What is the traditional culture of China?

Talking about China's traditional culture is to find the most basic way to look at China's traditional culture. In the general discourse of "establishing a monument" for China culture throughout the country, Laozi's Tao Te Ching begins: "Tao can be Tao, but it is extraordinary; The phrase "a famous name, an unusual name" is carved the most. This philosophical statement represents the essence of China culture. This sentence is said in the vernacular: "Tao" is not the "Tao" that is often said; The same is true of "name" This sentence emphasizes two points: first, social and natural phenomena are dominated by Tao, which is regular, and people are bound to be restricted by Tao and fear its existence. Second, language cannot express Tao. Not only can "Tao" not be expressed, but any concrete reality, whether it is nature or human society, cannot be accurately "docked" with language. These views were put forward and widely spread two thousand years ago, and they are advanced in consciousness, which constitutes the keynote of China culture. This view is actually that when we determine a "concept", it is impossible to determine its corresponding "reality". That is to say, after we have determined a "set" (concept), there must be some "elements" (actually) that meet the requirements of the definition of "set" (concept); On the other hand, it is impossible for us to find a language to accurately describe the complicated reality. It can also be said that "group culture" is "the result of integration", and this "result" is definitely incalculable. If you say it, it must be wrong. This kind of thinking is also the saying that "words can only be expressed." Tacit can only be a personal matter, which also shows that "culture" can only be personal and can only be "different" The existence of history and reality and the description of them by language are two different things. Any real "existence" disappears instantly, which is a function of time and space, while the "history" recorded by language symbols is long. All the "culture" around reality is just the appearance of reality. Names can be named, but they are famous "is really an advanced philosophical cognition." "

This keynote of traditional culture has led to the characteristics and consequences of various traditional cultures. "Heaven" is something that human beings must explore, and reality (history) also needs us to record it in words and spread it in "time and space". This is that "Tao can be Tao, not surprising; It is unusual to be famous, which denies that words can express Tao and reality cannot be accurately expressed in words. Therefore, China's traditional culture has two contradictory characteristics: one is distrust of "language"; Second, the worship and awe of "Tao" often turns into superstition of "discourse". The contradictory phenomenon of China's traditional culture leads to the ambiguous attitude towards all issues (including any theory, understanding, viewpoint and judgment), which is "right and wrong"; No, it isn't. This is also the most important "feature" of China culture, and it explains all "features" of politics, economy and culture ... with China characteristics.

There's a saying in China that "cleverness is outwitted by cleverness". This advanced understanding of China culture has slowed down the development of China culture and made it a loser in the "tortoise and rabbit race". Language cannot accurately express reality, but we can do this as much as possible by standardizing the use of language. Aristotle is called the real "ancestor" of science because the formal logic he founded laid the foundation for solving the relationship between "reality" and "language". With language, we can record the real "* * * knowledge" or work out the "rules" for "speaking" and understanding "language". Only with the rules of using "discourse" can language play its due role in human society. In the final analysis, human civilized society is a "contract" society, and respecting and observing "contract" must be based on the "rules" of "language describing reality". The advanced understanding of China's traditional culture tells us that any "contract" and "legal provisions" have loopholes to be drilled and there is room for sophistry. Because of the characteristics of this traditional culture, few people pay attention to any written record of "contract" in the history of China. The most telling thing is that the peace treaty signed with one party to the dispute has never been praised, especially in the modern history of China, all treaties signed with foreign countries are not blameless and unequal, and even the opening of commercial ports has been condemned. At the same time, all the ministers who signed the "Peace Treaty" did not accuse them of being "traitors". Many treaties have been signed in modern times, but few of them are actively bound by them, and there are also friendly treaties. It is still necessary to "curse" as "curse". Not only that, but even the legal provisions (including the Constitution) are rarely listed in words, and even the way of the emperor's succession is not carefully recorded in words. China has a long story of "referring to a deer as a horse". The authenticity of this historical event needs no textual research. Spreading such a "story" is enough to show that China people are "smart". "Language" is just a "symbol", and its meaning has not been proved. What is worth taking seriously?

The intersection of China's traditional culture and scientific thought is very limited, but as a philosophical thought, we can certainly find "companions" in western philosophy. Hegel's dialectics was not paid attention to in western philosophy schools, but it was quickly absorbed after it was introduced into China through Marx's works. The modes of thinking such as "contradiction", "dichotomy" and "dialectics" are widely recognized by people, even listed as the only correct philosophical viewpoint, and regarded as excellent western culture introduced into China. In fact, it hit it off with the traditional culture of China. As a philosophical point of view, the thinking mode of "yes or no" is reasonable, because "language" and "reality" cannot be completely linked, and it is reasonable in understanding all aspects of "group culture". If our knowledge only stays here, there will be no science. Science is a way of thinking based on mathematical logic, which denies the existence of "yes" and "no" and shows people's thinking wisdom instead of passively "recording" reality. With the development of science, human beings' ability to control nature has been greatly enhanced, and they can accurately predict the movement of celestial bodies, but they cannot predict the unexpected events that occur every day in society. The complexity of human society is due to the complexity of "people", which is recognized by China's traditional culture, but it is "addicted" to this "yes or no" philosophy, which makes China's traditional culture very weak in science.

There is no doubt that "language" plays an important role in human society, and China's traditional culture is also very clear about it. So in addition to distrust, not taking it seriously, it also shows a kind of worship and superstition. There are many words of "abuse" and "praise" in China's language, and there are also many stories of "abuse" in China's history, which shows that "language and writing" are "lethal" to people. In ancient times, a literate person or a rich and powerful person had a word, a number, a title and so on besides his name, which was dazzling enough. An ordinary person and an "inferior person" have extremely simple names, which shows that people attach great importance to the so-called "statement". Some scholars say that China people also have religious beliefs, and this "religion" is "language teaching", which is also called "Zoroastrianism". China has attached importance to and been controlled by "ideology" for a hundred years, which is the essence of these phenomena.

Another prominent feature of China's traditional superstitious writing is its emphasis on literature. China's ancient poetry and prose are very developed, and many poets have emerged. He was also good at reasoning in the form of prose, and many prose masters emerged. These can only be attributed to the development of language "art", not the real purpose of human invention of language, but the abnormal development of language. A Gong Fang Fu written by Du Mu in the Tang Dynasty is considered to profoundly reveal the reasons for the demise of the Qin Dynasty. "This is almost a swan song that later generations lamented without learning from it, but the evidence he quoted was a well-known legend in history, a superficial event, but Du Mu's words became an important cognition because of the author's writing style. This phenomenon is common in China's cognitive problems, that is, the conclusion of an opinion does not depend on the serious textual research and reflection of historical events, but comes from a writer who speaks well. Even a political figure becomes a "great man" because literature and art praise his "words". The actual effect of this kind of "cognition" (the control of culture on reality) is extremely poor, and it may even lead to a wrong view. There are fewer thinkers and more writers in China's traditional culture. Even today, among the "elites" in political consultation, literary and art workers account for a large proportion, which shows the "characteristics" of China culture. The attitude of "yes or no" is suitable for looking at the problem as a whole, and the complexity of reality makes it impossible to describe the language accurately, so it is reasonable to answer the whole question with "yes or no"