This winter vacation I used my spare time to read Mr. Gu Hongming's THE SPIRIT OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE and felt deeply after reading it. What is the spirit of the Chinese people? This is a seemingly simple question which is difficult to answer accurately and completely. Ku Hongming discussed in his book on the Chinese spirit, the Chinese woman, the Chinese language, John in China, a great sinologist and Chinese studies, and expounded what he thought of the Chinese spiritual world. 

Gu Hongming, the author of this book, is known as the " strange hero of the late Qing dynasty". He had a thorough knowledge of both Western and traditional Chinese Medicine, traveled to Europe for 14 years, mastered nine languages, obtained 13 doctorates, wrote letters to Tolstoy, was nominated for the nobel prize for literature with Tagore, was invited by Cai Yuanpei to teach Peking university, and founded Wuhan university with Zhang zhidong. He was the first Chinese to master western science, language and oriental Chinese studies in the Qing dynasty.

“In order to understand the real Chinese people and Chinese civilization, you must have deep feelings, broad mind and simple thoughts, because the three characteristics of Chinese character and Chinese civilization are: deep, broad and simple.” This is a sentence from THE SPIRIT OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE written by Mr. Gu Hongming in 1915. This was written during the " First World War" at the beginning of last century, when European civilization was in crisis, the Qing government fell, and Chinese society suffered from internal and external troubles. Gu Hongming wrote this book in all English at this time. He tried to explain the spirit of Chinese civilization to the westerners and reveal its value. He maintained the dignity of Chinese culture with his pen and pointed out a way out for the civilization of Europe and even the whole world at that time.

Through an in-depth analysis of the Chinese people's spirit, a comparison between eastern and western cultures, and examples, the book illustrates that real Chinese refer to people who live a rational adult life with a childlike mind. 114 years ago, a scholar at the end of Qing Dynasty told the world in English what is the true Chinese spirit and was proud of it. More than 100 years later, under the correct leadership of the CPC Central Committee, the whole country is rebuilding the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Learning from Mr. Gu's classics also has special significance of the times. It has deepened my understanding of the connotation of the national spirit and strengthened my pride and confidence in the culture of the motherland. That is what he wrote in his book, " The Chinese spirit is the perfect combination of soul and thinking. The serene and peaceful mentality enables the Chinese to see through the essence of things. It is imaginative reason. The Chinese spirit is a spirit of eternal youth and a spirit of national immortality. The immortal secret is the perfect harmony between the Chinese mind and reason. "