Chapter 24 Sorting out the history of the country: from Mozi to Hu Shi

Along with the growth of China's economy and society, China has also ushered in a boom in traditional culture.As we all know, in the more than 100 years since the Opium War, China has been reduced from a big country that was far ahead of the world in terms of economy, politics, and culture to being vulnerable to Western guns and cannons.The huge contrast caused the Chinese intellectuals to point their fingers at the traditional culture of their own country when thinking about this issue, believing that it was the root cause of China's backwardness and humiliation.Similarly, due to the needs of the revolutionary situation and the legitimacy and superiority of the revolutionary ideal, traditional culture was completely denied.

And when China gradually got rid of the shackles of ideology, got rid of the revolutionary thinking of "do not break, do not build" and "reinvent the wheel", and began to sincerely treat neighboring countries and regions, especially the four Asian tigers (Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Hong Kong of China). People have discovered that China's traditional culture is not completely useless, and the restoration of traditional culture is also regarded as a symbol of the Chinese people's restoration of national self-confidence. Of course, there are many other factors behind this, such as the promotion of representatives of New Confucianism in Hong Kong and Taiwan, the resurgence of nationalism to fill the vacuum of belief in post-political omnipotence, cultural identity in the context of globalization, the lack of social integrity and business ethics, And at the political level, the demands of governing the country by virtue, putting people first, and building a harmonious society have fueled the flames.It is these factors that resulted in the favorable timing, location, and harmony of people. Under the wrapping of the commercial media, the "Chinese studies craze" represented by the "Confucius craze" and the "confucian classics craze" represented by "academic super girl" Yu Dan were created.

In order to better understand the fate of traditional culture in China, let us re-examine the extreme years of the last century.Under the revolutionary thinking, the "reorganize the national heritage" movement has always been regarded as a reactionary cultural countercurrent, which has been quite controversial.On the one hand, commentators criticized it for inducing youth to divorce from real politics in terms of politics and thought, and on the other hand accused it of departing from the direction of the New Culture Movement in terms of culture and thought. This is not the case, Hu Shi did not break away from China's actual national conditions.In the article "The Significance of New Trends of Thought" written by the Jiebo and Sorting out the National History Movement, it is emphasized that "more research on issues and less talk about doctrines" corresponds to current problems.Moreover, it is also the most important issue. It is an "important issue in society and life", a "compelling living issue" that "concerns about life", that is, a political issue and a life issue that face up to social reality, not just limited to academics. question.Although there were disputes between enlightenment and national salvation in China, the significance and vision of Hu Shi cannot be underestimated.

On the other hand, Hu Shi, who "has opened up the atmosphere but not been a teacher", is also a pioneer and coordinator who breaks through the past and the future in time.At that time, China was caught between two extreme forces. The conservatives were extremely fond of the past, while the revolutionaries adhered to the thinking of "nothing can be broken, nothing can be built".As Chen Duxiu said: "If you want to support Mr. Na De, you have to oppose Confucianism, etiquette, chastity, old ethics, and old politics. If you want to support Mr. Na Sai, you have to oppose old art and old religion. To support Mr. De, If you want to support Mr. Sai, you have to oppose the quintessence of Chinese culture and old literature." ("New Youth" Volume 6, No. 1, page 10, quoted from Hu Shi's "The Significance of New Trends of Thought")

In comparison, a group of intellectuals represented by Hu Shi was a force between them and beyond.They are neutral and rational, and put forward the slogan of "researching problems, inputting academic theories, sorting out national traditions, and rebuilding civilization", and advocated to re-evaluate all values ​​based on the "judgmental attitude" and find out the organic nature of Chinese and Western civilizations from Chinese traditional culture. joint point. Hu Shi thinks, "We have only one positive proposition for the old academic thought - that is to 'organize the national heritage'. To organize is to find a coherent context from the mess; to find a cause and effect from the headless and brainless; Find a true meaning from nonsense and misinterpretations; find a true value from dogmatic superstition.”For example, when talking about Mohism, Hu Shi said: "Generally, a kind of theory never falls from the sky. If we can study carefully, we will be able to find out that there are many antecedents and many consequences of that theory." Hu Shi also said He said: "If you don't understand his antecedents, you won't understand his true meaning. If you don't understand his consequences, you won't understand his position in history." Part of it is to study and examine the relationship between Mohism and other schools.

