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  “八一”梦到“十一”   - [梦境奇缘]

Tag: [ ]

一觉醒来,发现已经是81日了,不过想想刚刚梦到的好象不太对,居然梦到“十一”去了。这个“十一”不是去旅游呀的什么的,是梦到了1984年的101日。不过梦到的事有点迷糊,记得不是很清楚,只有这个日子是记得清清楚楚的。

现实中的1984101日又是怎样的呢?今天闲来无事回忆回忆。那时自己还在读小学,应该是一年级,在这之前居然是不知道“十一”这个日子的(俺没上过幼儿园)。因为开始上学了,以后不能总到外婆家去玩了,而且外婆家离县城比较的近(县城总是有好玩的东西的),刚好趁这个日子那几天就在外婆家过了(刚好逢上周未,那时“十一”好象只放一天,记不太清楚了)。只记得那天跟几位阿姨到县城去逛,那时那么小,现在根本已经记不起来玩过什么东西了。上述的东西跟梦到的一点都不搭界呀。

想起来了,84年国庆阅兵,想到这,马上与梦连起来了,邓小平、解决**问题、风雨欲来之势(梦里梦到的,具体不是很清楚了)。不过那时TD没那样猖獗,84年到今年刚好是20年,现在TD很猖狂呀。今年“十一”会怎样呢?

不过类似的梦倒是做过几个。今天记一记

在去年的时候做过一梦,中日在东海一场由摩擦引起的大战,“八.八”舰队是灰飞烟灭,接着J8-2飞临东京上空(续航力好长呀)。狗日的动也不敢动,老美可能也震慑于“八.八”舰队的覆灭没吭声。就此一战而定天下。很符合我“一战而王”的思想。全梦没看到过一枪一弹(“八.八”舰队覆灭没梦到,梦里只是作为J8-2飞临东京上空的前提出现的),实乃战争中的最高境界。

就在几个月前,还梦到S-27在暴雨中起飞,机场跑道真厉害呀,外面是齐膝深的水,跑道上的积水只是齐踝高。不过遗憾的是那时我是地勤人员,真不知在那种暴雨中起飞S-27会有什么感觉。

 
紫冠道人 发表于 2004-08-02  08:44 |  评论(0) | 引用(trackback0) 


 

  都江堰:一个凝固的制度   - [他山之石]

Tag: [转载 ]

  前二天,又看到了關於三門峽水庫與三峽工程的一些文章。忽然想起來這篇很久以前看到的《都江堰:一个凝固的制度》,當時貼到一個論壇去了,特意把它找出來貼到這裡。

  都江堰應該是最凝聚了中國人智慧的治水工程了。

----------------------------

  从成都到九寨沟的路,几乎都沿着岷江。回来的时候,同车的大多数团友都赞成到都江堰看一下。尽管过去读过有关都江堰的资料,但亲身的游历还是令我震惊。如果对比一下今天的所谓现代的引水工程,可以对都江堰有更深的理解。

  假如李冰生在今天,都江堰建设于现在,会怎样呢?我想,最有可能的,是建立一个拦河大坝(在本文中,我把这种形式称为“坝”)。这就是最重要的区别。因为都江堰的不同,是在岷江中顺着水流的方向建立了一个分水堤(在本文中,我将这种形式称为“堰”),将江水分成内江和外江。内江的水经过宝瓶口流入了成都平原,外江的水顺流而下。都江堰朝向上游的端头,是著名的鱼嘴,它将岷江水劈成两部分,在内江与外江之间进行了第一次分水。分水比例大约为四比六。即在沽水季节,春天农业用水之时,为内六外四;而在洪水季节则倒过来,为内四外六。在靠近都江堰的尾端,也是在宝瓶口的稍微靠前一点,就是著名的飞沙堰,依赖于它适中的高度(比河底高2米),都江堰进行了第二次分水。即在洪水季节,水流将大量从飞沙堰之上泄到外江。


  坝和堰,这一横一纵,一堵一导,代表了截然不同的治水哲学。抽象一点说,一个是所谓“征服自然”,一个是所谓“天人合一”。具体来讲,它们代表了两种不同的对待自然的原则和对待他人的原则。坝意味着对水的强硬抗衡,对水流方向的强力阻遏,是人与自然的迎面撞击。而堰则意味着对水的因势利导,在达到人的引水目的的同时,并不违背水的自然本性。尽管现代技术的发展使人们能够建立起一般不会被水冲垮的水坝,但大自然还会有报复的方式。一是一旦水坝由于各种原因溃决,所带来的灾难是洪水所不能比拟的。近半个世纪以来,世界上就有十数起垮坝事件。其中最严重的,当属我国1975年8月的板桥和石漫滩水库的垮坝事件。约有26000人遇难,伤亡人数达12万,财物损失无数(潘家铮,《千秋功罪话水坝》,清华大学出版社和暨南大学出版社,2000,第127~143页)。而由于顺流纵卧在岷江中,都江堰只以鱼嘴的尖头对着来水,并不与水流正面对抗,所以除了要对鱼嘴部分及其它迎水部分定期修复外,并无溃决之忧。而它的分水功能,又确实减缓了洪水的冲击。所以才有杜甫所谓“蜀人矜夸一千载,泛滥不近张仪楼。”


  大自然的另一个报复形式是泥沙淤积。据水利专家的判断,因泥沙较多,中国水库的平均寿命只有50年,而条件较好的美国水库的平均寿命也不过300年。对比一下,都江堰已经事实上存在了2250多年。显然因为它并不完全阻截水流,而是网开一面,让水顺利从外江和飞沙堰流出,大量泥沙也随之排走;只是按照“深淘滩”的要诀,每年沽水季节要清理一下宝瓶口与飞沙堰之间的泥沙。


  都江堰比之现代拦河大坝的上述好处,又会引伸出一个派生的优势,即成本较低。正因如此,人们才会在2200多年以前建成在今天看来仍是规模宏大的引水工程,它也符合儒家所倡导的政府和公共工程要“惠而不费”的主张。即使在技术高度发展的今天,都江堰的思路,即减少与水的直接对抗和对泥沙网开一面,仍会节约大量的工程成本。因为不与水流正面交锋,就会降低对工程强度的要求;给泥沙一个流走的通道,也会节约大量清沙放沙的成本。尤其像我国这样一个大国,每年对水库的投资约百亿,已有水库85000多座,15米以上的水坝21000多座,投资和维护的费用都大得惊人。如果在水利工程中推广都江堰的模式,将会省去多少纳税人的钱!


  都江堰治水哲学更精彩的部分,表现在处理人与人之间的关系上。人与人之间关系的均衡就是制度。往往建筑的形式就反映着制度的原则,这些建筑本身就是凝固的制度。今天我们在天安门两侧看到的劳动人民文化宫和中山公园,就还残留着我国传统社会的“左宗庙,右社稷”的制度安排,即文化宫中的太庙和中山公园中的五色土。在美国首都华盛顿,我们也能看到三权分立的建筑布局。当我们看到江上横着一道大坝,就会感到一股“霸气”。无怪乎在中文中,“坝”的繁体字为“壩”。它明明是说,“这水全归我了,我想给你(即下游)多少,就给你多少。”它反映了一种“上游(的人)优先”甚至是“上游独占”的原则。这种原则显然会造成上下游之间的冲突和紧张。在我国的北方,如海河流域,中下游几乎全年断流,就是上游一道道霸气的水坝所致。作为下游的河北全省,就只能靠抽取地下水过日子。黄河的断流也是同一原因,因为黄河上水库的总库容已经超过了黄河一年的径流量。冲突还不仅仅在上下游之间。在断流的黄河上,我们已经听不到“黄河船夫曲”了;在漳河上游红旗渠渠首往下不到200米的地方,有一处光秃秃的峭壁,如果漳河水不是被拦河坝挡住,这里本是一处漂亮的瀑布;更不用说,水之不存,鱼虾安在,那些在北方河流中下游以打鱼为生的人们,早已背景离乡了。


  不少人称赞都江堰的“四六分水”和“低作堰”的原则,只是认为这能起到防洪的作用。这种只将都江堰视为一个孤立工程的看法,显然不能理解都江堰在制度上的深意。所谓“低作堰”,就是飞沙堰不可过高。与霸气的拦河大坝不同,都江堰的分水原则不仅只是为了防洪,还反映了一种兼利天下的理念。即“我用水也想着让别人用水”。不管有人从这种分水比例想到了黄金分割率0.618是否有道理,如果在一个流域中所有的引水工程都不超过这一比例,且大规模的引水工程数量不多于支流数量,最后总的用水量有可能被限制在流域总径流量的40~50%之间。而40%这个数字,恰是今天国际上公认的“水资源承载能力”(参见汪恕诚,“水权管理与节水社会”,《水权与水市场》,水利部政策法规司,2001)。如果60%的水能够流入大海,也就不存在上下游的冲突以及与航运、渔业和景观之间的紧张了。试想一下,如果黄河上所有的引水工程都采取都江堰的分水原则,还会出现断流吗?

