confidence and affirmation of the material civilization and spiritual civilization it created. Han Fu is magnificent, which is the embodiment of the strong national strength of the Han Dynasty.

Tang poetry and Song poetry flourished in the Tang Dynasty. Like Li Bai's poems, the poems of this period are famous all over the world, bold and unconstrained, vivid and vivid. Du Fu's poems profoundly reflect the history of Tang Dynasty from prosperity to decline. In the late Tang Dynasty, Du Mu's poems were full of feelings of worrying about the country and the people, and he accused the rulers at that time by chanting history. From the style changes of Tang poetry, we can see the process of Tang dynasty from prosperity to decline. Song ci flourished for a while. First of all, due to the further development of the feudal economy in Song Dynasty, the expansion of the civil class and the richness of people's thoughts and feelings, Ci became popular. Secondly, the sharp class contradictions and ethnic contradictions in the Song Dynasty made some writers turn to express their feelings. From the bold school represented by Su Shi to the graceful school represented by Liu Yong and Li Qingzhao, we can see the shadow of the changes of the times.

Zaju in Yuan Dynasty and novels in Ming and Qing Dynasties are extremely rich in content, reflecting the broad social life: there are love dramas The West Chamber, Love Drama Saving the Wind and Dust, Historical Drama One-Knife Meeting, Case-solving Drama Yuan, Water Margin Drama Zhan's Negative Jing and so on. Yuan Zaju is a kind of literature that is closer to people's life, directly expresses people's joys and sorrows, and widely reflects social reality. All these plays are based on social reality and reflect the times of culture. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, as culture entered the summary period, citizen literature flourished and novels became the mainstream of literature. During this period, the economy prospered further, the citizen class expanded constantly, the citizens formed their own aesthetic taste, and narrative literature tended to be commercialized, thus contributing to the prosperity of popular literature. On the other hand, the proliferation of social lust and self-publicity, coupled with the emergence of "heresy" such as Li Zhi, made the novels of Ming and Qing Dynasties have the characteristics of romantic themes. Masterpieces handed down during this period are endless, including Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which reflects the political and military struggles in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period. The Journey to the West, a mythical novel reflecting the people's contempt for feudal rule and the spirit of daring to struggle; A Dream of Red Mansions, which attacked feudal ethics and the evils of feudal system and revealed the decline of feudal society; The Scholars, which exposed the corruption of the imperial examination system and criticized the feudal society. The novel culture at this stage fully praised the people's fighting spirit and reflected the decline of feudal society; At the same time, the rise of this novel culture is also the embodiment of China's early capitalist economy.

Therefore, from the perspective of literature and culture, a kind of literature and culture can reflect the changes in economic, political and social life of an era, and it will be deeply branded with the times. An era will inevitably affect the style, content and form of its literary culture, and add charm to it with this literary culture.

Verb (abbreviation of verb) conclusion

From the analysis of the above three aspects, from the history of China's ancient culture and social changes, we can see that:

The culture of an ancient era in China is bound to be deeply branded with this era, and he will guide or even limit the development of the era by influencing all aspects of this era; And an era will inevitably produce a culture that adapts to it, and influence the content, style and form of this culture through politics and economy until it adapts to it or at least does not run counter to it. Culture and the times are bound, influenced and integrated with each other, thus forming a harmonious relationship. I named it "the culture of the times" or "the age of culture".