What is the impact of traditional Chinese culture on the world? Urgent.

From an article on the Internet forwarded to you, I hope to help you.

There are currently two opposing trends in the development of world culture. One is the attempt by theorists in certain Western countries to impose on other countries and peoples values that reflect their continued domination of the world, and to insist on Western-centeredness, in order to safeguard their own interests and traditional customs. The other is that certain countries that have achieved independence and revitalization, with the sentiment of cherishing their own cultures, have formed a kind of fundamentalism that is anti-root, adhering to local cultures and rejecting foreign cultures. How to keep these two opposing currents from developing into a large-scale war and to eliminate them is a major issue that must be emphasized at present.

I. The significant impact of economic globalization on the development of world culture

Economic globalization does not necessarily eliminate the conflicts between the peoples of different countries. Whether it will enhance mutual understanding and tolerance among different cultures and lead to peace or lead to war because of cultural isolation and hegemony will be a major issue affecting the development of human society in the twenty-first century.

There are two opposing trends in the development of world culture, one of which is the attempt by theorists of certain Western countries to impose on other countries and peoples values that reflect their continued domination of the world and their adherence to Western-centeredness from the perspective of safeguarding their own interests and traditional customs. The other is that certain countries that have achieved independence and revitalization, with the sentiment of cherishing their own cultures, have formed a kind of fundamentalism that is anti-root, adhering to local cultures and rejecting foreign cultures. How to keep these two opposing currents from developing into a large-scale war and to eliminate them is a major issue that must be emphasized at present.

Second, whether a new axial era can come

The German philosopher Jaspers (1883-1936) once put forward the idea of an axial era, in which he believed that around the 5th century B.C., different civilizations appeared in different parts of the world, and that these civilizations, after more than 2,000 years of development, became the main wealth of human culture. became the main wealth of human culture, while they did not influence each other at the beginning and all developed independently. For every new leap in human history, it is necessary to look back to the sources of cultural development.

In a sense, the development of the many cultures of the world today may well be another new leap forward from the axial age of more than two thousand years ago. From all indications, it might be fair to say that humanity is entering, or about to enter, a new Axial Age. There are three reasons for this:

First, once a nation becomes independent, it must recognize its own independent identity, and it must find cultural roots to support that independence. Second, every culture has its own limitations, and if you look at it from another cultural system, from the perspective of the "other", you may be able to more fully understand the characteristics of this culture. Thirdly, from the point of view of the current situation of human society and culture, a new pattern of cultural pluralism has been or is being formed under the influence of global consciousness.

Three: Traditional Chinese Culture and Cultural Self-Consciousness

There have been several occasions of cultural self-consciousness in Chinese history. Today, we are facing another cultural self-consciousness. The so-called cultural self-awareness means that a group of people living in a certain cultural tradition can make serious thinking and reflection on the origin of his own culture, the process of its formation and its characteristics (including strengths and weaknesses), and its development trend. Cultural self-awareness must be based on the understanding of each nation or country of its own culture. Now, the Chinese nation is on the eve of a great cultural renaissance, so we must give Chinese culture a proper orientation, to figure out what its history is, what its strengths are, what its weaknesses are, what its problems are, and what the trend of its future development is.

Cultural self-awareness encompasses many aspects, the most important of which is to see whether our cultural traditions can provide positive resources for solving the most important problems existing in today's human society, so as to promote the healthy and rational development of human society. Our attitude toward traditional Chinese culture should be based on a full understanding of its inner spirit, and we should take advantage of its strengths and weaknesses, absorb nutrients, and enrich and renew ourselves in our interactions with other cultures so as to adapt to the requirements of the development of the current human society.

What is the most critical issue facing human society today? It is peace and development. Confucianism's "benevolence" and Taoism's "doctrine of the Way" can provide positive and valuable resources for this. If mankind is to develop in a homogeneous and sustainable manner, it is necessary to resolve not only the relationship between human beings, but also the relationship between human beings and nature. Confucianism's "unity of heaven and mankind" and Taoism's "reverence for nature" can also provide meaningful resources for this purpose.

Fourth, the Confucian theory of "benevolence" on today's world

Confucius's benevolence is to love one's own parents as a starting point, and then push oneself to others, to achieve the "old as we are old, as well as the old, as well as the young as well as the young".

Confucius' theory of "benevolence" cannot solve all the problems of interpersonal relationships that exist in today's society, but as a doctrine of "self-discipline" based on moral philosophy, and as a guideline for regulating interpersonal relationships, it can be expanded to include the relationship between peoples and nations, and between nations and countries. However, as a doctrine of "self-discipline" based on moral philosophy and as a guideline for regulating the relationship between people, it is undoubtedly meaningful to extend it to the harmonious coexistence between peoples and nations and between countries.