 


  都江堰2200多年来屹立在岷江之畔,不仅恩泽了成都平原上世世代代的人民,还将其治水哲学宣示给后人。只可惜大多数人,包括不少专门与水打交道的人,并没理会历史老人的提醒。我们在几乎所有关于中国历史的教科书中都能看到对都江堰的称赞,每年会有成千上万的游人到都江堰来瞻仰它的雄姿,它也被联合国教科文组织列入世界遗产名录。但在更多的时候,它只是被人当作一种珍稀的古董把玩。令人奇怪的是,人们在称赞它的同时却不打算将它的理念用于今天的治水实践。更有甚者,人们在赞美和夸张都江堰在今天的作用时,却采取了一种与都江堰的治水理念完全相反的作法。


  当我们走到都江堰上,发现外江已经被一个大坝拦住(见下图),外江的下游已经断流。所谓“四六分水”早已成为过去。其实晚至1992年,人们还在都江堰周围大兴土木。到1994年,都江堰的灌溉面积已从40年代的283万亩扩大到1000万亩。因森林的砍伐,岷江的径流量已经越来越少,1998年夏甚至出现了第一次断流。这种作法显然是与下游争水。至于航运业等等,更是受到了极大损害。据说一直到清代,外江都能通航。具有讽刺意味的是,在1994年立的一块“都江堰实灌一千万亩碑”上,却将这种状况视为都江堰本身的光彩,全不知这恰恰违背了都江堰所确立的分水原则。根据这一原则,显然不是灌溉的面积越大越好。更令人不能理解的,是在都江堰上游不远的地方,一个名叫紫坪铺大坝的工程正在开工;据说还要在距都江堰鱼嘴仅340米处建一个鱼嘴大坝。人们正在用坝来替代堰,用“上游独占”原则挑战“兼利天下”原则。它分明告诉我们,李冰的子孙们为了短期的一己之利,不惜抛弃他们祖先的最可宝贵的遗产,那个天人合一的治水哲学。

 


  然而建坝的举措又在意料之中。因为在相对于人的需求增长水资源变得更为稀缺的情况下,人们都处于囚徒困境之中。在没有对用水总量控制和水权制度的条件下,存在着事实上的“上游优先”和“谁建坝谁用水”的原则。为了人与自然的和谐以及顾及他人的利益而约束自己,只会使自己遭受更严重损失,同时也不会使整体的情况有所改善。因为只要别人不约束自己,引水的竞争就会继续,直到最后水资源的耗竭。也就是说,谁要是四六分水,谁就倒霉。这种情况已经在中国的北方发生,在南方,在岷江,只不过是一个时间问题。既然能够三七分水,二八分水,甚至百分之百独占,为什么还要四六分水?这就是建紫坪铺大坝的思路。反过来看都江堰,它把“兼利天下”的四六分水原则,凝固在了它的鱼嘴和飞沙堰上,从而实施了2200多年。即使有些时候有些人想改变分水的比例,也会因巨大的成本问题而望而却步。我们可以想象,如果法律规定一条河上所有的引水工程都必须四六分水,并用工程的形式将四六分水的原则固定下来,不就能化解在分水上的囚徒困境,形成兼利天下的制度了吗?


  对于坝的危害,世人早有警觉。国际上也有反坝协会。我们不能简单地认为这些反坝人士反对中国的大坝,是对中国不怀好意。“坝”的哲学其实并不是中国的。对于反坝的主张,人们自然可以用坝的好处,如引水灌溉,发电,防洪,等等来对抗,然而反坝并不意味着“无坝”。都江堰2200多年的存在表明,既可以灌溉、发电和防洪,也可以避免坝的弊端。它恰恰是在人的需要和自然之间找到了完美的均衡。都江堰的价值,不仅仅是几百万亩良田,它在2000多年前就宣告的治水哲学,既可以造就天府之国昔日的辉煌,也是今天中国乃至世界的人与自然、人与人紧张关系的救治方案。离都江堰不远的地方有一座青城山,这里的人们甚至将两者放在一起,称为“都江堰—青城山”景区。这不是偶然的。青城山是道家的圣地。这使我们想起《道德经》中的一句话:“上善若水”。

2002年10月15日
 
                                         中评网首发

 

 
紫冠道人 发表于 2004-07-30  12:30 |  评论(1) | 引用(trackback0) 


 

  原来矟就是槊啊   - [读史小记]

Tag: [历史 ]

  敬德善解避矟,每单骑入贼阵,贼矟攒刺,终不能伤,又能夺取贼矟,还以刺之。是日,出入重围,往返无碍。齐王元吉亦善马矟,闻而轻之,欲亲自试,命去矟刃,以竿相刺。敬德曰:“纵使加刃,终不能伤。请勿除之,敬德矟谨当却刃。”元吉竟不能中。太宗问曰:“夺矟、避矟,何者难易?”对曰:“夺矟难。”乃命敬德夺元吉矟。元吉执矟跃马,志在刺之,敬德俄顷三夺其矟。元吉素骁勇,虽相叹异,甚以为耻。

                ---《旧唐书.列传第十八.尉迟敬德》

 

 

  《新唐书》上也有类似的记载。尉迟恭这个家伙也太厉害了,李元吉也不是什幺大菜鸟,居然空手夺白刃。后面发现程咬金也善使这种兵器(不使大斧了)。

不知道矟是一种什幺样子的兵器,到网上搜了一下,发现原来矟就是槊啊。

汉末三国时代,骑兵普遍使用马戟和马矟。矟又写作槊,《释兵》说:“矛长丈八尺曰矟,马上所持,言其矟矟便杀也”。

http://www.sekigun.com/sanguozhi/weiguo/bingfa/wq02.htm

发现有这么一个地方,兵器多多

http://www.sekigun.com/sanguozhi/weiguo/xwd.htm

 

 

 
紫冠道人 发表于 2004-07-28  13:08 |  评论(5) | 引用(trackback0) 


 

   SPIRIT OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE   - [他山之石]

Tag: [转载 ]

[zt]http://www.xycq.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=22989

  辜鸿铭的力作《SPIRIT OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE》。此文原载于1914年的《中国评论》,1915年更名《春秋大义》在京出版,一时轰动西方。洋人皆视为经典,如今事过境迁,热血再次为理智所取代,炎黄子孙们又把它请了回来,用心感受这位前辈及传统中国人的的深沉、博大和淳朴。

就是找不到中文版的麻煩。看著累。

INTRODUCTION
The Religion of Good-citizenship

Sage, thun ivir nicht rechtl Wir mussen den Pobel betrugen,

Scih nur, ivie ungeschickt, sich nur ivie wild er sich zeigt\ Ungeschick und wild sind alle rohen Betrogenen ;

Seid nur redlich und fiihrt ihn zum Menschlichen an.

Goethe

THE great war at the present moment is absorbing all the attention of the world exclusive of everything else. But then I think this war itself must make serious thinking people turn their attention to the great problem of civilisation. All civilisation begins by the conquest of Nature, i.e. by subduing and controlling the terrific physical forces in Nature so that they can do no harm to men. The modern civilisation of Europe to-day has succeeded in the conquest of Nature with a success, it must be admitted, hitherto not attained by any other civilisation. But there is in this world a force more terrible even than the terrific physical forces in Nature and that is the passions in the heart of man. The harm which the physical forces of Nature can do to mankind, is nothing compared with the harm which human passions can do. Until therefore this terrible force,_the human passions_is properly regulated and controlled, there can be, it is evident, not only no civilisation, but even no life possible for human beings.

