Restoring Chinese Traditions to Rebuild Ritual Civilization

The Chinese nation is an outstanding people with thousands of years of excellent cultural traditions. Chinese culture is a rare treasure in the cultural treasury of mankind. However, China's scientific and technological development lags behind that of the United States and other Western countries. Liu Yuzheng, Dean of the Faculty of Letters of Shanxi University, has repeatedly mentioned the issue of "restoring Chinese traditions and rebuilding the civilization of rites and music". What is the significance of "rebuilding the civilization of ritual and music" for the development of China, and how to implement this huge project? What is the significance for modern society?

Recently, Liu Yuzheng reiterated his views in an interview with this reporter. He said figuratively that there are two wheels for human development, one for science and technology and one for humanity. Only when the two wheels turn together can mankind truly move toward peace, happiness, joy and well-being. If only one wheel turns, it will overturn. Nowadays, the wheel of "humanism" has almost stopped turning, but science and technology are developing at a rapid pace. It is true that the development of science and technology has eased the heavy burden of the human body in the past, but the great convenience it has brought has induced the continuous expansion of human material desires, which in turn has dragged human beings into the torrent of brutal competition, and subjected the human mind to unprecedented pressure and pain.

Newspaper: Since the Chinese people have excellent cultural traditions and a long history, why are they lagging behind western countries in science and technology and economy? How did you know about this problem?

Liu Yuqing: First of all, there is a problem of understanding "backward" and "advanced". Nowadays, people think that western countries are advanced and China is backward, that is, they see that western countries are more advanced in science and technology and economy than we are. This is actually a big misunderstanding, it is people's value judgment out of the problem. Human development should mainly refer to the development of human spirit and human nature, and it should be the continuous upgrading of human spirit to the moral field. Therefore, when we see that China's economy and "technology" are not as good as that of the United States, we think that China is backward. This understanding is at least incomplete. It is mainly a question of value orientation. In Western culture, the word "propriety" is highly regarded. The pursuit of profit maximization is the development goal determined by this cultural value orientation. The pursuit of profit maximization inevitably leads to the development of science and technology, so material modernization is particularly prominent in the West. In traditional Chinese culture, the word "righteousness" is honored. Emphasizing "righteousness" over "profit" is the value orientation of this culture. If the ancient Chinese had not used "righteousness" to restrain the pursuit of "profit", the 5,000-year-old civilization would not have lagged behind the United States in science and technology. If the Chinese were to let their desire for conquest and possessiveness expand indefinitely like the Westerners, the invention of the machine gun at the end of the Ming Dynasty might have already incorporated the whole world into China. The Chinese think in terms of "the young and the old", not in terms of immediate profit. China seeks to harmonize the development of science and technology with that of humanity. When science and technology and the economy hinder the physical and mental health of human beings and threaten their future, they will not hesitate to curb their development. This is the main reason why China has lagged behind Western countries in science and technology in modern times.

The newspaper: According to you, the excellence of Chinese culture is mainly manifested in spirituality and morality. However, what we see is that some of the social morals shown by developed Western countries are higher than ours. How do you explain this?

Liu Yuqing: There are different ways and methods to realize the same social order and the same social moral performance. The civilization of western countries is mainly accomplished by law. Tzu said, "The way to politics, the people are exempt from punishment, do not face; virtue, etiquette, shame, dignity." That is to say, the people are punished by degrees and penalties, and they dare not commit a crime for a moment only because they are afraid of punishment, not because they know shame. Teach samuraisacrament download to regulate the people with morality and etiquette, the people will know what is shame, naturally will not commit crimes. Obviously, the Chinese people are concerned about the "people's heart" and w

Report: Speaking of "etiquette", I'd like to ask how many times you have mentioned the need to "rebuild the civilization of etiquette and music"? What do you mean by "civilization"? What is good about it? What is the significance for modern society?

