China News Service, Beijing, March 23: How can Eastern and Western cultures better understand each other?
——Exclusive interview with Bo Guoqiang, professor at the School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China
Author Zeng Yue Guoxuan
Having lived in China for more than ten years, Roland Boer, a professor at the School of Philosophy at Renmin University of China, often introduces himself to his friends as "an Australian who studies and teaches Marxist philosophy in China." As a scholar, he is accustomed to looking at problems with dialectical thinking. He has always paid attention to the changes in Chinese society and the development of traditional culture, and observed the exchanges and interactions between China and the world.
How should Eastern and Western cultures better understand and appreciate each other? How to maintain the driving force of traditional culture to “innovate”? Recently, Bo Guoqiang accepted an exclusive interview with China News Service's "East-West Question" in Beijing, recounting his many years of experience in China and answering the above questions.
Video: [East-West Question] Bo Guoqiang, an Australian who studies Ma Zhe in China: How can East and West understand each other better?
Source: China News Network
The interview transcript is summarized as follows:
China News Service reporter: How did you first get involved with China?
Bo Guoqiang:
The first time I came to China was in 2007. Since then, my visits to China have become more and more frequent, and my stay in China has been longer each time. About five years later, my mentor said to me that I can see that you are very interested in Chinese things, but if you want to understand China better, you need to work here.
I followed my mentor’s advice and started working at Renmin University of China in 2013. Over the past 11 years, as I have learned more about China, my academic journey has evolved.
Initially, I studied Western culture and philosophy. Later, my academic interests began to shift eastward, paying attention to the relationship between Western philosophical traditions and Marxism. I became deeply interested in China, especially the development after the founding of New China and reform and opening up.
Therefore, I did a lot of research on Chinese history and tried to explain China's history and development to foreigners. China has thousands of years of civilization and has formed a unique cultural gene and identity, which deeply attracted me. One of the basic principles I have followed in my academic research over the years is that research and study must be conducted in the original language whenever possible. This was the motivation for me to start learning Chinese - I had to be able to read the raw material in Chinese and understand it and study it.
On the evening of July 6, 2013, the 12th "Chinese Bridge" Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students opened in Changsha, Hunan. The contestants from Australia raised their arms and cheered for themselves on the stage. Photo by Yang Huafeng
I started learning Chinese 10 years ago. For foreigners, Chinese is one of the most difficult languages in the world to learn. But I think Chinese characters are very interesting, so "reading" and "writing" can be learned relatively quickly, but "listening" and "speaking" take longer. Some people say that it takes about 10 years to learn Chinese to the point where you can use it flexibly, and I have persisted for 10 years.
China News Service reporter: What kind of country do you think China is? According to your observations in front-line teaching, what are the characteristics of China’s youth?
Bo Guoqiang:
I have been to Tibet, Yunnan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, Heilongjiang, Shaanxi and many other places. I have enjoyed opera, song and dance and other arts and culture from various places, and visited many museums. From people’s daily conversations to writing styles and academic discourse, expressions that quote ancient Chinese famous quotes and allusions can be seen everywhere. Chinese culture is embedded in people's daily lives and continues to this day in a powerful way.
This is what I find most interesting. Various cultural expressions demonstrate various aspects of China's long culture, as well as the diverse contributions of different ethnic groups and regions to Chinese culture. Chinese culture has diversity, but it also maintains unity amidst diversity. While developing unique cultural traditions, various ethnic groups and regions also make important contributions to the overall identity of culture.
Every place in China has its own uniqueness. Yan'an is my favorite place. I have been there three times. The local life is very simple. In my opinion, if you want to understand New China, you need to go to Yan'an. In Yan'an, we can see the foundation of New China.
Bo Guoqiang visited Yan'an. Photo provided by interviewee
Over the years, what I personally feel most clearly and what I think is the most important is that there is an inherent force that runs through Chinese civilization, culture, and people—diligence. The same is true for Chinese students and other youth groups. They are very hard-working and are never afraid to face new things and challenges, which I admire very much.
China News Service reporter: How do you understand "combining the basic principles of Marxism with the excellent traditional Chinese culture"?
Bo Guoqiang:
This topic covers many aspects. What interests me most is the connection between the basic principles of Marxism and the excellent traditional Chinese culture.
There is a dialectical way of thinking in the excellent traditional Chinese culture. Whether it is the interactive relationship between early Confucianism and Taoism, or philosophical concepts such as "Yin and Yang", they all look at the world in a comprehensive and dialectical way.