In the first early and rude stage of society, mankind had to use

_ Aren't we just doing the right thing? the mob we must befool them;

See, now, how shiftless! and look now how wild! {or such is the mob-Shiftless and wild all sons of Adam are when you befool them;

Be but honest and true, and thus make human, them all.

physical force to subdue and subjugate human passions. Thus hordes of savages had to be subjugated by sheer physical force. But as civilisation advances, mankind discovers a force more potent and more effective for subduing and controlling human passions than physical force and this force is called moral force. The moral force which in the past has been effective in subduing and controlling the human passions in the population of Europe, is Christianity. But now this war with the armament preceding it, seems to show that Christianity has become ineffective as a moral force. Without an effective moral force to control and restrain human passions, the people of Europe have had again to employ physical force to keep civil order. As Car-lyle truly says, " Europe is Anarchy plus a constable. " The use of physical force to maintain civil order leads to militarism. In fact militarism is necessary in Europe to-day because of the want of an effective moral force. But militarism leads to war and war means destruction and waste. Thus the people of Europe are on the horns of a dilemma. If they do away with militarism, anarchy will destroy their civilisation, but if they keep up militarism, their civilisation will collapse through the waste and destruction of war. But Englishmen say that they are determined to put down Prussian militarism and Lord Kitchner believes that he will be able to stamp out Prussian militarism with three million drilled and armed Englishmen. But then it seems to me when Prussian militarism is thus stamped out, there will then arise another militarism, _the British militarism which again will have to be stamped out. Thus there seems to be no way of escape out of this vicious circle.

But is there really no way of escape? Yes, I believe there is. The American Emerson long ago said, "I can easily see the bankruptcy of the vulgar musket worship, _though great men be musket worshippers; and 'tis certain, as God liveth, the gun that does need another gun, the law of love and justice alone can effect a clean revolution." Now if the people of Europe really want to put down militarism, there is only one way of doing it and that is, to use what E-merson calls the gun that does not need another gun, the law of love and justice, _in fact, moral force, With an effective moral force, militarism will become unnecesary and disappear of itself. But now, that Christianity has become ineffective as a moral force the problem is where are the people of Europe to find this new effective moral force which will make militarism unnecessary?

I believe the people of Europe will find this new moral force in China, _in the Chinese civilisation. The moral force in the Chinese civilisation which can make militarism unnecessary is the Religion of good citizenship. But people will say to me, "There have also been wars in China. " It is true there have been wars in China; but, since the time of Confucius ,years ago, we Chinese have had no militarism such as that we see in Europe to-day. In China war is an accident, whereas in Europe war has become a necessity. We Chinese are liable to have wars, but we do not live in constant expectation of war. In fact the one thing intolerable in the state of Europe, it seems to me, is not so much war as the fact that every body is constantly afraid that his neighbour as soon as he gets strong enough to be able to do it, will come to rob and murder him and he has therefore to arm himself or pay for an armed policeman to protect him. Thus what weighs upon the people of Europe is not so much the accident of War, but the constant necessity to arm themselves, the absolute nec-cessity to use physical force to protect themselves.

Now in China because we Chinese have the Religion of good citizenship a man does not feel the need of using physical force to protect himself; he has seldom the need even to call in and use the physical force of the policeman, of the State to protect him. A man in China is protected by the sense of justice of his neighbour; he is protected by the readiness of his fellow men to obey the sense of moral obligation. In fact, a man in China does not feel the need of using physical force to protect himself because he is sure that right and justice is recognised by every body as a force higher than physical force and moral obligation is recognised by every body as something which must be obeyed. Now if you can get all mankind to agree to recognise right and justice, as a force higher than physical force, and moral obligation as something which must be obeyed, then the use of physical force will become unnecessary; then there will be no militarism in the world. But of course there will be in every country a few people, criminals, and in the world, a few savages who will not or are not able to recognise right and justice as a force higher than physical force and moral obligation as something which must be obeyed. Thus a-gainst criminals and savages a certain amount of physical or police force and militarism will always be necessary in every country and in the world.

But people will say to me how are you to make mankind recognise right and justice as a force higher than physical force. I answer the first thing you will have to do is to convince mankind of the efficacy of right and justice, convince them that right and justice is a power; in fact, convince them of the power of goodness. But then a-gain how are you to do this? Well, _in order to do this, the Religion of good citizenship in China teaches every child as soon as he is able to understand the meaning of words, that the Nature of man is good. *

Now the fundamental unsoundness of the civilisation of Europe to-day, it seems to me, lies in its wrong conception of human nature;

its conception that human nature is evil and because of this wrong conception, the whole structure of society in Europe has always rested upon force. The two things which the people of Europe have depended upon to maintain civil order are Religion and Law. In other words, the population of Europe have been kept in order by the fear of God and the fear of the Law. Fear implies the use of force. Therefore in order to keep up the fear of God, the people of Europe had at first to maintain a large number of expensive idle persons called priests. That, to speak of nothing else, meant so much expense, that it at last became an unbearable burden upon the people. In fact in the thirty years war of the Reformation, the people of Europe tried to get rid of the priest. After having got rid of the priests who kept the population in order by the fear of God, the people of Europe tried to maintain civil order by the fear of the Law. But to keep up the fear of the Law, the people of Europe have had to maintain another class of still more expensive idle persons called policemen and soldiers. Now the people of Europe are beginning to find out that the main-tainence of policemen and soldiers to keep civil order, is still more ruinously expensive than even the maintainence of priests. In fact, as in the thirty years war of the Reformation, the people of Europe wanted to get rid of the priest, so in this present war, what the people of Europe really want, is to get rid of the soldier. But the alternatives before the people of Europe if they want to get rid of the policeman and soldier, is either to call back the priest to keep up the fear of God or to find something else which, like the fear of God and the fear of the Law, will help them to maintain civil order. That, to put the question broadly, I think, everybody will admit, is the great problem of civilisation before the people of Europe after this war.

Now after the experience which they have had with the priests, I do not think the people of Europe will want to call back the priests. Bismarck has said, "We will never go back to Canossa." Besides, even if the priests are now called back, they would be useless, for the fear of God is gone from the people of Europe. The only other alternative before the people of Europe therefore, if they want to get rid of the policeman and soldier, is to find something else, which, like the fear of God and the fear of the Law, can help them to maintain civil order. Now this something, I believe, as I have said, the people of Europe will find in the Chinese civilisation. This something is what I have called the Religion of good citizenship. This Religion of good citizenship in China is a religion which can keep the population of a country in order without priest and without policeman or soldier. In fact with this Religion of good citizenship, the population of , China, a population as large, if not larger than the whole population r of the Continent of Europe, are actually and practically kept in peace and order without priest and without policeman or soldier. In China, as every one who has been in this country knows, the priest and the , policeman or soldier, play a very subordinate, a very insignificant ( part in helping to maintain public order. Only the most ignorant class in China require the priest and only the worst, .the criminal class in China, require the policeman or soldier to keep them in order. Thus I say if the people of Europe really want to get rid of Religion and Militarism, of the priest and soldier which have caused them so much trouble and bloodshed, they will have to come to China to get this, what I have called the Religion of good citizenship.

In short what I want to call the attention of the people of Europe and America to, just at this moment when civilisation seems to be threatened with bankruptcy, is that there is an invaluable and hitherto unsuspected asset of civilisation here in China. The asset of civilisation is not the trade, the railway, the mineral wealth, gold, silver, iron or coal in this country. The asset of civilisation of the world today, I want to say here, is the Chinaman,_the unspoilt real Chinaman with his Religion of good citizenship. The real Chinaman, I say, is an invaluable asset of civilisation, because he is a person who costs the world little or nothing to keep him in order. Indeed I would like

here to warn the people of Europe and America not to destroy this invaluable asset of civilisation, not to change and spoil the real Chinaman as they are now trying to do with their New Learning. If the people of Europe and America succeed in destroying the real Chinaman, the Chinese type of humanity; succeed in transforming the real Chinaman into a European or American, i.e., to say, a person who will require a priest or soldier to keep him in order, then surely they will increase the burden either of Religion or of Militarism of the world, _this last item at this moment already becoming a danger and menace to civilisation and humanity. But on the other hand, suppose one could by some means or other change the European or American type of humanity, transform the European or American into a real Chinaman who will then not require a priest or soldier to keep him in order,;_just think what a burden will be taken off from the world.

