The core value of Chinese culutre and its modern significance
Monday, 1 October 2012
Chinese culture is based on human relationships. It emphasizes self-cultivation, concern for family, love for one's country, and care for the world. Chinese people not only practice these principles on themselves but also extend beyond that, showing deep feelings of brotherhood and compassion. Because of this kind of national culture, China has chosen the road of peaceful development, striving for an internal harmonious society and an external harmonious world. In order to understand China and its development, one should understand the Chinese culture first, most importantly, to understand its value system.
Chinese value system has been gradually formed in the process of a long history. Some of these concepts may evolve over time, but its core value is prolonged invariable, it is the most significant contribution to human civilization of the Chinese nation, and is the intrinsic gene to China's progress.
The Features of Chinese Culture
Chinese culture is diverse and unique, yet harmoniously blended. These features can be categorized into three aspects: uniqueness, inclusiveness and harmony.
Uniqueness: On the one hand, China's unique geographical location, vast territory, abundant resources, diverse climate and topography provided conditions for the growth of a diverse culture with different regional features. On the other hand, China is geographically independent, was separated from western civilization by oceans, deserts and mountains, this resulted in the formation of the unique culture from other civilizations. During the Spring & Autumn and the Warring States periods (770-221 BC), there was a great upsurge of intellectual activity, producing many famous philosophers such as Confucius, Lao Tzu and Mencius. The thoughts of these sages served as the solid base for the Chinese culture, and till today they are still regarded as the inexhaustible source of the development of Chinese culture.
Inclusiveness: In the process of its formation and development, the Chinese culture integrated the culture of different regions of the country, and absorbed contents of external culture. This unique force of fusion and assimilation provides the source for the cohesion of the Chinese culture. Chinese culture has always presented a form of pluralistic integration. Openness and inclusiveness have guaranteed the vitality of Chinese culture. In history, the Chinese have experienced many cultural exchanges and integration, the biggest challenge faced by the Chinese culture is the impact of Western civilization, but the Chinese people can always find a meeting point between China and the world.
Harmony (Hexie): Harmonious thought, an important content of Chinese traditional culture, embodies the relations of people and nature, people and people, people and society. It has been cultivated in the long farm-cultivated society. The word Hexie does not mean that there are no contradictions, struggles or conflicts, does not mean neutrality and unprincipled compromise. Hexie means things are coordinated appropriately and are well-proportioned, reasonable and appropriate. The Chinese culture has long advocated the great ideas that "Harmony is most precious " "Seeking common ground while reserving differences" and "Do not do onto others what you would not do onto yourself." This also embodies the foreign policy of the Chinese government today, which is quite different from the power politics of "the law of the jungle".
These features endow the Chinese culture with eternal vitality. In modern history, China had suffered greatly from imperialist and colonialist invasion. The unique features of Chinese culture helped the Chinese people withstand the historic challenges and tests, and find the right path for the nation's development.
Core Value of Chinese Culture
The value basis of Chinese society was made up of Confucianism along with Taoism and Buddhism. For over 2000 years, thanks to the value system of the Chinese culture, China became one of the cultural and economic centers of the ancient world. The core value of the Chinese culture includes the following aspects:
1. To put people first, paying attention to the peoples livelihood. Humanism is a long-established human thought and is one of the main clues that run through Chinese culture and history. Benevolence (Ren in Chinese), which means to love others, is the kernel of Confucianism. Confucius says: "Benevolence Means to Love Others." He advocated a good government that rules by virtue and moral example rather than by punishment or force. Mencius said, "The people are the most important element in a nation; the spirits of the land and grain are the next; the sovereign is the lightest." These comments expressed affirmation of the value of people.
2. Keeping promise. "Keeping to your word, be resolute in deed" and "Even four horses cannot take back what you have said" are old sayings circulated among Chinese people for thousands of years. They all express the Chinese character regarding honesty and trustworthiness. Over thousands of years of Chinese civilization, Chinese people not only praised the traditional virtues of sincerity and faithfulness, but carried them out in their every effort. It is also Chinese people's way of dealing with the world.
3. Pragmatism. Chinese people are very willing to be realistic and pragmatic. There is a saying: You reap what you sow, this reflects the pragmatism of the Chinese people. The Chinese pragmatism does not depend on mysterious and fanatical approaches, but employs a peaceful and realistic approach to the circumstances at hand. Chinese people are guided by the spirit of pragmatic approach in their considerations in all fields, including agriculture, industry, business, politics, academics and inter-personal relations. They deal with things carefully and calmly, prefer common sense and logic rather than impulsiveness or passion. With the spirit of being devoted to facts and pragmatic approach, China created a dazzling ancient culture lasting for over thousand years during the feudal society.
