Chapter 7 CHAPTER 5 THE BENEFITS OF HISTORY AND SOCIETY

In English, we often say that we are "heirs of the ages".Two world wars and a severe economic crisis have more or less weakened the confidence in speaking this sentence.But this change has not increased our sense of indebtedness to the past.The views of the Eastern nations are on the contrary, and they always consider themselves to be debtors of history.Much of what Westerners call ancestor worship is not really worship, nor is it entirely about their ancestors, but a ritual, an acknowledgment of a great debt of gratitude to the past.More than that, the debt owed is not only to the past, but also in the present, increasing the debt owed in daily contact with others.Their day-to-day will and actions must spring from this sense of indebtedness.Westerners are extremely contemptuous of their debt to society, even though society has given them good care, education, and a happy life, including their birth.Therefore, the Japanese always feel that our motives are not pure.In Japan the virtuous people never say they owe no one, as we do in America.They never take the past lightly.In Japan, gi means affirming one's place in a vast network of mutual gratitude, both to ancestors and to contemporaries.

Such a huge difference between East and West is very simple to talk about, but it is very difficult to understand the consequences of this difference in real life.We must understand this difference in Japan, otherwise we will be unable to understand either the extreme self-sacrifice we know in war, or the irritability that seems to us unnecessary.Being in debt makes one very irritable, as the Japanese have proven.It also places a huge responsibility on the Japanese shoulders. There are many words in both Chinese and Japanese that mean "obligation" in English.These words are not synonyms, and their special meanings cannot be translated into English, because the ideas they express are foreign to us.It is equivalent to "obligation" in Japanese, and the words that express a person's debt or favor, from the largest to the smallest, are called "恩".Its usage can be translated into a series of English, from "obligation" (obligation), "loyalty" (loyalty) to "kindness" (concern), "love" (love), but these words will inevitably distort the original meaning.If "en" really means "love" or even "obligation", then the Japanese could also say "receive the child's favor", but this usage is simply not possible in Japan. "En" also does not imply loyalty.In Japanese, loyalty is expressed by other words, and those words are by no means synonymous with "en". The word "en" has many usages, one of which has a common meaning, which is a burden, a debt, a burden to bear.When a person receives favors from his superiors, if not from his superiors, or at least from his peers, it gives the recipient an unpleasant sense of inferiority.When the Japanese say "I am owed by someone", it is equivalent to saying "I have an obligation to someone", and they call this creditor and benefactor a "benefactor".

"Don't forget your kindness" can also be an expression of sincerity.In the Japanese textbook for the second grade of elementary school, there is a short story titled "Don't Forget Gratitude", which means this.This is a story in the teaching material of the youth self-cultivation class: Hatch is a cute puppy.Not long after it was born, it was taken away by a stranger.Be loved like a child in that person's house.Therefore, its weak body also became stronger.Every morning when the owner goes to work, it always escorts him to the station, and when he returns home from get off work in the evening, he goes to the station to meet him again.

Soon the master died.Haqi may not know that it is looking for its owner every day.Going to that station as usual, whenever the tram arrives, it watches the crowd for its owner. Years passed like this, one year passed, two years passed, three years passed, and even ten years passed, but you can still see the grown and aging Haqi, looking for its owner in front of the station every day . The moral implication of this short story is this: Loyalty is another name for love.A son who is filial to his mother can be said to never forget his mother's kindness, that is to say, he has the same sincerity towards his mother as Ha Qi towards his master. The word "en" does not simply refer to his love for his mother, but refers to everything he owes to his mother, including the nurturing and care of his mother when he was a baby, the sacrifices made by his mother when he was a child, and everything his mother did for him when he was an adult. In short, it includes all the debts owed to her by the mother when she was alive. "En" also means the return of debts owed, so it has the meaning of love, but its original meaning is debt.We Americans believe that love is not bound by obligation, but freely given.

