Gu hongming(English name is Tomson),is known as "cultural geek".he obtain 13 doctorates and he was the first Chinese to master Western science, language and Oriental Chinese studies in the Manchu and Qing Dynasties.On this holiday,I had the privilege to read The Spirit of the Chinese People by Mr Gu. I write down some feelings after reading this book.

In my opinion the so-called "Chinese spirit" conveyed in this book is unacceptable to me.

First, the patriotism it conveys is blind.This kind of patriotism will make people too blindly confident of their own country.The closed country in the Qing Dynasty is a living example.A country needs national confidence, but not national arrogant.It is obviously inappropriate for Mr. Gu to argue that "the first in the world of Chinese civilization" and "all Western civilizations are barbaric".In fact, cut off china from the outside world,even the whole modern history of China's humiliation is due to China's (mainly royalty) arrogance.China's vast territory, rich products and profound culture have become their arrogant capital.This kind of arrogance plunged China live in great misery, so I don't agree with it.

Second, it conveys the view of Chinese women, which is the dross of the book.Mr. Gu described China's most feudal view of women in the most feudal language: "Three obediences and four virtues", "Women are the objects of men".And the description is highfalutin.When I read this part, the more I looked, the more I wanted to laugh, and even laughed.In the prosperous Tang Dynasty, women's rights were as strong as men's, and they could inherit their family property.If you leave, you can marry. If you marry, you can leave.After the Neo-Confucianism of Cheng and Zhu in Song Dynasty, women's rights declined sharply, and the country began to accumulate poverty and weakness.This is living examples.

But this book is not without its merits.In that turbulent times, it inspired some people's patriotism and make them try to save the country from fire and water.At the same time, it has changed foreigners'views on China and improved China's international status to a certain extent.From today's point of view, Confucianism and other academics expressed in it can not be fully accepted, but there are many references which can be used for reference and have a high reference value of the times.

In a word, Mr. Gu's literary level and erudite level are absolutely the first in the world, but his thoughts are too old and decadent.He did not bring his talents into full play in the right place, nor did he discover the true "spirit of the Chinese people".The true Chinese spirit should be a clear understanding of themselves.They know how to look at the world and think how to improve themselves.It is by no means self-assertive. It is worthless to regard foreign cultures as worthless and to accept traditional cultures as a whole without any choice.Only by understanding openness, abandoning those decadent ideas, at the same time carrying forward the traditional culture and cultivating national self-confidence, can the Chinese people live out their own spirit.