(East-West Question) Special Plan for the Root of Civilization (3) No. 3: Long Anzhi: What misunderstandings exist about Chinese civilization in Western society?
China News Agency, Beijing, February 23rd, Question: What misunderstandings of Chinese civilization exist in Western society?
——Interview with American writer and political economist Long Anzhi
China News Agency reporter Wu Xu
"At that time, overseas media reported on China ten years ago. In the 1980s, they reported on the 1960s, and in the 1990s, they were still reporting on the 1970s and 1980s." American writer Laurence Brahm recalled When he first came to China 40 years ago, he said that the China at that time was different from what he knew before, so he decided to try to record the China he saw with his own eyes.
Over the past 40 years, Long Anzhi's "Chinese Story" has covered a wide range of areas. He has visited many places and interviewed many people.
In his opinion, when foreigners write about China, they must return to writing about such a group of people, their system, their life and their culture.
Recently, in an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "East and West Questions", Long Anzhi sighed at the development and changes of China in the past 40 years, and expressed his hope that through his "Searching for China" series of works, he will pass on the excellent traditional culture accumulated in Chinese history. More Western readers, breaking cultural barriers and achieving better communication.
The following is a summary of the interview transcript:
China News Service reporter: What do you think is the essential difference between Eastern and Western cultures?
Long Anzhi:
The differences in values between the East and the West are largely caused by different ways of thinking.
Whereas Western ways of thinking are based on duality, Asian philosophy seeks non-duality.
In Western society, there are ideologies of antagonism, polarization, exclusion, expulsion and conflict.
In Western thought, there is only black and white, right and wrong, good and bad, man and nature, them and us, and so on.
This duality or duality permeates many aspects of political, economic and social life.
Asian philosophies seek harmony, balance, and collective consciousness, with a profound understanding that humans cannot conquer nature, but only exist as part of the natural world.
We see that in Chinese culture, there are concepts of "yin" and "yang".
This pair of concepts also exists in some countries in Southeast Asia and South Asia.
"Thirty-six Strategies" says that "yin is within yang, not the opposite of yang".
These all try to explain that things are not binary oppositions, but as a unity, interconnected, interactive and synergistic.
It is emphasized not to judge and reject unilaterally, but to support and develop multilateral relations and seek consensus.
The venue design of Guangzhou Nansha Gymnasium combines the characteristics of marine culture with the connotation of martial arts, reflecting the realm of the oriental philosophy of "harmony between yin and yang, harmony between man and nature".
Photo by China News Agency Ji Dong
These ancient Asian philosophical ideas learn from and integrate with each other, and are connected by the ancient Silk Roads on land and sea, not only for trade but also for the exchange of ideas.
In modern society, however, people are gradually losing touch with philosophies and values that are in many ways more esoteric and complex than our modern achievements.
Now is the time to find our roots and bring these traditions back because they can point the way forward.
China News Service: Are there any misunderstandings of Chinese civilization in Western society?
Long Anzhi:
In my early works such as "Looking for Shangri-La", I traveled through remote areas in western China in search of China's core cultural values of respect for nature, mutual respect between people, and harmony with nature.
In the fast-developing competition, because many cannot be felt in big cities, I went to rural areas, ethnic areas, and looked for these values in pure form.
The idyllic scenery of Shangri-La, Yunnan.
Photo by Liu Guoxing issued by China News Agency
Today, I see a revival of Chinese culture and traditional values, especially among many young people.
Like if the roots are deep, no storm can bring down a tree.
But if the roots are shallow, the tree is vulnerable in a storm.
Likewise, time-honored, traditional values play a very important role in the resilience of a nation and nation.
To understand Chinese cultural values, it is necessary to look at the core pillars of Chinese culture over thousands of years.
Taoism requires adapting to sudden changes and the forces of nature, Buddhist thinking means seeing the past, present and future at the same time, the essence of anything depends on the angle from which it is viewed, thus turning negative into positive; Confucianism empowers Chinese to cope with Organizational capacity for any situation and crisis, being able to take full advantage of the breadth and breadth of the organization to respond to all situations and crises.
These are the three aspects that are always present in the "collective subconscious" of all Chinese people, and it is also the resilience that people in Western countries do not have.
China News Service: What challenges and opportunities do you think China's development and changes have brought to the coexistence of Eastern and Western civilizations?
Long Anzhi:
In the more than 40 years I have lived in China, China has carried out many reforms and formulated many policies to overcome challenges, and I have observed and participated in them.
In the face of crises or challenges, the Chinese people have consistently united and cooperated, and the government has carefully coordinated relevant policies.
Experience has proven time and time again that Chinese leaders can deal with crises with a clear and rational mind.
It seems that the people and the government cooperate and overcome difficulties together, which seems to have been deeply rooted in the subconscious of both sides.
The Chinese word for "crisis" contains two characters: "risk" means "danger" and "machine" means opportunity.
In Chinese history, the country and its people have responded to every crisis and challenge.
They united as one and dealt with it together to overcome the "crisis".
