Review(by Huan Shuyu)_中英双语在线阅读

Review(by Huan Shuyu)

宦澍雨

The Spirit of the Chinese People is truly an excellent book with tremendous insights beyond his era in understanding of the international affairs, politics, western and Far East histories and ideologies, and most importantly, vision and the spirit of Chinese people.

Ku, an intellect, who may not be widely understood in his time, nearly a hundred years ago, by war-engaging Europeans and his reformation-driven fellow countrymen, had raised his point of views loudly and proudly among the mass of mankind, at the time, on one hand, deeply involved in a chaotic European warfare, and on the other hand, under a global gunboat diplomacy. Many of Ku's views have been proven true, and his way of evaluating and examining a civilization still embarrasses vast superficial pursuit of materialistic modern comfort and technologies in today's cultures.

The book The Spirit of the Chinese People is a pure attempt to interpret the spirit and show the value of Chinese civilization. In the author’s mind, the spirit of the Chinese people, also known as the Chinese type of humanity, lies in its inexpressible gentleness. It is a product, as he claimed, of combination of sympathy and intellect because the real Chinaman lives wholly a life of heart with a happy union of soul with intellect. This very spirit is the serene and blessed mood which enables us to see into the life of things, and, on a broader sense, is the spirit of national immortality and the secret of perpetual youth. And much for its prominence and significance, this spirit of the Chinese people lies in the centre of our civilisation, which varies fundamentally from the modern western one. There’s no need of religion in the Chinese civilisation, for instance, which is entirely replaced by Confucianism. Because, for the Chinese people, it is Confucianism that by inspiring people’s absolute allegiance to the Emperor and the sacrament of marriage as well as filial piety successfully awakens and kindles inspiration or living emotion in people, therefore making the mass of Chinese people obey rules of moral conduct.

Ku Hongming writes as an eloquent and subtle Chinese conservative at the time when China faced the tension between its old, stable social values, on the one hand, and the double threats of modernization and colonialism, on the other. The first and main chapter in particular provided me with some long-sought insights into some of the foundations of Chinese thought and behaviour, as it explores the connections between Confucianism, religion and the social structures provided by the particular Chinese arrangement of family life.
In a broader sense, I think the book allows you to engage with traditional conservative discourse at its best - it reads as a heartfelt defense of the beauty of Chinese civilization, for better or worse. It might even have lessons to teach for modern politics, which often feels stripped off depth on both sides. On the other hand, we should probably be thankful that it has now become much harder to sustain strictly anti-change arguments like some that show up on the book from time to time.
Overall, it could do for an interesting source for studies on feminism and post-colonialism. It shows at once the worst sides of both European imperialism and traditional values.