What I know about traditional Chinese culture

The Basic Spirit of Traditional Chinese Culture

The basic spirit of traditional Chinese culture is, in essence, the national spirit of the Chinese people. Regarding the basic spirit of traditional Chinese culture, there are many views among the commentators.

Some scholars believe that the ideological basis for the long-term development of traditional Chinese culture can be called the basic spirit of traditional Chinese culture, and that the basic spirit of culture is the subtle inner power in the process of cultural development, i.e., it is the basic idea that guides the national culture to keep moving forward. The basic spirit of traditional Chinese culture is the basic characteristics of the Chinese nation in spiritual form. Thus, (1) Steel, Health, and Effort; (2) Harmony and Neutrality; (3) Utilization of Virtue; and (4) Harmony between Heaven and Man." These are where the basic spirit of traditional Chinese culture lies." (Zhang Dai Nian, "On the Basic Spirit of Chinese Culture," Chinese Cultural Studies Collection, No. 1, published by Fudan University Press.) China's national spirit is basically condensed in the two famous lines of "The Great Biography of Zhouyi", which are: "Heaven walks in a healthy way, and a gentleman is unceasing in his self-improvement"." The earth moves, and the gentleman carries things in a virtuous manner.""' Self-improvement and virtue are the basic spirit of traditional Chinese culture"." The notion of "mediocrity", although widely circulated in the past, could not actually serve to promote cultural development. Therefore, "the 'middle ground' cannot be regarded as the basic spirit of traditional Chinese culture". (Zhang Dainian, "Cultural Tradition and National Spirit," Academic Monthly, No. 12, 1986.) The basic spirit of traditional Chinese culture is also manifested in the fine tradition of replacing religion with moral education. (Zhang Dai Nian: "Chinese Culture and Chinese Philosophy," in Chinese Culture and Chinese Philosophy, Oriental Publishing House)

Some scholars believe that "the fundamental spirit of traditional Chinese culture is harmony and freedom. (Xu Siyuan, "On Two Questions of Chinese Culture," Collected Works on Chinese Culture, No. 1, published by Fudan University Press.)

Some scholars believe that the patriarchal hierarchical ethical program based on self-sufficient natural economy, family-oriented, and blood relations is the main clue, essence and core of the five dimensions of social production activities and productive forces, social relations of production, social system, social psychology and forms of social consciousness that permeated ancient China, and that "this is the fundamental spirit." (Yang Xianbang, "Re-evaluation of Traditional Chinese Culture," in Zhang Liwen et al. eds.)

Some scholars believe that China's national spirit can be roughly summarized into four interrelated aspects: (1) the spirit of reason. It is centrally manifested in the following: a long tradition of atheism, full affirmation of the unity of man and nature and the unity of the individual and society, and the assertion that the fulfillment of the individual's feelings and desires is consistent with the rational requirements of society. On the whole, it denies the religious worship of supernatural God and savior and the existence of the other side of the world, strongly advocates the harmony and unity of man and nature, individual and society, and opposes the division and confrontation of the two, which is the root of the spirit of rationality of the Chinese nation. (2) The spirit of freedom. This is first of all manifested in the spirit of the people's resistance to the rule of the exploiting class. At the same time, in the struggle against foreign national oppression, certain strata, groups and figures in the ruling class also actively participate in this struggle. This shows that in the ideological and cultural tradition of the Chinese ruling class, there is also a positive aspect of "love of freedom". (3) The spirit of truth-seeking. The pre-Qin Confucianism advocates "to know is to know, not to know is not to know", to know the world, and opposes the birth of knowledge; the Legalism opposes "fore-knowledge", pays attention to "reference", emphasizes the implementation of the work, and promotes the work; the Taoism advocates "to know the people", "self-knowledge", and "analyze the reason of all things". These are all practical spirit of the table. (4) The spirit of adaptability. (See Liu Zangji, "A Brief Discussion of the Chinese National Spirit," Wuhan University Journal, 1985, No. 1. Some scholars believe that the basic spirit of traditional Chinese culture can be summarized as "respecting ancestors, emphasizing human relationships, advocating morality, and respecting etiquette. (See Sima Yunjie, Cultural Sociology, Shandong People's Publishing House.) In addition, traditional Chinese culture is characterized by a developmental perspective, self-improvement, and a spirit of learning. (See Ding Shouhe: "A Trial Whirl of Traditional Chinese Culture," Seeking, 1987, No. 4.)

Some scholars believe that the spirit of traditional Chinese culture is humanism. This humanism is manifested in the following ways: it does not isolate human beings from interpersonal relations, nor does it oppose them to nature; it does not pursue a purely natural system of knowledge; it is anti-utilitarian in its theory of values; and it is dedicated to being human. The humanistic spirit of traditional Chinese culture has added glory to our nation and country, but also set up barriers; it has spread the light of wisdom to the world, but also caused all kinds of communication between China and foreign countries; it is a huge spiritual wealth, but also a not so small cultural baggage.