Chapter 56 "Thinker" and "Practitioner" of National Quality

"Xie Sizhong is a thinker as well as a practitioner." ——Wang Meng, former minister of the Ministry of Culture, vice chairman of the Chinese Writers Association, and a famous writer, after reading Xie Sizhong's "National Quality Concerns" and "Shackles of Concepts", he once "Guangming Daily" published a book review "Brave Thinking of Practitioners"; this sentence in the article can be used to summarize the characteristics of Xie Sizhong as a humanist scholar. After entering the State Council, Xie Sizhong began a transformation on the road of scholarship, that is, from literary creation to academic research; at the same time, he himself experienced a transformation from a writer to a scholar.In the process of realizing this transformation, he realized that there are both contradictions and similarities between writers and scholars, as he said in the book "Quality and Destiny":

What scholars pursue is rationality and logic, and they must express their opinions clearly and logically.Writers, especially writers who create pure literature, had better keep in a hazy state; if they think too carefully like philosophers and express too accurately, they will lose the most emotional, vivid and lively things in literature .As someone has said, a writer must not be too clever, for if he is too clever he cannot be a great writer; writers who are too clever tend to self-kill their most precious feelings, or they are very foolish to vulgarize them.I even think that literature is something a fool writes for a fool.

Writers and scholars also have something in common.If a writer wants to exist at a very high level, he cannot do without a solid theoretical foundation.A few years ago, a writer felt that the academic level of many colleagues was low, and their works lacked depth of thought, and he once proposed "scholarization of writers"; The way of expression is often the accumulation of knowledge and reasoning thinking of formal logic, which makes most readers outside the academic circle often unable to finish reading due to lack of interest, and its research results are difficult to disseminate among the public. '. It is true that it is difficult to achieve "transformation", but this does not prevent writers from developing in the direction of scholars, making their works more thoughtful; nor does it prevent scholars from developing in the direction of writers, so that their achievements can be inserted Wings of literature.

Shortly after Xie Sizhong arrived at the State Council, he learned at a national literacy work conference that in the 1980s in my country, an average of 4 million primary and secondary school students were out of school each year, and about 30 to 40 percent of them were paid due to family poverty. I can't afford books and miscellaneous fees of tens of yuan a year; in order to help out-of-school children, the China Youth Development Foundation is implementing a "Hope Project".At that time, his heart was extremely heavy; a strong sense of urgency and responsibility prompted him to pick up a pen and create the medium-length reportage "Light of Hope".As soon as the work was published in the "China Youth Daily" on January 5, 1991, it aroused strong repercussions at home and abroad, and first triggered an upsurge of donations from the whole society to the "Hope Project"; On April 14th, the upsurge of donations was reported under the title of "Every Piece of Feihong Accompanied by Love——The Reportage "Light of Hope" Caused a Strong Repercussion" and "International Students Love the "Hope Project"".He himself donated all the remuneration for this work to the out-of-school teenagers in poor areas through the "Hope Project".In the "Certificate" issued to him by the China Youth Development Foundation on March 30, 1991, it was written: "Comrade Xie Sizhong actively promoted the Hope Project with his own pen, and donated all the remuneration for writing the reportage "Light of Hope" to The out-of-school teenagers in poverty-stricken areas embody a writer's high sense of social responsibility and love for out-of-school children. This certificate is hereby issued as a commemoration."

The creation of this medium-length reportage work was only a small episode in Xie Sizhong's literary career, but it first aroused his worries about the quality of the people.He wrote in "Lights of Hope": "As we all know, since the 1980s, international competition has gradually shifted from the competition for military superiority to the competition for comprehensive national power, especially the advantages of economic and technological strength. This competition, in the final analysis, It is the competition of talents, and the competition of national quality.” ——It was at this time that he began to pay attention to the issue of national quality, and in the following 10 years, he took it as the main direction of his academic research and writing.

In view of the fact that the social atmosphere at that time had become the focus of widespread attention, and a large number of folk songs reflecting various unhealthy social atmospheres appeared, Xie Sizhong started from the folk customs, and completed the monograph "Words of the Prosperous Age-Folk Customs Criticism Record" in only half a year. .On the basis of extensive collection and selection of contemporary folk songs, this book summarizes the vulgar and sluggish people in folk customs into 10 characters: "greedy, fake, black, extravagant, cold, impetuous, mixed, stupid, addicted, barren", each word is independently formed article; by disclosing typical cases and social survey results, supplemented by discussions, it aims to enlighten the deaf and wake up the world.After the book was published by China Archives Publishing House in 1994, it quickly spread widely at home and abroad. It was not only welcomed by readers, but also affirmed by experts and scholars in book reviews and seminars. "Folk Customs: A Sign of the Rise and Fall of a Nation".