What's more, they turn "crisis" into "opportunity" every time to achieve reconstruction, growth and further development.
Over the past four decades, China has made unprecedented achievements in the face of the daunting challenges of eradicating poverty, promoting education and developing the economy.
Today, China has completely eliminated absolute poverty and has become a model for economic growth and national development.
China has become a global leader in renewable energy and green finance by tackling pollution and the climate crisis by building an ecological civilization.
China also attaches importance to intelligent infrastructure, which enables commercial interconnection, as the core of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative.
Many developing countries have been brought together in a community with a shared future for mankind.
An employee of an oil-hydrogen joint construction station in Yanqing, Beijing, is adding green hydrogen energy to vehicles for the Winter Olympics.
Photo by Hu Qingming issued by China News Agency
In addition, special mention should be made of the government's ability to respond quickly to crises.
In 1949, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, its organizational structure continued from the grassroots to the core of the government.
This system of government organization is strong and resilient, and it is built on the common characteristics of the Chinese people that have become an inherent part of their culture and response to crises.
These cultural factors make the Chinese people resilient and responsive in the face of crises, turning each crisis into a new opportunity, and this time around as well.
After the crisis is reconstruction, China will enter a new era of medical and health reform, community health services, and technological research and development at all levels.
China News Agency reporter: You created the "Finding China" series of works to record many Chinese stories. In your opinion, how should China and the United States communicate and learn from each other's civilizations?
Long Anzhi:
There seems to be an ancient formula for Sino-US relations.
In 1972, "ping-pong diplomacy" opened the door to President Nixon's visit to China and drew a blueprint for the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the United States.
This was fairly simple and straightforward given the fairly complex world environment at the time.
An American table tennis team came to play against the Chinese table tennis team.
A conversation about sports begins, followed by an exchange of goodwill.
In today's complex and ever-changing situation, perhaps we need a new form of "ping-pong diplomacy".
There is no doubt that culture and sports are the basis of communication between people.
Like everyone loves Bruce Lee or Jackie Chan movies.
Mixed martial arts and ultimate fighting are very popular in the US right now, and many of the truly great boxers grew up in the martial arts tradition.
As we all know, the concept of mixed martial arts began with Bruce Lee, who chose and combined different traditions, and his famous fight scene in the movie "Dragon and Tiger" laid the foundation for mixed martial arts.
People all over the world turn to kung fu and martial arts, not for fighting, but for the spirit of Chinese culture, perseverance, perseverance, respect and harmony.
In the minds of many disadvantaged and minority groups, kung fu is a symbol of justice and resistance to injustice, and contains the values expressed in traditional Chinese kung fu.
Recently, I had the privilege of directing the documentary "In Search of Kung Fu".
The film explores the origins of martial arts and takes me and the film team back to where the legend of the Shaolin Temple began.
By examining the traditional heritage of Chinese Wushu, we realized that Wushu is not about fighting but struggle, and there are some important values inherent in Wushu, including tenacity, loyalty, respect, harmony with nature, balance, middle way, pragmatism, and taking advantage of the situation , empty and nonviolent.
Importantly, I don't think martial arts should be translated as "martial arts".
The word "wu" consists of two parts, "zhi" (meaning "stop") and "ge" (meaning "weapon"), so "wushu" should be accurately translated as "non-violent art".
In February 2016, the Huntington Library in Los Angeles, USA held a Chinese New Year garden party. The Henan Shaolin Temple monks performed wonderful martial arts at the garden party.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Mao Jianjun
At the heart of everything is nonviolence.
Conflict is not worth it because no one benefits from it.
Therefore, if the United States really sticks to the nonviolent doctrine that Martin Luther King once advocated, then through Kung Fu, there should be a lot to talk about between China and the United States, and a positive dialogue can begin.
Many of the world's problems could be avoided if U.S. congressmen practiced Tai Chi every morning.
A martial artist, trained in both fighting techniques and cultural aspects of mental management and emotional control, is the last to provoke a fight and the first to avoid it.
The cultural value embodied in kung fu should be regarded as a "common value".
It is hoped that this spirit can help the dialogue between China and the United States.
Loyalty and respect are needed today more than ever.
Different countries and political parties need to learn to respect each other, rather than blindly confront each other on every issue.
Preventing going astray and falling into unmanageable extremes applies not only to personal beliefs, but also to political postures.
(over)
Interviewee Profile:
Laurence Brahm is an American writer, political economist, and senior researcher at the Globalization Think Tank (CCG).
Long Anzhi has lived and worked in China for 40 years, and has written and published more than 30 works including "The Great Opening: Americans Experience China's 40 Years of Reform and Opening Up" and "China's Century". Many documentaries directed by him have won many international awards.
Winner of the 2019 Chinese Government Friendship Award and the 15th China Book Special Contribution Award.
From the perspective of comparing Chinese and Western cultures, he explained the major changes in China's reform and opening up, described the earth-shaking changes in Chinese society, and provided a valuable example for countries around the world to think, explore and balance new models of global governance in the future.