As for the purpose of "sorting out the national heritage", it is to "recreate civilization".According to Hu Shi's understanding, "Civilization is not created in a general way, but bit by bit. Evolution does not evolve in a general way overnight, but bit by bit. People today like to talk about 'liberation and transformation', you must know Liberation is not general liberation, and transformation is not general transformation. Liberation is the liberation of this or that system, the liberation of this or that thought, the liberation of this or that person, and it is the liberation of this or that. It is the liberation of this or that system. The transformation of that kind of thinking, the transformation of this or that person, the transformation of every bit.”

Among the many ideological advancements of the New Culture Movement, which was called "overall" and "thoroughly" anti-traditional, Hu Shi first proposed to "organize the national heritage."It is indeed a bit surprising that Popper advocated "media censorship" in his later years.Why did Hu Shi suddenly publish the article "The Significance of New Thoughts" in 1919, when the New Culture Movement reached its apex and the "New Trends of Thought" were in full swing, proposing the idea of ​​"reorganizing the national heritage and rebuilding civilization"?As soon as this theory came out, it immediately caused a lot of controversy.

On the one hand, under Hu Shi's advocacy, "sorting out the national heritage" became popular from the early 1920s.Hu Shi also practiced himself and spared no effort.On the other hand, many contemporary intellectuals sneered at this, thinking that "we should not overestimate this kind of organization. The organization is at best a report. It is an old value. Re-evaluation is not a re-creation of new values, but its contribution to the cultural progress of an era is very small.” (Guo Moruo, "Evaluation of Sorting out National Heritage") Looking back on the detours of the Chinese revolution in the 20th century, the author believes that the significance and contribution of Hu Shi's sorting out national heritage does not lie in whether it achieves the purpose of sorting out.After all, sorting out the history of the country cannot be accomplished by one person, or even in one generation—it lies in his attitude towards Chinese history.

Before the revolution that negated history came, Hu Shi advocated "organizing the country's heritage and rebuilding civilization" and advocated "transformation bit by bit", which naturally had a prophetic side.However, Hu Shi's thoughts are not advanced in the context of human history.What he asked was, as Edmund Burke understood, not to completely negate the history and culture of the country, not to start from scratch for generations, and to do "business without capital". "Guoxue" was born in a specific historical period when Western learning spread to the east and cultural transformation occurred. Due to the identity crisis of Chinese culture, people invented the concept of "Guoxue" and tried to save it.However, the connotation and extension of Guoxue are also uncertain.Like "guanxi", "Guoxue" is a vocabulary with full Chinese characteristics.If you want to translate it accurately, you can probably only translate it directly into "guoxue", and then add various annotations.

What is unpleasant is that in the 21st century today, when cultural conservatives demand to elevate Confucianism to the "state religion", these people will turn the "warmth and respect" that should be reflected in the "national learning" (Qian Mu's words) Turned to the other extreme - the superstition of "Chinese learning". For example, in 2007, in order to promote Chinese studies, Zhengzhou Jintang Painting and Calligraphy School donated 100,000 copies of "Disciples Regulations" printed by itself to primary schools in the city for free as an elective course for students' self-discipline and calligraphy.On the first day of the book donation, Principal Zhang Sen knelt down devoutly in front of the 5,000 books to be donated.Facing everyone's astonishment, Principal Zhang said that he was "kneeling to Chinese studies", and his purpose was to hope that Chinese people would revitalize Chinese studies from their children and compete with a hundred schools of foreign excellent culture.