But now to sum up in a few plain words the great problem of civilisation in Europe arising out of this war. The people of Europe, I say, at first tried to maintain civil order by the help of the priest. But after a while, the priest cost too much expense and trouble. The people of Europe then, after the thirty years war, sent away the priest and called in the policeman and soldier to maintain civil order. But now they find the policeman and soldier are causing more expense and trouble even than the priests. Now what are the people of Europe to do? Send away the soldier and call back the priest? No, I do not believe the people of Europe will want to call back the priest. Besides the priest now would be useless. But then what are the people of Europe to do? I see Professor Lowes Dickinson of Cambridge in an article in the Atlantic Monthly, entitled "The War and the Way out, " says: "Call in the mob." I am afraid the mob when once called in to take the place of the priest and soldier, will give more trouble than even the priest and the soldier. The priests and soldiers in Europe have caused wars, but the mob will bring revolution and anarchy and then the state of Europe will be worse than before. Now my advice to the people of Europe is: Do not call back the priest, and for goodness sake don't call in the mob, _but call in the Chinaman; call in the real Chinaman with his Religion of good citizenship and his experience of ,years how to live in peace without priest and without soldier.

In fact I really believe that the people of Europe will find the solution of the great problem of civilisation after this war, _here in China. There is, I say here again, an invaluable, but hitherto unsuspected asset of civilisation here in China, and the asset of civilisation is the real Chinaman. The real Chinaman is an asset of civilisation because he has the secret of a new civilisation which the people of Europe will want after this great war, and the secret of that new civilisation is what I have called the Religion of good citizenship. The first principle of this Religion of good citizenship is to believe that the Nature of Man is good; to believe in the power of goodness; to believe in the power and efficacy of what the American Emerson calls the law of love and justice. But what is the law of love? The Religion of good citizenship teaches that the law of love means to love your father and mother. And what is the law of justice? The Religion of good citizenship teaches that the law of justice means to be true, to be faithful, to be loyal; that the woman in every country must be self-lessly, absolutely loyal to her husband, that the man in every country must be selflessly, absolutely loyal to his sovereign, to his King or Emperor. In fact the highest duty in this Religion of good citizenship I want to say finally here is the Duty of Loyalty, loyalty not only in deed, but loyalty in spirit or as Tennyson puts it,

To reverence the King as he were

Their conscience and their conscience as their King,

To break the heathen and uphold the Christ.

THE SPIRIT OF THE CHINESE PEOPLE

A Paper that was to have been read before the Oriental Society of Peking

LET me first of all explain to you what I propose, with your permission, this afternoon to discuss. The subject of our paper I have called "The Spirit of the Chinese people."! do not mean here merely to speak of the character or characteristics of the Chinese people. Chinese characteristics have often been described before, but I think you will agree with me that such description or enumeration of the characteristics of the Chinese people hitherto have given us no picture at all of the inner being of the Chinaman. Besides, when we speak of the character or characteristics of the Chinese, it is not possible to generalize. The character of the Northern Chinese, as you know, is as different from that of the Southern Chinese as the character of the Germans is different from that of the Italians.

But what I mean by the spirit of the Chinese people, is the spirit by which the Chinese people live, something constitutionally distinctive in the mind, temper and sentiment of the Chinese people which distinguishes them from all other people, especially from those of modem Europe and America. Perhaps I can best express what I mean by calling the subject of our discussion the Chinese type of humanity, or, to put it in plainer and shorter words, the real Chinaman.

Now, what is the real Chinaman? That, I am sure, you will all agree with me, is a very interesting subject, especially at the present moment, when from what we see going on around us in China today, it would seem that the Chinese type of humanity_the real Chinaman_is going to disappear and, in his place, we are going to have a new type of humanity_the progressive or modern Chinaman. In fact I propose that before the real Chinaman, the old Chinese type of humanity, disappears altogether from the world we should take a good last look at him and see if we can find anything organically distinctive in him which makes him so different from all other people and from the new type of humanity which we see rising up in China today.

Now the first thing, I think, which will strike you in the old Chinese type of humanity is that there is nothing wild, savage or ferocious in him. Using a term which is applied to animals, we may say of the real Chinaman that he is a domesticated creature. Take a man of the lowest class of the population in China and, I think, you will agree with me that there is less of animality in him, less of the wild animal, of what the Germans call Rohheit, than you will find in a man of the same class in a European society. In fact, the one word, it seems to me, which will sum up the impression which the Chinese type of humanity makes upon you is the English word "gentle." By gentleness I do not mean softness of nature or weak submissiveness. "The docility of the Chinese," says the late Dr. D. J. Macgowan, "is not the docility of a broken-hearted, emasculated people. " But by the word " gentle" I mean absence of hardness, harshness, roughness, or violence, in fact of anything which jars upon you. There is in the true Chinese type of humanity an air, so to speak, of a quiet, sober, chastened mellowness, such as you find in a piece of well-tempered metal. Indeed the very physical and moral imperfections of a real Chinaman are, if not redeemed, at least softened by this quality of gentleness in him. The real Chinaman may be coarse, but there is no grossness in his coarseness. The real Chinaman may be ugly, but there is no hideousness in his ugliness. The real Chinaman may be vulgar, but there is no aggressiveness, no blatancy in his vulgarity. The real Chinaman may be stupid, but there is no absurdity in his stupidity. The real Chinaman may be cunning, but there is no deep malignity in his cunning. In fact what I want to say is, that even in the faults and blemishes of body, mind and character of the real Chinaman, there is nothing which revolts you. It is seldom that you will find a real Chinaman of the old school, even of the lowest type, who is positively repulsive.

I say that the total impression which the Chinese type of humanity makes upon you is that he is gentle, that he is inexpressibly gentle. When you analyse this quality of inexpressible gentleness in the real Chinaman, you will find that it is the the product of a combination of two things, namely, sympathy and intelligence. I have compared the Chinese type of humanity to a domesticated animal. Now what is that which makes a domesticated animal so different from a wild animal? It is something in the domesticated animal which we recognise as distinctively human. But what is distinctively human as distinguished from what is animal? It is intelligence. But the intelligence of a domesticated animal is not a thinking intelligence. It is not an intelligence which comes to him from reasoning. Neither does it come to him from instinct, such as the intelligence of the fox, _ the vulpine intelligence which knows where eatable chickens are to be found. This intelligence which comes from instinct, of the fox, all,_even wild, animals have. But this, what may be called human intelligence of a domesticated animal is something quite different from the vulpine or animal intelligence. This intelligence of a domesticated animal is an intelligence which comes not from reasoning nor from instinct, but from sympathy, from a feeling of love and attachment. A thorough-bred Arab horse understands his English master not because he has studied English grammar nor because he has an instinct for the English language, but because he loves and is attached to his master. This is what I call human intelligence, as distinguished from mere vulpine or animal intelligence. It is the possession of this human quality which distinguishes domesticated from wild animals. In the same way, I say, it is the possession of this sympathetic and true human intelligence, which gives to the Chinese type of humanity, to the real Chinaman, his inexpressible gentleness.

I once read somewhere a statement made by a foreigner who had lived in both countries, that the longer a foreigner lives in Japan the more he dislikes the Japanese, whereas the longer a foreigner lives in China the more he likes the Chinese. I do not know if what is said of the Japanese here, is true. But, I think, all of you who have lived in China will agree with me that what is here said of the Chinese is true. It is well-known fact that the liking_you may call it the taste for the Chinese_grows upon the foreigner the longer he lives in this country. There is an indescribable something in the Chinese people which, in spite of their want of habits of cleanliness and refinement, in spite of their many defects of mind and character, makes foreigners like them as foreigners like no other people. This indescribable something which I have defined as gentleness, softens and mitigates, if it does not redeem, the physical and moral defects of the Chinese in the hearts of foreigners. This gentleness again is, as I have tried to show you, the product of what I call sympathetic or true human intelligence_an intelligence which comes not from reasoning nor from instinct, but from sympathy_from the power of sympathy. Now what is the secret of the power of sympathy of the Chinese people?

I will here venture to give you an explanation_a hypothesis, if you like to call it so_of the secret of this power of sympathy in the Chinese people and my explanation is this. The Chinese people have this power, this strong power of sympathy, because they live wholly, or almost wholly, a life of the heart. The whole life of Chinaman is a life of feeling_not feeling in the sense of sensation which comes from the bodily organs, nor feeling in the sense of passions which flow, as you would say, from the nervous system, but feeling in the sense of emotion or human affection which comes from the deepest part of our nature_the heart or soul. Indeed I may say here that the real Chinaman lives so much a life of emotion or human affection, a life of the soul, that he may be said sometimes to neglect more than he ought to do, even the necessary requirements of the life of the senses of a man living in this world composed of body and soul. That is the true explanation of the insensibility of the Chinese to the physical discomforts of unclean surroundings and want of refinement. But that is neither here nor there.