En, when applied to the first and greatest debt of gratitude, that is, "emperor's grace", is used in the sense of infinite loyalty.This is a debt of gratitude to the Emperor, and everyone must accept it with the utmost gratitude.They think that they are fortunate to be born in this country, live and work in peace and contentment, and everything is satisfactory, so they cannot but think of the grace bestowed by the Emperor.Throughout Japanese history, the greatest benefactor in a person's life is the highest superior in his life circle.This character has changed with the times. He used to be a local landlord, feudal lord or general, and now he is the emperor.The most important thing does not seem to be who is the highest superior, but that the habit of "not forgetting gratitude" has occupied the highest position among Japanese habits for hundreds of years.Modern Japan has tried every means to concentrate this feeling in the emperor.Every preference the Japanese have for their own way of life adds to the affection for the "emperor."During the war, every cigarette issued to the frontline troops in the name of the emperor emphasized the "emperor's favor" received by each soldier.Every sip of wine received by soldiers before the expedition is a kind of "emperor's favor".The kamikazes, they say, repay the emperor's favor by committing suicide attacks.To defend certain islands in the Pacific Ocean, all "jade broken" (all killed in battle or committed suicide) is also said to be repaying the boundless grace of the emperor.

People also received favors from those who were lower than the emperor.Of course, I also accepted the grace of my parents.This is the basis of the well-known oriental filial piety, which gives parents power over their children.The saying is also that children owe a debt to their parents and must work hard to repay it.So children must try to obey their parents, not like Germany (which is also a country where parents have power over their children), parents must try to force their children to obey.The Japanese interpretation of this oriental filial piety is very realistic.Regarding the kindness of parents, they have such a proverb, which is translated to the general effect: "Only by raising children will you know the kindness of your parents", which means: "Only when you become a parent yourself will you know how much you owe your parents." In reality, it is the care and labor of the children every day.The ancestor worship of the Japanese is limited to the father's generation and the ancestors who are still in memory.This makes the Japanese value those who actually took care of them when they were young.Of course, no matter what kind of culture you are in, people have a childhood that cannot be separated from the care of their parents. They must provide clothing, food, and shelter before they can grow up. This is absolutely true.The Japanese felt deeply that the Americans underestimated this.As an author said: "In the United States, remembering the kindness of parents is to treat parents well, that's all." Of course, no one can make children bear "kindness", but taking good care of children is to treat oneself well. A reward for the debts owed to parents in childhood.People take care of their children as their parents did back then, or even better than that. This partly repays the kindness of the parents, and the obligation to the children is only subordinate to the "kindness of the parents."

The Japanese owe special kindness to teachers and masters.They are all people who have helped themselves grow.They are kind to themselves, and may agree to their requests when they are in trouble in the future, or give special care to their relatives behind them.People must spare no effort to fulfill this obligation, and this kind of debt does not decrease with time, and even becomes heavier as time goes on, like forming a kind of interest.It is a big thing to receive someone's kindness, as the Japanese often say: "It is difficult to repay a kindness just in case".It is a burden, "strength of grace," a phrase that is generally held to be a just right over one's will.

The successful application of the above-mentioned ethical principle of debtors depends on each person being able to see himself as a great debtor, and to fulfill his obligations consciously and without complaint.Earlier we saw how thoroughly the Japanese hierarchy was organized.The habits that accompany the hierarchy and are scrupulously observed give the Japanese a high regard for moral debts that no Westerner can imagine.This is easier to do if the superior is regarded as a good person.The Japanese word for "love" is interesting, and it proves that superiors are indeed considered to "love" their subordinates."爱" in Japanese is equivalent to "love".In the last century, when missionaries translated "love" in Christianity, they believed that the only word in Japanese that could express this meaning was the word "love".When they translated the Bible, they used this word to express God's love for mankind and mankind's love for God.However, the word "love" in Japanese specifically refers to the "love" of a superior for a subordinate.Westerners may think that this kind of "love" actually means "Paternalism", but in Japanese, it means not only "shelter", but a kind of affection.In modern Japan, the word "love" is still used strictly for subordinates, but perhaps because of the influence of Christian language, but also because of official efforts to break down hierarchical boundaries, the word is now also used among peers.