It is said that the principal insisted on promoting Chinese studies for more than ten years. Because of the historical "criticism of Lin and Confucius", Chinese studies once fell, while some foreign cultures and near-beneficial cultures "scrambled" the thoughts of Chinese people, resulting in the decline of real Chinese studies.Many Chinese people now realize the benefits of Chinese learning. "The more national, the more international. I kneel down to Chinese studies because of my determination and sincerity to promote Chinese studies. The revitalization of Chinese studies must start with children, which is why I give away books for free." The author of this book does not doubt that the principal has a certain "pious" heart for "Chinese learning" and his sincerity in helping Chinese learning.Obviously, Principal Zhang kneeling in front of the underage children is not just a "lyrical way". Ming Mingde" way. Likewise, kneeling is sometimes a quick way to argue with your knees instead of your mouth.Just like the alcoholic persuasion at a Chinese banquet, people who are not good at persuading always lack some sweet words, so they are bored, and only hear a "gudong", "I don't say anything", so others have no choice but to say nothing said.The same is sometimes true of kneeling in public. Those who try their best to persuade others to obey or follow themselves only need to "plop" and "I don't say anything", and finally others have to "stop talking ", as long as he is right-if anyone defends or opposes, it is somewhat cruel.In this sense, hidden behind this kind of kneeling is a kind of "moral soft violence" that forces people to submit.Wang Xiaobo wrote in "The Misfortune of Intellectuals" that the greatest crime of intellectuals is to build an ideological prison to detain themselves.The advantage of an intellectual is that he can persuade people with reason. If he does not reason, he has no advantage.Wang Xiaobo's view on Chinese studies is: "This kind of thing is really powerful. The most terrifying thing is the word 'country'. With this word, who dares to disagree? This kind of sleeve is put on the neck, and I want to pull it again. It's useless to get down; otherwise, it wouldn't have been set up for thousands of years. Its allure is also in the word "country". If you grab this commanding height, you can suppress all different opinions; All bad elements are very attractive." At the moment when people are eager for quick success and quick profits, and people are impetuous, the word "Chinese learning" is more like a famous brand that can be chained.The role of Chinese culture comes from two aspects, one is to facilitate sales, the knowledge of "national brand" plus "time-honored brand" has a long history, and it is easy to call on everyone to buy, so there are almost sky-high "Chinese learning training courses"; second, it is good for self-protection Therefore, whoever opposes Chinese studies is "against the country" and the cultural foundation of the country.In this way, "Guoxue" has become an academic tank that can be attacked and defended.Those who are scholars, once they package their opinions into "national studies", they will be included in the armored force.In recent years, Chinese cultural conservatives have yelled loudly. Some people heard the excitement, some people heard the desolation, but what I heard was the chains of Guoxue armored vehicles dragging across the street. Any country can only seek liberation through knowledge, not "seek liberation through Chinese studies", let alone kneel down in front of Chinese studies and wait for the salvation of Chinese studies.In that way, we living people and masters of knowledge will really be enslaved by Chinese studies.And the real knowledge doesn't matter which country or nation it belongs to. Knowledge belongs to all mankind from the moment people acquire it.In an interview, the philosopher Li Ming talked to the author of this book about his understanding of "Chinese learning": once any "learning" is named "Chinese learning", it will definitely become the shackles of the people's spirit of the country and become a A dogma that seriously hinders the intellectual development of the people of the country.From the perspective of human history, the so-called "Chinese learning" has not only brought huge disasters to the Chinese people. "All countries in the world that name a single doctrine 'Guoxue' have all suffered from history." Every country should cherish its past. No matter kneeling down or forcing others to kneel down, it will not save Guoxue.In the final analysis, the so-called national studies are nothing more than a few cultural products flowing in the long river of Chinese history.Just like Microsoft's Windows, whether the product is easy to use or not depends on the user.Microsoft has today's business, Gates did not kneel, and his marketing team did not kneel. As Ken Wilber said in a book, "We all want to recognize and respect many of the great achievements of past cultures around the world, and retain and absorb as much of their wisdom as possible. But no matter what, the train of