中国人的精神书评王乐仪
This book is written by Ku Hung-Ming, who is known for his broaden horizon and wide knowledge about different languages.
But as a famous conservative, he is also criticized for his support on hetaerism and feudality. Due to the reason above , I was less interested in this book at first . However, I still finish the book with a curious attitude finally. Now I want to say that this book is worth reading for those who are interested in Chinese traditional culture, though there are still some views we might not agree with.
I agree with that he defined the value of civilization should be estimated by what type of humanity a civilization produces. Science and art can also show the value but they are not the essence. So what’s the type of Chinese people? Ku Hung-Ming described the real Chinaman as a domesticated creature, who has inexpressibly gentleness and the power of sympathy. I admit that but the most of the people in the world are sympathetic and kind. He also thought a real Chinese woman has no self and she should be a good wife. He even said” a real gentlewoman or lady in China whenever there is a proper reason that her husband should take a concubine, will never refuse to give her consent (this writer had one Chinese wife and one Japanese concubine).” It can be understood because Chinese women had a very low social position and they were seen as men’s accessories. That’s why we were always considered to be meek and chaste. But I am sorry to tell those who still hold this view today that modern Chinese women want to be nobody’s accessories and hold half of the sky. Thanks to the chances given by new China and Communist Party.
This writer laid too much importance on morality. It is emphasized that people in China didn’t need policeman or priest because they are convinced that human nature is good and everyone should obey the moral obligation. He also stressed the contributions made by Confucianism, which teaches Chinese people the religion of good citizenship. Of course Confucianism have a great impact on the spirit of Chinese, but there were also many other different religions like Buddhism and Daoism, which also greatly influenced Chinese people. Actually there were only a few people in old China can read or write, so most of people hadn’t read the classics. They knew the principles mentioned in this book because people around told them. For that reason, Confucianism was easily twisted by government to rule the people.
As the writer said, Chinese are broad, deep and simple. Different areas or different ethnic groups in the same area have different cultures and customs. And it’s hard to sum up their characteristics. As time goes by, modern Chinese people accept cultures from the world, which contributes to more diverse senses of worth today.
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