It is not easy to make people live in harmony with each other. For this reason, Confucius put forward the idea of "the gentleman is in harmony but different, the villain is in agreement but not in harmony", which is of great significance in solving the disputes between different countries and nationalities nowadays. Especially in the case of conflicts between different countries and ethnic groups due to differences in culture, religious beliefs and values, "harmony but differences" should be more meaningful as a principle for resolving differences.

We must strive for harmony among different cultures through dialogue. The principle of "harmony and difference", based on the Confucian principle of "harmony is precious", should become the basic principle for dealing with relations between different cultures.

Fifth, Lao Tzu's "Taoism" is a wise doctrine for preventing conflicts between people

Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching puts forward the basic concept of "Tao", and "natural inaction" is a basic concept of "Tao", and "natural inaction" is a basic concept of "Tao", and "natural inaction" is a basic concept of "Tao". and "natural inaction" is the most basic characteristic of "Tao". Lao Tzu advocated "natural inaction", which means not to do things that go against the nature of the common people, so that the world will be peaceful.

Lao Tzu believed that "natural inaction" meant less selfishness and desire. He also believed that the common people wanted to live in peace and contentment and to recuperate, and that the ruler should not keep on tormenting them. In a country, the less you interfere with the people, the more peaceful the society will be; the more you interfere with the people, the less peaceful the society will be. By extension, between countries, the more you interfere with other countries, the more chaotic the world becomes.

Sixth: The positive significance of the "unity of heaven and mankind" thought on the correct handling of the relationship between human beings and nature

Western culture has had a great impact on the development of human society in the past 300 years. To this day, we have seen that due to the excessive development and ruthless plundering of nature by human beings, the survival of human beings themselves is seriously threatened. This situation cannot be said to be unrelated to the idea of the dichotomy between heaven and man in Western philosophy. Western philosophy has long regarded spirit and matter as independent and unrelated to each other. Therefore, its philosophy is a theory built on striking external relations, and its mode of thinking is the duality of "mind" and "matter" independent of each other. However, Chinese philosophy is fundamentally different. According to Chinese Confucianism, the study of "heaven" cannot but involve "man", and the study of "man" cannot but involve "heaven". "

We are not the only ones who have been in the same boat for a long time.

We are discussing the "unity of heaven and man" model to show that there exists an inseparable inner relationship between man and nature, and that we must consider the relationship between man and nature in a unified way, rather than considering only one aspect without considering the other. "The unity of heaven and man", a proposition developed from the I Ching, is an important cornerstone of Confucianism, and it provides a very meaningful path of reflection for solving today's relationship between man and nature.

VII. The positive significance of Taoism's idea of "revering nature" for the protection of nature

Respecting nature is an important idea of Laozi. Human beings are a part of nature and must not exploit and destroy nature in an inordinate manner; otherwise, the survival of human beings themselves will be jeopardized. Therefore, today's human society should draw wisdom from the Taoist thought of Laozhuang. In fact, the reverence for nature also expresses a relationship between man and nature, and in terms of mode of thinking, it has **** the same point as the "unity of heaven and man". From this point of view, the "unity of man and nature", reverence for nature, in line with nature, is a unified mode of thinking of traditional Chinese culture.

Eight, the thinking of the ancients must take the essence of the dregs

However, even the essence of the thinking of the ancients must be endowed with a modern interpretation, so that it is adapted to the needs of modern life, and truly achieve the ancient for the present. Although the ancient philosophical views are the cultural treasures of every nation and country, and many of them are still beneficial to today's human society, they also contain some outdated, erroneous and even harmful contents, which should be discarded.

Whether it is the Confucian doctrine of Confucius or the Taoist doctrine of Laozi, they all contain contents that are not adapted to the requirements of modern human society, and there are inherent contradictions and even a number of errors. If the significance of Confucianism is exaggerated, its humanism will lead to pan-moralism; if the significance of Taoism is exaggerated, its naturalism will lead to inaction. If Chinese culture wants to walk in the forefront of human society in the twenty-first century, it must have a cultural self-consciousness. On the basis of giving full play to the inherent vitality of our own culture, we should exclude the outdated and erroneous parts of our own culture, and vigorously absorb the advanced elements of other cultures, so as to make our culture constantly adapt to the requirements of the development of modern society, and to contribute to solving the problems of peace and development of contemporary mankind. This is where the true well-being of the Chinese nation lies.

Wonderful Q&A:

Question: There are two civilizations in the West, namely, Hebrew and Greek. Both have been in conflict in Western society, and both are pursuing dominance. Does China's modernization also require a dual civilization structure? If the metaphysical level and the metaphysical level are both dominated by Confucian civilization, can China's modernization be achieved? If we follow the approach of "using the Chinese body and the West", which was developed more than a hundred years ago, would it be more conducive to the realization of modernization if we use the Chinese as the metaphysical level and the West as the sub-metaphysical level?

Tang Yijie: Western modern civilization comes from many different sources, and there are many conflicting factors. We do have something different in China, for example, Confucianism, which has a metaphysical dimension and at the same time reaches out to the people. China also has the so-called Taoism, which is less metaphysical and more secular and folkloric, yet its ideals are completely unattainable and have no metaphysical implications.

