Output:
is one of entire freedom”.9 By saying “Pure form of thought,” he means pure
conception and logical category. The sensuous form of art cannot fully embody
infiniteness, absoluteness, and freeness of absolute spirit (idea), because it was


Output:
8
  Hegel, Fa Zhexue Yuanli, Shangwu Yinshuguan, 1961, pp. 351. [G. W. F. Hegel, Elements of the
Philosophy of Right, tr. H. B. Nisbet, ed. Allen W. Wood, Cambridge University Press, 1991,
§341, p. 372. —editor].
9
  Hegel, Xiao Luoji, Shangwu Yinshuguan, 1980, pp. 87. [G. W. F. Hegel, Hegel’s Logic: Being
Part One of the Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences, tr. W. Wallace, Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1975, §24, remark, —editor].
250                         19   A Reconsideration of the Question of “The True, the Good. . .


Output:
confined by the sensuous form somehow. “This at the same time makes it plain that
the manifestation of truth in a sensuous form is not truly adequate to the spirit”.10
Only philosophy is the perfect way to realize “truth.” To Hegel’s philosophy of
mind, “philosophy” is the most accomplished form of truth, the supreme one; and
the quest of “beauty” (“art”) being the sensuous manifestation of the idea is only in
the developing stage, apparently inferior to “philosophy.” Being the inner belief of
behavior subject toward good or bad, “morality” is even lower to the developing
stage of “art”.11 That is to say, as far as the value is concerned, Hegel’s idea
about the sequence of “the true, the good, and the beautiful” can be referred as
“the true     the beautiful    the good.” In this sense, his point is not the same as
Laozi’s philosophy, but they share the same view that “the true” is superior to both
the “the beautiful” and “the good.” As we have said before that Chinese traditional


Output:
philosophy tends to actually reach a kind of spiritual realm of “the true, the good,
and the beautiful,” while Western philosophy tries to establish a kind of thought
system that rationalized the value of “the true, the good, and the beautiful.” We can
say that the former one was pursuing a kind of enlightenment, and the latter one
was only discussing about its “knowledge.”


Output: 19.3     Zhuangzi’s Quest in the Realm of Life


Output:
Like Laozi, Zhuangzi made the Way the highest category in his philosophy,
but Zhuangzi’s philosophy did not concentrate on proving the limitlessness,
absoluteness, and eternity of the Way (even though he devoted quite a bit of
space in his writings to these questions) but rather on proving the spiritual limit-
lessness, absoluteness, and eternity of those persons, such as perfected men, spirits,
and sages, who had acquired the Way.
   The first chapter of his Zhuangzi is entitled “Roaming Free” (Xiaoyao You), and
the theme of this chapter is a discussion of the question of how man can attain
absolute spiritual freedom. According to Zhuangzi, while the peng creature had a
wing span of three thousand li and could rise to a height of ninety thousand li and
Liezi could ride on the wind over eight hundred li in a day, actions which would
seem sufficiently free, they did not in fact constitute true freedom. For the roc to fly
ninety thousand li, a vast expanse of space was required; to travel those eight


Output: hundred li, Liezi had to rely on the force of the wind. These actions were


Output:
10
   Hegel, Mei Xue, Vol. I, Shangwu Yinshuguan, 1979, pp. 133. [G.W.F. Hegel, Aesthetics:
Lectures on Fine Art, Vol. I, tr. T. M. Knox, Oxford University Press, 1975, pp. 104–105. —
editor].
11
   The discussion about the philosophy of Hegel refers to: Chen Xiuzhai, Yang Zutao, Ouzhou
Zhexue Shigao, (History of European philosophy) Hubei Renmin Chubanshe, 1983, pp. 553–558;
Jiang Kongyang, op. cit., pp. 219–220; Xue Hua, Heigeer Yu Yishu Nanti, (Hegel and artistic
problem) Zhongguo Shehui Kexue Chubanshe, 1986, pp. 25–27.
19.3   Zhuangzi’s Quest in the Realm of Life                                                 251


Output:
“conditional” (youdai), and only the “unconditional” (wudai) can be described as
the attainment of true freedom. Thus, he said:
   “If one is able to follow the laws of nature and grasp the transformations of the
six breaths and roam freely in a limitless domain, what does one need to rely on?!”
Relying on nothing, this “roaming free” was “unconditional.” It constituted
absolute freedom. But how could one attain this realm? Zhuangzi believed that
ordinary mortals could not attain this realm. Only perfected men, deities, and sages
could do so, because “perfected men have no self, deities exert no effort, and sages
know no name.” To have no self (wu ji) is to “extinguish the self” (sang wo), and in
“Discussion of the Equality of Things” (Qiwu Lun) Zhuangzi wrote: “Now I have
extinguished myself.” In the chapter entitled “Great Master” (Da Zongshi), there is
a passage which describes “sitting in forgetfulness” (zuowang), which can be called
a description of “having no self” in this realm of absolute freedom:


Output:
“I have made progress,” Yan Hui said.
   “How have you progressed?” Confucius asked.
   “I have forgotten benevolence and righteousness,” Yan Hui replied. “Fine, but that’s not
       enough,” Confucius said.
   Several days later Yan Hui again saw Confucius, and said, “I have made progress.”
   “How have you progressed?” Confucius asked.
   “I have forgotten the rites and music,” Yan Hui replied.
   “Fine, but that’s not enough,” Confucius said.
   Several more days passed, and Yan Hui again saw Confucius and announced, “I have made
       progress.”
   “How have you progressed?” Confucius asked.
   “I sat in forgetfulness,” Yan Hui replied.
   “What do you mean by saying you sat in forgetfulness?” Confucius asked in alarm.
   Yan Hui replied, “My limbs fell away, I cast aside my intelligence, I left behind my body,
       and I forgot all that I know. I merged with the Great Way. That is what I meant by
       saying that I sat in forgetfulness.”


Output:
saying that I sat in forgetfulness.”
   “To be of one body with the myriad things and to have no preferences, and to participate in
       the transformations of the myriad things and to depend on no thing—this means you
       have become a sage! I wish to follow in your footsteps.”


Output:
The realm to which Zhuangzi’s “sitting in forgetfulness” belongs is the realm in
which he describes one as “transcending self” or “having extinguished the self.”
In the text quoted above, Yan Hui sets out from a denial of mundane morality and
then enters a state in which the various fetters imposed on the spirit by the body and
knowledge which befuddles the spirit are all eliminated. He then finally attains a
mental realm in which “his body is like desiccated timber and his mind is like cold
ashes,” a realm which transcends material gain, morality, life, and death, and in
which there are no restrictions from internal and external truths, untruths, likes,
hatreds, beauty, and ugliness. That realm was, moreover, typified by “the oneness of
Heaven and Earth” and “unity with the Way.” The most significant feature of that
realm was “the rejection of knowledge,” which was the elimination of all discrim-
inatory and conceptual cognitive activities, what Zhuangzi elsewhere called


Output:
“mental fasting,” or “following the inner channels of the ear and eye, yet being
beyond the knowledge of the mind.”
252                            19    A Reconsideration of the Question of “The True, the Good. . .


Output:
“The perfected men, deities, and sages” Zhuangzi describes had all transcended
the mundane world in this way and had achieved an absolute spiritual freedom
conferred by “sitting in forgetfulness” and “mental fasting.” In the chapter entitled
“Tian Zifang,” we read: “The perfected man looks down from the blue sky above,
conceals himself in the Yellow Springs below, and soars in every direction, his
expression remaining unchanged.” The “deities” are described in the chapter
entitled “Heaven and Earth”: “The supreme deities ride on the light and their
form vanishes. This is called abandoning space. To exhaust life and scatter the
emotions, to share in the delight of Heaven and Earth and to be unencumbered by
the myriad things so that the myriad things return to their true feelings—this is
called merging with the dark mystery.” In the chapter “Curbing the Mind,” we read:
“The sage in life moves with Heaven and in death blends with external matter.. . .he


Output:
rejects all knowledge and deceit and follows the constant laws of nature. . ..he is
empty and indifferent to gain, and is one with the power of Heaven.” The ability of
perfected men, deities, and sages to transcend time and space and roam freely
beyond the coordinates of space was the result of their ability to “leave their bodies
and discard knowledge,” to rely in everything on nature and nonaction, and to make
no demands of the real world. Thus, they were able to roam freely in “a land of
nothingness.” Such roaming could, of course, only take place in the spirit. This
spiritual realm of absolute freedom could only be an aesthetic realm of art.
   In the section entitled “Zhi’s Journey to the North” (Zhi Bei You), we read:
   Heaven and Earth possess great beauty, but speak no language. The seasons move in
   accordance with clear laws which they do not discuss. The myriad creatures have reasons
   for their lives but do not speak. The sages can go to the source of the great beauty of Heaven


Output:
and Earth and commune with the reasons of the myriad creatures, and thus do the perfected
   men possess non-action. The great sages do not act, and so are said to partake of the reasons
   of Heaven and Earth.


Output:
And in Tian Zifang:
   To attain that realm is to gain supreme beauty and supreme joy. The gaining of supreme
   beauty and roaming in supreme joy define the sage.