On April 18, 2008, hundreds of community residents in Huairou District, Beijing drew a scroll of "Traditional Chinese Virtues" on the spot. Photo by Bu Xiangdong
Materialist dialectics is the scientific methodology of Marxism. Therefore, in my opinion, when Marxism entered China and was combined with China’s excellent traditional culture, the core element of the “encounter” between the two is dialectics.
"Integrating the basic principles of Marxism with the excellent traditional Chinese culture" is a dialectical process. The Chinese people follow dialectical materialism and sublate it based on specific reality. For more than a century, Marxism has taken root more and more deeply in China, and China's excellent traditional culture has also provided fertile soil and sufficient nutrients for the development of Marxism, allowing it to thrive.
China News Service reporter: How should Eastern and Western cultures better understand and appreciate each other?
Bo Guoqiang:
Currently, the West is facing multiple economic, political, social, cultural and other crises. Some forgotten traditional Western values are helpful in solving the crisis. For example, values in Western classics such as "love your neighbor as yourself" and "share all things in common" have now been abandoned and replaced by possessive individualism.
On March 7, 2024, the "Beautiful and Shared Hospitality Shandong" cultural tourism promotion event was held in San Francisco, USA. The Weifang Kite, an intangible cultural heritage project from Shandong, attracted guests to stop. Photo by Liu Guanguan
One of the root causes of the multiple crises in the West is the sense of civilizational superiority. Today, the situation has also undergone some changes. Although many Westerners still like to blame others for their problems, some people have begun to look internally and reflect on themselves. It is this situation that makes people more willing to engage in dialogue and communication. When people are unable to solve problems on their own, they can try to ask others for help, "What can we learn from you" and vice versa.
In my opinion, what the West can learn from China’s “two combinations”, especially the “second combination”, is to review and inherit the essence of traditional culture and create new value in the new era.
In fact, Eastern and Western cultures resonate and are connected in many aspects, such as the Western concept of "all things are for the common good" and the Chinese concept of "the world is for the common good". The world is developing rapidly, and I think Eastern and Western thinkers can have more discussions about the commonalities in traditional values.
On November 8, 2016, the "The World is for the Public - An Art Exhibition to Commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Birth of Dr. Sun Yat-sen" organized by the Central Committee of the Kuomintang, the Central Museum of Literature and History, and the China Artists Association opened in Beijing. Photo by Xiong Ran
China News Service reporter: What is the value of traditional culture in today’s world? How to maintain the driving force of traditional culture to “innovate”?
Bo Guoqiang:
There is currently a trend that some parts of the world, influenced by some Western countries, use an "either-or" thinking to view the relationship between tradition and modernization, believing that to advance the modernization process, existing traditions and traditional culture must be overthrown. This “either/or” thinking is a problem that needs to be addressed.
China’s approach is worth learning from the West. It is not a simple and crude abandonment of traditional culture, but a sublation, some promotion and some abandonment. In the new context, dialectical selection, reform and innovation, taking the essence and discarding the dross, weeding out the old and bringing out the new, so that the excellent traditional Chinese culture can give birth to new ones in the inheritance. culture and values. After all, without the influence of excellent traditional culture, today's development achievements would not be possible.
On the morning of March 20, 2024, students from China and the United States conducted exchanges at Peking University, and two middle school students from Washington State in the United States experienced Guqin. Photo by Yi Haifei
Maintaining the motivation to "innovate" traditional culture cannot be separated from the participation of young people. They are the key to continuing the past and opening up the future. With creativity, young people can find new methods and create new culture from history and tradition. Through inheritance and development from generation to generation, they can create new forms of civilization and form a continuous driving force. In this regard, I am full of expectations for future developments. (over)
Interviewee profile:
Roland Boer, an adjunct professor at the School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China, was selected for the 2023 National Foreign Experts Project. PhD in Philosophy from McGill University in Canada. He was a professor at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Newcastle in Australia. He has served as a visiting professor in Norway, Finland, Denmark, Greenland, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Germany, Romania, Bulgaria and other countries. The main research fields are Marxist philosophy, political philosophy, Marxist literary criticism, and religious critical theory.
In recent years, Bo Guoqiang has paid attention to research fields such as "Marxism in China" and "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics", and published monographs such as "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics: A Guide for Foreigners", "Engels: The Foundation of Socialist Governance", "Socialism in Power: About "History and Theory of Socialist Governance", and carried out research projects such as "The History of Marxist Philosophy in China since 1978".