Chapter 3 ugly chinese

This article is based on a transcript of a speech given at the University of Iowa on September 24, 1984. For many years, I have always wanted to write a book called.I remember that there is a book "The Ugly American" in the United States. After it was written, the US State Department used it as a reference for their actions.The Japanese also wrote "The Ugly Japanese". The author was the ambassador to Argentina, but his Excellency was dismissed. This is probably the difference between the East and the West.Compared with Japan, China seems to be one level behind. If I write this book, I may have to trouble everyone to send me food in prison, so I never wrote it.But I have always wanted to find an opportunity to make an oral report on it and ask friends from all walks of life across the country.However, it is not easy to give an oral presentation. In Taipei, the people who invited me to give a lecture immediately refused to invite me as soon as they heard that I was going to speak on this topic.So, today is the first time in my life that I will give a lecture on "Ugly Chinese". I am very happy and thank you for giving me this opportunity.

Once, Tunghai University in Taitai invited me to give a speech. I told them the topic. I asked the president of the classmate association: "Is there any problem?" He said: "Why is there a problem?" I said to him: "Go and teach Ask around, because I was originally regarded as a problem person, and I also talked about a problem topic, which is double material." After talking with the training office, he called Taipei to say: "There is no problem, but the topic is Can’t it be changed? The Discipline Office thinks the title is ugly.” Then he told me a very long and high-sounding title he had drawn up, and he asked, “Do you agree?” I said, “Of course I don’t agree, but you must change it. , I have no choice but to change it!" That was the first time I talked about "ugly Chinese".I said to him: "I hope I can make a recording when I speak, so that I can rewrite it into an article later." He generously promised.As a result, after the lecture, the audio tape was sent, and there were only the first few sentences, and there was no sound after that.

I am sixty-five years old this year, and my friends in Taipei gave me a birthday party on March 7th, and I said to them: "I have lived to be sixty-five years old, and it is all difficult years!" I mean: not only I am personally difficult, but all Chinese are difficult.The friends present here are all young, especially those from Taiwan. Most of them have a wealthy economic environment. When talking about "difficulties" with you, you neither like to hear, nor believe, nor understand.The difficulty I am talking about is not a personal problem, nor a political problem, but the problem of the entire Chinese people that goes beyond the individual and beyond the political level.It's not just one person going through tribulation, it's not just my generation going through tribulation.If we don't understand this tribulation and this poisonous culture, then our disaster will happen again, forever and ever.

The Nanyang Islands in the 19th century, which is now Southeast Asia, were still British and Dutch territories at that time. A British commissioner to Malaysia said: "It is a disaster to be a Chinese in the 19th century." Like piglets, the Nanyang Islands are ignorant, fend for themselves, and will be slaughtered at any time.A nation is long-term, but an individual's life is limited.How many big expectations can there be in life?How many great ideals can one have in life, which can withstand disillusionment?Looking ahead, is it bright?Still not bright?It is beyond words.Four years ago, when I gave a speech in New York, when I talked about the emotion, a person stood up and said: "You are from Taiwan, you should tell us hope, you should inspire our people, and you should hit us unexpectedly." Of course, a person needs encouragement, The question is, what to do after being encouraged?I have been encouraged since I was a child. When I was five or six years old, adults said to me: "The future of China depends on your generation!" I think my responsibility is too great to bear.Later I told my son: "China's future depends on your generation!" Now, my son told his grandson: "China's future depends on your generation!" Generation after generation, how many generations?At what generation can we get better?

In Malaysia, the Chinese accounted for more than 30%. Once I visited a museum, there were Malay and English in it, but there was no Chinese.This is not to say that it is good to have the Chinese language, but it is not good to not have the Chinese language. That is another question.On the one hand, this phenomenon shows that the Malays are not broad-minded enough. On the other hand, it also shows that the Chinese have no strength, no status, and no respect.The Chinese in Thailand say: "We have mastered the lifeblood of Thai rice." Don't comfort yourself, once a decree comes down, you will have nothing.