civilization is running. Among them, from the beginning to the present, if you only look at the mirror while driving, it may lead to more accidents." The author believes that even if a person is driving a "traditional armored vehicle" of good quality, if he only cares about the rearview mirror If he runs amok under his guidance and doesn't look forward at any time, he will also not have a good future-it is obvious that there are only crises waiting for him. The Chinese often talk about "seek the wilderness when the etiquette fails", but they rarely talk about what to turn to when knowledge is confiscated by doctrine or the state.Looking back at history, it is not difficult to find that when a school of thought is enshrined as "national learning", it is often the beginning of the end of this learning.The simple truth is that Guoxue is the study of the country rather than the study of society, and it is a closed study rather than an open study.On the contrary, the reason why we can seek liberation through knowledge is because everyone has the possibility of being infinitely close to the truth, everyone can make progress through continuous learning, and can jointly promote the growth of a society by correcting each other's mistakes. It is undeniable that when Confucianism became the study of the state, it was nothing less than a disaster for other schools of thought.As we all know, as early as the Warring States Period, Mohism, like Confucianism, was a prominent school.Yuzi once lamented that "the words of the world do not belong to Yang, but to Mo"; Han Feizi said in "Xianxue" that "the most prominent learning in the world is Confucianism and Mohism"; , it must be called these two scholars (Confucianism and Mohist)——Confucian and Mohist scholars, who have distinguished themselves in the world are numerous, innumerable.”As for the decline of Mohism, it is reflected in "Historical Records".In this historical masterpiece called "Studying the Interval between Heaven and Man, Understanding the Changes of the Past and the Present", the memory of Mozi as a "person" has almost disappeared.Sima Qian was ambiguous, leaving only a few figures for future generations-"Gai Mo Di, the doctor of the Song Dynasty. He was good at guarding and using it for festivals. It may be said that it was when Confucius was merged, or it was said later." Perhaps, the key to the distinction between Confucianism and Mohism lies in the fact that Confucianism took the upper-level route, which eventually led to the merger of cultural elites and rulers; while Mohism came from the working class and followed the lower-level route. An inevitable consequence of total downfall.When the royal power is selected and used, the prosperity of Confucianism and the extreme decline of Mohism will inevitably leave history with countless tragedies of "the pen exploits the hoe" and "the pen becomes bald and becomes a stick".It should also be noted that when Confucianism was promoted to "national studies" and "the study of emperors", it was also the reason why Confucianism was "confiscated" and could not continue to develop and self-correct since then.Because of this, the author believes that Confucianism has been sanctified by the kingship on the surface for a thousand years, but it has long been dwarfed as "dwarfism" because of the broken backbone. As mentioned above, if the Mohist culture had not been obliterated, not only would Chinese society not be completely overwhelmed by the royal power, it would even be possible to cultivate democratic politics in the long years that followed.It's just that history has long allowed us to assume so passionately.Back to the present, when the author talks about "China's rediscovered society", what is certain is that the essence of "rediscovered society" lies in rediscovering the creation of individuals in history, and in respecting everyone's ideological dignity and life value.In this context, there are reasons to believe that the rediscovery of Hu Shi and Mozi in today's China, as an important part of China's rediscovery of tradition and society, will bring a bright prospect for China's transformation, at least conceptually. At the end of November 2006, the movie "Ink Attack" adapted from the Japanese manga began to be released, and the box office did well.The film tells the story of Ge Li, a disciple of the Mohist school, who used his superb defense techniques and tactics to help the weak Xiaoliang country resist the 100,000 Zhao army more than 2,300 years ago. Some scholars concluded that the director of the film "knows little about Mohism" and "the ignorant have no fear". This kind of harsh criticism obviously underestimated the benchmarking significance of "Mo Gong".In my opinion, the significance of "Mo Gong" being born in the Chinese film market is not whether the filmmakers have fully understood Mozi, but the return of the spirit of Mozi to the public life, which has witnessed the ideological height of the Chinese people in this era . Since the 1990s, with the rise of nationalism, China's "Confucianism Movement" can be described as very lively.In recent