Chapter 43 Children Learning (8)

The various influences of a privileged life in early childhood on the Japanese do not lead them to think that the constraints of later childhood, based on a "sense of shame," are a deprivation of privilege.The Japanese often attack the Christian concept of self-sacrifice, even at the end of their lives, saying it is a "voluntary" death for "loyalty", "filial piety" or "giri" and does not consider it self-sacrifice category.Such a voluntary death, they said, had served his purpose.Otherwise it is "dog death". "dog's death" in English means to die of poverty, while in Japanese it means to die without value.Some less extreme behaviors are also called "self-sacrific-ing" in English, self-sacrifice, and belong to the category of "self-respect" in Japanese.

"Self-respect" often means restraint, which has the same value as self-respect, and only restraint can accomplish great things.Americans emphasize that freedom is a necessary condition for achieving goals, while the Japanese believe that this alone is not enough.The idea that restraint makes the self more valuable is the main tenet of their moral commandment, otherwise, how can they control the impulsive and dangerous self?These impulses have the potential to explode and disrupt normal life.As a Japanese said: Over the years, the thicker the lacquer layer on the lacquer blank, the more valuable the lacquerware produced.The same is true of a nation... People say of the Russians: "Peel off the Russians, and there are Tatars"; Its lacquer layer reveals pirates." But please don't forget: Japanese lacquer is a treasure and a material for making handicrafts.It is not a paint that hides blemishes, it is free from impurities, at least as fine as the original.

The contradictory nature of the behavior of Japanese men, which astonishes Westerners, is caused by the incoherence of Japanese children's education.They deeply remember that there was a time when they were gods in their own little world, they could indulge themselves, even attack others, and it seemed that all their desires could be satisfied. remain in the depths of consciousness.This deep-rooted duality enables them to indulge in romantic love or absolute obedience to the marriage arranged by the family when they grow up; Their education makes them often cowardly, but they can be brave to the point of recklessness; The army blindly follows the training, but it is stubborn and untamed; they are staunch conservatives, but they are easily attracted by new methods.They once learned Chinese customs and then absorbed Western theories. This is a clear proof of their contradictions.

The duality of the Japanese character creates all sorts of tensions.The Japanese reacted differently to these tensions.Although everyone has to make their own decisions on the same basic question, that is, how to coordinate the experience of being tolerated everywhere in childhood with the bondage that is often related to their own safety in later life. Many Japanese people find it difficult to solve this problem.Some, like moralists, scrupulously discipline their lives lest their indulgences conflict with actual life—a fear all the more acute because the indulgences are not fantasies but actual experiences; some People will have a detached attitude, stick to the rules they have made, and thus think that they are the authority who can give orders; There are those who, because of a deeper attachment to their childhood, face all that society demands of them in adulthood. , would feel severe anxiety.They try to be more dependent on others, but age no longer allows it.They feel that any failure is a betrayal of authority, and they are prone to tension and excitement.They are terrified of any unexpected event that cannot be handled routinely.

These are the particular dangers that Japanese people face when they have an acute fear of being ostracized or blamed.If they are not overly stressed, they will show in their lives that they not only enjoy life, but also maintain the habit of not stabbing other people's emotions cultivated in childhood.It's been quite an amazing success.Childhood gave them self-confidence.The sense of guilt has not yet formed a heavy burden, and the various constraints imposed later are for harmony with the partner, and the obligations are mutual.Although in some matters, personal wishes will be interfered with by others, but in some prescribed "freedom areas", emotional impulses can still be satisfied.The Japanese have always been famous for pottery and natural pleasures, such as viewing cherry blossoms, viewing the moon, viewing chrysanthemums, viewing snow, listening to insects, singing waka, haiku, decorating gardens, flower arrangement, drinking tea, etc.These are by no means the activities that should be expected of a nation that is troubled and deeply aggressive.Nor are they despondent and decadent in their pursuit of pleasure.In the blissful age before Japan embarked on that unfortunate "mission", the vivaciousness of rural life in leisure and the diligence of work were by no means inferior to any nation.