All these things make being a Chinese not only difficult but also humiliating and painful.It is the Chinese in the United States. You don’t know what he is. Left, right, center, independence, center-left, left-center, center-right, right-center, etc., there is almost no common language.What kind of nation is this if they regard each other as revenge for killing their fathers?What kind of country is this?There is no country in the world with such a long history as China, and no country has a culture that has been passed down in one continuous line like ours, and this culture has reached a high degree of civilization.The modern Greeks have nothing to do with the former Greeks, the modern Egyptians have nothing to do with the former Egyptians, and the modern Chinese are the descendants of the ancient Chinese. Why did such a huge country, such a huge nation, fall to the Such an ugly state today?Not only are they bullied by foreigners, but they are also bullied by their own people—by tyrants, officials, and mobs.Sometimes I stop in foreign parks and see foreign children, they are so happy, I feel envious from the bottom of my heart.They have no burden, their future is bright, their minds are healthy, and they are full of joy.Our children in Taiwan go to school and wear myopia glasses. In order to cope with the pressure of homework, they do not recognize their relatives.His mother passed out on the ground, and he went to help her, and his mother cried out sadly: "I'm going to die, what do I do? You work hard! You work hard!" When my wife was teaching, she occasionally talked about being a human being outside the topic. , the students immediately protested: "We don't want to learn to be human, we need to learn to cope with exams."

I have been in Taiwan for more than 30 years, I wrote novels for 10 years, wrote essays for 10 years, and spent 10 years in prison. Now I will write history for 10 years, with an equal distribution.Why don't I write novels anymore?I think writing novels is more indirect, through a form and some characters, so I rewrite essays.Essays are like daggers, which can be directly inserted into the heart of evil.Essays are like a person sitting next to the driver, always reminding the driver that you have driven the wrong way, you should turn left, you should turn right, you should pull over, you should not overtake on the double yellow line, there is a bridge ahead, you should slow down the accelerator , there is an intersection ahead, there are red lights and so on.He kept reminding and yelling, and if he yelled too much, he was thrown into prison.A person in authority thinks that as long as no one points out his mistakes, he will never be wrong.

I mused to myself in my cell, why am I in jail?What crime have I committed?What law did you break?After I was released from prison, I continued to discuss whether what happened to me was a perverted and special case?When I went to Iowa, I officially got together with mainland writers, and I found out that God destined me to be imprisoned for a person like me, not in Taiwan, but in mainland China.They told me: "With your temper, you will not be able to reach the 'Red Guards' or the 'Cultural Revolution'. If you fight against the Rightists, you will be reversed." To be honest, is he going to suffer this fate?I met many people who were imprisoned in mainland China. I asked them: "Why are you in prison?" They said: "Tell the truth." That's it.Why did he suffer such a fate after telling the truth?I think this is not a personal problem, but a problem of Chinese culture.Even the secret agents who shut me down in Taipei can’t be blamed. If you change everyone, in that environment, after being put on that track, you may have the same reaction, because you think what you did was right.I'll do that too, because I think I'm doing the right thing, maybe even worse than them.I often hear people say: "Your future is in your own hands." After I got older, I found this statement very problematic. In fact, half of it is in my own hands, and half is in the hands of others.

A person living in the world is like a stone in a cement mixer. After it starts to work, he cannot help himself.It makes us feel that it is not a personal problem, but a social problem, but a cultural problem.When Jesus was about to die, he said: "Be patient with them! They don't know what they do." When I read this sentence when I was young, I thought it was commonplace, but when I grew up, I also felt that this sentence was powerless.But at my current age, I realized how profound and painful this sentence is.It reminds me that we Chinese have become what we are today. Our ugliness comes from our ignorance of our ugliness.When I went to Iowa, the University of Iowa provided half of the expenses for our couple, and the other half was donated by private individuals. The other half was donated by Mr. Pei Zhuzhang, the owner of Yanjing Hotel in Iowa, a Chinese who has never been back to China. We have never met before, and I am touched by the donation of such a large amount.He talked to me, and he said: "Before I read your book, I thought the Chinese people were great. After reading your book, I realized that it was not the same thing. So, I would like to ask you to teach me in person."

