China News Agency, Beijing, April 11th: Ke Leshan: What is the civilizational basis of "world ethics"?

  China News Agency reporter Luo Haibing Shi Yuanfeng

  Hans kung, a famous sinologist, once put forward the theory of "world ethics", arguing that "without a new paradigm of international relations based on global ethical standards, there will be no global peace and justice".

When Kong Hansi passed away in 2021, the discussion on world ethics entered a new transformation and orientation.

What is the civilizational basis of "world ethics"?

What wisdom can Chinese Confucianism offer the world?

  A few days ago, Ke Leshan, director of the China Program of the German Xi Reid Foundation, said in an exclusive interview with China News Agency "East West Questions" that there is no world ethics based on cultural traditions such as Christianity, Islam and Hinduism, and there is no such thing as Confucianism. World ethics, only equal dialogue is the civilizational foundation of "world ethics".

The following is a summary of the interview transcript:

China News Agency reporter: You studied in China to study spiritual humanism. How did Chinese Confucianism attract you and make you interested?

In the process of learning and disseminating Chinese Confucianism, Western Sinology scholars, including you, are affected by the barrier of their mother tongue?

Ke Leshan:

I graduated from the Department of Philosophy at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

I have taken the Chinese Philosophy (Chinese Philosophy) course. Because of the simple translation, this course is a little tasteless, which makes me mistakenly think that the Chinese spiritual tradition has no modern value.

  Later I studied comparative literature in Europe and decided to study a non-European language before my PhD.

At that time (2008) my New Zealand friend happened to be working in Taipei, so I decided to go to him, hoping that in two years I would be able to read Chinese articles and do a PhD in comparative literature related to Chinese culture.

  During my studies, I got to know Kai Marchal, an associate professor at the Department of Philosophy at National Chengchi University, who is a German.

He gave me a copy of Mou Zongsan's "Characteristics of Chinese Philosophy", which broke the simple impression that Chinese philosophy left on me, made me begin to grasp the essence of Chinese philosophy, and aroused my respect and respect for Chinese learning. I am also annoyed by my previous neglect of modern Confucianism.

Considering the reason, the mother tongue barrier is one of them.

There are not many good translations on Chinese philosophy. Later, when I translated Tang Junyi (the representative of modern Neo-Confucianism), I also found the same thing. It is difficult to translate well.

  In 2016, when I met Du Weiming, Dean of the Institute of Advanced Humanities of Peking University, I also found that Mr. Du did not translate his own works, or wrote directly in Chinese or directly in English.

What convinced me to enter the "Confucian world" was Mr. Du's English writing, which allowed English readers to understand the contribution of the Confucian spirit.

Confucius Forest in Qufu, Shandong.

Photo by Li Junsheng issued by China News Agency

China News Agency reporter: In addition to language, what obstacles are there in the spread of Confucianism?

Ke Leshan:

There are two major obstacles.

One is in China.

Civilized dialogue is not to force the other side to respect your attitude, but to have the courage to criticize yourself first.

In the past 200 years, Western countries have indeed not embodied this spirit. They have always despised Chinese culture, and often despised the Chinese nation, believing that their own culture is the future of all mankind.

China's economic development in the 21st century has been paid attention to and respected by the world.

By the same token, China should have the courage to criticize itself publicly.

  The bigger problem, however, comes from outside China.

Most non-East Asian foreigners have no concept of traditional Chinese culture.

Even in elite Western universities, less than 5% of the people have heard of Mencius, and even fewer know about the Neo-Confucianists of the Song and Ming Dynasties, such as Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming. I am afraid that only those who have graduated from the Sinology Department have an understanding.

China's attitude towards the world is different. Socrates, Shakespeare, Leonardo da Vinci and other important figures of the Western Renaissance are not only famous in the world, but also familiar in China. indirect results.

The Confucian tradition has a future not only in China, but also for the world.

Based on national interests, sooner or later in the West, there will be "Western sports and Chinese use", but this is not for personal spiritual development, and it does not count as a real dialogue between civilizations.

  In principle, the Internet age can slowly overcome the difficulties of cross-cultural communication.

The Chinese government and the Chinese people have a responsibility to embody the traditional Confucian spirit of dialogue.

The Western world has a greater responsibility to absorb traditional Chinese culture from scratch, but this process has not yet begun. In Western countries dominated by the United States, it is difficult to imagine that people will absorb Chinese culture.