In view of the direct cause of the above-mentioned vulgar and sluggish folk customs, which is caused by the low quality of the people, Xie Sizhong quickly deepened his research and writing into the level of the quality of the people, so there was a book "National People" published by Writers Publishing House in 1997. "Quality Concerns" book.This book inspects national quality from 8 aspects of personality, spirit, morality, culture, science, occupation, health and aesthetics, and summarizes 24 kinds of defects. On the basis of analyzing social survey results and typical cases, it proposes modern Human quality requirements.

Immediately after the publication of "National Quality Concern and Thoughts", it aroused strong repercussions in the society—it was republished in a short period of time, and it ranked among the best in the "sales list" announced by bookstores around the world, and was selected as "recommended bibliography for the 1997 revitalization of Chinese reading activities" "Recommended books for my favorite reading activities" and other recommended books were rated as "National Excellent Bestsellers" in 1996-1997; dozens of newspapers and periodicals at home and abroad made reports and selections, and more than 10 media conducted a review on him Interviews, many places invited him to do reports or book signings.

On April 3, 1997, relevant parties jointly held a seminar on the work. Dozens of experts and scholars from the literary, educational and publishing circles who participated in the meeting agreed that this book "is not only a book with brilliant literary talents and strong It is also a penetrating and highly speculative humanistic academic work”; some scholars also pointed out that this book “is the first monograph in my country that examines the quality of citizens from the perspective of the theory of human quality.” ".Many newspapers and periodicals have published articles and unanimously praised them——

"People's Daily" published a book review and pointed out: "Compared with a large number of similar social reading materials, literary works, and ideological reading books that have come out in recent years, "National Quality Worrying Thoughts" is the most distinctive feature and most valuable. And lead the highly rational spirit of the whole book. It does not rely on general sensationalism to attract people's attention, and does not rely on alarmist curses of 'ugly Chinese' to grandstanding." "Guangming Daily" published a book review and pointed out: ""National Quality Concerns" runs through a quite conscious modern enlightenment consciousness. This enlightenment consciousness is far from the thoughts of those great cultural pioneers since the beginning of this century, and closely inherited The positive achievements of ideological emancipation since the new era advocate science, democracy, freedom, and liberation, emphasizing creation and opposing ancient times."