years, it has been in full swing, with the emergence of the "Book Reading Movement", "Hanfu Show", and "Cultural Conservatism". From the perspective of cultural ecology, there is nothing wrong with it.What is worrying is that when those "cultural conservatives" who proclaim themselves "representatives of New Confucianism" try to seize the front row of Chinese tradition for "Confucianism" and even call for the establishment of "Confucianism", or if someone criticizes "confucianism" in the name of respecting Confucius, When seeking the favor of the government to rule the country with morality", the author found that these "cultural speculators" or old-fashioned people have not got the point. Looking for wisdom among the deposed schools (such as Mohism), they do not agree with the "supreme Confucianism" that the talented and beautiful people kneel under the statue of Confucius. China has rediscovered Mozi, and this feature has been particularly evident since the "New Deal of Hu and Wen".Through the main political issues in China since the "Hu Wen New Deal", it is not difficult to find that such as "innovative country", "harmonious society", "peaceful rise", "conservation society" and so on can find spiritual or ideological meaning from Mohist theory. source flow. 1. An innovative country.The Chinese government emphasizes innovation and the scientific outlook on development.And Mozi is the "Aristotle of the East".Mozi's scientific thoughts are most concentrated in the "Mo Jing" and "Da Qu" and "Xiao Qu", which contain both the definition of scientific concepts and the discussion of methodology.Mozi is good at looking at the concrete world from a geometric point of view, and he did the world's first "small hole imaging" experiment.Mozi once made a "wooden kite", which is said to have flown in the sky for three days and three nights without falling.No wonder some people say that if Mohism had not declined, China would have become a technological power long ago.It's a pity that among the ancient thinkers, only Mozi paid attention to science and technology, while the latecomers all engaged in imperial examinations and were busy competing to become the seventh-rank sesame officials.Therefore, to this day, fallacies are spread, and examples of scientists seeking official positions and doing nothing are not uncommon. Second, a harmonious society. A notable feature of the "Hu Wen New Deal" is to promote the reform of Chinese society and carry out social construction, and the "harmonious society" has emerged since then.Similarly, "Loving each other together" is also one of Mozi's core ideas."Communication and mutual benefit", which is as famous as "universal love", can also be regarded as a spiritual source of the market economy.Mozi's unity of righteousness and benefit can also be regarded as the ethical criterion and basis for the existence of modern market economy.Although there are discrepancies between the Chinese intellectuals and the official discourse when deconstructing what "harmony" is, the two are compatible with "universal love". Mencius once said that Mozi loves both, "If you rub your head and let your heels go, it will benefit the world."Obviously, Mozi's universal love begins with the principle of equality of human nature.In his view, there is no difference in human nature, just like silk, "if dyed with green, it will be green, and if dyed with yellow, it will be yellow" (two thousand years later, Locke put forward the "blank board theory" in "On Human Understanding").Based on the possibility of "deterioration" of human nature, Mozi put forward the "rule of law" before Han Fei to regulate human nature.Mozi opposed the "theory of destiny", saying that "those who insist on destiny will cause great harm to the world". Three, a conservation-minded society.Over the past few decades, under the guidance of the erroneous view of political achievements that "GDP overwhelms everything", China's excessive exploitation of resources and damage to the environment have long been obvious to all.Whether it is ecological socialism or a conservation-minded society, they are all ringing the bell for this kind of economic growth that is only for a moment. As we all know, Mozi also pays attention to economy, advocates frugal use, frugal burial, not joy, not life, opposes complicated rituals, and opposes heavy burials and long funerals, thinking that these are a waste of social resources. Fourth, peaceful rise.In recent years, in the face of the concerns of Western countries, the Chinese government has spared no effort to emphasize that China's rise is peaceful and that China should be a responsible big country.Correspondingly, the Mohists have always stood on the standpoint of the people, and their "non-aggression" thinking is based on the weak side, and they believe that war is an act of theft, and the beneficiary of war is the monarch, and the victims are the people.It should be said that Mozi was the earliest pacifist in the world and the earliest cosmopolitan in China.This point is also reflected in the movie "Ink Attack". The protagonist "Ge Li" may mean "revolution and then leave", a revolutionary tramp like Che Guevara. Mozi sharply criticized the invasion of small countries by big countries.In Mozi's view, these "schizophrenics" are ashamed of stealing people, melons and fruits, but proud of occupying a country and a city, which is really "confusing black and white".The so-called "those who steal people's peaches, plums, melons and gingers are tens of millions, and they claim to be righteous." 