WRITING IN THE END
After reading THE SPIRIT OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE by Gu, the deepest feeling of mine is that maybe it is not really suitable for now society, but what is mentioned in the article can do a favor for us to look into the value of civilization, In the other words, the purpose of reading the book is not to learn and do the same as traditions, but to find the explanations of the Chinese spirit.
Take an easiest example, INTRODUCTION THE RELIGION OF GOOD CITIZENSHIP, the first part of the book. From where I stand, in the flood of history, mankind always tried to discover a force for subduing and controlling human passions. Developing from physical force to god, western countries finally fell into an awkward situation, they could not find a true balance in society. Without doubt, the new moral force in China is the best choice, it had avoided the militarism such as what we saw in Europe. That is not to say Chinese way is the best, but in the minds of the masses, a radical cure for fairness and goodwill is the way to save society so that we do not have to doubt neighbors or arm ourselves.
So what is the spirit of Chinese people, the second part of the book gives us a good answer. In the concept of China, life is another form of reality. Their gentleness comes from true human intelligence, so we have the power of mind and rationality which distinguishes us from Cristian people. We can see the real Chinaman is a man who lines the life of a man of adult reason with heart of a child, and the inexpressible gentleness of whom is the possession of what is called sympathetic or true human intelligence though we do not have religion.
Then come to THE CHINESE WOMAN. To tell the truth, the three obedience and four virtues is not we are advocating now. However, no one can say for sure that they have lost all of their significance. Without doubt, what Gu stands for against the idea we believe now, the equality between man and women. So besides we are supposed to be sober towards the illness of that time, we should be deep om thought what causes this and learn the experience as well. From the other angle, this article shows some traditions we have lost during the last period, such as China six ceremonies and the signification of Chinese feminine. That is not mean it is a good idea to follow such examples or Chinese woman should all be yaot’iao and yu sien, but we can see ancient cultures shine brightly in history. After all they are the treasures left. Maybe we do not need them today, but we should not deny their value.
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