Although cultural peculiarities make it easy for the Japanese to accept debts, it is still unusual in Japan to be grateful.They don't like to accept favors casually and bear the debt of favor.They often talk about "imposing upon another", and the closest translation into English is "imposing upon another".But in the United States, "imposing" contains the meaning of forcing others.In Japan, "令人感恩" means to give something to someone or to do someone a favor.For the Japanese, it is the most annoying thing to suddenly be favored by strangers.For they know the troubles of being "en" in dealing with neighbors and old hierarchies.If the other person is just an acquaintance or a close peer, they will not be happy about it.They would rather avoid getting involved in the trouble that "en" brings.The Japanese are generally indifferent to accidents on the street, not just because of lack of initiative, but because they believe that anyone but the official police will be benevolent if they intervene casually.Before the Meiji Restoration, there was a well-known decree: "When there is a dispute, those who have nothing to do with it must not intervene." In this case, if there is no clear duty to help, people will suspect whether they want to get something out of it benefit.Knowing that helping others will make the person concerned feel "benefited", people will not actively take the opportunity to intervene, but treat it with caution.The Japanese are very careful about getting involved in "en".Even if it is a cigarette, if you have no past interaction with the person passing the cigarette, you will feel uncomfortable.In this case, the most polite way to express gratitude is: "I'm really sorry" (Japanese is "気の魔", which originally means embarrassing feelings, uncomfortable feelings).As one Japanese person explained to me, "In such a situation, it's easier to just say you're embarrassed. You're ashamed of the grace because you never thought of doing anything for the other person." So, " I'm really sorry" (気の魔). The phrase "気の魔" is sometimes translated as "Thank you" (Thank you. Thank you for your smoke), sometimes as "I am sorry" (I'm sorry, sorry), or as "I feel like a heel" (I feel really Excuse me).These have meanings, but they are not appropriate.

There are many expressions similar to "Thank you" in Japanese, expressing the uneasiness when receiving favor.Among them, the meaning is the clearest, and the one adopted by large modern urban department stores is "Thank you" (ぁりがとぅ, 有难ぅ), whose original meaning is "Oh, this difficult thing".The Japanese often say this sentence here is to say that customers come to buy goods and bring huge and rare favors to the store, which is a kind of compliment.It is also used in accepting gifts from others and in many other occasions.There are also several general expressions of gratitude, like "気の魔" (really sorry), which express the embarrassment when receiving favors.Small shopkeepers often say "すみません, 済みません".The original meaning of this word (すみません) is: "How did you get this?" That is, "I have received your favor. But under the current economic arrangement, I will never be able to repay it, and I feel very sorry."This word is translated into "Thank you" (thank you), "I'm grateful" (very grateful) or "I'm sorry" (sorry), "I apologize" (sorry) in English.For example, on the street, a gust of wind blows away your hat, but someone else picks it up for you. This sentence is most appropriate on this occasion.When the person gives you the hat, as a courtesy, you should express your inner unease when you take the hat: "This stranger is now doing me a favor, but I can't repay it. I am deeply guilty. I can only apologize a little bit." Feel better. 'すみません' (How did I get it) is probably the most common Japanese expression of thanks. Saying this is admitting: 'I have received his favor, and taking the hat doesn't end it, but I can't help it , because we met by chance.'”