Output:
The attaining of “truth” in the above passage admits the sage into the realm
where “one can wander in the heart to the beginnings of things.” This is the realm of
nature’s inarticulate nonaction. The highest form of beauty is “the supreme beauty
of Heaven and Earth.” “Sages, the perfected, and the divines” are waiting to “go to
the source of the beauty of Heaven and Earth” (or “prepared for the beauty of
Heaven and Earth”). Because of the very existence of nature and nonaction,
“the abandonment of form, and the rejection of knowledge,” one can gain “ultimate
beauty and roam in the midst of ultimate pleasure,” this realm of “ultimate beauty
and ultimate pleasure” also constituting the highest aesthetic realm of art.
   In the philosophy of Zhuangzi, the relationship between “truth” and “beauty” is
also discussed. There is a passage in “Autumn Floodwaters” (qiushui):
   Horses and oxen have four hooves, which are from Heaven. Bridle the horse’s head,


Output:
and pierce the bull’s nostrils, this is the work of a human being. So we say: do not use
   human powers to destroy Heaven, do not use reason to destroy a good name, and do not use
   gain to harm the people. If one diligently keeps this rule and does not lose it, this is to return
   to the Dao.
19.3   Zhuangzi’s Quest in the Realm of Life                                       253


Output:
Zhuangzi’s emphasis on “imitating Heaven and respecting truth” ( fatian
guizhen) was opposition to all “human actions” (renwei) which ran counter to
original nature. The authenticity of the horse is its “chewing the pasture and
drinking water, raising its hooves, and shaking them,” but if the horse’s head is
bridled and the bull’s nostrils are pierced, then horses and bulls lose their original
nature (authenticity), and lose their freedom, thereby losing beauty and their truth.
Truth and beauty are one and the same in Zhuangzi’s philosophy, but truth must
be “follow the way (Dao) of nature.” “Truth” is defined in the chapter entitled
“The Venerable Fisherman” as “the acme of the spirit, and that which is not spirit is
not sincere, and so cannot influence man’s feelings.” The ability to “influence man’s
feelings” exists when there are true feelings which cause man to gain an appreci-
ation of beauty. “Accomplished beauty is not uniform in its traces,” but the


Output:
most accomplished beauty is not contrived and is able to freely manifest its
authenticity. Therefore, Zhuangzi’s “quest for truth” was also in order to “seek
beauty.” If there is no beauty, then there is also no truth to speak of. “The quest for
truth” is a quest for a spiritual realm of untrammeled freedom.
   Zhuangzi rarely affirmed morality, and his thought was characterized by an
anti-ethical trend. He believed that all ethical restraints were “man-made” and
that they destroyed man’s authenticity. Therefore, he opposed “using humaneness
and righteousness to transform man’s nature.” Zhuangzi believed that the
realization of the freedom of the individual personality was not only “great beauty”
(damei) but the highest form of “morality” (de) and supreme goodness (shan).
In the chapter entitled “Curbing the Mind” (Ke Yi), we read: “If we do not hone the
intellect but are noble, if we do not practice humaneness and righteousness but are


Output:
self-cultivated, if we have no great achievements but rule, if we have no rivers
and oceans to roam among but roam as if we did, if we practice no breath techniques
hut possess longevity, we forget everything and possess nothing, then we have no
limits and all beauty follows us. This is the Way of Heaven and Earth and the
complete virtue of the sage.”
   Cheng Xuanying explains: “When the heart is not impeded by a single obstacle,
and the traces of darkness complement the Five Elements, then we have unlimited
peace, are empty and expansive and arrive at the Way that cannot be exhausted.
The beauty of true virtue follows and resides in the self.” By this he means that
when the mind is not trapped, follows nature, and practices nonaction, then one sits
in forgetfulness and in total freedom. Thus, one attains the ultimate whereby every
beauty gathers about and follows the self. This is the movement of natural sponta-
neity of Heaven and Earth as well as being the path by which the sage perfects his


Output:
goodness. According to this interpretation, the “good” for Zhuangzi encompasses
the highest beauty (“great beauty”) within it.
   From the above discussion, we can see that in Zhuangzi’s philosophy, “the true,
the good, and the beautiful” are a unity and they are unified in an aesthetic realm of
spiritual freedom. Zhuangzi, like Laozi, sought “oneness with the Way,” but
Laozi’s unity with the Way entailed understanding and realizing the Way, which
were both epistemological concerns, as well as being a form of philosophical
enlightenment. For Zhuangzi, however, “unity with the Way” was an appreciation
254                        19   A Reconsideration of the Question of “The True, the Good. . .


Output:
of, and reflection, on the Way, which involved direct aesthetic perception. From this
we can see that the question of “the true, the good, and the beautiful” in the
philosophy of Zhuangzi differed from that in the philosophy of Laozi, and for
Zhuangzi “the beautiful” was paramount.
    The quest for the good, the true, and the beautiful in the philosophical axiology
of Western philosophy can be seen to have some points in common with the
views of Zhuangzi. The philosophy of Aristotle, and more especially that of
Schelling, would seem to be similar to that of Zhuangzi regarding this question.
    Regarding the quest for the unity of truth, goodness, and beauty, Aristotle stated:
“Beauty is goodness, and the keen perception it imparts is in fact because it is
goodness.” But the manifestation of good conduct and beautiful art requires the
cognition of things as its basis. From the perspective of values (axiology), Aristotle
did not impart the same significance to goodness, truth, and beauty. In demarcating


Output:
human activities, he believed that of the three activities of cognition, practice, and
creation, cognition was the highest form of activity, because it was only on the basis
of this particular activity that man could confront highest truths. But from the
perspective of the products resulting from these three activities, Aristotle believed
that the fruits of “the quest for truth” were theoretical sciences (such as mathe-
matics, physics, and metaphysics), knowledge for the sake of knowledge; the quests
for goodness and beauty yielded the practical sciences (including politics and
ethics) and the creative sciences (including poetics and rhetoric), all of which
have higher external goals. The former directs action, the latter directs creation.
Aristotle believed that the basic nature of art was creation. He said: “The arts are
a form of creative ability, which encompasses the true process of inference.”
Here, creative activities become those activities most able to realize man’s basic


Output:
nature, which is logical reasoning (Aristotle once defined the parameters of man’s
nature as rationality). Accordingly, it would seem that we could say that in
Aristotle’s philosophy, artistic creation which can manifest beauty itself attains
the highest value, followed by actions with an external aim (such as moral practice,
which belongs to the realm of the “good”), and then followed by knowledge for
knowledge’s sake which constitutes an activity involving “the quest for truth”.12
    Schelling proposed the philosophical problem of “absolute unity.” According to
his view, “absolute unity” was neither subject nor object but “the absolute undiffer-
entiated unity of both subject and object.” This “unity” can only be realized within
an “intellectual direct perception.” “Intellectual direct perception” is the activity
producing the directly perceived object. The unity of the two (subject and object) is,
in fact, an activity of direct perception. By means of direct perception, the ego


Output:
unites the self with the cosmic spirit which has unconsciously produced the natural
world. Schelling believed that even the activity of “intellectual direct perception,”
which is possible only with a philosophical genius, but not with just any one, cannot
be regarded as achieving an absolute unity of subject and object because a


Output:
12
  Zhu Guangqian, Xifang Meixue Shi (History of Western Aesthetics), Beijing: Renmin Wenxue
Chubanshe, 1963, pp. 55–56.
19.4     Brief Conclusion                                                                     255


Output:
discrepancy still exists between the direct perceiver and the directly perceived
object (although this directly perceived object is produced by the free action of
the direct perceiver). Thus, Schelling also believed that only within “the direct
perception of art” could a truly undifferentiated absolute unity between subject and
object be realized.
    This “truly undifferentiated absolute unity” is analogous in some aspects to
Zhuangzi’s concept of the realm entered through “mental fasting” and “sitting in
forgetfulness.” Schelling believed that “the direct perception of art” is derived from
inspiration and from an intense yearning of great internal power within the inner
spirit. This can only be described as a mysterious spiritual realm of direct percep-
tion. Thus, for Schelling, art constitutes a supreme undifferentiated ideal world.
On the basis of the view that “the direct perception of art” is a higher “intellectual
direct perception,” Schelling regarded “beauty” as the highest value. As he saw it,


Output:
“truth” was a question of necessity, “goodness” was a question of freedom, and
“beauty” was the synthesis of the two. “Beauty” synthesized in art the scientific
knowledge of “truth” and the ethical behavior of “goodness.” Schelling said:
“I believe that the highest ideal activity encompasses all idealized aesthetic activ-
ities. Truth and goodness can only be brought into proximity within beauty.
Philosophers, like poets, must have aesthetic powers.” Thus, from the perspective
of the theory of value, “the beautiful” for Schelling constitutes a higher value than
“the true” or “the good”.13 This schema reveals some similarities with Zhuangzi’s
view of these values.


Output: 19.4        Brief Conclusion


Output:
1. In the world of man, Confucius, Laozi, and Zhuangzi pursued three different
   quests, and their philosophies manifest three different value orientations.
   I believe that in philosophical systems embodying any value, we find a quest
   for the unity of truth, goodness, and beauty, but philosophers have different
   views on how to effect and attain this unity. From the perspective of the
   development of mankind’s culture, we cannot demand that philosophies are
   similar. In China’s pre-Qin period, philosophy richly flowered because of this
   very diversity of value orientation. Philosophers at that time were able to
   approach the ultimate questions of life from an unusually broad perspective
   and realm, and this enabled Chinese philosophy to take its place beside that of
   other great contemporary cultures, such as Indian and Greek. It is right because it
   is pluralistic, not monistic. It can quest the issue of ultimate concern about


Output:
universe and life from different approaches. If the development of pre-Qin
   philosophy could have some value nowadays, I believe one of the important
   elements is its plurality. Plurality of philosophy could make itself fully


Output:
13
     See Chen Xiuzhai, Yang Zutao, op. cit., pp. 481, 488; Jiang Kongyang, op. cit., pp. 140–142.
256                       19   A Reconsideration of the Question of “The True, the Good. . .


Output:
developed, and “centralization” would only suffocate the vitality of philosophy
   eventually. Currently, world culture and philosophy are showing the tendency of
   pluralistic development under the global consciousness; we can follow with this
   developing tide to establish the Chinese modernized philosophy.
2. If the historical philosophies could betray its modern implication, and be
   practiced in reality in society, we have to give them modern interpretation.
   The interpretation of the philosophical thought of Confucius, Laozi, and
   Zhuangzi above is an attempt doing this. The interpretation of their thought
   can only be “both their philosophy and yet not their philosophy.” Because what
   we said in this article is the interpretation derived from the philosophy of
   Confucius, Laozi, and Zhuangzi. Its foundation is the philosophy of Confucius,
   Laozi, and Zhuangzi; thus, we can say it IS “philosophy of Confucius, Laozi, and


Output:
Zhuangzi.” Also it is “the interpretation derived from philosophy of Confucius,
   Laozi, and Zhuangzi,” since it is an inferred interpretation; hence, it is NOT
   (or not totally) the philosophy of Confucius, Laozi, and Zhuangzi. Only by this
   can we extend the implication of the philosophy of Confucius, Laozi, and
   Zhuangzi. Right because it is derived from the philosophy of Confucius,
   Laozi, and Zhuangzi nowadays, the modern implication has actualized, and
   philosophy has developed. Making a comparative study about the philosophy
   of Confucius, Laozi, and Zhuangzi from the point of axiology, and revealing
   their different orientations in the axiology of their philosophy, not only could
   show “plurality” could be significant to the cultural and philosophical develop-
   ment but also could make an example of a distinctive type of philosophical
   system and respective orientation of life value and at the same time could show


