Chapter 20 Morality and its pressures (1)

In Japan, morality is refined to the code of conduct, which constitutes a rigid thing. Since the 7th century, Japan has imported some ethical concepts from China. "Zhong" and "filial piety" were originally Chinese.However, the Chinese never regard these morals as unconditional.There is a higher morality above loyalty and filial piety in China, that is "benevolence". The corresponding expressions in English are generally "charity" and "fraternity", but it has a wider meaning and almost covers all the best interpersonal relationships. .Parents must have "benevolence"; rulers who do not have "benevolence" will suffer rebellion and uprising.Whether people are "loyal" to the emperor always depends on whether the emperor is practicing "benevolent" government.Local officials and other leaders also put benevolence first.It is the whole Chinese ethical system,

The highest standard of judgment on human character and conduct. This commanding height of Chinese ethics has never been accepted by Japan.When discussing the differences between the two countries, Japanese scholar Asagawa Kanichi wrote: “In Japan, these viewpoints are incompatible with the system, and even in the academic field, they have never been fully accepted.” “Jin” was excluded from Japanese morality, For Chinese leaders, at least superficially, "benevolence" is a must-have quality; in Japan, it is definitely an extra thing. "Benevolence and righteousness" lacked status, and the term was gradually used to describe the feelings between local ruffians.In the Tokugawa era, there were many single-sword villains who killed people and sold goods for a living (regular samurai wore double swords, which looked good, and only scoundrels wore single swords), and they would say "benevolence and righteousness" to each other.When a villain is hunted down, if he asks another villain to harbor him, and the other villain does lend a helping hand out of fear of retaliation, this is called "doing benevolence and righteousness".In modern society, benevolence and righteousness have become more closely related to illegal behavior.For example, the newspaper said: "The lower-class laborers are still practicing benevolence and righteousness. For this, they must be severely punished. The police should prohibit those benevolence and righteousness that are still prevalent in every corner of Japan." Obviously, the "benevolence and righteousness" here has nothing to do with Chinese benevolence and righteousness. up.It refers only to the honor of robbers.Some small foremen in Japan sign contracts with unskilled labor and profit from them, just like the Italians on the American docks, this practice is also called "doing benevolence and righteousness."At this point, Japanese culture has completely trampled on the highest value of "benevolence" in Chinese ethics, making the "righteousness" that was originally under it the commanding height of the ethical system, resulting in extremely serious consequences.

Filial piety is "righteousness", because there is no benevolence as a premise, the result is tolerating and courteous parents' evil deeds also becomes filial piety.Filial piety is broken only by higher-order obligations, such as those owed to the emperor, the supreme head of the hierarchy.Whether the parents are worthy of respect, whether they are deliberately destroying their own happiness, under the righteousness of filial piety, the parties concerned can only do what they can. There is such a story in Japanese movies: a rural female student was sold to a brothel by her parents because of a natural disaster.Her teacher mobilized the villagers to pool a sum of money to redeem her.The teacher's mother then stole the money.The son knew that his mother had stolen the money, but he had to bear the blame and punishment himself.His wife found out the truth, and in order to preserve her husband's reputation, she left a suicide note saying that she was solely responsible for the loss of money, and then threw herself into the river with the baby in her arms.After the incident was publicized, no one cared about the responsibility of the mother.After fulfilling his filial piety, the son went to Hokkaido alone to hone his personality so that he could stand the test of the same kind in the future.The son in the movie is an entirely positive image, a hero with perfect morals.

As an American, I believe that the thief is solely responsible for the tragedy.But my Japanese friends strongly disagree with my American judgment.He says filial piety is something that often comes into conflict with other virtues, but either way, if the protagonist points the finger at his mother, he will destroy his own reputation and self-esteem. There is another example. A relatively modern Japanese woman who lives in the United States once took in a young pregnant woman in Tokyo who was driven out by her mother-in-law.The girl's husband loved her but sadly disowned her.At that time, she did not blame her husband, and gradually poured her feelings into the baby who was about to be born.But as soon as the baby was born, the mother-in-law brought the filial son to ask for the baby.Of course the baby belongs to the husband's family.The mother-in-law sent the child to the orphanage immediately after taking it away.

In the United States, these are seen as incidents of foreign interference in one's well-being, but the Japanese cannot regard interference as "foreign."Well, filial piety, this is higher than personal happiness.It seems to say that you can pursue a good life, but you have to pay off your debts first.Of course, there is a backlash against this unfair weight of morality.Ask the Asians what they hate the most, and the Burmese say fire, thieves, the government, and villains; the Japanese say earthquakes, thunder, and old guys. The Japanese do not show filial piety to their ancestors beyond their memory, and no one cares about the tombstones of the elders three generations ago.Many monographs mention that the Japanese lack abstract thinking and have no interest in conceiving unrealistic images.Compared with the Chinese, Japan's filial piety confirms this point: the duty of filial piety is limited to the survivors.

To love one's own children, Westerners think it comes from mother's instinct and father's sense of responsibility, while Easterners think it comes from filial piety to ancestors.The Japanese say very clearly that the way to repay the kindness of the ancestors is to redouble the care received by oneself and pass on to the next generation.Helping the offspring of the poor immediate family also falls within the scope of filial piety, but it does not have to come from a heart of love.For example, if a family adopts a widowed niece, the young widow is called a "relative with cold food" because she can only eat leftovers from cold food.Anyone in the family can order her, and, for any decision about her, she has to obey unconditionally.She may also be treated better under special circumstances, but this is not out of "obligation".

Because of the hierarchical system in Japan, there are often conflicts between brothers.But the conflict between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law at home may be the most intense.In modern times, Japanese girls openly talk about marrying a man who has no inheritance rights, because he can go out to earn a living, and the daughter-in-law does not have to live with her domineering mother-in-law. Under the heavy weight of "obligations", Japan can occasionally see rather explicit resentment among family members.However, this phenomenon does not exist in the duty close to filial piety but higher—to be loyal to the emperor.Japanese politicians regard the emperor as sacred and completely separate from human life.The filial piety of the Japanese people to the emperor has become an imaginary and pious admiration.Politicians in the early Meiji era wrote: "The history of Western countries is a history of conflict between the ruler and his people, which is not in keeping with the spirit of Japan." No responsibility for any actions.Politicians need exactly this spiritual unity.Loyalty to the shogun was emphasized in the past, and although the Japanese did so, plots to overthrow and even assassinations were not uncommon.The daimyo and the general are closer to the people, and it is easy for people to see who he is, and the loyalty generated at this time is naturally weaker.But the emperor lives in Jiuchong, and everyone can shape the image of the emperor according to their own will.