Review

After reading this book, I have benefited a lot. The author studied in Europe and had a wide range of knowledge, but he did not over-worship Western culture. After learning Chinese traditional Confucianism, he was proud of Chinese traditional culture. Such pride became an important factor in his writing of this book.

In the author's theory, the Chinese people have accumulated a unique and excellent national spirit in thousands of years of historical development. It contains such beautiful elements as tolerance, modesty, prudence and steadfastness. From the author's point of view, these treasures are the key to the long history of Chinese civilization without splitting or discontinuing. Compared with Europe with the same long history, there have been no religious wars or ethnic conflicts of mutual hatred in China. On the contrary, foreign religions, such as Buddhism, Islam and Christianity, have developed fairly well in most regions of China. The author points out that this unique "Chinese model" is the result of Confucian culture, the leader of Chinese culture. There is a saying in the Analects of Confucius: gentlemen differ from but respect each other, and villains never differ from or respect each other. It probably means that a moral person respects everyone's ideas but may disagree with others' ideas. A moral person tries to echo everyone's ideas but does not respect anyone. This is similar to Voltaire's "I don't agree with you, but I defend your right to speak". Because of the influence of Confucianism, it has to be admitted that some advanced aspects of Chinese Confucianism are comparable to the Enlightenment Movement in modern Europe. The Chinese spirit is gradually formed under the influence of this cultural atmosphere.

However, maybe because of the limitations of the times, in​cluding the author’s disappointment of the cruel side behind the prosperity of European capitalism. The author believes that the only way to solve the dilemma of China's internal and external troubles at that time is to restore the old system and let the feudal monarchy come into power again. In the author's opinion, under the feudal system, people can obtain happiness and security by abiding by the corresponding criteria of personal identity. But facts have proved that after the Reform Movement of 1898, the majority of the people had lost confidence in the monarchy, and the new cultural movement had brought new concepts of "democracy" and "science". The author's ideas will not bring progress, and will confront the trend of the times, so they will inevitably fail. Perhaps because of this, the author cannot fully display his talent, and finally failed to realize his ambition to save the country, but as a famous writer, died helplessly.

       But we must admit that the author's research on the Chinese nation and culture is admirable. This also brings enlightenment to future generations: for social sciences, a single study for one object cannot achieve a comprehensive understanding. Only by analogy can we get more discoveries. Anyway, this is a fascinating book which brings about many fresh thoughts for me. 

2019-02-23

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