Output:
our attention and comprehension to “the true, the good, and the beautiful” today.
   Undoubtedly, this would be very meaningful for the philosophical studies today.
3. It is significant to understand (interpret, study) the characteristics of Chinese
   philosophy with reference to Western philosophy. In history of traditional
   Chinese philosophy, hardly can we find any philosopher has been discussed
   about “the true, the good, and beautiful” particularly, but the conclusion that
   there were not any such thoughts cannot be drawn. With reference to Western
   philosophy, we can betray that the philosophy of Chinese philosophers in history
   of China also contain rich content about “the true, the good, and the beautiful.”
   On the one hand, the meaning of traditional Chinese philosophy extended from
   the point of Western philosophy. On the other hand, the meaning of Western
   philosophy extended from the point of Chinese philosophy. Though western and


Output:
Chinese philosophy both have their particular meaning, by the comparison
   between their differences, their perspective characteristics could be distinctively
   revealed and hence perhaps compensate with each other in some ways. If we can
   say those western philosophers’ discussion about “the true, the good, and the
   beautiful” mostly belongs to issue of knowledge (or belief, say, Christian), then
   Chinese philosophers’ quest of “the true, the good, and the beautiful” mostly
   belongs to issue of spiritual realm. Therefore, Chinese and Western philosophy,
   both having their perspective meaning, could be enriched with reference to
   each other.
Chinese Character                257


Output: Chinese Character


Output:
Laozi                   老子
Zhuangzi                庄子
rensheng jingjie        人生境界
Shen Youding            沈有鼎
Wei Zheng               为政
Guo Xiang               郭象
liushi er ershun        六十而耳顺
Yang Bojun              杨伯峻
Lunyu Yizhu             论语译注
Zhonghua Shuju          中华书局
ershun                  耳顺
Li Chong                李充
xinyuer xiangcong       心与耳相从
Sun Chuo                孙绰
Zhu Xi                  朱熹
sheng                   声
shengyin                声音
yousheng zhi yin        有声之音
wusheng zhi yin         无声之音
Ju                      矩
zhi zhen                知真
de mei                  得美
zhishan                 至善
The Eight Yi            八佾
tian ren heyi           天人合一
qing jing heyi          情景合一
zhi xing heyi           知行合一
juesheng-qizhi          绝圣弃智
wuse ling ren mu mang   五色令人目盲
dadao fei, you ren yi   大道废有仁义
tongyu dao              同于道
Dao De Jing             道德经
Monk Deqing             释德清
Dao De Jing Jie         道德经解
Wang Bi                 王弼
de Dao                  得道


Output:
de Dao                  得道
ziran wuwei             自然无为
Feng Youlan             冯友兰
Xin Yuanren             新原人
Jian su bao pu          见素抱朴
Xiaoyao You             逍遥游
258                   19   A Reconsideration of the Question of “The True, the Good. . .


Output:
peng                                  鹏
li                                    里
Liezi                                 列子
youdai                                有待
wudai                                 无待
wu ji                                 无己
sang wo                               丧我
Qiwu Lun                              齐物论
Da Zongshi                            大宗师
zuowang                               坐忘
Yan Hui                               颜回
Tian Zifang                           田子方
Zhi Bei You                           知北游
qiushui                               秋水
fatian guizhen                        法天贵真
renwei                                人为
damei                                 大美
de                                    德
shan                                  善
Ke Yi                                 刻意
Cheng Xuanying                        成玄英
Zhongguo Shehui Kexue                 中国社会科学
Zhexue Pinglun                        哲学评论
Panduanli Pipan                       判断力批判


Output:
Panduanli Pipan                       判断力批判
Shangwu Yin shuguan                   商务印书馆
Li Zehou                              李泽厚
Pipan Zhexue de Pipan                 批判哲学的批判
Renmin Chubanshe                      人民出版社
Jiang Kongyang                        蒋孔阳
Deguo Gudian Meixue                   德国古典美学
Tang Yijie                            汤一介
Nanbeichao Shiqi de Daojiao           南北朝时期的道教
Shaanxi Shifan Daxue Chubanshe        陕西师范大学出版社
Sangang Wuji                          三纲五纪
Baihu Tongyi                          白虎通义
Tiandao                               天道
Fa Zhexue Yuanli                      法哲学原理
Xiao Luoji                            小逻辑
Mei Xue                               美学
Chen Xiuzhai                          陈修斋
Yang Zutao                            杨祖陶
Ouzhou Zhexue Shigao                  欧洲哲学史稿
Hubei Renmin Chubanshe                湖北人民出版社
Xue Hua                               薛华
Chinese Character                             259


Output:
Heigeer Yu Yishu Nanti            黑格尔与艺术难题
Zhongguo Shehui Kexue Chubanshe   中国社会科学出版社
Zhu Guangqian                     朱光潜
Xifang Meixue Shi                 西方美学史
Renmin Wenxue Chubanshe           人民文学出版社
Chapter 20
Chinese Traditional Cultures
and Corporate Management


Output:
Comments from Max Weber on the Confucian ideology and Chinese traditional
cultures which can deter the development of the modern industrialization have
proved its accuracy by the history, but, according to the comments from Prof.
C. Canchy, vice-chancellor of the Montreal University, Canada, on the 17th
Philosophy Meeting in 1983, “From the past two hundred years, due to the success
of the economic and technological achievements, the Western countries have
proclaimed themselves to have advanced status. Now the gap between East
and West has been narrowed to the point that there is a tendency of surpassing
the Western economies by their Eastern counterparts. It is the right time to awake
and learn from the East.” According to the development in the past 30 years, his
opinion is logical and reasonable. The industrialization of Japanese economy in the
1970s and the leapfrog advancement of the Four Little Dragons in Asia can lead to a
better prediction of the economic development trend of Eastern and Western


Output:
countries in 1990s. How can we explain the above-mentioned arguments which
are both contradictory and correct? In my opinion, it can be explained by the
comments of Japanese sociologist Tomita.
   He commented in his Fundamentals of Sociology which was published in 1986,
“Only the industrialization and modernization of Western countries are internally
driven, which is a historical fact and cannot be argued. So, all the non-Western
societies cannot depend on their own internal forces to industrialize and modernize
their societies.” But he argued that the weakness of Weber’s comment was his
negligence to speak of the spread of culture to have modernization; he classified the
modernization process of the Eastern world as “External Learning.” It is a very
reasonable comment. Why is that so? According to Tomita, it is because “the public
create a strong initiative to escape the traditionalism, and introduce the Western
idea with the co-existence of their traditional cultures.” His comments had been


Output:
Journal of Euro Asia, 11 (July 1996): 19–22

© Foreign Language Teaching and Research Publishing Co., Ltd                     261
and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015
Y. Tang, Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, Christianity and Chinese Culture,
China Academic Library, DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-45533-3_20
262                            20 Chinese Traditional Cultures and Corporate Management


Output:
verified by the historical development of the world for the past 30 years. They have
tried to introduce the Western civilization and combine it with their local traditional
cultures, surpassing the economies of Eastern countries over the West. What is the
reason? In my opinion, it is somehow related to the Eastern culture (Confucianism).
    Here I would like to elaborate my argument that it would be beneficial to the
Eastern countries for enterprise management, even to the development of society,
if they can better utilize the philosophy of Confucianism and Taoism on the
methodological and theoretical foundation learned from the Western society.
    If the Chinese Confucianism and Taoism cannot initiate the process of modern-
ization and industrialization, would it be better for those countries having the
traditions of Confucianism and Taoism to integrate some of the concepts of these
two philosophies in order to further develop the economy? I believe it is not only


Output:
possible but also mandatory. In the traditional Chinese culture, there are two
important concepts. One is the concept of “harmony,” which is from “Zhaoxi.”
We can explain it as “perfect harmony.” Confucius introduced this concept into
the society. He said, “It is preferred to have harmony and politeness would
be treasured.” The word “politeness” refers to the ceremony and rituals necessary
to maintain the social order, and “harmony” is the most important principle.
Another one is the concept of “nature.” Everything should follow this principle,
which is called “supreme nature.”
    If the essence of Confucianism is “harmony” which regulates and maintains
the various relationships in the society, the principle of “practices should follow
nature” is to regulate the relationship between human and nature. We will realize
the positive and negative aspects of the evolution of society brought to mankind by
looking back on the history of the twentieth century. The breakout of the World


Output:
War I and II and the destruction of the natural environment are the consequences of
not adjusting the relationship between mankind and nature. Those will have direct
or indirect relationship with the operation of enterprises.
    Will the development of one enterprise, the enterprise system of one country,
and the various enterprises in the world not consider the relationship between the
citizens and society? In my opinion, the operation and development of the enter-
prises, if it is reasonable, healthy, and consistent, has to consider its internal
environment, which includes the employers, employees, various departments, and
the linkage between the departments themselves, and its external environment,
which consists of customers, industry environment, and societal and national
interests. If there is no harmonious relationship inside the enterprise, it will encoun-
ter many problems, or even demise; if there is no harmonious external relationship,


Output:
it will encounter many unexpected obstacles, or even bankruptcy. So, I believe,
the concept of “treasure of harmony” from Confucianism can provide a valuable
concept to enterprise management now and in the future. In the classics of
Chinese Confucianism, “The Great Learning,” it stipulated that the basis of
harmony for the family, country, and the world will rely on the harmony within
oneself. From Confucianism, the harmony within oneself can influence others, and
the harmony with others, the country, and society will involve the relationship
between oneself and others, which will also create the problem of power and duty.
20   Chinese Traditional Cultures and Corporate Management                         263


Output:
So, Confucius encourages the five relationships. As long as the mutual relationship
can be managed, people can cooperate together. This is also true for the enterprises.
The prosperity of the enterprises can be maintained only after the external and
internal relationships are handled satisfactorily. It can mitigate the weakness of the
competition-oriented culture of Western economies. The emphasis of Confucian-
ism on selfgrooming and development is to maintain the mutual development of the
group. One’s perfection is the condition to create a better environment for the
enterprises.
    In 1992, a report called “The Advice to Human from the Scientists” was
published by 1575 social scientists, saying that “Human and nature are heading in
a contradictory road.” I believe this warning is just right. The advancement of
the technology can initiate a large development to the society but also create a
major threat for the survival of people. Due to the excess exploitation of nature, the