In the eyes of the Japanese, there is another word that expresses gratitude more strongly, which is "かたじけなぃ" (sincerity and fear).The Chinese characters of this word are written as "感なぃ" and "忝なぃ", which has two meanings of "humiliated" and "grateful".The Japanese dictionary explains this word: You are ashamed and humiliated because you have received a special favor, because you do not deserve such a favor, so you use this word to express your sense of shame when you are favored.And shame (感), as we will see in the next chapter, is extremely sensitive to this in the Japanese.Old-school shop assistants in Japan still use "かたじけなぃ" (sincerely) when thanking customers, and customers also say "かたじけなぃ" when they buy goods and ask for credit.This word appeared frequently in novels before the Meiji era.When a low-status girl is selected as a concubine by the lord, she should say "かたじけなぃ" (sincerely and fearfully) to the lord, which means: "I am very ashamed and do not deserve this favor. I am flattered by your kindness." Similarly, a samurai who was pardoned by the authorities for a duel should also say "かたじけなぃ", which means "I have received such a great favor, and I am ashamed of others. I should not have done this to myself. I regret it very much and express my deepest condolences to you." gratitude". The above statements speak eloquently of the "power of grace" better than any other generalization or summation.People often have ambivalence when they receive grace.In the recognized social interpersonal relationship, the huge sense of debt contained in "en" pushes every Japanese to do his best to repay the debt.However, the feeling of debt is uncomfortable, so it is easy to feel disgusted.For this kind of aversion, the most famous Japanese writer Soseki Natsume made a vivid description in his famous novel "Brother".The protagonist of the novel grew up in Tokyo when he was a child. He worked as a teacher in a small town at first, but he soon felt that most of his colleagues were mediocre, and he really couldn't get along.But one of the young teachers had a good relationship with his brother, and he jokingly called his new friend "Porcupine".One day, when the two of them were together, "Porcupine" bought him a glass of ice water, which cost him ten and a half cents, or about two tenths of a cent. A few days later, a teacher challenged my brother, saying that Porcupine was speaking ill of him behind his back.My brother believed the words of the teller, and immediately thought of the "graciousness" of the glass of ice water given by the porcupine: Even though it's just a glass of ice water, it really hurts my face to accept favors from such a duplicity guy.Although it only cost him a penny or five cents, it doesn't matter if it is a penny or five cents, I would feel uneasy if I were to die by accepting the favor of such a liar. …When I receive favors from others and keep silent, it shows that I respect the other party and value his character.I could have paid for the glass of ice water I drank, but he insisted on paying for it, which made me feel guilty all the time. Money can't buy this.Although I am powerless, I have an independent personality.If I bow my head to accept other people's kindness, it is equivalent to asking me to pay a million yuan in return. I let the porcupine spend a penny and a half, and I really felt that I was giving him a million dollars in return. The next day he dropped a quarter and a half on Porcupine's table.Because, without paying off the debt of this glass of ice water, the relationship between these two people, that is, the problem of the porcupine speaking ill of him behind his back, cannot be dealt with.Maybe they will wrestle, but the "en" must be settled first, because it is no longer an "en" between friends. Such allergies to such trifles, such susceptibility to stings, are found in America only in the criminal records of hoodlum-like teenagers or in the medical records of mentally ill patients.But in Japan it is considered a virtue.Maybe the Japanese think that my brother's extreme behavior is not so much among the Japanese.That's just the fact that most Japanese are so-so.When Japanese commentators talked about "Brother", they said that he was "a man who is upright by nature, pure like crystal, and will fight to the end for justice".In fact, Natsume Soseki once said that "Brother" was his own incarnation, and critics often agree with this.This novel depicts a noble virtue—the beneficiary should regard his gratitude as having the value of "millions of dollars"; only by thinking and acting in this way can he get rid of the situation of the debtor.He can only accept the favor of "worthy people". In anger, "Brother" compared the kindness of the porcupine with the kindness he had received from Old Nan for many years.The old nanny doted on him very much, and always felt that no one in his family valued him, so she often brought him some small gifts such as candy and colored pencils in private.Once I gave him three yuan at once. “I felt so guilty about her being so constant with me.” When Old Nan handed him three dollars, he felt “humiliated,” but took it as a loan.However, several years have passed and it has not been returned.So, why didn't you pay it back?Regarding the feeling of being favored by "Porcupine", he monologues himself: "That's because I see her as a part of myself." This monologue helps us understand the Japanese response to En.That is to say, no matter how complicated emotions are mixed, as long as the "benefactor" is actually oneself, that is, occupying a certain position in "my" hierarchical organization, or being able to do things like blowing off hats in the wind or picking them up for others, etc. If you can do something, or someone who respects me, then you can feel at ease.If these conditions are not met, "en" becomes an embarrassing pain.This kind of "debt", no matter how slight it is to feel sad, is the correct attitude. Every Japanese knows that, no matter what the situation, too much favor can cause trouble.There is a good example of this recently in this magazine's "Questions and Answers Column."This is a column in the Tokyo Journal of Psychoanalysis, rather like the "Lovebroker's Mailbox" in American magazines.The following answer, which has no Freudian color, is purely Japanese.An elderly man wrote to ask: I am a father of three sons and a daughter. My wife passed away 16 years ago. For the sake of my children, I did not continue.The children also regard my behavior as a kind of virtue.Now the children are all married and married.When my son got married eight years ago, I retired to a house two or three streets away from my home.It's a bit embarrassing to say, but for three years, I had a relationship with a Ye Du Niang (who was sold to a bar as a prostitute). After hearing about her life