East-West Questions·China Dialogue｜How does Confucianism provide ideas for solving global challenges?

　　Recently, the international situation has been complicated and turbulent, and the competition between major powers has intensified political confrontation. The theme of the era of peace and development is facing the severe challenge of "zero-sum game".

　　As early as more than 2,000 years ago, the ancient Chinese sages proposed that "harmonious creatures, the same will not continue."

The famous thinker Confucius said, "Gentlemen are in harmony but not in harmony, and villains are in harmony but not in harmony", making the philosophical thought of "harmony in difference" the essence of Chinese culture with great vitality.

Between countries and civilizations, China's "harmony" culture not only demonstrates the great Confucian feelings of "taking the world as its own responsibility", but also brings the enlightenment of the times across the long river of history.

　　What kind of solutions can the eastern wisdom represented by Confucianism provide to eliminate disputes?

The debate between "kingly way" and "hegemony" still exists. How can multiple civilizations coexist and co-prosper in "harmony without diversity"?

An Lezhe, a world-renowned comparative philosopher between China and the West, an internationally renowned sinologist, and the president of the World Federation of Confucian Culture Research, recently visited China News Agency "East-West Questions China-Foreign Dialogue". Consultant Tian Chenshan started a dialogue.

Video: [Dongxiwen·chinadialogue] Chinese and foreign philosophers: Confucianism belongs to the world, and today’s world also needs Confucianism

Excerpts from the conversation are as follows:

China News Agency reporter: How should Chinese "harmony" culture be translated and understood?

What is the essential difference from the Western "one-many-dualism"?

An Lezhe:

The Chinese concept of "harmony" cannot be directly translated into English "harmony", but should be translated into "achieve harmony", reflecting a sense of process.

"Harmony" in Chinese culture is an overall concept, including rationality and aesthetics.

To understand the "harmony" culture, one must stand in the cultural semantic environment of China's "one does not distinguish between many".

The so-called "one" and "many" are inseparable interrelationships, that is, the particularity of the monadic individual forms a state of symbiosis and coexistence with its diverse environment; this is a state of tension that can also Produces harmonious natural dynamics.

Western culture, on the other hand, is a "one-many-dual" value and narrative system.

"One-many duality" means that all things are binary opposites, all are monadic individuals, and the state is independent and contradictory.

　　"And" can be understood as an optimizing symbiosis.

The Chinese love to use "family" as a cultural metaphor, because the family is a way to optimize the symbiotic system.

For the sake of the family, you can do anything, and the family can also achieve everyone. The family must support each other.

It can be said that Chinese culture places family at the highest level of value, which is the key for foreigners to understand Chinese culture.

Therefore, Chinese culture does not pursue world domination, but emphasizes peaceful coexistence with other countries.

Video: [Dongxiwen·chinadialogue] An Lezhe: "Harmony but difference" is the wall?

The leeches serve as badgers

Tian Chenshan:

"Harmony but diversity" is not simply diversity.

Taking music as an example, the notes are different, but different notes can only show their uniqueness in an ensemble, and it is precisely because of the characteristics of the phonemes that the real "harmony" is produced.

"Harmony but difference" is not about singing different tunes, but "harmony" in a beautiful piece of music.

In layman's terms, "he" is not simply "you are you, I am me, and we are together", but no matter how different you are, you can get it in the sense of "life and life" that "one does not distinguish between many". "and".

　　The "harmony" culture is seeking harmony by knowing differences. It is a gentleman's culture of "seeking harmony", not a petty culture of seeking "sameness".

A gentleman is "harmonious but different", because a gentleman does not care about "sameness" and "difference".

"He" means the relationship and the inner connection of things, which is in sharp contrast to the Western "one-many-dual" culture.

Data map: On June 26, 2022, the audience visited the "Jin Kingdom" special exhibition at the Nanjing Museum.

The picture shows the kui dragon pattern chime bells on display attracting the attention of the audience.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Yang Bo

China News Agency reporter: At present, conflicts continue around the world, and the East and the West have different understandings of war.

For example, "Sun Tzu's Art of War" put forward the idea of ​​"cautious warfare", while "On War" and other Western works put more emphasis on how to destroy the enemy.

What is the difference between China and the West in their approach to war and peace?

Anlezhe:

The Western concept of war regards victory as the only goal, and war is the pursuit of fame and glory.