Output:
problems of environmental pollution, thinning of the ozone layer, and the destruc-
tion of the biological balance are becoming very serious. For the cultural point of
view, the principle of Taoism saying “nature is preferred” may help remedy the
relationship between human and nature. According to Taoism, the human is a
harmonious body, and Tao represents this natural harmony. The society will have
no problems and the emperor can have a peaceful country by having Tao. Tsun Tsu
thinks that human should follow the natural development and not interrupt it, so that
it can achieve the stage of integration between the human and universe. We can see
the importance given by Taoism on the harmony between human and nature.
    The traditional Chinese Confucianism and Taoism cultures have a development
process for more than two thousand years. During this period, it was influenced by
the Indian Buddhism. In the Tong Dynasty, the impact of the Buddhism on the


Output:
society was ubiquitous and significant, but the Chinese tradition culture could have
a full-fledged development after absorbing the Buddhism culture in the Shao
Dynasty. It can explain the adaptability of the traditional Taoism and Confucianism
cultures on the cultural perspectives. As said by Max Weber, the Confucianism and
Taoism cultures could not initiate the process of modernization and industrializa-
tion, but under the background of the traditional culture as a basis from Taoism and
Confucianism philosophy, after the adaptation of Western modern and industrial
economy, the principles of relationship between mankind and nature from Taoism
and Confucianism, “treasure of harmony” and “nature is preferred,” can become the
corporate mission under the modern identification.
    These two concepts are only meaningful to the human society and enterprise
administration. If it is needed to explore its functions by operationalizing these two


Output:
concepts in the social life and enterprise management, it is a very complicated
process. A lot of procedures have to be done. These concepts will not be transferred
into practical consideration automatically, but if there is no meaningful opinion or
concept to be promoted, there will not be practical and scientific solutions to realize
these meaningful concepts.
    Learning from history, the process of modernization and industrialization has
happened in the West, while the East has learned from the West about these kinds of
experience. Now some of the countries in the East give a modern definition to some
264                           20 Chinese Traditional Cultures and Corporate Management


Output:
of the concepts in their traditional cultures and operationalize these concepts.
The phenomenon is noticed by some of the scholars in the West, and they proclaim
to learn it from the East, which can illustrate the importance of coexistence of the
Western and Eastern cultures. It can also explain that some of the concepts in
Confucianism and Taoism are very important to the economic development of
modern enterprises.
   After the visit to China in the 1920s, Western philosopher Russell had written
one article “Comparison of Eastern and Western cultures.” It said “In the past it had
proved many times the importance of the cultural exchange to the human civiliza-
tion process. Greece learnt from Egypt, Rome learnt from Greece, Arabia studied
Roman Empire and Europe in the middle century followed Arabia. In all of these
exchange activities, the developing countries as a student have surpassed the
advanced countries as a teacher. During the process of interaction between China


Output:
and foreign countries, China will at last surpass his counterparts which are more
developed.” It is very meaningful for Russell’s arguments. China is still a devel-
oping country and tries to implement the modernization process. There is a must
to learn and transfer the experience of Western economy, but when the Western
countries are facing various kinds of problems concerning the relationship
between mankind and nature, is it suitable for them also to introduce some of the
Eastern concepts? For those Eastern entrepreneurs who are trying very hard to
realize the modernization process, it is worthwhile to consider whether they have
paid enough attention to the importance of these existing concepts. It seems to be an
interesting topic to be discussed in the meeting between the Chinese and European
entrepreneurs.
Chapter 21
A Study of the Question of China’s
Cultural Development


Output:
Recently, a “Seminar to Coordinate the Comparative Study of Eastern and Western
Cultures” was held at Shenzhen University. The focus of the meeting was the
discussion of the meaning and significance of “comparative studies in Eastern
and Western cultures.” Why did we discuss this problem? To us, studying compar-
isons between Eastern and Western Cultures is, fundamentally, for the purpose of
resolving the question, “How did, and how does, China’s culture develop?” Natu-
rally, this is a question that cannot be resolved in a short time and neither can a
consensus on this issue be achieved in the short run. Nonetheless, it is a lesson that
holds epochal significance for us at present and therefore has to be proposed for
discussion and commands our careful and earnest consideration.
   Since the scholars who attended the conference were, for the most part, students
of Chinese intellectual history or history of Chinese philosophy, when we discussed


Output:
“culture,” we tended to adopt a relatively narrow definition, namely, as referring to
the culture of conceptual formations; or, in other words, we looked at Chinese
culture from the viewpoint of China’s traditional thought. In the process of our
discussions, we agreed that the proposal to study Chinese culture was a natural and
inevitable consequence of socioeconomic and cultural developments both in China
and in terms of China abroad. In terms of the domestic conditions in China, there
are two areas of need—vertical and horizontal.
   In the vertical aspect, that is, in terms of the development of history up to the
present, we are mindful that our country is now at a stage of history where we are
realizing the four modernizations and undergoing a reform of the economic system.
The slogan “modernization” has been current for more than half a century, since the
May Fourth Movement, and yet the process of modernization has been interrupted


Output: time and again. Why did this happen? It appears that quite possibly it was because a


Output:
Contemporary Chinese Thought, 1986, 17(4): 16–34
Tang Yijie, “Guanyu Zhongguo wenhua fazhan wentide tantao,” presented at the 4th International
Congress in Chinese Philosophy, Stony Brook, New York, July 15–18, 1985.

© Foreign Language Teaching and Research Publishing Co., Ltd                              265
and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015
Y. Tang, Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, Christianity and Chinese Culture,
China Academic Library, DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-45533-3_21
266                          21   A Study of the Question of China’s Cultural Development


Output:
central problem had not been accurately or properly resolved. Modernization
cannot be restricted to the level of science and technology; a more important aspect
is modernization of the infrastructure of culture. This includes value concepts,
modes of thought, the historical rethinking of our traditional culture, and so on. If
we only modernize science and technology but not the people, then the realization
of modernization is nothing but an empty slogan. This is well exemplified by the
reality that prevails in certain areas of the Middle East and the Near East.
   “Modernization” is a very complex problem. If we raise the slogan of realizing
modernization, it reflects and demonstrates that we are still in a premodernized or
nonmodernized historical era. Therefore, first and foremost, we have to tackle the
problem of “modernization” and “tradition.” This involves deep-rooted problems of
concepts of values, and these problems are inevitably connected with traditional


Output:
culture. Therefore, on the issue of modernization, we cannot take shortcuts; we
cannot work only on the superficial cultural phenomena of methods of natural
science but must introduce some factors in the cultural infrastructure. As we look
back on the last century or so of our history, we can see that ever since the
introduction of the slogan “Chinese essence, Western function” (Zhongti xiyong)
or “Chinese learning for essence and Western learning for applicational function”
(Zhong xue wei ti, Xi xue wei yong), there has been a debate over “the past and the
future, the Chinese and the foreign” (gu jin Zhong wai). The debate between
“wholesale Westernization” (quan pan xi hua) and “maintaining China’s essential
and original culture” (benti wenhua) started during the May Fourth period and
extended into the 1930s and 1940s. The problem was never really resolved, and in
the end, it was shelved. We should ask ourselves: Isn’t there a problem here of


Output:
mistaking modernization for Westernization? “Science and democracy” was a
slogan in the modernization of the West; it was an unavoidable consequence of
the forward development of Western culture on the basis of its medieval theology
and theocracy. China, with the May Fourth Movement, simply took over this slogan
and engaged in simplistic transplantation. It would appear that something, a certain
necessary intermediary link, was and is missing here. This, then, very naturally
leads us toward the lesson of comparative studies of Eastern and Western cultures.
   For over half a century, people have attempted to discover a shortcut of
modernization by simply introducing into China the science and technology of
the West and their methods. Nonetheless, China’s path to modernization has been
expressed as circuitous and tortuous. It is precisely because of the repeated hiatuses
and stoppages in the progress of modernization that people have been forced to turn


Output:
toward the infrastructure of Chinese society—the traditional cultural—and with
that focus to rethink history. They have considered the necessity of comparing the
differences in the realities and substance of various cultures. The comparative study
of Eastern and Western cultures and the problems of reevaluating China’s tradi-
tional culture and of how China’s culture has progressed and will develop are
thereby logically proposed on the vertical line of history.
   In the horizontal sense, the question of the reversion of Hong Kong to China
forces us to confront the reality of one nation with two systems. The issue here is
how two very different systems can coexist within one country and how this
21   A Study of the Question of China’s Cultural Development                      267


Output:
situation can remain for a prolonged period in relative stability. This raises another
question: If we are to handle this issue in a way that conforms to historical
development, do we need an ideological basis for it? If we answer this question
in the negative, then how do we guarantee that the handling of this problem will
continue to conform to historical development? It therefore appears that we must
consider finding, in some quarter, a “common basis of ideology.” And this common
basis of ideology should and can be found only at the level of some common
culture. This touches on the core problem of national culture. To grasp this, we must
not only earnestly study current cultural problems but also carry out historical
rethinking on the issue of traditional culture.
    It is precisely on the cross hairs of these vertical and horizontal lines that the
lessons of historical rethinking of traditional culture and comparative study of
Eastern and Western cultures assume epochal significance.