After Mr. Fei Zhuzhang discovered that there was a problem with our culture, he thought deeply whether there was a problem with the quality of our Chinese people?When I went abroad for the first time, Mr. Sun Guanhan told me: "After you return to China, you are not allowed to say a word—ah! Chinese people are Chinese wherever they go." I said, "Okay, I won't say anything." After returning to China , he asked me: "What do you think?" I said: "It's still the same sentence that is not allowed to say-Chinese people are Chinese everywhere." He hoped that I would not say this sentence. After several years, something has changed, but unexpectedly, it has not changed.Is there really a problem with the quality of our Chinese people?Did God give us an ugly heart when he made us Chinese?I don’t think it should be a matter of quality. This is not self-comfort. The Chinese are one of the smartest peoples in the world. The top few in American universities are often Chinese. Many great scientists, including the father of Chinese atomic science Mr. Sun Guanhan, Nobel laureate Yang Zhenning, and Mr. Li Zhengdao are all top-notch minds.The quality of the Chinese is not bad. The quality of the Chinese is enough to bring China to a very healthy and happy state. We are qualified to do this, and we have reasons to believe that China will become a very good country.But we don't have to want our country to be strong all day long. What does it matter if the country is not strong?As long as the people are happy.After the people are happy, it is not too late to pursue strength.I think we Chinese have noble qualities.But why hasn't the Chinese people been freed from suffering for hundreds of years?what reason?