The Chinese people, I say, have the power of sympathy because they live wholly a life of the heart_a life of emotion or human affection. Let me here, first of all, give you two illustrations of what I mean by living a life of the heart. My first illustration is this. Some of you may have personally known an old friend and colleague of mine in Wuchang_known him when he was Minister of the Foreign Office here in Peking_Mr. Liang Tun-yen, Mr. Liang told me, when he first received the appointment of the Customs Taotai of Hankow, that what made him wish and strive to become a great mandarin, to wear the red button, and what gave him pleasure then in receiving this appointment, was not because he cared for the red button, not because he would henceforth be rich and independent, _and we were all of us very poor then in Wuchang, _but because he wanted to rejoice, because this promotion and advancement of his would gladden the heart of his old mother in Canton. That is what I mean when I say that the Chinese people live a life of the heart_a life of emotion or human affection.

My other illustration is this. A Scotch friend of mine in the Customs told me he once had a Chinese servant who was a perfect scamp, who lied, who "squeezed, " and who was always gambling, but when my friend fell ill with typhoid fever in an out-of-the-way port where he had no foreign friend to attend to him, this awful scamp of a Chinese servant nursed him with a care and devotion which he could not have expected from an intimate friend or near relation. Indeed I think what was once said of a woman in the Bible may also be said, not only of the Chinese servant, but of the Chinese people generally:_"Much is forgiven them, because they love much. " The eyes and understanding of the foreigner in China see many defects and blemishes in the habits and in the character of the Chinese, but his heart is attracted to them, because the Chinese have a heart, or, as I said, live a life of the heart_a life of emotion or human affection.

Now we have got, I think, a clue to the secret of sympathy in the Chinese people_the power of sympathy which gives to the real Chinaman that sympathetic or true human intelligence, making him so inexpressibly gentle. Let us next put this clue or hypothesis to the test. Let us see whether with this clue that the Chinese people live a life of the heart we can explain not only detached facts such as the two illustrations I have given above, but also general characteristics which we see in the actual life of the Chinese people.

First of all let us take the Chinese language. As the Chinese live a life of the heart, the Chinese language, I say, is also a language of the heart. Now it is a well-known fact that children and uneducated persons among foreigners in China learn Chinese very easily, much more so than grown-up and educated persons. What is the reason of this? The reason, I say, is because children and uneducated persons think and speak with the language of the heart, whereas educated men, especially men with the modern intellectual education of Europe, think and speak with the language of the head or intellect. In fact, the reason why educated foreigners find it so difficult to learn Chinese, is because they are too educated, too intellectually and scientifically educated. As it is said of the Kingdom of Heaven, so it may also be said of the Chinese language:_"Unless you become as little children, you cannot learn it. "

Next let us take another well-known fact in the life of the Chinese people. The Chinese, it is well-known, have wonderful memories. What is the secret of this? The secret is: the Chinese remember things with the heart and not with the head. The heart with its power of sympathy, acting as glue, can retain things much better than the head or intellect which is hard and dry. It is, for instance, also for this reason that we; all of us, can remember things which we learnt when we were children much better than we can remember things which we learnt in mature life. As children, like the Chinese, we remember things with the heart and not with the head.

Let us next take another generally admitted fact in the life of the Chinese people_their politeness. The Chinese are, it has often been remarked, a peculiarly polite people. Now what is the essence of true politeness? It is consideration for the feelings of others. The Chinese are polite because, living a life of the heart, they know their own feelings and that makes it easy for them to show consideration for the feelings of others. The politeness of the Chinese, although not elaborate like the politeness of the Japanese, is pleasing because it is, as the French beautifully express it, la politesse du coeur, the politeness of the heart. The politeness of the Japanese, on the other hand, although elaborate, is not so pleasing, and I have heard some foreigners express their dislike of it, because it is what may be called a rehearsal politeness_a politeness learnt by heart as in a theatrical piece. It is not a spontaneous politeness which comes direct from the heart. In fact the politeness of the Japanese is like a flower without fragrance, whereas the politeness of a really polite Chinese has a perfume like the aroma of a precious ointment_instar unguenti fra-grantis_ which comes from the heart.

Last of all, let us take another characteristic of the Chinese people, by calling attention to which the Rev. Arthur Smith has made his reputation, viz. :_want of exactness. Now what is the reason for this want of exactness in the ways of the Chinese people? The reason, I say again, is because the Chinese live a life of the heart. The heart is a very delicate and sensitive balance. It is not like the head or intellect, a hard, stiff, rigid instrument. You cannot with the heart think with the same steadiness, with the same rigid exactness as you can with the head or intellect. At least, it is extremely difficult to do so. In fact, the Chinese pen or pencil which is a soft brush, may be taken as a symbol of the Chinese mind. It is very difficult to write or draw with it, but when you have once mastered the use of it, you will, with it, write and draw with a beauty and grace which you cannot do with a hard steel pen.

Now the above are a few simple facts connected with the life of the Chinese people which anyone, even without any knowledge of Chinese, can observe and understand, and by examining these facts, I think, I have made good my hypothesis that the Chinese people live a life of the heart.

Now it is because the Chinese live a life of the heart, the life of a child, that they are so primitive in many of their ways. Indeed, it is a remarkable fact that for a people who have lived so long in the world as a great nation, the Chinese people should to this day be so primitive in many of their ways. It is this fact which has made superficial foreign students of China think that the Chinese have made no progress in their civilisation and that the Chinese civilisation is a stagnant one. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that, as far as pure intellectual life goes, the Chinese are, to a certain extent, a people of arrested development. The Chinese, as you all know, have made little or no progress not only in the physical, but also in the pure abstract sciences such as mathematics, logic and metaphysics. Indeed the very words "science" and "logic" in the European languages have no exact equivalent in the Chinese language. The Chinese, like children who live a life of the heart, have no taste for the abstract sciences, because in these the heart and feelings are not engaged. In fact, for everything which does not engage the heart and feelings, such as tables of statistics, the Chinese have a dislike amounting to aversion. But if tables of statistics and the pure abstract sciences fill the Chinese with aversion, the physical sciences as they are now pursued in Europe, which require you to cut up and mutilate the body of a living animal in order to verify a scientific theory, would inspire the Chinese with repugnance and horror.

The Chinese, I say, as far as pure intellectual life goes, are to a certain extent, a people of arrested development. The Chinese to this day live the life of a child, a life of the heart. In this respect, the Chinese people, old as they are as a nation, are to the present day, a nation of children. But then it is important you should remember that this nation of children, who live a life of the heart, who are so primitive in many of their ways, have yet a power of mind and rationality which you do not find in a primitive people, a power of mind and rationality which has enabled them to deal with the complex and difficult problems of social life, government and civilisation with a success which, I will venture to say here, the ancient and modern nations of Europe have not been able to attain_a success so signal that they have been able practically and actually to keep in peace and order a greater portion of the population of the Continent of Asia under a great Empire.

In fact, what I want to say here, is that the wonderful peculiarity of the Chinese people is not that they live a life of the heart. All primitive people also live a life of the heart. The Christian people of medieval Europe, as we know, also lived a life of the heart. Matthew Arnold says:_"The poetry of medieval Christainity lived by the heart and imagination." But the wonderful peculiarity of the Chinese people, I want to say here, is that, while living a life of the heart, the life of a child, they yet have a power of mind and rationality

which you do not find in the Christian people of medieval Europe or in any other primitive people. In other words, the wonderful peculiarity of the Chinese is that for a people, who have lived so long as a grown-up nation, as a nation of adult reason, they are yet able to this day to live the life of a child_a life of the heart.

Instead, therefore, of saying that the Chinese are a people of arrested development, one ought rather to say that the Chinese are a people who never grow old. In short the wonderful peculiarity of the Chinese people as a race, is that they possess the secret of perpetual youth.