Output:
In the Shi Ji (The Record of History), we find the sentence: “We live in the
world of today while we take to heart the way of the past; therefore those who
reflect upon themselves may come up with very different images.” Jia Yi, in the
essay Guo Qin lun (Discourse on the Errors of the Qin), cited an old adage: “If we
do not forget old things, they will serve as teachers for subsequent ages.” Indeed,
we cannot take all the things of the past to be the examples or models of
development of the future, but can we not, by analyzing and examining history,
discover certain regulated phenomena, or phenomena that conform to certain
laws, that can serve as a reflection for us? If we cannot, then it makes no sense
to study history or to rethink history at all. Therefore, I believe that the adage “If
we do not forget old things, they will serve as teachers for subsequent ages” has a
certain grain of truth after all.
    When we examine China’s historical development, we shall see that there have


Output:
been three major influxes of foreign culture into China: The first was the introduc-
tion of Indian culture, primarily Indian Buddhism, starting in the first century
A.D. It made a great impact on Chinese culture. The second was the introduction
of Western civilization during and after the seventeenth century (from the second
half of the Ming Dynasty onward). At first, this was chiefly the Western civilization
introduced by Western missionaries such as Matteo Ricci. The third influx was the
introduction of Marxism into China before and after the May Fourth Movement.
Owing to variations in historical conditions, time, and mode and nature of the
introduction, these three influxes of foreign culture into China created different
influences and impacts on China. It is not within my scope and ability to examine
this problem comprehensively. What I want to do here is simply to examine, by
looking at the historical process of the introduction of Indian Buddhism, some of


Output:
the phenomena resulting from the contact between foreign culture and indigenous
culture and to see if we can draw some meaningful conclusions from these
phenomena.
    As we know, the introduction of Indian Buddhism into China in general
followed this process: First, it attached itself to China’s indigenous culture and
was thereby popularized; then, it came into contradiction and conflict with China’s
traditional culture; and, finally, it was absorbed by Chinese culture and blended into
268                           21   A Study of the Question of China’s Cultural Development


Output:
it. Thus, it played a major role in propelling forward the development of China’s
culture. I would like to develop and explain this process somewhat.
1. When Indian Buddhism was introduced into China, it was, in the beginning,
   attached to China’s indigenous culture, and it was through this that it became
   initially popularized and influential.
    When Buddhism was introduced in the Han Dynasty, it first attached itself to
daoshu (the techniques of the Daoists), also known as fangshu; then, during the Wei
and Jin dynasties, xuanxue metaphysical learning became popular, and Buddhism
switched to attach itself to it. In the Han Dynasty, people tended to equate Foutu
(Buddha) with Huang-Lao. For example, it was said of Prince Ying of Chu that he
“recited the hidden words of Huang and Lao and paid homage to the beneficent
temples of Foutu.” Emperor Huandi “established shrines to Huang-Lao and Foutu in
the palace.” Indeed, even Buddhists at the time called themselves [disciples of]


Output:
daoshu. For example, in the Li luo lun (Discourse on Separating Principle from
Confusion), Mou Zi took Buddhism to be one of the ninety-six kinds of daoshu. He
said: “There are ninety-six kinds of dao. Of these the most respected and grand is
none other than the fodao (Way of Buddhism)” The Sishi er zhang jing (Sutra of
42 Chapters) also called fojiao (the teaching of Buddha) fodao. At that time, the
content of the teachings of Buddhism was generally such things as “indestructability
of the soul” and “cause and effect and retribution.” In fact, they did not seem to
understand anything of the idea of wuwo (denial of self) embodied in Indian
Buddhism. The idea of the indestructability of the soul was originally Chinese and
was expressed in all sorts of theories of the existence of ghosts or spirits. For
example, in the poem “Fu wang” (Father-king) in the Daya section of the Shi Jing
(Book of Odes), there is the line san hou zai tian (the three consorts are in Heaven),


Output:
which expresses a theory of the sublimation of the essential spirit. In the chapter
“Jing shen xun” (Exhortations on the Subject of the Spirit) in Huai nan zi, there is the
saying “Thus the form can wear out, but the spirit will not dissolve.” It is because of
all this that in the time of the two Han dynasties, there were theories such as Huan
Tan’s “When the form is destroyed, the spirit also is extinguished” and Wang
Chong’s “When a man dies, he does not become a ghost, or spirit.” At the same
time, the idea that the “indestruction of the soul” depended on the training and
nurturing of the body and the mind was also an idea that already had some
indigenous currency in China. As for the theory of “cause and result and retribution,”
although here the interpretations of Buddhism were not quite the same as those
indigenous to China, nonetheless, the idea of yin-guo baoying (correspondence
between cause and effect, and of retribution) popularized by Buddhism clearly


Output:
was connected to the idea of fu shan huo yin (good fortune to good people; calamity
befalls the adulterous), which again was indigenous to China. For example, in the
Wen yan (Text-commentary) of the Kungua (The Kun Trigram) in the Yijing (Book
of Changes), we find the prophetic announcement: “To those families who stock up
on good deeds, there will certainly be abundant and overflowing celebration; to the
households that pile evil upon evil, there is bound to be overflowing misfortune.”
21   A Study of the Question of China’s Cultural Development                        269


Output:
At the end of the Han and in the early Wei Dynasty, the activity of translating
Buddhist sutras increased daily. Buddhism was popularized in China in two major
branches: one was the system installed by An Shi Gao, which was a school of
Hinayana Buddhism, emphasizing the method of dhyana (or Chan) or meditation.
The other was the system of Zhi-lou-jia-qian, which was a Mahayana school and
emphasized the teachings of prajua (thinking and wisdom). An Shi Gao translated
many sutras, among which the most influential were the An-boshou-yijing (Sutra on
Entrance by Covert Maintenance). The former taught breathing methods and the
steadying or maintaining of one’s mind. This was very similar to the teaching of the
techniques of breathing (inhaling and exhaling) of China’s own Daoists and School
of Immortality (Shen xian jia). The latter explained the terminology of Buddhism
and its concepts and was very similar in style to the textual scholarship with which


Output:
the Han erudites annotated the Chinese classics. The Yin chiru jing, in discussing
the universe and human life, took yuanqi (original breath) to be the root and said
that yuanqi was equal to the wuxing (Five Elements). It went on to use this to
discuss the wuyin (Five Negatives) (this was later translated as the wuyun) (hidden
or internal qualities). It also explained Buddhism’s categories of se (appearance),
shou (acceptance), xiang (thought), xing (action), and shi (knowledge or under-
standing) as the effects of yuanqi. Thus, we can see that the Hinayana dyana method
propagated by An Shi Gao was clearly attached to the daoshu thought already
popular in China and that he used daoshu to explain Buddhism to the Chinese.
   Zhi-lou-jia-qian’s school, on the other hand, belonged to the prajua-oriented
teachings of Mahayana Buddhism. It considered shen-fan ben-zhen (to revert the
spirit to its original truth) as the most important, fundamental truth of human life. It


Output:
also considered this to be a reversion and reconnection with the dao (the natural
Way). Here, we can see the extent to which it was influenced by the thoughts of Lao
Zi and Zhuang Zi. Zhi-lou-jia-qian’s third-generation disciple, Zhi-qian, translated
the Indian (Sanskrit) Prajnaparamita sutra as Da ming du wuji jing (Sutra on the
ferrying across to the endless ultimate by the great illumination). Here, he translated
prajua (wisdom) as da ming (great illumination), which is clearly derived from the
idea of zhi chang yue ming (knowledge of the constant is the illumination or
enlightenment) in the classic Lao Zi. [Translator’s note: The Chinese text of this
article, which reads here “zhi chang ri ming (ri being the character for “son”), is in
error. The corresponding sentence in Lao Zi, or the Daodejing, reads “Zhi chang
yue ming,” which translates as rendered here.] He also translated paramita (con-
veyance to the farther shores) as du wuji (conveyance to the ultimate), which also


Output:
conveys the sense of achieving the state of oneness with the dao (in Lao Zi we read
“reversion to wuji, or the ultimate”).
   In the Wei and Jin dynasties, the xuanxue ontology, which was formed on the
framework of the ideas in Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi, became greatly popular. The focus
of xuanxue discussions was on the question of ben-mo (origin and end) and you-wu
(being and nonbeing). The central question in Buddhist prajua scholarship was also
the question of kong (sunya or void) and you (reality or substantiality), which was
rather close to xuanxue. Therefore, the Buddhists of the time generally used
xuanxue to explain the principles of Buddhism and adopted the methods known
270                           21   A Study of the Question of China’s Cultural Development


Output:
as geyi (defining meanings) and lian lei (connecting categories). For example, the
monk Dao An, in Bi-nai-ye xu (Preface to the Vinaya Pitaka), said: “Of the Twelve
segments of scriptures, the most voluminous is the vaipulya [i.e., the sutras]. This
was because in this country [China] the people used the teachings of Lao and
Zhuang to propagate the [Buddhist] teaching. Their teachings [i.e., Lao-Zhuang]
are quite similar to the [teachings of] fang deng [Mahayana vaipulya] scriptures.
Therefore [the disciples] changed their practices according to prevailing custom.”
Here, we can see that even the renowned Buddhist monks of the time recognized
that the popularity of Buddhism was dependent on the ideas of Lao Zi and Zhuang
Zi. The section “Wenxue” (literature) in the book Shi shuo xin yu (New Sayings
Prevalent in Contemporary Times) said: “In the years of the reign of Zhengdi,
Wang Bi and He Yan emphasized the discussions by xuansheng (metaphysical


Output:
discourse) in Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi, and the people of the time began to value this
discussion. Thus, after the crossing of the river, Buddhist teaching became even
more widespread.” In the early years of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the prajua
scholarship which had become popular in China underwent an even greater and
broader propagation. There were the so-called Six Houses and Seven Schools. The
problems they discussed were still, in essence, the problems of ben-mo and you-wu.
The so-called doctrine of ben-wu (original nonbeing) was developed on the basis of
the legacy of the gui-wu (exalting nonbeing) doctrine proposed by Wang Bi and He
Yan. On the other hand, the doctrine of xin-wu (nonbeing of the mind) was close to
the idea of wu-xin (nonmind) of Xi Kang and Ruan Ji. Furthermore, the doctrine of
zhi-se (approaching appearance), also another development of Buddhism at the
time, was clearly not unrelated to Guo Xiang’s idea of cong-you (exalting being).