Q: Some people think that the Middle Way has a very positive effect on harmonizing interpersonal relationships, but others think that it is a non-negligible ethical factor that affects the pursuit of leadership in market competition or the competitiveness of Chinese enterprises. What are your views on this?

Tong Yijie: There have always been different interpretations of the Middle Way, and it depends on how it is interpreted. In the Chinese way of thinking, there are actually two different paths, one of which is the path of Taoism, which seeks the other end of things from one end. The second is the way of Confucianism, which seeks the middle from both ends, emphasizing "too much, not enough", neither "too much", nor "not enough", just right, emphasizing the "degree". The emphasis is on "degree". If the "middle ground" is understood as the most appropriate "degree", then this understanding has a positive significance for enterprise competition.

Question: Three questions: First, you used to be a cadre of Peking University in the early period of liberation, a hot-blooded young man, and you yourself used to hope to become a philosopher when you were young, but later you canceled this idea and became a philosopher instead. May I ask if the environment of these 50 years was not conducive to the growth of a philosopher?

Secondly, philosophers are the product of social needs. A society can have many pressing demands at the same time, but from a philosophical point of view there may be only one subject: any society must first solve the problems of norms and order, and only after these two problems have been solved is it possible to put forward the subject of freedom in its true sense, and then to put forward the subject of true justice. The United States has solved the problem of norms and order in the 200 years of its existence. It solved the Negro problem in the 1960's, and in the 1970's it came out with the Doctrine of Authorship, which fits right in with this statement, and I wonder if you agree with this?

Thirdly, you have written two articles on the positioning of Chinese culture, twice citing the German philosopher Jaspers' concept of the "Axial Age", in which you pinned your hopes on a future period and believed that Chinese civilization would be able to produce great philosophers in a new axial age. However, the Chinese people are still lagging behind the developed countries in terms of economy, technology, politics and so on, so how can China produce great philosophers in this state?

Tang Yijie: When I was young, I really wanted to be a philosopher, but later I changed my mind, and when I graduated from Peking University in 1951, I thought that people who engaged in philosophy could only be philosophers, and that only political leaders could be called "philosophers". In the late 1980s, I changed my mind a bit, thinking that one should not only be a philosopher, but also a philosopher, and that one could also create philosophy. I don't dare to say that I am a philosopher now, but I am trying to raise philosophical questions that are not raised by political leaders, and that political leaders don't necessarily care about. Philosophy has been affected for decades for historical reasons.

I am not terribly familiar with American history, and China doesn't necessarily have to follow that path. To govern a country, of course, there must be a guiding ideology, there must be norms, but academic research should not have so many norms, as long as there is no plagiarism, plagiarism is fine. Academics are about freedom, otherwise they cannot develop.

On the question of a new axial era. Some scholars look forward to the emergence of a new Axial Age, hoping that the four major civilizations will develop in harmony, and that there will be no conflicts, contradictions and wars because of cultural differences. This is not accidental; this was all raised in the two years of 1998 and 1999, and the reason why they were all raised at this time was that they hoped that the twenty-first century would not see the outbreak of two world wars as it did in the twentieth century. However, this expectation of peace is becoming increasingly remote today, and conflicts are becoming more and more serious. The solution for mankind to get out of this predicament is peace and development. And to achieve this goal, the resources of every culture need to be brought into play. Does traditional Chinese culture have some useful resources? This is precisely the question I am considering. Of course, I dare not say that a new "Axial Age" will definitely come in the 21st century, but we hope that a new Axial Age will come as soon as possible. The so-called new axial age is one in which the four civilizations or more civilizations can develop in harmony.

Question: The "unity of heaven and mankind" that you have just mentioned is that heaven represents nature. However, in terms of the background of its emergence, it was created to address the chaos of the social order, which was very chaotic at that time, rather than the natural, ecological aspects of the problem. Moreover, Confucianism advocates the "Way of the King" and "benevolent government", and "king" is the first and foremost, while "heaven" should refer to the supreme ruler. The term "heaven" should refer to the supreme ruler. In the traditional understanding, nature includes heaven, man and earth. Conversely, heaven cannot represent man and earth. From these three aspects, I think that "the unity of heaven and man" should refer to the coordination between the ruler and the common people, and the solution of the problem of social order together. Do you think so?

Tang Yijie: In China, the concept of "heaven" is very complex, and every philosopher uses it differently.

What I mean by "the unity of heaven and mankind" today is to understand and interpret "heaven" as the meaning of nature. If not from this point of view, it can also be interpreted from the point of view of the personality God, that is, "the unity of heaven and man" becomes the relationship between man and God, rather than the relationship between man and nature. There is also the religious problem of "saving people with God". Now that the world is in such a mess, who is going to save the world? From a religious point of view, it is up to God to save it.