Now we can answer the question which we asked in the beginning:_What is the real Chinaman? The real Chinaman, we see now, is a man who lives the life of a man of adult reason with the heart of a child. In short the real Chinaman is a person with the head of a grown-up man and the heart of a child. The Chinese spirit, therefore, is a spirit of perpetual youth, the spirit of national immortality. Now what is the secret of this national immortality in the Chinese people? You will remember that in the beginning of this discussion I said that what gives to the Chinese type of humanity_to the real Chinaman_his inexpressible gentleness is the possession of what I called sympathetic or true human intelligence. This true human intelligence, I said, is the product of a combination of two things, sympathy and intelligence. It is a working together in harmony of the heart and head. In short it is a happy union of soul with intellect. Now if the spirit of the Chinese people is a spirit of perpetual youth, the spirit of national immortality, the secret of this immortality is this happy union of soul with intellect.

You will now ask me where and how did the Chinese people get this secret of national immortality_this happy union of soul with intellect, which has enabled them as a race and nation to live a life of perpetual youth? The answer, of course, is that they got it from their civilisation. Now you will not expect me to give you a lecture on Chinese civilisation within the time at my disposal. But I will try to tell you something of the Chinese civilisation which has a bearing on our present subject of discussion.

Let me first of all tell you that there is, it seems to me, one great fundamental difference between the Chinese civilisation and the civilisation of modern Europ. Here let me quote an admirable saying of a famous living art critic, Mr. Bernard Berenson. Comparing European with Oriental art, Mr. Berenson says:_"Our European art has the fatal tendency to become science and we hardly possess a masterpiece which does not bear the marks of having heen a battlefield for divided interests. " Now what I want to say of the European civilisation is that it is, as Mr. Berenson says of European art, a battlefield for divided interests; a continuous warfare for the divided interests of science and art on the one hand, and of religion and philosophy on the other; in fact a terrible battlefield where the head and the heart_the soul and the intellect_come into constant conflict. In the Chinese civilisation, at least for the last , years, there is no such conflict. That, I say, is the one great fundamental difference between the Chinese civilisation and that of modern Europe.

In other words, what I want to say, is that in modern Europe, the people have a religion which satisfies their heart, but not their head, and a philosophy which satisfies their head but not their heart. Now let us look at China. Some people say that the Chinese have no religion. It is certainly true that in China even the mass of the people do not take seriously to religion. I mean religion in the European sense of the word. The temples, rites and ceremonies of Taoism and Buddhism in China are more objects of recreation than of edification; they touch the aesthetic sense, so to speak, of the Chinese people rather than their moral or religious sense; in fact, they appeal more to their imagination than to their heart or soul. But instead of saying that the Chinese have no religion, it is perhaps more correct to say that the Chinese do not want_do not feel the need of religion.

Now what is the explanation of this extraordinary fact that the Chinese people, even the mass of the population in China, do not feel the need of religion? It is thus given by an Englishman. Sir Robert K. Douglas, Professor of Chinese in the London University, in his study of Confucianism, says:_"Upwards of forty generations of Chinamen have been absolutely subjected to the dicta of one man. Being a Chinaman of Chinamen the teachings of Confucius were specially suited to the nature of those he taught. The Mongolian mind being eminently phlegmatic and. unspeculative, naturally rebels against the idea of investigating matters beyond its experiences. With the idea of a future life still unawakened, a plain, matter-of-fact system of morality, such as that enunciated by Confucius, was sufficient for all the wants of the Chinese. "

That l_amed English professor is right, when he says that the Chinese people do not feel the need of religion, because they have the teachings of Confucius, but he is altogether wrong, when he asserts that the Chinese people do not feel the need of religion because the Mongolian mind is phlegmatic and unspeculative. In the first place religion is not a matter of speculation. Religion is a matter of feeling, of emotion; it is something which has to do with the human soul. The wild, savage man of Africa even, as soon as he emerges from a mere animal life and what is called the soul in him, is awakened, _ feels the need of religion. Therefore although the Mongolian mind may be phlegmatic and unspeculative, the Mongolian Chinaman, who, I think it must be admitted, is a higher type of man than the wild man of Africa, also has a soul, and, having a soul, must feel the need of religion unless he has something which can take for him the place of religion.

The truth of the matter is, _the reason why the Chinese people do not feel the need of religion is because they have in Confucianism a system of philosophy and ethics, a synthesis of human society and civilisation which can take the place of religion. People say that Confucianism is not a religion. It is perfectly true that Confucianism is not a religion in the ordinary European sense of the word. But then I say the greatness of Confucianism lies even in this, that it is not a religion. In fact, the greatness of Confucianism is that, without being a religion, it can take the place of religion; it can make men do without religion.

Now in order to understand how Confucianism can take the place of religion we must try and find out the reason why mankind, why men feel the need of religion. Mankind, it seems to me, feel the need of religion for the same reason that they feel the need of science, of art and of philosophy. The reason is because man is a being who has a soul. Now let us take science, I mean physical science. What is the reason which makes men take up the study of science? Most people now think that men do so, because they want to have railways and aeroplanes. But the motive which impels the true men of science to pursue its study is not because they want to have railways and aeroplanes. Men like the present progressive Chinamen, who take up the study of science, because they want railways and aeroplanes, will never get science. The true men of science in Europe in the past who have worked for the advancement of science and brought about the possibility of building railways and aeroplanes, did not think at all of railways and aeroplanes. What impelled those true men of science in Europe and what made them succeed in their work for the advancement of science, was because they felt in their souls the need of understanding the awful mystery of the wonderful universe in which we live. Thus mankind, I say, feel the need of religion for the same reason that they feel the need of science, art and philosophy; and the reason is because man is a being who has a soul, and because the soul in him, which looks into the past and future as well as the present_ not like animals which live only in the present_feels the need of understanding the mystery of this universe in which they live. Until men understand something of the nature, law, purpose and aim of the things which they see in the universe, they are like children in a dark room who feel the danger, insecurity and uncertainty of everything. In fact, as an English poet says, the burden of the mystery of the universe weighs upon them. Therefore mankind want science, art and philosophy for the same reason that they want religion, to lighten for them "the burden of the mystery, ....

The heavy and the weary weight of All this unintelligible world. "

Art and poetry enable the artist and poet to see beauty and order in the universe and that lightens for them the burden of this mystery. Therefore poets like Goethe, who says: "He who has art, has religion, " do not feel the need of religion. Philosophy also enables the philosophers to see method and order in the universe, and that lightens for them the burden of this mystery. Therefore philosophers, like Spinoza, "for whom, " it has been said, "the crown of the intellectual life is a transport, as for the saint the crown of the religious life is a transport," do not feel the need of religion. Lastly, science also enables the scientific men to see law and order in the universe, and that lightens for them the burden of this mystery. Therefore scientific men like Darwin and Professor Haeckel do not feel the need of religion.

But for the mass of mankind who are not poets, artists, philosophers or men of science; for the mass of mankind whose lives are full of hardships and who are exposed every moment to the shock of accident from the threatening forces of Nature and the cruel merciless passions of their fellow-men, what is it that can lighten for them the

"burden of the mystery of all this unintelligible world?" It is religion. But how does religion lighten for the mass of mankind the burden of this mystery? Religion, I say, lightens this burden by giving the mass of mankind a sense of security and a sense of permanence. In presence of the threatening forces of Nature and the cruel merciless passions of their fellowmen and the mystery and terror which these inspire, religion gives to the mass of mankind a refuge_a refuge in which they can find a sense of security ; and that refuge is a belief in some supernatural Being or beings who have absolute power and control over those forces which threaten them. Again, in presence of the constant change, vicissitude and transition of things in their own lives_birth, childhood, youth, old age and death, and the mystery and uncertainty which these inspire, religion gives to the mass of mankind also a refuge_a refuge in which they can find a sense of permanence; and that refuge is the belief in a future life. In this way, I say, religion lightens for the mass of mankind who are not poets, artists, philosophers or scientific men, the burden of the mystery of all this unintelligible world, by giving them a sense of security and a sense of permanence in their existence. Christ said: " Peace I give unto you, peace which the world cannot give and which the world cannot take away from you." That is what I mean when I say that religion gives to the mass of mankind a sense of security and a sense of permanence. Therefore, unless you can find something which can give to the mass of mankind the same peace, the same sense of security and of permanence which religion affords them, the mass of mankind will always feel the need of religion.