I would like to take the liberty of proposing a comprehensive answer, that is, there is a kind of viral infection in traditional Chinese culture, which has infected our children and grandchildren, and it cannot be cured until today.Some people say: "I am not up to date, but I blame my ancestors." There is a big loophole in this statement.I remember that Ibsen had a famous play (press: "Ghosts"). Parents with syphilis gave birth to a son with syphilis. Every time the son got sick, he had to take medicine.Once, the son said angrily: "I don't want this medicine, I'd rather die, what kind of body do you think you gave me?" Can he blame him instead of his parents?We don't blame our parents, we don't blame our ancestors, if we want to blame, we have to blame what kind of culture our ancestors left us.Such a huge country, a huge nation with a quarter of the world's population, has fallen into the quicksand of poverty, ignorance, struggle, blood, etc., and cannot extricate itself.When I see how people from other countries get along with each other, I am filled with envy.Such a traditional culture has produced the current phenomenon, which makes us Chinese have many terrible characteristics. One of the most obvious characteristics is that it is dirty, messy and noisy.Taipei used to be anti-dirty and messy for a while, but after a few days of anti-corruption, it stopped.Our kitchens are messy, our homes are messy.There are many places where as soon as the Chinese go, others move away.I have a little friend who graduated from National Chengchi University, married to a Frenchman, and lives in Paris. Many of my friends traveled to Europe, and they all made the floor of her house.She told me: "In the building where she lives, all the French have moved out, and all the Orientals have moved in." (Orientals sometimes refer to the whole of the East, and sometimes specifically to the Chinese.) I was sad to hear that, but if I looked around, there were ice cream boxes and slippers everywhere; children were running around, drawing everywhere, and there was a damp musty smell in the air.I asked, "Can't you clean it up?" She said, "No." Not only do foreigners think we are dirty and messy, but after being reminded like this, we ourselves also think we are dirty and messy.As for the noise, the Chinese people's voices are unparalleled in the world, and the voices of the fellow villagers in Guangdong are the most popular.There is a joke that happened in the United States: two Cantonese were whispering there, and the Americans thought they were about to fight, and urgently called to report the crime.The police came and asked what they were doing, and they said, "We're whispering." Why do Chinese people have loud voices?Because there is no sense of security, the Chinese people have a very high voice, and they think that if the voice is loud, it is the University of Li. As long as the voice is loud and the voice is high, Li will come to me. Otherwise, why would I be so angry?I think these points are enough to damage the image of the Chinese people and make our hearts uneasy, because noisy, dirty, and chaotic will naturally affect the heart. The windows are clean and dirty and chaotic are two completely different worlds. As for the Chinese people's fighting in the nest, it is an important characteristic of the Chinese people who are famous all over the world.Every single Japanese looks like a pig, but three Japanese add up to form a dragon. The team spirit of the Japanese makes Japan invincible!The Chinese can't beat the Japanese in war, and they can't do business with the Japanese. Just in Taipei, three Japanese are doing business. Well, this time it's yours, and next time it's mine.When the Chinese do business, it shows the ugliness of the Chinese people. If you sell fifty, I will sell forty, if you sell thirty, I will sell twenty.Therefore, every Chinese is a dragon, the Chinese speak the truth, they can blow out the sun from the top, and they can govern the country and the world from the bottom.In a single position, such as in the research room or in the examination room, the Chinese can achieve great development without the need for interpersonal relationships.But when three Chinese are added together—three dragons added together, they become a pig, a worm, and even worse than a worm.Because the Chinese are best at infighting.Wherever there are Chinese, there will be internal strife. The Chinese will never be united. It seems that the Chinese lack the cells of unity, so foreigners criticize the Chinese for not knowing unity, so I can only say: "Do you know what it means that the Chinese are not united? It is God's will! Because China has a population of one billion, unite and unite, you can bear it? It is God who has mercy on you and taught the Chinese people not to unite." As I said it, my heart was full of pain. Not only are the Chinese not united, but they have good reasons for not being united. Everyone can write this reason into a book.You can see it most clearly in the United States, where the best specimens are right in front of you. Any Chinese society is divided into at least 365 factions, each trying to put the other to death.There is a saying in China: "One monk carries water to eat, two monks carry water to eat, and three monks have no water to eat." What's the use of having more people?The Chinese simply do not understand the importance of cooperation in their hearts.But if you say he doesn't understand, he can write a book about unity and show it to you.The last time I came to the United States (in 1981), I stayed at the home of a friend who was teaching at a university. I talked eloquently, astronomy, geography, how to save the country, etc. The next day I said, "I want to go to Zhang San's place. Just a moment." When he heard that it was Zhang San, his eyes lit up with disdain, and I said, "Send me there for a while!" He said, "I won't see you off, you can go by yourself." Both teach in American schools, They are all from the same hometown, and they can't tolerate each other, so what's the point of rationality?Therefore, fighting in the nest of the Chinese is a serious feature. It is easier for you to realize this in the United States. It is not foreigners who are the most powerful in punishing Chinese people, but Chinese people.Whoever betrays the Chinese is not a foreigner, but a Chinese.Those who frame Chinese people