"Literary News" published a book review and pointed out: "From the educational point of view, "National Quality Concerns" is a rare "textbook" with a 'general reference' nature." ... "National Quality Concerns" aroused strong repercussions in society, but also attracted the attention of state leaders.General Secretary Jiang Zemin mentioned this book in several meetings and occasions and recommended it.After the General Office of the CPC Central Committee purchased it, it was distributed to all members of the Politburo. On October 20, 1997, "People's Daily" also published an editorial titled "Strive to Improve National Quality", which sounded the alarm: "Our country's national quality is far from meeting the requirements of modernization, and has become a national economic issue. and serious constraints on social development.” After the publication of "National Quality Concerns", Hong Kong Joint Publishing also published a traditional Chinese version; according to reports, the publication of this book broke two records of the publishing house: first, it was printed several times in a short period of time, Second, several media in Hong Kong that never commented on the publications of the agency commented on this book for the first time.Taiwan's "United Daily News" listed this book on the "Bestseller List" on July 14, 1997.The Hong Kong government included this book in the "Chinese Language and Culture Reference Bibliography" in May 2001. In 2003, during the "SARS" epidemic and school suspension, it was designated as an extracurricular reading book for students' self-study.Many foreign media published articles and unanimously praised them—— The United States "World Journal" reported on April 4, 1997 that: "This book, which regards the Chinese as a kind of 'product' and comprehensively examines its quality defects, is not only a penetrating and deafening work, but also a A late-century fill-in-the-blank." On May 28, 1998, Hong Kong's "Ming Pao" published "Hong Kong's first pen" Mr. Tao Jie's book review "Concerns about National Quality". There are experiences. Lu Xun and Liang Qichao are the first generation of introspection, and Bo Yang is the second generation of whipping. Joint Publishing published the book "National Quality Concern and Thoughts Record" by mainland scholar Xie Sizhong. The inferior quality of the nation has issued a serious warning. "National Quality Concerns" cites a large number of contemporary social facts, overthrows the myth of "the wisdom and wisdom of the Chinese nation", and exposes the truth about the low quality of contemporary Chinese. Great book of insight." Hong Kong's "Asia Weekly" (June 23-June 29, 1997) also published the book review "A Criticism of the Chinese People's Quality" by Hong Kong writer Mr. Yu Xian. The article pointed out: "The author speaks with specific examples and survey data, and Interspersed with his own analysis, there is no shortage of insightful insights.” ... After the success of the book "National Quality Concerns", Xie Sizhong did not think that he was done, but continued to ask: What is the root cause of the various defects in national quality?In fact, in the book, he has traced the root of the defect from education, and pointed out that there are also institutional reasons.However, there should also be its own deep-seated reasons, which can be traced back to the core of national quality—concept; therefore, he started from the common sayings and proverbs as the carrier of concepts, and traced the root of national quality defects at the conceptual level , and completed the book "Shackles of Ideas".This book summarizes the outdated and wrong concepts in the minds of the people into 36 types, analyzes the cases around each concept, discusses the harm, and traces the root causes, aiming at prompting the people to reflect on themselves and change their concepts. After the book "Shackles of Ideas" was published by Shanghai People's Publishing House in 1998, like the previous book, it immediately aroused strong repercussions in society. On October 11, 1998, when Xie Sizhong was invited to sign and sell books for readers at the Ninth National Book Fair in Xi'an, the book buyers surrounded him and had to invite security personnel to maintain order. The original two-hour time had to be extended to three hours until the hundreds of books prepared in advance were sold out. After the traditional Chinese version of "Shackles of Ideas" was published by Hong Kong Century Publishing Co., Ltd., it was widely circulated among overseas Chinese; Mr. Xie Sizhong wrote to Xie Sizhong on February 2, 1999, expressing his "approval and worship" of the views in the book.Some well-known scholars and critics have also written book reviews, giving unanimous praise—— Wang Meng also wrote in the above-mentioned book review: "A few years ago, Xie Sizhong's "National Quality Concerns and Thoughts" has attracted public attention because of its reality and sharpness. Now, he has written "Concept The book "Shackles" starts from chewing and scrutinizing some proverbs and idioms that have been neglected by our people and have been affirmed and advocated for many years. It raises the issue of our traditional culture and concept change in real life. This book also has a The sharpness of seeking truth from facts: it is raised from actual work and life, not carried over from trendy theories or the models of Western developed countries; it is aimed at the soul of the Chinese people, the long-standing habits of the Chinese people, and the conventional values ​​of the Chinese people The system and the conservative and feudal social and cultural propositions strengthened by ideology and pragmatism considerations. Can this not be sharp? Can it not be applauded by some people and heartbroken by others at the same time? However, it It is also realistic, and in a sense, it is a very popular book, how different it is from the works of scholars who rely on the intensity of emotion and the strength of rhetoric!" Liu Ji, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a well-known scholar, wrote in a book review: "Comrade Xie Sizhong has a good writing style. If these concepts are written by some theorists, they can be full of words, or full of clichés, or boring and difficult to understand. Maybe it is good intentions, but like a rusty key to open a rusty lock, you are so anxious that you can't open it. However, the book "Shackles of Ideas" has profound truths, lively words, and It is like flowing water, and food is like sweet spring. The perfect combination of good content and good form, this is a direct feeling after reading this book." He Xilai, a researcher at the Institute of Literature of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a famous critic, wrote in the book review: "Xie Sizhong is a reportage writer with a strong sense of mission. On the one hand, he is