5. China's emphasis on social justice echoes the spirit of Mozi.Undoubtedly, social justice is also an important value that Mozi adheres to.Mozi hated "states attacking each other", "families usurping each other", "human beings robbing each other", "the strong robbing the weak", "the many oppress the few", "the rich insult the poor", "the rich make the cheap".In "Fei Le Shang", Mozi criticized those in power for ignoring the people's rights to life and rest, and pointed out that people have three problems: "The hungry will not have food, the cold will not be clothed, and the tired will not be rested." From this point of view, "Hu The "New Three Principles of the People" in "Wen Xinzheng"—power for the people, love for the people, and interests for the people—also agrees with Mozi's "three musts" in spirit.Today, after gradually solving the "problems of food and clothing" such as "no clothing" and "no food" for the people, the Chinese government has begun to focus on solving the problem of "no rest".Apparently, speaking from the aggregate, the Chinese people have gained more and more leisure rights. Mozi's "Three Tables" thought has nothing to do with the "Three Represents", but careful readers will find that it has the same spiritual temperament as the "pragmatism" imported by Hu Shi at the beginning of the last century. The "three forms" mentioned by Mozi include (1) learning from the experience and lessons of the predecessors (the original); (2) finding the basis for arguments from the experience of the people (the original); benefit (use it).The first two tables talk about the source of knowledge, which not only emphasizes experience and tradition, but also advocates that the people should have the right of interpretation and creativity—this is quite like Hu Shi’s idea of ​​“sorting out the country’s heritage and rebuilding civilization”; The benefit of the common people” can be regarded as the ancient version of “practice is the only criterion for testing truth”.Perhaps, precisely because of this "spiritual resemblance", as early as the beginning of the last century, Hu Shi called Mo Di the "greatest figure" in Chinese history. The so-called new ideas are old ideas.It is undeniable that the progress made by each country in the process of ideological change cannot be completed overnight, and it must benefit from the little rewards and cumulative feedback of history.In the development process of history is not smooth, many "untimely" ideas will not only be obscured by the advent of a special era, but will also reappear when a new era opens. A few years ago, the author mentioned in the article "Missing Hu Shi for a Hundred Years" that since the reform and opening up, China has regained Hu Shi's path in a sense.As we all know, for quite a long time after the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Hu Shi's thought has been criticized.From the millions of words of criticism organized by Mao Zedong in the 1950s to the Hulu dispute over "who represents China's spiritual height in the 20th century" and the publication of "The Complete Works of Hu Shi", it is not difficult to see the thawing of ideas and the progress of ideas in an era. big context. Today, when we review the history of Chinese thought since the reform and opening up, many key points can be found in Hu Shi’s thought. And the similarities I listed in this article do not agree that today's "China Road" completely coincides with the "Hu Shi Road" back then, but it is obvious to all that people in different eras have similarities in their understanding of the world, and it also indirectly shows that human beings After experiencing many setbacks, we can put aside barriers and let reason run through history.At the same time, it must be admitted that we are in the great tradition of human knowledge, and knowledge itself is an open platform, which cannot be summed up simply by a single doctrine such as "liberalism" or "socialism".Only with knowledge as belief can a society achieve down-to-earth progress.Although Hu Shi and his pragmatism and other thoughts have not been clearly "reversed" in China, it is undeniable that there is a certain relationship between China's reforms since Deng Xiaoping and Hu Shi's thoughts.The broader background is that when a country embarks on the road from backwardness to progress, from closedness to openness, and seeks its own modernity with a more rational and pragmatic attitude, it must go through a process of rediscovering tradition. Furthermore, in the process of human civilization, traditions are not only constantly being invented and created, but also need to be constantly discovered.If the rediscovery