Editor's note:

The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that the excellent traditional Chinese culture has a long history, is broad and profound, and is the crystallization of the wisdom of Chinese civilization, which contains the world for the public, the people for the state, the government with virtue, the reform of the old and the new, meritocracy, the unity of heaven and man, self-improvement, virtuousness, faith, harmony, kindness and kindness to neighbors, etc., which are important embodiments of the cosmology, tianxia, society, and morality accumulated by the Chinese people in their long-term production and life, and are highly compatible with the values and propositions of scientific socialism.

The Chinese's "cosmology, world view, social view, and moral view" reflect the long history and humanistic heritage of Chinese civilization, and are an important dimension for the world to understand China, the Chinese people, the Communist Party of China, and the Chinese nation. The "East-West Question" column of China News Service specially launched a series of plans to interpret the meaning and influence of the "four views".

Beijing, 6 Jun (ZXS) -- Question: What kind of "social outlook" does China's excellent traditional culture contain?

Author: Shen Xiaoyong Executive Director of Zhejiang Philosophical Society

The excellent traditional Chinese culture contains rich social values and propositions, which are the social exchanges and social governance methods accumulated by the Chinese people in their long-term production and life, which are not only the social expression of the ancient Chinese cosmology and tianxia view, but also highlight the unique moral and humanistic spirit, forming a unique social view.

Chinese culture emphasizes the social attributes of the people in terms of "social outlook", which embodies the ethical civilization characteristics of emphasizing responsibility first, obligation first, collective supremacy and harmony and symbiosis, which is very different from the conflicting thinking of Western civilization emphasizing that society is dominated by individual attributes, highlighting individual rights awareness, dominating and possessing others. In general, the "social outlook" in China's excellent traditional culture is embodied in the care of family and country feelings, the importance of human ethical order and the pursuit of a better society.

The people-based social concept of "the world is for the public"

Chinese culture has always advocated "self-cultivation, unity of family, governance of the country, and peace in the world", "University" especially emphasizes that "those who want to govern their country, first join their family", "Mencius" clouded "the foundation of the world is in the country, the foundation of the country is in the home, the foundation of the family is in the body", integrating the world, the country and the family, and profoundly interpreting the social concept of the unity of the family and the country, and the isomorphism of the family and the country. Home and country are two unique fields of traditional Chinese society, and the feelings of home and country have always flowed in the blood of Chinese.

People watch the first flag-raising ceremony of the New Year in Beijing's Tiananmen Square on January 2023, 1. Photo by Guo Haipeng

In the Analects, it is recorded that Zigong asked Confucius, "If you can help the people by giving to the people, what is it?" Can it be described as benevolent? Confucius replied, "Whatever is benevolent will also be holy!" ”。 Bo Shi Ji was the social ideal pursued by Confucius, and Mencius emphasized "kindness and benevolence, benevolence and love of things".

On this basis, Zhang Zai, a scholar of the Song Dynasty, put forward the idea of "people's compatriots, things and things", which was summarized by later generations of scholars as "people's compatriots and things", which is a major concept sublimation of traditional Chinese social outlook. "Minwu compatriots" emphasizes the love and righteousness of compatriots, and emphasizes the need to love each other among various social groups with the virtue of benevolence.

As the "Li Kei Li Yun" said, "The journey of the road is also the world's public." Choose the virtuous and the capable, and preach faith and cultivate harmony. Therefore, people do not have only their relatives, nor only sons and sons, so that the old may have some end, the strong will have some use, the young will have some growth, and the widow, lonely and sick will have something to support. "What is reflected here is the value pursuit of social care and fairness and justice.

Later generations of political practices and ideological discourses have continuously interpreted and expanded on this, such as the proposal in "Ming Yi to be interviewed", "Do not take advantage of one's own interests, but let the world benefit from them; Do not harm one's own harm, but let the world release its evil" and so on.

This is different from the Western social values of "individual freedom", which emphasizes the realization of individual rights in society, especially as a product of modern civil society and political development, Western society focuses on individual pursuit and the absoluteness of individual rights. Chinese civilization pays more attention to the community above the individual, and the collective is greater than the individual, and until today, it advocates the realization of common prosperity for all people.

The teacher explains the structure of the earth to the children. Photo by Zhou Hongfeng

"Mingde Chongli" human ethics social view

The construction of the traditional Chinese etiquette system has completed the construction of "rule by virtue" and "rule by etiquette", and the external expression of "virtue" is "etiquette". "Making ritual music" regulates the sacrificial behavior and personal morality, and takes the ritual as the center, expands it into a norm of social behavior, and completes the systematic construction of social order.

In the Zhou Dynasty etiquette and governance thought, the most basic principles of etiquette governance are "affinity" and "respect", and "kinship" requires father's kindness, son filial piety, brotherhood, and brotherhood; "Honor" emphasizes respecting one's dignity, not allowing misconduct by superiors, and subordinate nobles should obey the superior nobles. kinship, more of a family relationship; Respect, more about social and political relations.