But China pays attention to "civil and military", and the goal of war is not victory, but "righteousness", which is the "righteousness" of benevolence and righteousness; "righteousness" is also a goal of optimizing the symbiotic system.

"Yi" refers to both morality and meaning.

If you want to pursue the most meaningful and moral life, you should rely entirely on "literature", but when unavoidable situations arise, you must use "wu". This is an attitude of Chinese culture towards "war".

Just like the spirit expressed in "Sun Tzu's Art of War", "Using soldiers" is a last resort when deciding the fate of life and death. If there is even a slight possibility of not fighting, don't send troops.

Tian Chenshan:

The concept of war in the West is based on "limited games" and "zero-sum games", emphasizing "win and take all". "Peace" means "I conquer you and you submit to me". There is no distinction between justice and injustice.

　　China's concept of war is fundamentally different from that of the West.

The Chinese character "Wu" itself means "stop Ge", which is unique to Chinese culture.

China's war (concept) is an extension of the idea of ​​"benevolence and righteousness", that is, "wars must be well-known", for the sake of benevolence and righteousness.

Chinese Go can best express this kind of thinking, that is, to avoid and reduce the losses and casualties of both sides as much as possible.

"Mencius" also fully explained this, not to put the other party to death, but to control it.

Therefore, China's war thinking is based on benevolence, righteousness and people's support as the greatest strength, not just weapons.

The picture shows the ancient chess score "Core Throwing Purine II: ?

Slightly photographed

China News Agency reporter: When Mr. Sun Yat-sen compared Eastern and Western civilizations, he once proposed "kingdom" and "hegemonism".

How should we understand the debate between "kingdom" and "overbearing" now?

Anlezhe:

American history professor James Hankins (James Hankins) proposed in the book "Virtue Politics" (Virtue Politics) that the Italian Renaissance (achievements) has very little to do with the political system. What matters has to do with the level of education and ethics of the leadership.

The "kingly way" reflects how the leadership can improve their cognition and morality through education, be broad-minded and have a strong spirit of tolerance; at the same time, establish a beneficial institutional system.

"Wang Dao" emphasizes integrity.

Tian Chenshan:

The "royalism" and "hegemonism" that Sun Yat-sen said at the time are still relevant and meaningful today. Today's "hegemonism" is still the "hegemonism" of Sun Yat-sen's era, and the essence has not changed.

　　What is "hegemony"?

It is an individualistic ideology that exists in the ideological culture.

"Hegemony" does not talk about benevolence and justice, but only about who has greater strength, and competes for interests by strength.

　　What is "royalism"?

The "kingly way" is benevolent and people-oriented politics, not simply about force.

"The Way of Benevolence and Righteousness" is committed to safeguarding the interests of the people and winning the hearts of the people.

The current "kingly way" is socialism, which talks about the culture of "harmony" and the word "public". Socialism talks about the politics of the people.

Video: [Dongxiq·chinadialogue] Tian Chenshan: We must be vigilant against today's "hegemonism" still rampant

China News Agency reporter: What is the significance of "benevolence and righteousness" and "harmony" culture to global cooperation?

Anlezhe:

The biggest problem in the world right now is decentralization.

When it comes to "more than one", we have "many", but currently lack "one", where can this "one" come from?

China's history can inspire the world.

China's "harmony" culture and the concept of family also belong to the culture of all mankind. It is the future of global development to let the world know more about the concept of "harmony".

　　At present, the world is facing many common challenges, such as epidemics, climate warming, and terrorism.

There are many things that China cannot solve by itself, and neither can the United States. Only cooperation can find a solution. "Harmony but difference" is the only way to solve today's global problems.

In addition to building a "community", what other options do we have?

Tian Chenshan:

The Chinese plan proposed from the culture of "harmony without diversity" is in the right direction, and it is in line with a philosophical pursuit of human symbiosis in the world. The whole world should follow the path of "harmony without diversity" instead of fighting endlessly.

"Harmony" has a premise, and it can only be realized at the level of a community of shared future for mankind. The "Belt and Road" is a practical way.

This is a turning point in the world rules of the "zero-sum game".

There will be many opponents and saboteurs, and there will be great resistance, but we must have confidence, maintain rational thinking, and deal with specific issues on a case-by-case basis.

　　To solve world problems, it is not enough to just talk about "finite games" like "you lose and I win". To return to "infinite games", only win-win can be done.

Confucianism is the culture that provides a win-win idea.