4. Diligence. In China, many people work overtime, leaving themselves very little time for leisure. By Chinese tradition, diligence is not only a spiritual strength aimed at achievement, but part of the moral principle guiding one's life. The Chinese believe diligence is in conformity with the course of human justice and natural law. In traditional Chinese society, people accumulated wealth little by little, and they look down on those who suddenly earn big money. When the reform and opening-up policy was adopted in China 30 years ago, the Chinese government called on the people to get rich by working hard. Although starting from a weak foundation, Chinese people have made remarkable achievements during last 3 decades through their hard work.
5. The collectiveness is superior to the individual. The traditional value of Chinese culture is formed on the basis of a collective orientation, as profoundly influenced by thousands of years of agricultural civilization and Confucianism. The collective relationship not only includes the relationship between an individual and the family, but also between the individual and the nation, society and other people. Confucianism provides a unique philosophy of life: the individual is but a tiny drop in the ocean and insignificant. Chinese people believe that with more people, there will be more strength, unity and solidarity can generate power. Thus, it is paramount to take the interest of the group, or the collective into account, and the individual must follow the will of the collective.
6. Loving peace. Agricultural civilization and self-sufficiency as well as the gentle and restrained character of the Chinese people have determined that China's foreign policy is prone to peace. Traditionally, Chinese people take the principle of harmony as a way of life and try their best to keep friendly and harmonious relation with others. In order to keep relationship harmonious, people treat each other with sincerity, tolerance and love, and do not interfere in other's business. China has its economic relations with other countries with a peaceful and mutually beneficial manner. In ancient time, China had business with other countries through the "Silk Road", Chinese silk, tea, porcelain arrived in Central Asia, Europe and Africa, and from these areas, a wide range of goods were imported into China at the same time, satisfying the needs of the people's life. Different religion and culture being exchanged, we can find colorful music, dance, painting, and sculpture throughout the way. The Silk Road is a trade route, but also a cultural road, the road of peace. Today, China adheres to the path of peaceful development, steadily enters into the international community. China's development has contributed to a more balanced world pattern, and the Chinese people make their efforts to promote the peaceful development of the world with their own peace and development.
"The 21st century will be the century in which the revitalization of Chinese culture takes place," projects Ji Xianlin, a renowned Chinese scholar, in his The 20th Century in China and I. The core value of Chinese culture has nourished the spiritual world generation after generation of the Chinese people, and serves as an important source of national cohesion and creativity. Today it has become the core competitiveness of China's cultural power.
Chinese value system has been gradually formed in the process of a long history. Some of these concepts may evolve over time, but its core value is prolonged invariable, it is the most significant contribution to human civilization of the Chinese nation, and is the intrinsic gene to China's progress.
The Features of Chinese Culture
Chinese culture is diverse and unique, yet harmoniously blended. These features can be categorized into three aspects: uniqueness, inclusiveness and harmony.
Uniqueness: On the one hand, China's unique geographical location, vast territory, abundant resources, diverse climate and topography provided conditions for the growth of a diverse culture with different regional features. On the other hand, China is geographically independent, was separated from western civilization by oceans, deserts and mountains, this resulted in the formation of the unique culture from other civilizations. During the Spring & Autumn and the Warring States periods (770-221 BC), there was a great upsurge of intellectual activity, producing many famous philosophers such as Confucius, Lao Tzu and Mencius. The thoughts of these sages served as the solid base for the Chinese culture, and till today they are still regarded as the inexhaustible source of the development of Chinese culture.
Inclusiveness: In the process of its formation and development, the Chinese culture integrated the culture of different regions of the country, and absorbed contents of external culture. This unique force of fusion and assimilation provides the source for the cohesion of the Chinese culture. Chinese culture has always presented a form of pluralistic integration. Openness and inclusiveness have guaranteed the vitality of Chinese culture. In history, the Chinese have experienced many cultural exchanges and integration, the biggest challenge faced by the Chinese culture is the impact of Western civilization, but the Chinese people can always find a meeting point between China and the world.
Harmony (Hexie): Harmonious thought, an important content of Chinese traditional culture, embodies the relations of people and nature, people and people, people and society. It has been cultivated in the long farm-cultivated society. The word Hexie does not mean that there are no contradictions, struggles or conflicts, does not mean neutrality and unprincipled compromise. Hexie means things are coordinated appropriately and are well-proportioned, reasonable and appropriate. The Chinese culture has long advocated the great ideas that "Harmony is most precious " "Seeking common ground while reserving differences" and "Do not do onto others what you would not do onto yourself." This also embodies the foreign policy of the Chinese government today, which is quite different from the power politics of "the law of the jungle".