But the Japanese are very demanding of themselves.In order to avoid the great threat of abandonment and ridicule by the world, they must give up their personal pleasures that they have just tasted.In the important affairs of life they must restrain these impulses, and the very few who violate this are in danger of losing their self-respect.Self-respecting people, whose life criterion is not to distinguish between good and evil, but to cater to the "expectations" of the world, avoid "disappointment" of the world, and bury their personal requirements in the "expectations" of the group -- such talents Only a kind person who "knows shame" and is prudent can bring honor to his family, hometown and country.The tension thus created was very strong, manifesting itself as a colossal force that made Japan the leader of the East and a great power in the world.For individuals, this tension is a heavy burden.People are highly nervous, afraid of failure, afraid that the work they have sacrificed so much will still be underestimated.Sometimes their pent-up anger erupts in extreme aggressive behavior.And not because, like Americans, their claims or liberties are threatened, but because they feel they have been insulted or defamed.Then their dangerous ego takes out, if possible, on the insulter and slanderer; if not, on themselves.

The Japanese pay a high price for their way of life.They voluntarily gave up all kinds of most basic freedoms.These freedoms are taken for granted by Americans like breathing air.Since the defeat, the Japanese are pursuing democracy.What ecstasy will they have when they can act without scruple!Mrs. Sugimoto once vividly described her joy of being able to plant flowers and trees at will when she was studying English in a missionary school in Tokyo.The teacher assigns each female student a plot of garden and supplies the required seeds. This garden, which can be planted at will, gave me a new sense of personal rights... The fact that people can have such a sense of happiness in their hearts amazes me... People like me, who never violate tradition, Never sullied the reputation of the family, never angered parents, teachers, superiors, never harmed anything in the world, and now he can act freely.

While the other girls grow flowers, she plans to grow potatoes. No one can understand that this almost absurd behavior gave me a reckless and free mood, and the God of freedom was knocking on my heart. It's a whole new world. One piece of land in my garden is intentionally left barren to keep it wild, but there is always someone pruning the pine branches and trimming the hedges.Every morning, the old man has to clean the stone steps, clean up the area under the pine tree, and then carefully sprinkle the green pine needles picked from the forest on it. For Mrs. Sugimoto, this disguised natural wildness is a symbol of the disguised freedom of will she was educated in.This kind of camouflage can be seen everywhere in Japan.More than half of the huge stones buried in the ground in Japanese gardens have been carefully selected, transported from other places, and made of small stones for the bottom.The layout of the boulders should be in harmony with the flowing springs, houses, bushes and trees.Chrysanthemums are also potted plants, ready to participate in the chrysanthemum exhibition held everywhere every year.The petals of each flower are carefully trimmed by the grower, and are often held in shape with invisible metal coils.

Mrs. Sugimoto was lucky enough to remove these thin coils on the chrysanthemum.At this time, her excited mood was joyful and innocent.Potted flowers, the petals have been manipulated by people, once they return to nature, they show full of joy.But today, among the Japanese, the freedom to cast doubt on the pressure of "sha" without regard to the expectations of others can upset the delicate balance of their way of life.In new situations, they must learn new constraints.Change comes at a price, and building new perspectives and new morals is not easy.Westerners cannot imagine that the Japanese will immediately adopt the new morality and truly make it their own, but they should not think that Japan will eventually be unable to establish a set of relatively liberal and tolerant ethical norms.The "second generation" Japanese living in the United States no longer have the knowledge and practice of Japanese morality, and there is no such thing in their blood that they should stick to the rules of Japan, the country of their parents' origin.Similarly, the Japanese living in Japan may also establish a way of life in the new era that does not require the self-control obligations of the past—chrysanthemums can be completely removed from the metal coils, and they are still beautiful without being manipulated by others.

In a transitional period of expanding spiritual liberty, the Japanese may be able to draw on two or three ancient traditions to keep them on an even keel.One of them is the spirit of "self-responsibility", which is what they say they are responsible for wiping off "the rust on their body".The body is vividly compared to a knife. Just as the wearer has the responsibility to protect the cleanliness of the knife, people are also responsible for the consequences of their actions.He must acknowledge and accept all the natural consequences of his weakness, infirmity, and ineffectiveness.In Japan, the interpretation of self-responsibility is far stricter than in liberal America.In this sense, the knife is not a symbol of aggression, but a metaphor for ideals and self-responsibility.This virtue will serve as the most effective counterbalance in a society that respects individual liberty.However, Japan's children's education and behavior philosophy have made the morality of self-responsibility deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and become a part of the Japanese spirit.Now the Japanese have put forward "putting down the knife" (surrender) in the Western sense, but in the Japanese sense, they will continue to work hard to focus on how to keep the rust-prone knife in their hearts clean.In their moral terms, the knife is a symbol that survives even in a free, peaceful world.