Output:
How did all these conditions come about? It appears that every culture has its
conservative aspect, which pits it against a foreign and introduced culture. There-
fore, every introduced culture must first adapt itself to certain demands of the
indigenous ideological or intellectual culture and attach itself to the latter. Those
elements in the introduced culture that are similar or approximate to the indigenous
intellectual culture will always be easier to propagate. Only when this is done can
the parts of the introduced culture that are dissimilar to the original indigenous
culture gradually infiltrate the indigenous intellectual culture and begin to take
effect and even influence the indigenous intellectual culture.
2. The spread of Indian Buddhism in China after the Eastern Jin Dynasty led to the
   contradiction and conflict between the introduced Indian intellectual culture and
   China’s own traditional intellectual culture. In this contradiction and conflict, the


Output:
development of China’s intellectual culture was propelled.
   In the early years of the Eastern Jin, Buddhism’s prajua teachings were still
attached to xuanxue of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi, and we shall call it fo xuan (Buddhist
xuanxue). At the end of the Eastern Jin and in the early years of the Liu-Song
Dynasty, there was a general introduction of many schools and sects of Buddhist
teaching, Hinayana as well as Mahayana. This led to a great upsurge of all sorts of
different interpretations of the Buddhist sutras or scriptures and thus the emergence
of the preaching style of the sutra masters. Nonetheless, the Indian culture and the
21   A Study of the Question of China’s Cultural Development                       271


Output:
indigenous Chinese culture were, after all, two very separate and different cultural
traditions, and the former could not forever attach itself to the latter. Therefore,
after the Eastern Jin, as a result of the daily increase in translation of the Buddhist
sutras and the fact that this was becoming more and more systematic, it could be
seen eventually that in certain ways, Buddhism indeed was superiority to China’s
traditional culture. As a result, the contradiction between these two cultures of
different traditional background was bound to occur.
   According to the Kai yuan lu (Catalogue of the Years of Kaiyuan), in the 250
years between the end of the Han and the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, a total of
1,420 volumes of Buddhist sutras were translated into Chinese. In the Eastern Jin
period (including in contemporary northern China under the later Qin, Western Qin,
former Liang, and Northern Liang regimes), 1,716 volumes were translated. In


Output:
other words, the amount of translation done in those 100 years outstripped the
amount done in the preceding 250 years. In particular, there were, in this latter
period, the voluminous and relatively accurate translations done by Kumaradjiva
of the sutras, vinayas, and sastras of both the Mahayana and Hinayana schools.
This allowed people to comprehend the original meanings of Indian Buddhist
culture. At this time, not only the foreign Buddhist monks who came to China but
China’s own Buddhist monks, too, came to have understandings of Buddhist
teachings that were closer to the original meanings. As a result of this rectification
process toward a more accurate understanding of the original intentions of
Buddhism, a general problem emerged among Chinese Buddhists. Should they
continue to comprehend Buddhism in accordance with indigenous Chinese ideas?
Or should they teach Buddhism in China according to the original meanings of
Indian Buddhism? This generated a problem of conflict between two cultures.


Output:
In the period of the Northern and Southern dynasties, the conflict between
Buddhism and the indigenous culture of China was expressed and demonstrated
in many areas, including political and economic interests as well as questions of
philosophy, religion, and ethics.
   History leaves to us a very important book which in general serves to describe to
us the conditions of conflict and contradictions between the imported culture of
Indian Buddhism and China’s traditional culture in the Northern-Southern Dynasty
period. This is the book Hongming ji (Collection of the Great Illumination).
From this book, we can see the range of problems that were involved in the
contradiction and conflict between these two cultures. There was, for instance,
the debate over the question of whether the spirit can be destroyed or not. There was
the debate on whether there are such things as yin-guo (cause and effect) and
baoying (retributions), which involved the philosophical problems of cause and


Output:
effect and ziran (or nature’s mandate on life, i.e., fate). There was the debate over
the question of the relationship between kong (sunya, or nonbeing) and you (being).
There was the debate over whether or not the shamen (Buddhist monks and
devotees) ought to pay homage to the throne or prince, which involved the question
of what it means to be chushi (removed from the secular world by joining the
religion) or rushi (remaining in or entering the secular world). There was the debate
over the relationship between humanity and zhongsheng (other forms of life).
272                           21   A Study of the Question of China’s Cultural Development


Output:
He Chengtian, basing his argument on the Zhou Yi (Zhou Classic of Changes),
asserted that humanity and Heaven and earth were the sancai (Three Special
Elements of Ability) and refuted Buddhism for placing humanity on a par with
zhong-sheng. This debate, then, was related to the question of defending
Confucianism’s tradition.
   There was also the question of the contest between Hua (Chinese) and yi
(barbarians). He Chengtian, in his “Letter in Reply to [the monk] Zong Bing,”
said: “Of course there are differences between the Hua and the yi.” In terms of their
natures, he said, “The people of China have an innate spirit (qi) of purity (qing) and
harmony (he); they contain the ideals of benevolence (ren) and principledness (yi).
That is why Zhou (i.e., The Duke of Zhou) and Kong (Confucius) proposed the
teachings of customs on the basis of people’s nature (xing xi zhi jiao). On the other
hand, the disciples of other nations have received a nature that is rigid and forceful


Output:
(gangqiang); they are rapacious and desireful, angry and warlike. That is why
Sakyamani (Buddism’ s founder) was severe about the disciplining of the Five
Barbarians (wu yong).” Gu Kuan, in his Yixia lun (Discourse on the Barbarians and
the Chinese), said that Huaxia (the Chinese) were a nation of rites (li) and principle
(yi) and should not abandon Chineseness to follow the way of the barbarian.
In general, his logic reflected similarities with that of He Chengtian. The campaigns
against Buddhist teaching, such as those conducted by Taiwudi of the Northern Wei
Dynasty and Wudi of Northern Zhou, had not only political and economic causes
but intellectual and cultural roots as well.
   In addition to the Confucianism-Buddhism conflict, there was also at this time an
increasingly acute conflict and contradiction between Buddhism and China’s indig-
enous national religion, Daoism (Daojiao). First, there was the debate over the
historicity or historical authenticity and validity of the legend that Lao Zi went to


Output:
the barbarians and became their teacher (Lao Zi hua hu). In its wake, there was a
series of debates over the question of shengsi (the meaning of living and dying) and
of shenxing (spirit and form), over the chushi and rushi issue, and over the
separateness of yi and xia.
   All these debates demonstrate the contradiction and conflict between the two
different cultures. Some of them carried over all the way to the period of the Sui and
Tang dynasties. We need not belabor the point with detailed descriptions here.
   From these aforementioned conditions, we can see that when two different
cultures come in contact with each other, contradictions and conflicts between
them are inevitable. The question is how did people deal with these contradictions
and conflicts? Did they use political force to reject the imported culture? Or did they
absorb, from the contradictions and conflicts, the elements of the imported culture
and assimilate them, blending them into the indigenous culture? This is a major


Output:
question. It appears that from the Northern-Southern Dynasty period to the
Sui-Tang period, in spite of the existence of contradictions and conflicts between
China’s indigenous culture and imported Indian culture, the Chinese nation did not
reject the imported culture but to the best of its ability absorbed and digested it in
the midst of the contradiction and conflicts. This expressed the nation’s self-
confidence and sense of the value of its own culture. It was precisely because
21   A Study of the Question of China’s Cultural Development                      273


Output:
there were these contradictions and conflicts between the two cultural traditions and
because our nation’s traditional culture continued to absorb Indian culture in the
midst of these contradictions and conflicts that our national culture’s development
was greatly and forcefully propelled forward. In this period, our nation’s culture, in
the areas of philosophy and thought, literature and art, architecture and sculpture,
and even in science, technology, and medicine and health care, expressed a lively,
flourishing posture. This was certainly and undeniably related to the relatively good
treatment that it gave to the imported Indian culture.
3. After the Sui-Tang period, Indian Buddhism was absorbed by Chinese culture.
   First to emerge were sinicized sects of Buddhism. Then, in the Song Dynasty,
   Buddhism actually became an integral part of Chinese traditional culture and
   was absorbed, in toto, by China’s traditional culture, forming the school of Song-
   Ming lixue, or Neo-Confucianism.


Output:
Ming lixue, or Neo-Confucianism.
    In the Sui-Tang period, a number of (new) Buddhist sects appeared in China.
Among these, the Tiantai (Heavenly Terrace), Huayan (Garland), and Chan
(Meditation) sects were all in fact Sinicized Buddhist sects. The major issues
discussed by these three sects were the questions of xinxing (mind and nature)
and lishi (principle and matter). The xinxing question was a major problem in
China’s own traditional philosophy to begin with. It can be traced back to Confu-
cius and Mencius—especially the latter. When Mencius proposed “extend the
mind, know one’s innate nature, and thereby know the heavens” ( jin xin,zhi xing
zhi tian), he touched on the question of xinxing. The aforementioned three sects of
Buddhism all discussed the question of foxing (Buddha nature) and ben xin (original
mind). Especially in the case of the Chan sect, the problem of xinxing was discussed
at length. According to this sect’s view, “Buddha Nature” is really the equivalent of


Output:
“original mind.” What Chan did was to develop, from one particular angle, the
question of xinxing, which was in China already. As for the question of the
relationship between li (principle) and shi (matter), the Huayan sect proposed that
“li and shi do not interfere with each other” and “shi and shi do not interfere with
one another.” This was related to the xuanxue metaphysics of the Wei-Jin period. In
Wei-Jin xuanxue, there was already the idea of “unity of essence and function”
(ti yong ru yi). For example, Wang Bi spoke of “the cause of wu (nonbeing) lies in
you (being).” He said: “Even when we are faced with a grand enterprise and
immense wealth and acknowledge the you of all things (wan wu), we must say
that each (thing) has its de (metaphysical, not physical, character); although we
exalt wu (nonbeing) as a matter of yong (function, i.e., not essence) we cannot have
ti (essence) in total discard of wu.” Here, he was using the concept of “unity or


Output:
oneness of essence and function” to explain the relationship between being and
nonbeing. Thus, the idea of li shi wu wai (principle, i.e., the issue of essence, and
matter, i.e., the issue of function or phenomena, do not interfere with each other) is
clearly related to the ideas of Wang Bi. As for the idea of shi shi wu wai (matter
does not interfere with other matter), it could very well be something influenced by
the notion of singularization (du hua lun) of Guo Xiang. Subsequently in China, the
Huayan sect and the Chan sect had very important influences or philosophical
274                            21   A Study of the Question of China’s Cultural Development


Output:
thought. This was precisely because they were Sinicized Buddhism. In contrast, the
teaching of wei shi (the Dharmalaksana sect, or the School of Understanding Only),
although propagated and espoused in the early Tang by the Grand Master Xuan
Zhang, was popular for only some 30 years and then quickly declined. This is
because the wei shi school was dyed-in-the-wool Indian Buddhism.
    In the Song Dynasty, the lixue philosophy opposed Buddhism, but in terms of
philosophical intellectual development, it totally took the place of Buddhism. This
was, of course, not accidental. In the beginning, China’s traditional thought was
oriented toward entering the secular world (rather than leaving it) (rushi), or we
may say it focused on the realization of “bringing stable government to the nation
and order to the world” (zhi guo ping tianxia) within the context of the world of
present reality. In this, it was fundamentally different from the Buddhist idea of


