How to write values (analyzing the differences between Chinese and western values from six aspects)

As the cornerstone of the development and change of a nation and a collective, values are diverse and complex, which constitutes a huge value cognition system.

The change of values often means the replacement of dynasties.

Xunzi Wang Zhi said: Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it. This' water' refers to people on the surface, but actually refers to people's values.

If the values of the ruled class conflict with those of the ruling class, or even run counter to them, it means changing dynasties.

Similarly, this opposition of values has also caused war conflicts between ethnic groups. Why did Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty attack the Huns with belligerence? The fundamental reason is the difference in values between nomadic people and settled people.

In this article, we deeply analyzed the values of China and the West.

The purpose is to seek common ground while reserving differences.

Before we start the topic, we must first understand a problem.

What are values?

People live a life based on survival, and survival needs to overcome environmental pressure. The weapon to overcome stress is to understand the outside world, including people, things, nature, past, future and so on.

And this kind of cognition is what we call values.

The change of values is closely related to culture.

Culture is a long-term accumulation, and it is also the ultimate value created by ancient humans through understanding life and changing the living environment. It is also the same way of thinking after individuals move towards the collective.

And this unique culture is the embodiment of values.

If we understand the cultural system layer by layer.

The first layer is folk custom, that is, the symbol of lifestyle. For example, different clothes, different languages and different buildings.

The second layer is the personality characteristics of idolatry. The appearance of every ancient hero is not accidental. His personality characteristics have been universally recognized and he is a model of cultural characteristics.

The third layer is etiquette culture. Etiquette is a unique way for people to communicate and express themselves. Every nation's attitude towards the outside world can be seen from the etiquette.

The fourth and deepest layer is what we call values. Values are the spiritual embodiment of the nation, which is the most profound and difficult to understand. If you can understand the differences in values, you can get a trump card in communication.

As the ancestors said, know yourself and know yourself.

After defining the values, we began to analyze the differences between Chinese and western values from six aspects.

Differences in mainstream ideology. The origin of western culture lies in the ocean, and the exploration of the outside world permeates the genes of westerners. And the driving force of exploration is to seize wealth. This has also created individualism and aggression in western ideology.

Western emphasis on personal meaning is also a manifestation of heroism. This embodiment is often given a positive meaning, emphasizing the relationship between competition and survival.

On the other hand, China experienced a long period of feudal society. The absolute concept of monarch and clan determines the consciousness of individual obeying the collective. Emphasize the interdependence between individuals and collectives.

At the same time, the importance of the collective has been maximized. In this way, individualism is covered with a layer of derogatory color, and the derived term is egoism.

Under the constraints of the Three Cardinal Principles and the Five Permanent Principles, selfishness is absolutely not allowed. In short, it is' self-denial'.

Differences in personal value orientation. Personal values in western culture are diversified. The popularity of the Black Death defeated the feudal system in the west, and the conditions needed for survival were more extensive. The new social system is in ruins, and every profession derived from disciplines is worthy of recognition.

Therefore, scholars, agriculture, industry and commerce have equal status and overcome the shackles of noble and low development. This is also the starting point for western civilization to surpass eastern civilization.

And China people have gone through the stage of a hundred schools of thought contending. Unfortunately, since Qin Shihuang burned books and buried Confucianism, he has gone to Emperor Wu to respect Confucianism alone. It laid a unified personal value orientation of China people and was the beginning of an official-oriented society.

Since then, ruling the country with the family has become the ideal of the literati class, and politics has become the only way for scholars to express their ambitions. Everything is inferior, and only a high degree of education leads to the humble status of scholars, farmers and businessmen. The development of science has set obstacles from the cradle.

Therefore, the wisdom of China people is mainly reflected in politics. Every dynasty with a long history did not want to fundamentally change the personal value orientation of ordinary people in order to stabilize the political situation.

Therefore, there are only two ways for a scholar to go, the winner is the official, and the loser is wise to protect himself. Either live in seclusion or drink. Nobody wants to develop anything else anyway. Great qualifications are wasted, but they create nutrition for the rise of Buddhism and Taoism.

Differences in the cognitive concept of human nature. This aspect should be analyzed from the difference of desire. Westerners believe that human nature is evil, and life is to realize personal value. And this value is accompanied by foreign conquest, transformation and acquisition. It is also the product of the combination of typical individualism and pragmatism.

And convenient ocean conditions are subject to this inherent bad habit. Foreign aggression under the cloak of adventure has become the best way to realize personal value. The upsurge of this ideological trend has led to the history of blood and tears accumulated by primitive capitalism.

People in China believe that the beginning of life is beautiful. All evils are acquired, so everything can be avoided. Thus formed the China people's unique moral ethics.

What China people pay attention to is not to conquer nature, but to maintain harmony. In other words, Taoism says that heaven and man are one, and water conservancy does not dispute everything.

At the same time, this seemingly benign constraint also leads to the so-called golden mean, which pushes the essence of human development to obedience and conformity.

China people have lived in a relatively closed feudal social environment for a long time, holding an attitude of contentment. The advantage is harmony and stability, but the disadvantage is that in the face of aggressive external threats, they either disdain to argue or simply obey to the end if they can't win.

This situation can't be changed until it can't be suppressed in suffering. Therefore, the people of China have suffered a hundred years of modern history of blood and tears.

Differences in communication concepts. Westerners are good at expressing themselves in words. In the fierce competition, they can express their particularity by using offensive language. This will not only make people feel disgusted, but also get a lot of applause.

On the contrary, China people are talkative, which is not a virtue. On the contrary, it will make people feel frivolous and seek fame. Facts speak louder than words.

In communication activities, China people tend to be subtle, observe words and observe emotions, and win good feelings by conforming to each other's attitude. This is more conducive to human life. At the same time, it is also the embodiment of maintaining harmony.

So think about it, one is good at language attack and the other is reserved. The final result is self-evident.

Differences in historical concepts. The history of westerners is a history of plunder, and there is nothing worth remembering. So westerners simply understand history as a line, and the past is the past. We should look to the future and explore more new things. And this kind of excavation is obviously not divorced from aggression.

The history of China people's sufferings and the change of dynasties, from ancient times to the present, have decided to attach great importance to history.

Emperor Taizong once said: Taking history as a mirror, we can know the rise and fall.

Therefore, China's future is based on drawing lessons from the past. Only in this way can we avoid making the same mistake.

Unfortunately, the history of China is full of examples of knowingly committing crimes. Every emperor knows that water can carry a boat and overturn it, but it is inevitable to change the dynasty.

Differences between old and new ideas. In western values, youth means vitality in competition. The growth of age represents the loss of competitiveness and will soon be abandoned by society. So many old people spend the rest of their lives in loneliness and depression.

This concept is hard to accept in the eyes of China people. As the saying goes, an old man wins a treasure at home, and age means the accumulation of qualifications, wisdom and knowledge. Coupled with the influence of Confucian filial piety, respecting the elderly has always been one of the virtues of China people. Of course, there are some extreme examples.

To sum up, it is completely different values between China and the West, and it is also the root cause of the conflict between the two sides. If you have different opinions, please write them in the comments area and discuss them with you.