are not foreigners, but Chinese people.There is such a story in Malaysia: A friend who lived there opened a mine and was sued all of a sudden, very seriously. After investigation, it turned out that the sue was an old friend who came from China and fought the world together. .Friends asked him how he did such an obscene thing?The man said: "Fighting the world together is fighting the world together. You are now a high-rise building. I can't do anything now. If I don't sue you, who will I sue?" So the Chinese are still the Chinese.For example, in a country as big as the United States, how can anyone know that you have entered the country illegally?Someone sue you!Who sues you?It is your friends around you, it is the Chinese who sue you. Many friends told me: If your immediate boss is a Chinese, you should pay special attention, be very careful, not only will he not promote you, but he will fire you first when laying off staff, because he wants to "show" that he is impartial, so we How can you compare with the Jews?I often hear people say: "We are as hardworking as the Jews." As the newspapers said: There was a quarrel in the Knesset. It was terrible. Three people had three opinions.However, he deliberately obliterated one thing. Once it was decided, it was in the same direction. Although the quarrel was a mess, there was still a war outside, and the enemy was surrounded, the election was still held as usual!In China, three people also have three opinions. However, unlike Israel, the Chinese have three directions after making a decision.For example, today someone proposed to go to New York, someone proposed to go to San Francisco, and a vote was made to go to New York.If they were Israelis, they would go to New York.If you are Chinese, hum, you go to New York, I have my freedom, I still go to San Francisco.In a British film, I saw some children arguing, some wanted to climb a tree, some wanted to swim. After arguing for a while, it was decided to vote, and the vote passed the tree climbing, so everyone went to climb the tree.I am deeply impressed by this act, because democracy is not a form, but a part of life.Our democracy is "to show democracy". When voting, the senior official has to take a photo to show that he is dignified and dignified. Democracy has not become a part of his life, but only a part of his performance. The inability of the Chinese to unite and the infighting of the Chinese are the bad roots of the Chinese.This is not because the quality of the Chinese people is not good enough, but because there is a filtering virus in Chinese culture, which makes us have to show up when the time comes, so that our behavior cannot be controlled by ourselves!Clearly knowing that this is fighting in the nest, or want to fight in the nest.If the pot is smashed, everyone can't eat, and if the sky falls, someone taller can stand up.Because of this philosophy of fighting inside the nest, we Chinese have developed a very special behavior - refusing to admit mistakes.Have you ever heard the Chinese admit their mistakes?If you hear the Chinese say, "I was wrong about this matter," you should applaud our nation.When my daughter was young, I hit her once, and it turned out that I blamed her, she cried so much, I was very sad, I thought she was young and helpless, she could only rely on her parents, and the parents suddenly turned their backs , What a terrible thing.I picked her up, and I said: "I'm sorry, Dad was wrong, Dad was wrong, I promise not to do it again, good daughter, forgive Dad." She stopped crying after a long, long time.After this incident, I have been very painful in my heart, but I am also extremely proud because I admitted to my daughter that I was wrong. Chinese people are not used to admitting their mistakes, instead they have ten thousand reasons to cover up their mistakes.There is a saying: "Think about your mistakes behind closed doors." Whose mistakes are you thinking about?Think about each other's past!When I was teaching, the students wrote a weekly diary and reviewed their behavior for the week. The result of the review was: "Today I was cheated by so-and-so, the person who cheated me, I was so kind to him, so kind, just because I was too loyal." After reading the other party's review, it also said that he was too loyal.Everyone feels that they are too loyal in self-criticism, so who is not loyal?The inability to admit mistakes is because the Chinese have lost the ability to admit mistakes.Although we don’t admit our mistakes, mistakes still exist. It doesn’t mean that we don’t have mistakes if we don’t admit them.In order to cover up a mistake, the Chinese have to make more mistakes without using a lot of effort to prove that the first mistake is not wrong.Therefore, Chinese people like to speak big words, like empty words, like to tell lies, like to tell lies, and even more like to speak vicious words—vicious words.Constantly exaggerating the voice of the great Han Dynasty of our Chinese nation, and constantly exaggerating that traditional Chinese culture can promote the world.Because it cannot be fulfilled, it is all big talk and empty talk.I will no longer give examples of lies and lies, but the poisonous words of the Chinese are very prominent. Even in the boudoir, they are different from foreigners. Out of "kill a thousand knives".Once it involves political stances or power struggles, the poisonous words will be infinitely higher, making people think why the Chinese are so vicious and obscene? I have a friend who wrote martial arts novels, and later changed his career to do business. I met him once and asked him if he made a fortune in business. He said, "Why are you making a fortune? I'm going to hang myself now!" I asked him why he lost money. He said: "You don't know, when you are with a businessman and talk to him for a long time, you still don't know what he mainly means." Many foreign friends said to me: "It is difficult to communicate with Chinese people. I know what’s on his mind.” I said, “What’s so strange about this, let’s not talk about you foreigners, even Chinese people who interact with Chinese people don’t know what’s going on in the other person’s mind.” You have to listen to his words, beat around the bush, and ask him, “What’s wrong with you?” Have you eaten yet?" He said, "I ate!" In fact, I didn't eat, and my stomach was still growling.For example, when it comes to