Output:
removing oneself from the secular world (chushi). However, as a consequence, the
question of what sort of basis there can be for arguing that it is possible to establish
an ideal society and the question of how the ideal of zhi guo ping tianxia can be
realized became a major problem for consideration. Thus, the concept of “Heaven’s
principle” (tian li) was proposed. Cheng Hao said: “Although there are parts of my
learning that came from some previous teachers, the idea of tian li—these two
words—was definitely something that I derived myself from experience and from
my own realizations.” “Heaven’s principle” was not a “principle of emptiness (kong
li), but a principle of substance” (shi li); it was considered to be the “exterior
character of the ultimate or greatest good” (zhi shan zhi biaode). As for the
relationship between “Heaven” (tian li, or Heaven’s principle) and “humanity”
(renxing, or human nature), the Song Neo-Confucianist scholars speak either of


Output:
xing zhi li (nature equals principle) or of xin zhi li (the mind equals principle). In this
way, the xinxing question became the fundamental problem for Song-Ming lixue
Neo-Confucianism. Both the xing zhi li formulation and the xin zhi li formulation
contain within themselves a question of the relationship between Heaven and
humanity (tian ren guanxi), and therefore, the Song-Ming lixue scholars argued,
ontologically speaking, the viewpoint of “unity of Heaven and humanity”(tian ren
he yi). The two Cheng brothers used the dictum: “Essence and function come from
the same source; there is no separation between that which is manifest and that
which is hidden” (tiyong yi yuan, xian wei wu juan) to describe the relationship
between Heaven and humanity. Zhu Xi, on the other hand, used the formulation of
“every man has an ultimate, every object has an ultimate” (ren ren you yi tai ji, wu
wu you yi tai ji) to do the same. Lu Jinyuan said: “The universe is my mind; my


Output:
mind is the universe” (yu zou bian shi wu xin, wu xin bian shi yu zou), and Wang
Shouren said: “The mind is Heaven; when we speak of the mind, then Heaven, earth
and all things are already mentioned.” Here both were speaking of the principle,
“Heaven and humanity are of the same essence, or body” (tian ren yi ti). What all
these people advocated was that to accomplish the ideal state of “unity of Heaven
and humanity” (tian ren he yi) and thus to realize the sagely enterprise of “giving
good government to the nation and order to the world” (zhi guo ping tianxia); we
must, from the side of man (ren), realize in ourselves the principle of Heaven, and to
do this, we must enhance our own moral standards to attain the heights of “unity of
21   A Study of the Question of China’s Cultural Development                        275


Output:
knowledge and action” (zhi xing he yi) and discipline as well as nurture our mind
and nature. From the angle of this doctrine of nurturing and disciplining one’s mind
and nature, Song-Ming lixue once again connected itself in a way to the xiuyang
gongfu (exercises or efforts of discipline and nurturing) advocated by Chan Bud-
dhism, such that the purpose of moral or ethical practice on the part of lixue was not
the individual’s becoming Buddha but the realization of their ideal of a harmonious
society. Song-Ming lixue criticized Buddhism, but it also absorbed from Buddhism
and blended it into its own teachings, giving Chinese philosophy a more complete
ontological theory, theory of value, and a system of lebensphilosophie
(or philosophy of life). Thus, from the time of the two Han dynasties through the
Song and Ming, Chinese philosophy, under the impact of an imported culture,
accomplished its first syllogistic process of “positive-negative synthesis” (zheng-


Output:
fan-he), and this propelled Chinese philosophy’s forward development. What
revelations do we reap from this process? I believe that we can learn at least the
following four things:
(1) The absorption of Indian culture by China’s culture took several centuries. This
    demonstrates that the absorption and blending by a cultural tradition of an
    imported culture cannot be accomplished in a day. It calls for a certain length of
    time and certain conditions. From the angle of the introduction of Indian
    culture, from the first century to the ninth and tenth centuries, Indian Buddhism
    was very popular in China, but at the same time, China’s traditional culture also
    expressed its extremely great life-force. In each of the three aforementioned
    stages, China’s traditional culture’s life-force–where it was located, the locus
    of its value–was demonstrated; also clearly it expressed an ability boldly to
    welcome, absorb, and blend in this imported culture. Therefore, we can arrive at


Output:
a perspective, namely, that when a culture adopts a “liberal” (kaifang) attitude
    toward an imported culture, it is giving expression to the fact that this national
    culture itself has a strong life-force. For a culture to be able fully to absorb and
    blend in with an imported culture is an important condition for the accelerated
    development of this culture. The effect that an imported culture has on the
    development of an indigenous culture is a new stimulus. When a culture with
    life-force is challenged by an imported culture, not only will it not reject the
    latter, but it will digest it so as to make for a faster and more healthy develop-
    ment on its own part. Therefore, such ideas as “keeping to one’s own cultural
    standards” (ben wei wenhua) or “national essentialism” (guo cui zhuyi) not only
    are harmful to the development of the nation’s culture but are nothing more
    than a demonstration of the decline of that national culture.


Output:
(2) Our analysis of the numerous phenomena that have been generated since the
    contact between our country’s indigenous culture and Indian culture is an
    understanding at which we have arrived only today. In the developmental
    process of history itself, people did not understand this. When we study this
    developmental process today, we can observe the following phenomenon: in
    the stage that immediately follows the introduction of an imported culture, it
    very often automatically and self-motivatingly adapts itself to the needs of the
276                           21   A Study of the Question of China’s Cultural Development


Output:
indigenous culture in some respects and finds for itself some connecting and
    integrating points with the indigenous culture. For example, in the Han Dynasty,
    Buddhism focused on preaching such things as the indestructability of the soul
    ( jing ling bu mie) and cause-and-effect retribution (yin-guo bao ying) and later
    on adapted to the requirements of Wei-Jin xuanxue metaphysics, giving rise to
    the so-called fo xuan (Buddhist metaphysics). This phenomenon does not occur
    by accident. Can we consider this to be a general rule or law then? I think we
    can and we should. This is because if the imported culture did not adapt itself to
    the indigenous traditional culture (perhaps we should say certain parts of the
    traditional culture) but attempted to take its place, it would have to make a
    wholesale negation of the traditional culture. This would mean cutting through
    history and severing it into segments, abandoning the spiritual pillar on which


Output:
the nation had long relied for its very existence. Under these conditions, the
    imported culture would be, for the nation or country to which it is introduced, a
    forced imposition and a culture that has no root, and it would not be able to exist
    for a prolonged time in this way. On the other hand, if we can, soon after the
    introduction of an imported culture, discover between it and the indigenous
    culture certain connective and integrative points, and thus make the imported
    culture quickly and more successfully adapt to the requirements of the devel-
    opment of the nation or country to which it was introduced, it would not only
    help to enrich and develop the indigenous culture but also cause the indigenous
    culture to generate, under the impact of the imported culture, certain possibil-
    ities of altering its directions of development.
(3) Every culture is bound to have characteristics that differentiate it from other


Output:
cultures. If it existed merely as a unique culture in itself, it must preserve its
    most basic characteristics, or the culture would soon become a relic of history
    instead of remaining effective as a contemporary culture. By comparison with
    Indian Buddhism, the most salient characteristic of China’s traditional culture
    was how it taught people to realize its ideal of zhi guo ping tianxia in real life.
    This sort of rushi (entering the secular world) spirit was very must at odds with
    Indian Buddhism’s idea of chushi (removing oneself from the secular world).
    After its introduction, Indian Buddhism had a profound impact on the social life
    of the Chinese people and indeed made a difference in many aspects of that life,
    but the basic spirit of rushi of the Chinese culture was not changed by the
    imported Indian culture. Thus, as an independent cultural system, China’s
    culture continued to exist and develop. Whether or not this traditional culture


Output:
of China can continue to develop from now on depends on two conditions: one,
    it must be able to maintain its special character and, two, it must be bold enough
    to absorb imported culture to adapt to the requirements of the development of
    real social life. The first aspect exemplifies the unique value it has as a cultural
    tradition for all of human civilization. If it cannot maintain its special character,
    this cultural tradition will disappear from history. The latter aspect exemplifies
    that a culture with a life-force can, by maintaining its own special character,
    develop and absorb new things. If it does, it is bound to develop. But if it loses
    its ability to absorb new things, then it cannot continue to exist solely on the
21   A Study of the Question of China’s Cultural Development                     277


Output:
basis of maintaining its special character. From the viewpoint of the history of
    the development of China’s traditional culture, it can be said to possess both of
    these conditions.
(4) After Indian culture was introduced into China, at one stage, it appeared,
    outwardly, that Buddhism had an influence on social life that superseded that
    of the indigenous traditional culture. For example, the Jing zhi zhi (Record of
    Books and Documents) in the Sui shi (History of the Sui Dynasty) tells us that
    as a result of the advocacy of kings and emperors, Buddhism flourished to the
    extent that “people throughout the realm competed to express their adoration
    of teaching, and the number of Buddhist scriptures in the common society was
    tens or even hundreds of times greater than that of the Six Classics.” There-
    fore, the development of ideological culture in the Sui-Tang period clearly
    was related in great part to the development of Buddhism. Many important


Output:
thinkers of the time were Buddhist monks, and some Buddhist sects were
    engaged in developing Chinese philosophy. This might have been an inevi-
    table phenomenon at a certain stage of the relationship between two different
    traditional cultures after they have been in contact with one another for some
    time. Nonetheless, what is significant here is that the development of the
    Chinese Buddhist sects did not head in the direction of forcing China’s social
    life to adapt spiritually to the requirements of Indian culture, but on the
    contrary, Buddhism headed in the direction of sinicization. In particular, the
    emergence of the Chan sect destroyed the character of Buddhism as a religion.
    Not only did it not call for the practices of reciting the sutras and worshipping
    Buddha, it even allowed devotees to scold Buddha and the masters and
    patriarchs. Buddhism proposed that it was possible to realize the ideal of


Output:
becoming Buddha in everyday life, saying “no matter whether you are fetch-
    ing water or cutting firewood, all that is the wondrous way.” Therefore, just
    taking that one step further meant that one could become a saint or a sage if
    only one “served one’s father filially and served one’s sovereign faithfully.”
    This meant that China’s traditional culture could take the place of Buddhism.
   At present, as a result of the requirements of historical development, the
question of how China’s culture shall develop has once more been placed on
our agenda. We are again confronted with the impact of all sorts of Western ideas
and trends of thought. How do we reconsider the value of China’s traditional
culture? How shall we reform and develop it to adapt it to the current trends of the
development of modernization? These problems call upon us to continue to
explore new lessons. From the history of the introduction of Buddhism into


Output:
China, we have revealed phenomena that occurred as China’s culture came
under the impact of an imported culture; this ought to have great value as
reference to us in our study of how China’s culture should develop from now on.
Chapter 22
The Enlightenment and Its Difficult
Journey in China


Output:
Two broadly intellectual trends are seen as influential in China today: (1) the zeal
for “national essence” or “national character” and (2) constructive postmodernism.
These two trends can, if under the guidance of Marxism, not only take root in China
but further develop so that, with comparative ease, China can complete its “First
Enlightenment”—realizing its modernization—and also very quickly enter into the
“second enlightenment,” becoming the standard-bearer of a postmodern society.