But I said Confucianism, without being a religion can take the place of religion. Therefore, there must be something in Confucianism which can give to the mass of mankind the same sense of security and permanence which religion affords them. Let us now find out what this something is in Confucianism which can give the samesense of security and sense of permanence that religion gives.

I have often been asked to say what Confucius has done for the Chinese nation. Now I can tell you of many things which I think Confucius has accomplished for the Chinese people. But, as to-day I have not the time, I will only here try to tell you of one principal and most important thing which Confucius has done for the Chinese nation_the one thing he did in his life by which, Confucius himself said, men in after ages would know him, would know what he had done for them. When I have explained to you this one principal thing, you will then understand what that something is in Confucian-ism which can give to the mass of mankind the same sense of security and sense of permanence which religion affords them. In order to explain this, I must ask you to allow me to go a little more into detail about Confucius and what he did.

Confucius, as some of you may know, lived in what is called a period of expansion in the history of China_a period in which the feudal age had come to an end; in which the feudal, the semi-patriarchal social order and form of government had to be expanded and reconstructed. This great change necessarily brought with it not only confusion in the affairs of the world, but also confusion in men' s minds. I have said that in the Chinese civilisation of the last ,years there is no conflict between the heart and the head. But I must now tell you that in the period of expansion in which Confucius lived there was also in China, as now in Europe, a fearful conflict between the heart and the head. The Chinese people in Confucius' s time found themselves with an immense system of institutions, established facts, accredited dogmas, customs, laws_in fact, an immense system of society and civilisation which had come down to them from their venerated ancestors. In this system their life had to be carried forward; yet they began to feel_they had a sense that this system was not of their creation, that it by no means corresponded with the wants of their actual life; that, for them, it was customary, not rational. Now the awakening of this sense in the Chinese people ,years ago was the awakening of what in Europe to-day is called the modern spirit_the spirit of liberalism, the spirit of enquiry, to find out the why and the wherefore of things. This modern spirit in China then, seeing the want of correspondence of the old order of society and civilisation with the wants of their actual life, set itself not only to reconstruct a new order of society and civilisation, but also to find a basis for this new order of society and civilisation. But all the attempts to find a new basis for society and civilisation in China then failed. Some, while they satisfied the head_the intellect of the Chinese people, did not satisfy their heart; others, while they satisfied their heart, did not satisfy their head. Hence arose, as I said, this conflict between the heart and the head in China ,years'ago, as we see it now in Europe. This conflict of the heart and head in the new order of society and civilisation which men tried to reconstruct made the Chinese people feel dissatisfied with all civilisation, and in the agony and despair which this dissatisfaction produced, the Chinese people wanted to pull down and destroy all civilisation. Men, like Laotzu, then in China as men like Tolstoy in Europe to-day, seeing the misery and suffering resulting from the conflict between the heart and the head, thought they saw something radically wrong in the very nature and constitution of society and civilisation. Laotzu and Chuang-tzu, the most brilliant of Laotzu' s disciples, told the Chinese people to throw away all civilisation. Laotzu said to the people of China: "Leave all that you have and follow me; follow me to the mountains, to the hermit's cell in the mountains, there to live a true life_a life of the heart, a life of immortality."

But Confucius, who also saw the suffering and misery of the then state of society and civilisation, thought he recognised the evil was not in the nature and constitution of society and civilisation, but in the wrong track which society and civilisation had taken, in the wrong basis which men had taken for the foundation of society and civilisation. Confucius told the Chinese people not to throw away their civilisation. Confucius told them that in a true society and true civilisation_in a society and civilisation with a true basis men also could live a true life, a life of the heart. In fact, Confucius tried hard all his life to put society and civilisation on the right track; to give it a true basis, and thus prevent the destruction of civilisation. But in the last days of his life, when Confucius saw that he could not prevent the destruction of the Chinese civilisation_what did he do? Well, as an architect who sees his house on fire, burning and falling over his head, and is convinced that he cannot possibly save the building, knows that the only thing for him to do is- to save the drawings and plans of the building so that it may afterwards be built again; so Confucius, seeing the inevitable destruction of the building of the Chinese civilisation which he conid not prevent, thought he would save the drawings and plans, and he accordingly saved the drawings and plans of the Chinese civilisation, which are now preserved in the Old Testament of the Chinese Bible_the five Canonical Books known as the Wu Ching, five Canons. That, I say, was a great service which Confucius has done for the Chinese nation_he saved the drawings and plans of their civilisation for them.

Confucius, I say, when he saved the drawings and plans of the Chinese civilisation, did a great service for the Chinese nation. But that is not the principal, the greatest service which Confucius has done for the Chinese nation. The greatest service he did was that, in saving the drawings and plans of their civilisation, he made a new synthesis, a new interpretation of the plans of that civilisation, and in that new synthesis he gave the Chinese people the true idea of a State_a true, rational, permanent, absolute basis of a State.

But then Plato and Aristotle in ancient times, and Rousseau and

Herbert Spencer in modern times also made a synthesis of civilisation, and tried to give a true idea of a State. Now what is the difference between the philosophy, the synthesis of civilisation made by the great men of Europe I have mentioned, and the synthesis of civilisation_the system of philosophy and morality now known as Confu-cianism? The difference, it seems to me, is this. The philosophy of Plato and Aristotle and of Herbert Spencer has not become a religion or the equivalent of a religion, the accepted faith of the masses of a people or nation, whereas Confucianism has become a religion or the equivalent of a religion to even the mass of the population in China. When I say religion here, I mean religion, not in the narrow European sense of the word, but in the broad universal sense. Goethe says:_" Nur saemtliche Menschen erkennen die Natur; nur saemtliche Menschen leben das Menschliche * . Only the mass of mankind know what is real life; only the mass of mankind live a true human life." Now when we speak of religion in its broad universal sense, we mean generally a system of teachings with rules of conduct which, as Goethe says, is accepted as true and binding by the mass of mankind, or at least, by the mass of the population in a people or nation. In this broad and universal sense of the word Christianity and Buddhism are religions. In this broad and universal sense, Confucianism, as you know, has become a religion, as its teachings have been acknowledged to be true and its rules of couduct to be binding by the whole Chinese race and nation, whereas the philosophy of Plato, of Aristotle and of Herbert Spencer has not become a religion even in this broad universal sense. That, I say, is the difference between Confucianism and the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle and of Herbert Spencel_the one has remained a philosophy for the learned, whereas the other has become a religion or the equivalent of a religion for the mass of the whole Chinese nation as well as for the learned of China.

In this broad universal sense of the word, I say Confucianism is a religion just as Christianity or Buddhism is a religion. But you will remember I said that Confucianism is not a religion in the European sense of the word. What is then the difference between Confucianism and a religion in the European sense of the word? There is, of course, the difference that the one has a supernatural origin and element in it, whereas the other has not. But besides this difference of supernatural and non-supernatural, there is also another difference between Confucianism and a religion in the European sense of the word such as Christianity and Buddhism, and it is this. A religion in the European sense of the word teaches a man to be a good man . But Confucianism does more than this; Confucianism teaches a man to be a good citizen. The Christian Catechism asks:_"What is the chief end of man'?" But the Confucian Catechism asks:_"What is the chief end of a citizen ?" of man, not in his individual life, but man in his relation with his fellowmen and in his relation to the State? The Christian answers the words of his Catechism by saying:" The chief end of man is to glorify God. " The Confucianist answers the words of his Catechism by saying: "The chief end of man is to live as a dutiful son and a good citizen. " Tzii Yu, a disciple of Confucius, is quoted in the Sayings and Discourses of Confucius, saying: "A wise man devotes his attention to the foundation of life_the chief end of man. When the foundation is laid, wisdom, religion will come. Now to live as a dutiful son and good citizen, is not that the foundation_the chief end of man as a moral being?" In short, a religion in the European sense of the word makes it its object to transform man into a perfect ideal man by himself, into a saint, a Buddha, an angel, whereas Confucianism limits itself to make man into a good citizen_ to live as a dutiful son and a good citizen. In other words, a religion

in the European sense of the word says:_"If you want to have religion, you must be a saint, a Buddha, an angel;" whereas Confucian-ism says:_"If you live as a dutiful son and a good citizen, you have religion."