Sooner or later Western countries will realize that they have no choice but to let the next generation learn Chinese and the history of Chinese thought.

Tourists visit Beijing Confucius Temple and Guozijian Museum.

Photo by Fan Shumei issued by China News Agency

China News Service reporter: How do you understand the diversity between Chinese and Western cultures?

What symbiotic problems need to be overcome to achieve a true dialogue of civilizations?

Ke Leshan:

In addition to language, the biggest obstacle is the "Lenin" problem.

  When most Westerners look at China, they don't feel a "post-Leninist" country with humanity.

Under the new Cold War mentality, most foreigners suspect that China's "guoxue" phenomenon is a new cultural field of Leninism that has been instrumentalized and weaponized.

  In principle, the West has no problem in dialogue with South Korea and Japan, so it is not an East-West issue, nor a Confucian cultural circle issue, but a "Lenin" issue.

Many Westerners attack China ignorantly because of this, not because they oppose China, nor because they don't appreciate China's comprehensive development after reform and opening up, but because they don't believe in any "one-party system" represented by Lenin.

The world can have an equal dialogue with Confucius, but there is no possibility of dialogue with Lenin, only national interests and suspicions.

  Similarly, it may be more difficult for Chinese people to believe the colonial and imperial history of the so-called "democratic" countries in the West, but at least in the past decade or so, the West has begun to seriously reflect.

The so-called "woke movement" has some exaggerated and dangerous features, but there is nothing wrong with reflecting on one's own privileges and cultural crimes.

China News Agency reporter: Kong Hansi, a well-known sinologist, once put forward the theory of "world ethics", arguing that "without a new paradigm of international relations based on global ethical standards, there will be no global peace and justice".

How to define world ethical standards?

Ke Leshan:

World ethics transcends countries. It is a cross-cultural concept based on different specific civilizations including the Chinese civilization with thousands of years of history.

Strictly speaking, there is no world ethic based on cultural traditions such as Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism, and there is no world ethic based on Confucianism. Only equal dialogue is the civilizational foundation of "world ethic".

Every cultural tradition has its own dark days and great moments that inspire individual spiritual development, all of which have made irreplaceable contributions to world ethics, world culture and world spirit.

  The world is very big, and different cultural traditions can join the long river of world culture from their own specific starting points, but they should not forget their origins, nor should they pretend that their origins are greater than the long river of world culture.

Everyone can only have a serious dialogue with the world on the basis of their unique cultural and educational background and make irreplaceable contributions to world culture.

Well-known sinologist Kong Hansi attended the Second World Congress of Sinology in Beijing.

China News Agency issued a micro-photograph

China News Service reporter: In the future dialogue between China and the West and mutual learning between civilizations, what wisdom can Chinese Confucianism provide for solving world problems?

Ke Leshan:

The achievements brought by the Western Enlightenment culture, including the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution, and Marxism, have jointly promoted the development and progress of all mankind in the past 200 years, but this does not mean that they are all 100% popular.

  Enlightenment cultures such as the Industrial Revolution, the French Revolution, and Marxism have their own shortcomings. Many important critics in modern Western culture have emphasized these shortcomings, but the Confucian tradition can help all human beings to reflect from different perspectives.

Humanistic traditions that transcend instrumental rationality exist in different civilizations, including modern Western civilization, but the wisdom of Chinese tradition is irreplaceable.

If you don’t understand Chinese characters, it’s not easy to grasp its particularity by translation alone, but every citizen of the world should at least read good translations of key texts such as the Analects of Confucius, and understand important milestones in the history of Confucianism.

  The world has not yet realized that there is too little understanding of China, and under such circumstances, it is difficult to have a dialogue with modern Chinese civilization.

(Finish)

Dozens of doctors from all over the world recite the Chinese and English versions of the Analects collectively at the Nishan Shengyuan Academy in the hometown of Confucius.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Liu Guanguan

Interviewee Profile:

  Jonathan Keir, a New Zealander, born in 1982, Ph.D. and post-doctoral fellow at the University of Tübingen, Germany, Director of the China Project of the German Xi Reid Foundation, taught at the University of Tübingen, Germany, and was an associate researcher at the Institute of Advanced Humanities of Peking University (2018-2020).

His representative works include "Four Humanisms in One Day" (English, 2021), "Ode to Beijing" (English, 2020), "From Global Ethics to World Spirit?"

(English, 2018), etc., recently focusing on the global tradition of humanistic psychologist Erich Fromm.