Liu Yuqing: "Ritual and music civilization" can be said to be a civilization system of human beings. Confucius spent his whole life pursuing the goal of realizing the "rites and music system". "Ritual" includes people's code of conduct, moral norms, order of respect, etiquette and so on. People's good and bad behavior is controlled by manners. In the eyes of the ancients, the difference between human beings and animals lies in the knowledge of manners. It is somewhat similar to the law of manners, but different. Laws are tough and impersonal, while manners are warm, which is related to morality and education. In front of the law, people think about whether they dare to do it or not; in front of the ritual, people think about whether they should do it or not. "Music" means music. "Rituals are responsible for regulating people's behavior, while music is responsible for harmonizing people's temperament. People's emotions, joys and sorrows can be expressed and dissolved in music. The purpose of "rites and music" is to educate people, to induce them to be good, and to keep society in a state of peace. Nowadays, when people think of "enlightenment", they associate it with "politics" and "feudalism", which is obviously very biased. The so-called "enlightenment" is education and sensitization, in which people internalize social morals such as benevolence, courtesy, wisdom and trust in their own minds, which are then manifested in their behaviour. General Secretary Hu Jintao has made special mention of the issue of "building a harmonious society" at several meetings, which is a very good initiative. The issue of "building a harmonious society" was obviously raised in response to some of the disharmony that exists in the current society. The entry of Western culture into China has had a great impact on traditional Chinese culture. Some people enjoy the great convenience brought by the Western material civilization in the pursuit of blind money worship and materialism, and then think that Chinese culture is backward, so they throw away the "bath water and children together", the traditional morality and excellent traditional etiquette for maintaining social harmony and stability have been replaced by the Western concepts and etiquette. Now we should seriously think about what the West has to learn from us and what traditions we should inherit. In order to build a harmonious society, we should consider the significance of the "civilization of etiquette and music" advocated by ancient Chinese sages.

Newspaper: Many people have mentioned the significance of traditional Chinese culture for the future of mankind. For example, the famous British historian John Toynbee said, "What the world needs most now is harmony, the essence of Chinese civilization. If China fails to replace the West as the leader of mankind, then the future of the entire human race will be pathetic." What is the significance of traditional Chinese culture for the future of mankind? Why do many scholars unanimously come to such a conclusion? Can you tell us what you think?

Liu Yuqing: Chinese culture is rich and complex, but at the philosophical level, its basic core consists of only two words: "the middle ground." It contains two basic cultural spirits, one is "tolerance" and the other is "harmony". These two cultural spirits determine the significance of Chinese culture to the modern world. Confucius, who holds a high position in Chinese cultural history, advocated benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, filial piety, loyalty and forgiveness. All moral concepts with warmth are based on "harmony". The so-called "benevolence" actually emphasizes the harmony of the human heart; "righteousness" stresses the harmony of equal relationships; "propriety" emphasizes the harmony between superiors and subordinates; "Wisdom" emphasizes the harmony between the self and the outside world; "Faith" emphasizes the harmony of psychological ties with each other; "Filial Piety" emphasizes the harmony of blood relations; "Loyalty and forgiveness" emphasizes the harmony of relationships within the group. For example, the Mozi's "love for all", the Taoist's "non-action", and the Legalist's "the law remains unchanged, and the people are happy with the law" are all aimed at the pursuit of harmony in human society. Confucius said, "Gentlemen are harmonious but different. The word "harmony" means both harmony and tolerance.

Nowadays, what human beings lack most is "tolerance" and "harmony". Since the end of the 19th century, under the domination of Western culture, the whole world has been in an era of guns and commodities conversation. Samuel Pisa, a Polish lawyer, said, "The 20th century began with blood and ended with blood. Now we just have to wait to see the world return to prehistoric times after a nuclear war." This pessimism is not without merit. Then insightful people discovered traditional Chinese culture. They saw that the spirit of tolerance and harmony in Chinese culture helps to awaken souls that have lost their nature for the sake of money and profit, helps to dissolve hatred of the world and the greed and aggressiveness of mankind, helps to make the nations of the world sit together as equals, helps to make people friendly with nature, helps to eliminate all kinds of strife in the modern world, and helps to serve as a glue for the unity of the world. The world needs Chinese culture. I think it is insightful for many scholars to pin the hope for the future of humanity on Chinese culture. As Chinese scholars, we should consciously undertake the mission of passing on Chinese culture, letting the world understand Chinese culture and letting Chinese culture go to the world. We should not only take the Chinese culture as the leading construction of China's "harmonious society", but also for the construction of the world's "harmonious society" and work hard.