书评emm
<The Spirit of The Chinese People>was published in 1919, a time when China was badly misunderstood in the eyes of the West, and that’s maybe why Gu Hongming, the author of this book, wrote it in English. He wanted to explain the real spirit of Chinese civilization and reveal its value to the western people in order to change their prejudice against China.
This book is mainly composed of the following three parts: the spirit of the Chinese people, the Chinese woman and the Chinese language. Now I’d like to share my understandings of these three points.
Let's start with the spirit of the Chinese people first. As the author says that “such description or enumeration of the characteristics of the Chinese people hitherto have given us no picture at all of the inner being of the Chinaman. Besides, when we speak of the character or characteristics of the Chinese; it is not possible to generalize.”There are so many people in a country, they are different from others and of course everyone has his unique personalities. As a result, it is quite difficult to use just few words to describe all these Chinese people. However, after careful consideration, the author chose these three words: deep, broad and simple. He thought they were three greatly representative words for Chinaman as well as Chinese culture because the real Chinese people have adult minds and children's hearts.
Then we talk something about the Chinese woman. “The Chinese feminine ideal is an ideal with a broom in her hands to sweep and clean the rooms with.””The Chinese feminine ideal , as it is handed down from the earliest times, is summed up in three obediences and Four Virtues.” Some of the ideas in the book now seem to be a little backward and unapproachable to us, that’s because nowadays the background is very different from ancient time. The status of Chinese women was very low at that time, and they did not have the same right and freedom equally compared with men.
Finally, let's talk about the Chinese language. It is acknowledged that language is a symbol of a nation's culture, which applies to China as well. People's daily conversation and emotional communication are all depend on the language. “Chinese is a language of the heart: a poetical language.” There are many classics that can’t be expressed in foreign languages, such as ancient poetry. If you translate them into another language, their meaning may change a lot. This is because the Chinese language has a unique charm. Each word is carefully considered by the author and the feelings conveyed need us to feel carefully.
Mr.Gu Hongming's <The Spirit of the Chinese People> describes the Chinese people of that era, especially the characteristics of the intellectuals. Although his words may not be as accurate as some other authors, they are undoubtedly vivid enough in our eyes. The book is full of humorous jokes, but there is still a lot of serious topic involved. We can truly feel Mr.Gu’s deep love for our country and people when reading.
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