engaged in politics and on the other hand, he writes diligently. Has an "official status", but rarely uses "official accent", speaks "official language", and does not put on the face of a teacher. The style of writing is simple, friendly, clear and fluent, does not use "New Chinese Style", does not fall into party stereotypes, and does not exaggerate The flag is made of tiger skin, wraps itself, and scares others. It does not have the condescension and good feeling that those superficial characters often have, and it does not belong to the road that Lu Xun ridiculed as "changing face at once". He is diligent and diligent. , do things, and be diligent and conscientious in writing and writing." ... After the publication of "Concerns about National Quality" and "Shackles of Ideas", Xie Sizhong continued to receive letters from readers at home and abroad, and many readers hoped that he could answer the question of "what to do".He himself was still talking, and he felt that there must be a breakthrough in the study of national quality, but there must also be a foundation; thus, there was a book "National Quality Reader" published by the International Culture Publishing Company in 2000.According to the requirements of modernization on people, this book breaks down the essential qualities of modern people into 50 items, each of which is an independent article;According to reports, a retired teacher in Zhejiang raised 12,000 yuan to buy hundreds of "National Quality Readers". On Teacher's Day in 2001, he and others spontaneously organized a book donation activity to teachers in Shaoxing City.A private entrepreneur in Henan bought 1,000 copies of "National Quality Reader" at one time and distributed them to the employees of the company for study. So far, Xie Sizhong's "National Quality Trilogy" which lasted three years and accumulated 600,000 words has been completed.Many media reported on the titles of "Xie Sizhong's Completion of the "National Quality Trilogy"" and "Xie Sizhong and His "National Quality Trilogy"". The three works "Concerns about National Quality", "Shackles of Ideas" and "Reader on National Quality" not only revolve around the theme of national quality, but also have organic connections with each other——"National Quality Concern" points out "Conceptual Shackles" traces the root of the defect from the conceptual level, and "National Quality Reader" explains the necessary qualities of modern people according to the requirements of modernization on people-just constitutes the "National Quality Trilogy". ". Following the above-mentioned four works, Xie Sizhong has successively published "Vision of the Next 100 Years - Talks of Ten Chinese Writers and Academicians" (co-authored), "Reader for College Students' Quality", "Quality and Destiny" and "Lectures on National Quality". 8 monographs on national quality, and published many papers such as "National Quality is the First National Strength" and "Modernization of Chinese Entrepreneurs" in "People's Daily" and other newspapers.In recent years, he has often been invited to give speeches on the focus topics of national quality in the fields of life, society, administration, enterprise, education, etc., and to provide research and consultation for the development of localities and enterprises. While Xie Sizhong was concerned about the quality of the people, he also expressed concern about the system—the current system has seriously restricted the improvement of the quality of the people.He believes that since the reform and opening up, with the gradual establishment of the market economic system, the quality of the national subject consciousness, competition consciousness and innovative spirit have generally been improved; However, it is undeniable that the imperfections in the current economic system and the lagging state of reforms in the political system and in education, culture and other fields not only restrict the improvement of national quality, but also limit the The enthusiasm and creativity of the people breeds and exacerbates corruption and bureaucracy. Since the reform and opening up, economic development has always been the focus of the economic circles and even the whole society, but the improvement of national quality has not received enough attention; as a result, it not only affects the healthy development of the economy, but also affects the modernization of people, and even the entire society. process of modernization.Xie Sizhong has been devoted to the research and writing of national quality for 10 years in combination with his own work; he is not only a "thinker" of national quality, but also a "practice" and pioneer in promoting the improvement of national quality. The attention and emphasis on the quality of the people is not unrelated to his loud outcry for many years. Since Xie Sizhong took the post of vice minister in 1998, he still insists on using his spare time to conduct academic research, walking a tightrope between "being an official" and "being a scholar".He said: "I should, like an enterprise, continuously 'increase the value' of my 'assets'." During the Centennial Anniversary of Peking University in 1998, he was invited to give a lecture entitled "Chinese Society's "Worship to Officials" at the school. Doctrine" speech; before the end of the speech, facing the audience's question "how to deal with the relationship between being an official and being a scholar", he gave the following answer: "I don't agree with a view that being an official and being an academic are incompatible; if handled well, they can complement each other. We cannot specially train a group of uneducated officials to govern the country. In the early days of reform and opening up, it was proposed to let Some people get rich first; now, we should raise the quality of some people first. Who are these people? They should be officials. We cannot demand that officials at all levels become scholars, but we have every reason to require officials The cultural quality of a person should be much higher than that of ordinary people, and the quality of work can be improved by improving one's own quality; it would be even better if one can make academic achievements in the field of one's work. To be an official and to be knowledgeable, one cannot 'worship an official' '. Worshiping officials is the enemy of learning. If a person wants to make achievements in learning and is obsessed with officials, it is impossible to do a good job in learning. Since being an official is a profession, one should live up to the expectations of the people. Trust me, do your due diligence and don’t let yourself be a vegetarian; if you are sloppy with your job in order to have more time for learning, it is not only against professional ethics, but the result is often not worth the loss. We should ask for time from spare time instead of taking time from our job .”