Yu said that the four stories reflected the spirit of the people of China.

The huge cultural and ideological differences between China and the West have always made the West biased against China people. Especially in recent decades, the rapid development of China's economy has made many western politicians interpret it as: China people have no real spiritual beliefs, respect money, material things, success and status too much, and play politics, which makes them unprincipled. ...

I don't deny that some social concepts established in modern western countries have great progressive significance. The public consciousness, positivism consciousness and rule of law consciousness advocated by the west led the development of the modern history of the whole world. It's worth learning. But this can't erase the value of China culture, let alone deny the spiritual belief of China people.

First, myths and legends often reflect the spiritual core of a nation.

China is recognized as one of the four ancient civilizations in the world, because China culture meets the three standards of ancient civilization, the first is writing, the second is metal smelting, and the third is a city with concentrated residence. In terms of historical value, China culture may not be the strongest, but it is the only civilization that has lasted for 5,000 years without interruption and annihilation.

Yu once had a dispute with a Chinese-American political commentator about culture and values. The Chinese-American said: "The western value system is the starting point and the end point for us to discuss all issues."

Yu said: "Whether it is over or not, you and I are not qualified to judge. But I am qualified to determine that the starting point is not there. "

Where is the origin of China culture? What is the spiritual core that makes this civilization last for thousands of years? This has to talk about the myth of ancient China.

Myths and legends are often denied by historians, because these stories often transcend reality, time and space and cannot be verified or deduced. But spirit and matter are different fields. Legends that cannot be verified in reality often reflect human beliefs and ideals. From here, we can find the spiritual core of China people.

Yu said: From the perspective of cultural anthropology, myths and legends contain a truth belonging to collective psychology. This truth is often more important than historical truth. This is like the sad feeling of sunset glow and the elegant feeling of bamboo cultivation, which has become a truth for many years, even more meaningful than their truth in astrology and botany.

Secondly, the cultural spirit of China is interpreted from the comparison between Chinese and Western ancient myths.

In western mythology, fire was given by God and stolen by Prometheus.

In China's mythology, fire is caused by constant friction. (drill wood for fire)

In western mythology, in the face of the doomsday flood, they chose to take refuge in Noah's ark;

But in the myth of China people, our ancestor Dayu led his people to control the water. Don't avoid disaster, and don't give in to it. (Dayu governs water)

When a person encounters difficulties in life, western mythology will tell you: obey God's arrangement.

But the myth of China tells you: Fight against nature, even if you know you can't do it.

A mountain stands in front of the house, and Gong Yu's family will choose to move the mountain instead of moving. This method doesn't look brilliant, but the spirit it contains is admirable! (Yugong Yishan)

In primitive tribal times, the sun existed like a god.