In January 2023, at the opening ceremony of the Confucius Temple in Nanning, schoolchildren dressed in Hanfu toasted their parents with tea. Photo by Yu Xiangquan

Whether it is relatives or respect, they all emphasize distinguishing differences and defining ethics based on identity, so as to achieve the goal of "discipline the world". As Wang Guowei said: "The change of Chinese politics and culture is not dramatized at the time of Yin and Zhou", "The institutional ceremony of Zhou is the instrument of morality". It is not difficult to see that "making rituals and music" undertakes the unique social function of human ethics education. Through "propriety" to govern the country, stabilize the social welfare, and enable all social strata to live in harmony. Mr. Liang Shuming pointed out that Chinese society is an "ethical-based society".

In the Analects, it is mentioned that "the way is virtuous, the same is courteous, shameful and qualified", and Confucius advocated putting "virtue" and "propriety" in the first place in governing society. The value standard of "propriety, righteousness and shame" has enabled the continuation of Chinese civilization and has become one of the major characteristics of world civilization.

In Western culture, there is little emphasis on "etiquette" similar to China's. China's "propriety" is not a purely ethical category, nor is it political science, law, etc., but as a kind of "synthesis" in the above fields, it has become China's unique way of social governance.

In November 2022, a child took a photo of his parents on Juyongguan Road, Badaguan Scenic Area, Qingdao City, Shandong Province. Photo by Cai Yaqun

A pluralistic social outlook of "harmony and symbiosis"

Chinese culture has always attached importance to the principle of faith and harmony, and emphasized the way of social coexistence that "values peace". The concepts of cherishing peace, being kind to others, and promoting oneself and others are deeply rooted in the spirit of Chinese, and different groups and strata in society pay attention to compatibility rather than confrontation, cooperation without conflict, and order without chaos.

Liang Shuming's "Eastern and Western Culture and Its Philosophy" believes that the fundamental spirit of Western culture is "the desire to demand forward"; The fundamental spirit of Indian Buddhist culture is "intention to reflexively turn backwards"; The fundamental spirit of Chinese Confucian culture is "to reconcile and hold the middle." "The Mean" emphasizes, "To the neutral", "the one who is middle, the great base of the world; He who is also the one who is in peace, the way of the world."

"Chinese" talks about "harmony with real creatures, and the same does not continue", emphasizing that things must be harmonized with each other, and achieving harmony can enrich themselves and breed all things. The combination of the two concepts of "harmony" and "combination" is the unique cultural spiritual creation of the Chinese nation. "Gentlemen are harmonious but different, villains are the same but not harmonious", which is also the truth of "harmony".

The way to harmony is to achieve harmonious coexistence based on respect for differences. The multidimensional harmony of family, social and political space is a kind of concentric circle from near and far, that is, the multi-level harmony between man and others, man and nature, and man and heavenly way, which harmonizes various differences and contradictions and forms a state of harmony.

In August 2016, the grandchildren played in the Saihanba Mechanical Forest Farm. Photo by Yang Kejia

The social concept of harmony and symbiosis highlights the unique concept and beautiful pursuit of Chinese civilization, which is different from the values of Western civilization of "confrontation and conflict" and "you lose and I win". As sinologist An Le Zhe said, Western culture is based on individualism and has individuality, which will inevitably lead to the "limited game" of conflict and confrontation, which is the Cold War mentality of "one loss and one win"; Chinese civilization, on the other hand, embodies "relationship-based", has commonality, advocates a real "infinite game", and considers "one prosperity and one loss". Today, if mankind wants to move towards a community with a shared destiny, it can only watch and help each other, walk hand in hand, and cannot return to the old path of relying on war, colonization and plunder, otherwise human society will never be peaceful. (End)

About the Experts:

Shen Xiaoyong, Doctor of Philosophy, Director of the Department of Cultural Studies and United Front Theory Teaching and Research Department of the Party School of the Hangzhou Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, Director and Professor of the Urban Cultural Soft Power Research Center, Standing Director of the Zhejiang Marxist Society, Standing Director of the Zhejiang Philosophical Society, Evaluation Expert of the National Social Science Foundation, and Expert of the 14th Five-Year Plan of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, mainly engaged in the teaching and research of cultural philosophy and Chinese philosophy.

In recent years, focusing on the inheritance and innovation of China's excellent traditional culture, he has presided over and completed more than 10 national, provincial and ministerial projects, published many academic works such as "A Hundred Years in Retrospect: The Modern Realm of Confucianism", "From Tradition to Modernity: A Study on the Value Reconstruction of Moral Indoctrination", and published more than 100 articles in Guangming Daily, Study Times, Philosophical Research, Social Science Front, etc.