These features endow the Chinese culture with eternal vitality. In modern history, China had suffered greatly from imperialist and colonialist invasion. The unique features of Chinese culture helped the Chinese people withstand the historic challenges and tests, and find the right path for the nation's development.
Core Value of Chinese Culture
The value basis of Chinese society was made up of Confucianism along with Taoism and Buddhism. For over 2000 years, thanks to the value system of the Chinese culture, China became one of the cultural and economic centers of the ancient world. The core value of the Chinese culture includes the following aspects:
1. To put people first, paying attention to the peoples livelihood. Humanism is a long-established human thought and is one of the main clues that run through Chinese culture and history. Benevolence (Ren in Chinese), which means to love others, is the kernel of Confucianism. Confucius says: "Benevolence Means to Love Others." He advocated a good government that rules by virtue and moral example rather than by punishment or force. Mencius said, "The people are the most important element in a nation; the spirits of the land and grain are the next; the sovereign is the lightest." These comments expressed affirmation of the value of people.
2. Keeping promise. "Keeping to your word, be resolute in deed" and "Even four horses cannot take back what you have said" are old sayings circulated among Chinese people for thousands of years. They all express the Chinese character regarding honesty and trustworthiness. Over thousands of years of Chinese civilization, Chinese people not only praised the traditional virtues of sincerity and faithfulness, but carried them out in their every effort. It is also Chinese people's way of dealing with the world.
3. Pragmatism. Chinese people are very willing to be realistic and pragmatic. There is a saying: You reap what you sow, this reflects the pragmatism of the Chinese people. The Chinese pragmatism does not depend on mysterious and fanatical approaches, but employs a peaceful and realistic approach to the circumstances at hand. Chinese people are guided by the spirit of pragmatic approach in their considerations in all fields, including agriculture, industry, business, politics, academics and inter-personal relations. They deal with things carefully and calmly, prefer common sense and logic rather than impulsiveness or passion. With the spirit of being devoted to facts and pragmatic approach, China created a dazzling ancient culture lasting for over thousand years during the feudal society.
4. Diligence. In China, many people work overtime, leaving themselves very little time for leisure. By Chinese tradition, diligence is not only a spiritual strength aimed at achievement, but part of the moral principle guiding one's life. The Chinese believe diligence is in conformity with the course of human justice and natural law. In traditional Chinese society, people accumulated wealth little by little, and they look down on those who suddenly earn big money. When the reform and opening-up policy was adopted in China 30 years ago, the Chinese government called on the people to get rich by working hard. Although starting from a weak foundation, Chinese people have made remarkable achievements during last 3 decades through their hard work.
5. The collectiveness is superior to the individual. The traditional value of Chinese culture is formed on the basis of a collective orientation, as profoundly influenced by thousands of years of agricultural civilization and Confucianism. The collective relationship not only includes the relationship between an individual and the family, but also between the individual and the nation, society and other people. Confucianism provides a unique philosophy of life: the individual is but a tiny drop in the ocean and insignificant. Chinese people believe that with more people, there will be more strength, unity and solidarity can generate power. Thus, it is paramount to take the interest of the group, or the collective into account, and the individual must follow the will of the collective.
6. Loving peace. Agricultural civilization and self-sufficiency as well as the gentle and restrained character of the Chinese people have determined that China's foreign policy is prone to peace. Traditionally, Chinese people take the principle of harmony as a way of life and try their best to keep friendly and harmonious relation with others. In order to keep relationship harmonious, people treat each other with sincerity, tolerance and love, and do not interfere in other's business. China has its economic relations with other countries with a peaceful and mutually beneficial manner. In ancient time, China had business with other countries through the "Silk Road", Chinese silk, tea, porcelain arrived in Central Asia, Europe and Africa, and from these areas, a wide range of goods were imported into China at the same time, satisfying the needs of the people's life. Different religion and culture being exchanged, we can find colorful music, dance, painting, and sculpture throughout the way. The Silk Road is a trade route, but also a cultural road, the road of peace. Today, China adheres to the path of peaceful development, steadily enters into the international community. China's development has contributed to a more balanced world pattern, and the Chinese people make their efforts to promote the peaceful development of the world with their own peace and development.
"The 21st century will be the century in which the revitalization of Chinese culture takes place," projects Ji Xianlin, a renowned Chinese scholar, in his The 20th Century in China and I. The core value of Chinese culture has nourished the spiritual world generation after generation of the Chinese people, and serves as an important source of national cohesion and creativity. Today it has become the core competitiveness of China's cultural power.