of Hu Shi's thought is a footnote of China's political thought turning from extreme to rational in the past century, then China's rediscovery of Mozi means that today's Chinese people have received imperial power over two thousand years when they are rediscovering the coordinates of their own civilization. Pre-Qin—an era full of freedom like the May Fourth period. In September 1915, Chen Duxiu published an article in "Youth Magazine" (later "New Youth"), lamenting the aging of the Chinese people: In China, people are often referred to as "young and mature", while in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States, they are referred to as "young and mature". "Keep young while growing old" Xiang Xu. "Youth to society are like fresh and lively cells in the human body. Metabolism, old and decayed people are always on the way of natural elimination." When we revisit this passage, it is not difficult to find that Chen Duxiu had a certain improvement tendency in his early years—metabolism must be orderly and gradual, and it is a "natural elimination path" rather than a "brave new world". Create "new people" or "new youth" like a storm as written in ". When talking about positivism, Chen Duxiu said: "All the pursuits of politics, the expectations of education, and the fashion of literature and technology, all galloping horses are all concentrated in the way of enriching life and making use of them. All vain literature and fantasy are of no benefit to real life. Throw it away.... If something is not beneficial to the real life of the individual or the society, it is all fiction, and it is also a matter of deceit. Deception, although it is left by the ancestors, taught by the sages, and advocated by the government , what the society advocates are all worthless!" From this we can see that in Chen Duxiu's eyes, the ultimate goal of politics is to live, to enrich life and make use of it, rather than other imaginary grand ideas and moral preaching. It is undeniable that after many twists and turns in the 20th century, living civilization has been regarded as an important benchmark of political civilization.On this point, even a few years ago, we can also find evidence in Milan Kundera's novels.In "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", Kundera said that those Czech people who marched on the street held up a certain slogan "Long live ism", but the unwritten slogan shouted in their hearts was "Long live life" .In a sense, acknowledging "long live life" is to return from collective self-importance to the heart and nature of human beings; to return extreme revolutionary fanaticism to down-to-earth reforms, and to make politics that fit one's feet to serve people's lives.The so-called politics should be used by people, not enslaved by politics. Similarly, when it comes to science, Chen Duxiu attacked those unrealistic assumptions. The Chinese who "want to get rid of the age of ignorance and be ashamed to be a superficial people" should pay equal attention to science and human rights, and rush to catch up. "Thinking without common sense, belief without reason, trying to cure it is called science... If you use science to explain the truth and seek proofs for everything, it is slower than imagining and arbitrarily doing it, but it is step by step. They are all down-to-earth, and it is not as good as the one who fantasizes that he will never make any progress." At the beginning of the last century, China was facing a cultural and political crisis. Chen Duxiu finally chose the former between the violent revolution and the silent improvement.Apparently, Chen Duxiu's paternalistic style and radical attitude made him also maintain a standpoint of "I am the only one" and "I am the only one" when participating in social improvement.It should be noted that, in the New Enlightenment Movement a few decades later, when Chinese intellectuals demanded "farewell to the revolution", they bid farewell not to the revolution itself that brought social progress, but to the revolution in the chaos of the revolution. Breeding "truth disease" and coercion.Because of the existence of "truth" and its exclusiveness, under certain conditions, the original progressive force will quickly turn conservative or even reactionary.On this point, Chen Duxiu has already expressed it fully during the golden age of free debate in the early twentieth century. On January 1, 1917, Hu Shi's "Suggestions on Literary Reform" was published in "New Youth", which triggered a far-reaching "vernacular literature movement".In this debate, Chen Duxiu, who presided over the "New Youth", took the position that "(the vernacular movement) is very clear about right and wrong, there must be no room for discussion by those who oppose it, and what we advocate is the absolute right, and no corrections by others are allowed." ".And Hu Shi’s free standpoint is, “The right and wrong of this matter cannot be determined overnight, nor can it be determined by one or two people. It is very important that people in the country can calmly study this issue with our generation. Discussions are familiar, and