22.1     The Eighteenth-Century European “Enlightenment
         Movement” and China’s Sixteenth-Century Late
         Ming “Enlightenment Trend of Thought”


Output:
Kant (1724–1804) advocated “the audacity to make use of reason” as the watchword
of the “Enlightenment Movement.” Therefore, we can say that “rationality” opened
up Europe’s Enlightenment Movement. Its thinkers used “reason” to counteract the
superstition of the Roman Catholic Church and the folly of secularism, leading up to
European capitalistic class society and its revolutionary movements. This movement
not only led to a breakthrough in the natural sciences, it also influenced the social
sciences of the West (political science, economics, sociology, etc.) by establishing
their foundations of intellectual inquiry. European philosophy, political science,
economics, jurisprudence, and theories of sociology led to the 1789 capitalistic
class revolution in France, overturning its feudal order. By 1793 it proclaimed


Output:
This article appeared in 文汇报 (Wen Hui Bao), Shanghai, on Wednesday,
14 November 2011. The Wen Hui Bao was founded by leftist-leaning intellectuals in 1938.
The newspaper has a circulation of more than two million today.
Process Perspectives, Spring 2012, 34(2): 1, 3–5
Translated by Franklin J. Woo, December 21, 2011

© Foreign Language Teaching and Research Publishing Co., Ltd                              279
and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2015
Y. Tang, Confucianism, Buddhism, Daoism, Christianity and Chinese Culture,
China Academic Library, DOI 10.1007/978-3-662-45533-3_22
280                               22   The Enlightenment and Its Difficult Journey in China


Output:
“The Human Rights and Citizens Rights Manifesto,” leading up to monarchical
constitutionalism. The victory of the French capitalistic class revolutionary move-
ment broke the power of European feudalism and had the powerful influence of
other European nations to establish capitalistic class revolutionary movements.
Thus began the European Enlightenment which resulted finally in European
capitalistic countries with republicanism or the establishment of democratic institu-
tions with monarchical constitutionalism.
    Presently, the scholarly world in China often refers to the sixteenth-century late
Ming Dynasty where grew the antifeudal totalitarian despotic rule which controlled
Chinese society in the name of “the heavenly order,” “eliminating human hubris” in
its ritualized socialization. The antifeudal movement attacked asceticism, elevated
personhood, and upheld the spirit of individuality in nonconformity to anyone or


Output:
social mores, with sensuality seen as a new value and the realization of the spirit of
humanism, frequently using “enlightenment trend,” “enlightenment thought,”
“enlightenment culture,” “enlightenment in substance,” etc., to describe the nature
of this movement. Some scholars regarded the antifeudal ritualized socialization
of the late Ming as “enlightenment thinking” or enlightenment as a type of “ism.”
They saw a branch of the 泰州 Tai Chou School, represented by playwright
Tang Xianzu (汤显祖, 1550–1616), who stressed “inner feeling” as “a profound
enlightened thinker.” This can easily lead people to mistake the sixteenth-century
late Ming antifeudal movement against ritualized socialization in the liberation of
the individual as being similar to the eighteenth-century Enlightenment of Europe.
However, as I see it, the two movements described above are not only different on
the surface, they are also very different in their nature and substance. The European


Output:
Enlightenment movement of the eighteenth century was an answer to a call to make
reason central, while the sixteenth-century late Ming antifeudal movement was in
answer to a call to liberate human inner feeling as central. The results of the former
are the major breakthrough in natural science, the establishment of the foundations
of the social sciences, and the systems of capitalistic and democratic societies.
The results of the latter are different. Although a small number of thinkers still
supported antifeudal totalitarian despotic rule, as the conquering of China by the
Qing reinforced the feudal control of Chinese society and suppressed those scholars
who were critical of the feudal system, to the point that the tide of antifeudalism
was broken.


Output:
22.2    The Mid-Nineteenth-Century Chinese Society Amid
        the “Enlightenment” of the West and Its Struggle
        to Advance Through Manifold Obstacles

In the 1840s, after China’s defeat in the First Opium War, amid conflicts with the
imperial West (including the industrialized East, as seen in Japan), which made the
Chinese people realize that their country was weak, the Chinese government was
22.3   China’s Own Enlightenment and Its Slogan of “Science. . .                  281


Output:
inept and corrupt, while the governments of the West were strong and progressive.
The root cause was that China’s thinking was out of date and its government was in
disarray and powerless. A small coterie of progressive intellectuals including
government officials in China were passively influenced incrementally by the
Enlightenment coming steadily from the West, including its thinking and its
political system. During this period, the ideas and political system of the West
came to China through its publications and translations. The capitalistic thinkers of
the West promulgated democracy, freedom, human rights, and all sorts of thinking
emphasizing equality. All these contributed to the progress of humanity that
without doubt had a huge influence on China, albeit slowly.
   Knowledgeable people in China recognized that the strength of Western
countries was based on their progressive knowledge of science and technology.
They therefore advocated “to learn from the enemy’s strength to control them”


Output:
and then established a movement to “learn from the West” [in terms of science and
technology]. But this learning from the Western movement could not transcend the
limited understanding of 中学为体, 西学为用, zhong xue wei ti, xi xue wei yong,
“Chinese substance, through Western usage.” It could break out of the Qing
Dynasty’s foundation of totalitarian despotic rule. The more progressive intellec-
tuals and government officials in their deeper understanding of the Enlightenment
and its condition of governance claimed that China must change its own political
system, if it wanted to be strong and economically viable. To promote change, there
was an attempt at reform through establishing a constitution by 1898, but this was
without effect. And under the Qing government’s top-down pressure, the feeble
effort at reform was a complete failure.
   Under such an impossible situation, it was up to Dr. Sun Yatsen to initiate a
revolution to overturn the Qing government. The 1911 revolution was successful in


Output:
eliminating elitist feudalism and establishing the Republic of China. Although
Sun’s revolution was successful, it did not solve the fundamental problem of
Chinese society. On the one hand, China was still under the encroachment and
oppression of the imperialist countries. On the other, there were two attempts to
revive the old emperor system, and the old entrenched system of thought and its
power kept resisting and being obstructive to any reform attempts. The democratic
Republic of China was never truly established, and the harsh reality was that it still
awaited the Chinese people themselves to solve its persisting problems.


Output:
22.3     China’s Own Enlightenment and Its Slogan
         of “Science and Democracy”: Have They
         Come to Fruition?

Regarding the May Fourth Movement (1919), there are many different interpreta-
tions according to Chinese intellectuals, so many that I cannot introduce all of them.
But I feel that we cannot place the May Fourth Movement and the New Culture
Movement as if there is no connection between these two movements with entirely
282                              22   The Enlightenment and Its Difficult Journey in China


Output:
different natures. We can perhaps say that the former is a type of antitraditional
thinking and culture enlightenment. The latter can be seen as a type of saving-the-
nation movement. It is only by having a new culture movement that can enable
the Chinese people to have a new perspective and a new set of values to realize
how much their country is behind, and this undoubtedly includes the hope that
China would be strengthened and enriched economically.
    Also, it is only through the May Fourth love-of-country sentiment that enables
the Chinese people to realize that governance needs to be democratic, allowing
freedom of thought, thus enabling the enlightenment to be concretized in the social
life of China. Therefore, both the New Life Movement and the May Fourth
Movement were integral parts of the same process. Enlightenment calls forth
salvation, and salvation deepens enlightenment, but in the process the国民党
Guomindang (Nationalist Party) came up with the policy of “One leader, one


Output:
ideology, and the dictatorship of one party” resulting in the opposition between
the two movements. Using the salvation of the nation as central, the people’s
democracy trend, freedom, human rights, etc., were all suppressed. Because of
this, the salvation of the nation took precedence over enlightenment, on the
claim that only with salvation of the nation can there be enlightenment. Such
was the superficial understanding of enlightenment and salvation of nation on a
theoretical and practical level. At the moment we need to consider both the
aspirations towards enlightenment of the New Life Movement and the May Fourth
Movement. Have these been realized in our present society? This indeed is an
extremely big question. I will therefore raise an example regarding this question.
    In 1985, I was in Shenzhen at a conference of the “Association for the Coordi-
nation of Questions of Culture.” At this conference were 20 or more participating


Output:
scholars from Beijing, Wuhan, Xian, and Shenzhen. During the conference, we
arrived at a common understanding. We felt that Comrade Deng Xiaoping’s
promoting of economic development is central and that intensely realizing the
four modernizations was correct, and we were totally in full support. At the
same time, we asked if the problem of modernization is only to be understood as
the modernization of industry, agriculture, science and technology, and national
defense, because we felt that without the modernization of thought, the moderni-
zation process will come to naught. This point made us realize that the enlighten-
ment process needs to be continued and still has a long way to go in China. In other
words, modernization of Chinese society is a holistic process that includes all
sectors of society. We need Enlightenment as an ongoing process, forever moving
forward.


Output:
22.4    Whither Enlightenment in Chinese Society?

It has been more than 160 years since the Enlightenment trend of the West reached
China. However, China has not been able totally to complete its modernization.
This was largely because of two trends appearing in China in the latter part of the
22.4   Whither Enlightenment in Chinese Society?                                    283


Output:
last century in the 1990s: (1) One is the opposition to monism (as opposed to
pluralism), as seen in the critique of the flaws in modernism by the postmodern
trend. (2) Another trend in China was the revival of Chinese cultural tradition in
search of Chinese national essence or character. After more than two centuries of
development in the West, modernism has shown all types of flaws and weaknesses,
manifested in its decline from “science as a panacea” leading to “instrumental
reason,” to the degradation of the natural environment. Also, the unbridled
development of economic growth resulted in sharp contradictions and mutual
antagonism between person and person, and nation and nation, by its support of
greed in the accumulation of wealth and power. The result is the decline of human
morality. For the saving humanity, the negative consequences of modernity must
be eliminated.
    During the 1960s, the rise of the deconstructive postmodern trend was the first