experience, I felt very sympathetic, and spent a small sum of money to replace her. She redeemed her body, took her home, taught her etiquette, and settled in my house as a servant.The girl has a strong sense of responsibility and is quite frugal.However, my son, daughter-in-law, daughter, and son-in-law all look down on me because of this, and treat me like an outsider.Of course, I don't blame them.This is my fault. The girl's parents didn't seem to know anything about me and the girl. They wrote to me and asked me to return their daughter, saying that she had reached the age of marriage.I met her parents and explained the situation clearly. Although her parents are poor, they are not greedy for money.They agreed that her daughter should stay as if she were dead.The girl is also willing to stay by my side until I die.However, we are as different in age as father and daughter, so I also wanted to send her home.My sons and daughters think she is eyeing my property. I have been sick for many years, and I am afraid I can only live another year or two at most.what should I do?Very much looking forward to your advice.In the end, I want to make one point clear. Although the girl once fell into prostitution, it was all forced by life.Her character is pure, and her parents are not mercenaries. The doctor responsible for answering this question believes that this is a clear example that the old man takes his kindness to his children too seriously.He said: You're talking about a very common thing that... Before I get to the point, please allow me to say that, from your letter, it seems that you hope to get the answer you want from me, which makes me feel a little uncomfortable.Of course, I sympathize with your long celibacy.However, you want to use this to make your children grateful to you and justify your current behavior, which I cannot agree with.I'm not saying you're a dodgy person.However, you are a weak-willed person.If you cannot live without a woman, you'd better make it clear to your children that you must live with a woman, rather than make them feel indebted to you for your long-term celibacy.If you overemphasize your kindness to them, they will naturally feel disgusted with you.In the final analysis, people will not lose their lust, and you cannot avoid it.However, one should overcome lust.Your kids want you to conquer lust because they want you to live like the ideal father they have in mind.However, they were disappointed, and I understand their feelings, although they are selfish.They married and were sexually satisfied, but they refused their father's request.Of course you think so, but the children think otherwise (as I said earlier).These two ideas cannot be thought of together. You said that the girl and her parents are kind, but that is just wishful thinking on your part.Everyone knows that people's good and evil are determined by the environment and conditions.It cannot be said that they are "kind" just because they are not pursuing benefits at the moment.Parents will let their daughter marry a dying old man as a concubine?That would be foolish.If they plan to marry a daughter as a concubine, they must want to get a fortune. If you think it is not like that, it is completely your fantasy. I don't wonder if your children worry that the girl's parents are planning your fortune.I think it is.A young girl might not have such an idea, but her parents would definitely. You now have two options: (1) Be a "perfect person" (without selfish desires and omnipotence), and completely break with that girl.You may not be able to do this, because your feelings will not allow it. (2) "Be a mortal again" (abandon all pretentiousness), smash the illusion of your ideal image in the minds of your children. As for the property, you should make a will as soon as possible, and determine the share between the girl and your children. Finally, don't forget that you are an octogenarian, and I can see from your handwriting that you are becoming childish.Your thoughts are more emotional than rational.You said you were saving the girl from the abyss, but you actually wanted her to be a substitute for your "mother" to take care of you.Babies cannot survive without their mothers.So I advise you to go the second way. This letter speaks a lot about Grace.Once a person chooses to make others (even his own children) feel great gratitude, he must sacrifice himself if he wants to change this practice.He should understand this.Moreover, no matter how much sacrifice he makes to benefit his children, he should not take credit for it in the future and use it to "justify his current behavior." It would be wrong to think that way.It’s “natural” for the kids to resent this. They’re “betrayed” because their father hasn’t consistently followed through.It would be absurd for a father to think that the father sacrificed everything for his children when they needed care, and now that the children are grown up they should take special care of him.Instead of thinking that way, children will only realize the debt owed and "naturally oppose you." For this kind of thing, Americans will not make such judgments.We think that a father who sacrifices himself for his motherless children should be appreciated by them in later life, and not considered "natural" for them to oppose him.In order to see it the way the Japanese see it, we might as well look at it as a monetary exchange, for in this respect we Americans have a comparable attitude.If a father formally lends money to his children and asks them to repay the principal and interest at that time, then we may say to the father: "It is natural for the children to oppose you." In this sense, we can also understand why the Japanese After accepting other people's cigarettes, instead of saying "thank you" directly, you should say "ashamed".We can also understand why the Japanese get annoyed when it comes to someone doing favors to someone.At least we can understand that "Brother" regards the grace of a glass of ice water so seriously.But we Americans do not place monetary standards on such events as a casual treat at a soda shop; Loyalty and such.And the Japanese do it.We value love, caring, generosity and kindness, the more unconditional the more valuable.In Japan, however, there must be conditions attached, and one who accepts such behavior becomes a debtor, just as the Japanese proverb says: "The gifted (extraordinary) generosity is the first to dare to accept the favor of others."

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Notes: , "Brother", the full-length trilogy "After the Vernal Equinox", "Pedestrian", "Heart", and "Sanshiro", "The Later Things", etc.There are also essays and literary essays such as "The Tower of London", "Shield of the Phantom", "One Night", and "On Literature".There are complete works. - translator