right and wrong are self-evident. Our generation stands for the banner of revolution, and although we cannot back down, we absolutely dare not take what our generation stands for as a must, and allow no one else to correct it.” ("New Youth", Volume 3, No. 3) In Hu Shi's view, Chen Duxiu's "tolerance" is precisely the crux of China's political and social decline, and it is an area that urgently needs improvement. In December 1925, the "Morning Post" newspaper office was burned in Beijing.Chen Duxiu, who had become a "new youth leader" at that time, responded with "should".This attitude made the free Hu Shi sleepless for a while.In his letter to Chen Duxiu, Hu Shi stated that the only reason for fighting for freedom is: "Those who are different from me may not necessarily be right, and those who are similar to me may not be right; what everyone is today is not necessarily what is, and what is not to everyone is not necessarily true. The only reason for fighting for freedom, in other words, is to allow everyone to tolerate different opinions and beliefs. Anyone who does not recognize the freedom of those who disagree is not worthy of fighting for freedom, and not worthy of talking about freedom." ("Hu Shi Posthumous Manuscripts and Secret Collection Letters ", Book 20) In Hu Shi's view, the new youths without the spirit of tolerance are not real new youths, and they are destined to retrace the path of the old forces.As it is, Chen Duxiu, who has the friendship of a fellow countryman, is not only unable to be a friend, but "almost to be an enemy." Undoubtedly, Hu Shizhi's contribution to modern China lies in his advocacy of spiritual independence and ideological tolerance.Hu Shi advocated that "in learning, we should be suspicious where there is no doubt, and when dealing with others, we should be suspicious where there is doubt" and "tolerance is more important than freedom". In May 1926, when the debate among Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, and Chen Yuan turned to scolding each other, Hu Shi wrote to Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, and Chen Yuan "with infinite friendship, kindness, and infinite hope": "... The pen war between the three of you for eight or nine months is the most regrettable thing among friends... What I am most afraid of is a suspicious, cruel, and intolerant society. I deeply feel that your pen war contains both sides He has a little intolerance attitude, so he unknowingly influenced many young friends, implying that they are going in the direction of cruelty and intolerance." ("Hu Shi's Letters Collection", Volume 1) As Hu Shi said, in the 1920s, "the atmosphere of intolerance filled the country."All this has something to do with the "new youth" who grew up under the enlightenment of Chen Duxiu and others under the enlightenment of the "General Order of the May 4th Movement"-"It is not the intolerance of the old forces, they have long lost the ability to destroy dissidents, but come from a A batch of people who claim to be the latest figures".What Hu Shi was worried about was, "If a society becomes intolerable, it will become a more cruel and cruel society, and those of us who love freedom and fight for freedom may not have a place to stay." ("Hu Shi's Posthumous Manuscripts and Secret Collection of Letters", Volume 20) However, as early as 1915, Chen Duxiu explained individual liberation and spiritual freedom in an article like this: "The one who liberates the cloud is freed from the shackles of the husband and slave, so as to complete his independent and free personality. I have brothers and feet, and I earn my own food and clothing; I I have a tongue, and tell my likes and dislikes; I have a mind, and I respect what I believe in; I will never admit that others are superior, and I should not master myself and enslave others; because I think that I am an independent personality, all conduct, all rights, and all beliefs are the only ones. There is an inherent wisdom in obeying orders, and there is absolutely no reason to blindly follow others." Apparently, Chen Duxiu's earlier proposition coincided with Hu Shi's free thought: "Someone is telling you now, 'Sacrifice your personal freedom to seek the freedom of the country'. I say to you, 'Strive for your personal freedom.自由，便是为国家争自由！争你们自己的人格，便是为国家争人格！自由平等的国家不是一群奴才建造得起来的'！”（胡适，《介绍我自己的思想》，1930年） 孰料，当陈独秀成为新青年们景仰的导师之时，他已自封为真理的绝对拥有者，以致当日有志同道合者拂袖而去。二三十年代，胡适偎心挂怀的是，只有每个人争自由，中国才会有自由；与此相反，陈独秀认为只有跟着陈独秀本人争自由，中国才会有真正的自由。 自由迟早是要到来的，然而不容辩说。在写给陈独秀的信里，胡适坚持即使是一个常识，每个人都应有机会自己判断，而非通过强力灌输。如其所言：“我的根本信仰是别人有尝试的自由”。 英人卡尔·波普尔有言，多见一只白天鹅不能证明所有天鹅是白的，因为只要有一只其他颜色的天鹅出现，“天鹅皆白色”这个命题就会被推翻。既然谁也无法保证此“真理的白天鹅”可以永远不被证伪，那么“非真理”“非主流”的价值就有自我尝试的权利。换言之，人类没有一劳永逸的真理，只有基于经验与创造而生的源源不断的知识，人类只能“通过知识寻求解放”。 1920年9月，陈独秀发表《论政治》，公开与年轻十二岁的胡适决裂。九十年前的这场风云际会不欢而散，新文化运动从此绑上了政治的马车冲出了原有的跑道，其本质上是中国知识精英关于真理标准的一次分道扬镳。如果说陈独秀曾经代表着与帝王中国决裂的新青年的勇气，胡适则在某种意义上代表着新青年的灵魂。陈独秀一生颠沛流离，思想多有流变，至晚年重新回归五四时期民主、科学的立场，而胡适一以贯之地坚持自己最初的关于自由与容忍的理想。 亲历了二十世纪的风雨洗礼与返朴归真的中国人渐渐知道，真正政治文明必定奠基于生活文明之上。没有生活文明，政治文明就会失之空洞与轻佻。应该说，今日中国人多以生活诉求（而非政治诉求）为旗，为自己的权利奔走，它非吊诡而是真实地表明了中国的进步。正是这种对生活文明的琐碎而真实、循序渐进的追求与争取，在一点点锻炼中国的政治文明，推动中国积百年之沉郁的转型。