In fact, the real difference between Confucianism and religion in the European sense of the word, such as Christianity or Buddhism, is that the one is a personal religion, or what may be called a Church religion, whereas the other is a social religion, or what may be called a State religion. The greatest service, I say, which Confucius has done for the Chinese nation, is that he gave them a true idea of a State. Now in giving this true idea of a State, Confucius made that idea a religion. In Europe politics is a science, but in China, since, Confucius' time, politics is a religion. In short, the greatest service which Confucius has done for the Chinese nation, I say, is that he gave them a Social or State religion. Confucius taught this State religion in a book which he wrote in the very last days of his life, a book to which he gave the name of Ch'un c/i'im(^^, Spring and Autumn. Confucius gave the name of Spring and Autumn to this book because the object of the book is to give the real moral causes which govern the rise and fall_the Spring and Autumn of nations. This book might also be called the Latter Day Annals, like the Latter Day Pamphlets of Carlyle. In this book Confucius gave a resume of the history of a false and decadent state of society and civilisation in which he traced all the suffering and misery of that false and decadent state of society and civilisation to its real cause_to the fact that men had not a true idea of a State; no right conception of the true nature of the duty which they owe to the State, to the head of the State, their ruler and Sovereign. In a way Confucius in this book taught the divine right of kings. Now I know all of you, or at least most of you, do not now believe in the divine right of kings. I will not argue the point with you here. I will only ask you to suspend your judgment until you have heard what I have further to say. In the meantime I will just ask your permission to quote to you here a saying of Carlyle. Carlyle says: "The right of a king to govern us is either a divine right or a diabolic wrong. " Now I want you, on this subject of the divine right of kings, to remember and ponder over this saying of Carlyle.

In this book Confucius taught that, as in all the ordinary relations and dealings between men in human society, there is, besides the base motives of interest and of fear, a higher and nobler motive to influence them in their conduct, a higher and nobler motive which rises above all considerations of interest and fear, the motive called Duty; so in this important relation of all in human society, the relation between the people of a State or nation and the Head of that State or nation, there is also this higher and nobler motive of Duty which should influence and inspire them in their conduct. Bnt what is the rational basis of this duty which the people in a State or nation owe to the head of the State or nation? Now in the feudal age before Confucius' time, with its semi-patriarchal order of Society and form of Government, when the State was more or less a family, the poeple did not feel so much the need of having a clear and firm basis for the duty which they owe to the Head of the State, because, as they were all members of one clan or family, the tie of kinship or natural affection already, in a way, bound them to the Head of the State, who was also the senior member of their clan or family. But in Confucius' time the feudal age, as I said, had come to an end; when the State had outgrown the family, when the citizens of a State were no longer composed of the members of a clan or family. It was, therefore, then necessary to find a new, clear, rational and firm basis for the duty which the people in a State or nation owe to the Head of the State_ their ruler and sovereign. Now what new basis did Confucius find for this duty? Confucius found the new basis for this duty in the word Honour.

When I was in Japan last year the ex-Minister of Education, Baron Kikuchi, asked me to translate four Chinese characters taken from the book in which, as I said, Confucius taught this State religion of his. The four characters were Ming fen to. yi (^'^_^fo^C) . I translated them as the Great Principle of Honour and Duty. It is for this reason that the Chinese make a special distinction between Con-fucianism and all other religions by calling the system of teaching taught by Confucius not a chiao (^_the general term in Chinese for religion with which they designate other religions, such as Buddhism, Mohammedanism and Christianity_but the ming chiao (^ ^C)_the religion of Honour. Again the term chum tzu chih too (^ ^.$lM) in the teachings of Confucius, translated by Dr. Legge as "the way of the superior man, " for which the nearest equivalent in the European languages is moral law_means literally, the way_the Law of the Gentleman. In fact, the whole system of philosophy and morality taught by Confucius may be summed up in one word: the Law of the Gentleman. Now Confucius codified this law of the gentleman and made it a Religion, _a State religion. The first Article of Faith in this State Religion is Ming fen ta yi_the Principle of Honour and Duty_which may thus be called: A Code of Honour.

In this State religion Confucius taught that the only true, rational, permanent and absolute basis, not only of a State, but of all Society and civilisation, is this law of the gentleman, the sense of honour in man. Now you, all of you, even those who believe that there is no morality in politics_all of you, I think, know and will admit the importance of this sense of honour in men in human society. But I am not quite sure that all of you are aware of the absolute necessity of this sense of honour in men for the carrying on of every form of human society; in fact, as the proverb which says: "There must be honour even among thieves, " show_even for the carrying on of a society of thieves. Without the sense of honour in men, all society and civilisation would on the instant break down and become impossible. Will you allow me to show you how this is so? Let us take, for example, such a trivial matter as gambling in social life. Now unless men when they sit down to gamble all recognise and feel themselves bound by the sense of honour to pay when a certain colour of cards or dice turns up, gambling would on the instant become impossible. The merchants again_unless merchants recognise and feel themselves bound by the sense of honour to fulfil their contracts, all trading would become impossible. But you will say that the merchant who repudiates his contract can be taken to the law-court. True, but if there were no law-courts, what then? Besides, the law-court_how can the law-court make the defaulting merchant fulfil his contract? By force. In fact, without the sense of honour in men, society can only be held together for a time by force. But then I think I can show you that force alone cannot hold society permanently together. The policeman who compels the merchant to fulfil his contract, uses force. But the lawyer, magistrate or president of a republic_how does he make the policeman do his duty? You know he cannot do it by force; but then by what? Either by the sense of honour in the policemen or by fraud.

In modem times all over the world to-day_and I am sorry to say now also in China_the lawyer, politician, magistrate and president of a republic make the policeman do his duty by fraud. In modem times the lawyer, politician, magistrate and president of a republic tell the policeman that he must do his duty, because it is for the good of society and for the good of his country; and that the good of society means that he, the policeman, can get his pay regularly, without which he and his family would die of starvation. The lawyer, politician or president of a republic who tells the policeman this, I say, zises fraud. I say it is fraud, because the good of the country, which for the policeman means fifteen shillings a week, which barely keeps him and his family from starvation, means for the lawye
 
紫冠道人 发表于 2004-07-27  16:53 |  评论(1) | 引用(trackback0) 


 

  大搬家基本结束   - [不说而说]

Tag: [无聊 ]

BLOGCN又访问不了了。幸亏以前有些文章在硬盘上有备份,花了九牛二虎之力把以前的一些文章给发上来了,当然不是所有的都发喽。

这样看起来这个BLOG总算是有点东西,不至于光秃秃的。

这个BLOG感觉上模板编辑功能不如BLOGCN,看来看去只有那个CSS文件可以编辑编辑,以后有空慢慢弄弄。

这个BLOG目前还是作为候补的。等把模板完善了就要两边平起平坐了。

 
紫冠道人 发表于 2004-07-27  14:03 |  评论(0) | 引用(trackback0) 


 

  心有所惜----总能给人以惊喜的丹麦与捷克   - [体育随想]

Tag: [体育 ]

    除了德意荷法等强队外,丹麦和捷克这两支球队一直以来在我心中有比较高的地位,它们虽然没有非常显赫的战绩,也没有象英西一样以国内联赛为基础而拥有比较多的追随者,但它们常能以自己的出色表现而征服我的心。从1996年起,只有在2000年的欧锦赛上这两支球队与巅峰时候的法国队和东道主荷兰队分在同一组,小组赛就被淘汰了而没有充分的发挥,其他几次大赛总有一支能给人留下比较深刻的印象。

 

    不象对德意荷这样的强队,它们比赛输或平了,由此而没有取得好成绩,心里要触动会比较的大(1997年后一直有点看中国队的比赛就是因为这个);而对丹麦和捷克这样的球队心理则要平和得多,它们打好了自然高兴,它们没打好由此输了、没出线、或被淘汰了,则只有一种心有戚戚焉的感觉----喔,可惜。所以一直以来看这两支球队的比赛都会全力以赴一点,也不怕自己的扫帚星效应起作用。

 

    说起喜欢丹麦队,其实刚开始是很奇怪的一种理由。由于没有经历过1992年的童话,在1996年又没有丹麦队的身影,所以直到1998年才见到了这支球队的庐山真面目,最初对这支球队感兴趣完全是因为施梅切尔,这位当时曼联队的钢门。虽然那时这位丹麦人已经走下坡路了,但因为曼联队的比赛看过不少,所以对他还是有点感情,加之自己是踢后卫的,对这种门将在心里就有一种认同感----有他