elections, the style of foreigners is: "I think I am suitable, please choose me." The Chinese are Zhuge Liang's style. Even if someone invites him, he refuses again and again: "Oh! I can't do it! I am not qualified. ?” Actually, if you don’t invite him, he will hate you for the rest of his life.For example, when I was invited to give a speech this time, I said, "No way! I'm not good at speaking!" But if you really don't invite me, maybe when we meet in Taipei in the future, I will fly a brick to avenge you for not inviting me.If a nation is like this, our mistakes will never be corrected.Ten mistakes are often used to cover up one mistake, and a hundred mistakes are used to cover up ten mistakes. Once I went to Taichung to see a British professor, and an old friend who also taught at that university came to see me, and he said, "Come to my place for dinner tonight." I said, "Sorry, I still have an appointment. "He said: "No, we must come!" I said: "Okay! Let's talk about it later." He said: "Definitely come, goodbye!" We Chinese know it well, but foreigners don't understand. During dinner, I said: "I'm going back!" The British professor said: "Hey! Didn't you just make an appointment with a certain professor? You want to go to his house!" I said: "How could this time what?" He said, "He must have cooked the rice and waited for you." Foreigners don't understand the inconsistency of the Chinese. All these situations put a heavy burden on Chinese people. They have to figure out what other people think every day. If they are friends of the same generation, it doesn't matter.If he is powerful, if he is a high-ranking official, if he is rich, and you must be close to him, you must always wonder what he is thinking. These are all wastes of energy.Therefore, there is a saying: "It is easy to do things in China, but difficult to be a man." "Being a man" is the software culture. After living abroad for a long time, you will feel the pressure of this sentence after returning to China.It is easy to do things, two plus two is four, but it is difficult to be a human being, two plus two may be five, it may be one, it may be eight hundred and fifty-three, you think you are telling the truth, others think you are attacking──do you Want to overthrow the government?This is a serious issue, which makes us forever circle in some big words, empty words, false words, lies, and poisonous words.One of my greatest talents is that during any meeting, I can sit there and sleep, and when I wake up, the meeting is over.why?During the meeting, everyone said things that even he himself didn't believe, and it didn't matter whether he listened or not.This year (1984) Chen Rong, a well-known mainland female writer who participated in the International Writer's Writing Project, wrote a novel "True, False and False". I recommend it to everyone, please read it.Circumstances make us lie and keep us from being honest.We should at least feel that a bad thing is a bad thing. Once a bad thing is regarded as a glorious thing and indifferent, the software culture of this nation will begin to decline.For example, stealing is considered indifferent, not disgraceful, or even honorable. This creates a crisis, and we Chinese are facing this crisis. Because the Chinese are constantly covering up their mistakes, and constantly talking big words, empty words, lies, lies, and poisonous words, the Chinese people's minds are completely closed and cannot be opened.China has such a large area, such a long history of culture, and a great country, what kind of mind should Chinese people have?It should be the heart of a great country.But the hearts of our great citizens can only be seen in books and on TV.Have you ever seen a Chinese who has the mind of a great nation?Just stare at him and move the knife immediately.Do you disagree with him?Foreigners can come back to shake hands after a fight, but a Chinese fight is a hundred-year hatred, a hatred that cannot be repaid in three generations!Why do we lack ocean-like inclusiveness? An intolerant personality and such a narrow mind have caused the Chinese people to have two extremes, which are not balanced enough.On the one hand, it is absolute inferiority complex, on the other hand, it is absolute pride.When you feel inferior, you become a slave; when you are proud, you become a master!Alone, no self-esteem.When I feel inferior, I feel that I am a piece of shit, and the closer I get to the power, the more smiles on my face.When I am proud, I think other people are shit and dismiss them; I become a strange animal with split personality. It is very easy to create a miracle in China, and amazing results will appear all at once.But to maintain this miracle, the Chinese lack this ability.A person has a little bit of poor achievement, so his ears are dimmed, his eyes are clouded, and he can't go on the road because he starts to have a fever.Write two articles and become a writer, make two films and become a movie star, become a savior of the people after two years as an official with a little power, and become an expert scholar after studying in the United States for two years. People, these are all ego bloat.There was a car accident in Taiwan. A graduate of National Taiwan Normal University went on a trip. The lady in charge said, "Our driver is a world-class driver. He is handsome and young." The driver immediately let go of the steering wheel and turned to him. Everyone bowed their hands.This is self-aggrandizement, and he thinks he is so skilled that he can drive without holding the steering wheel.A few years ago, I saw a movie.Once, the Roman emperor invited a man to perform flying. This man made a pair of wings himself. Before he went up to the tower, he showed it to everyone, and the audience burst into applause.He suddenly swelled to the point where he couldn't restrain himself, and felt great, thinking that he could still fly without the pair of wings, and then climbed up the ladder. His wife pulled him and said, "You can't fly without these things, how can you be like this?" ?” He said, “What do you know?” His wife chased him, and he stomped on her hand.When he got to the tower, he put the lid on, and the greatness was increased by three levels, and then he jumped down, and it disappeared with a plop.The audience lost their temper. We paid to watch the flying, not to watch the dead man fall, to teach his wife to fly.His wife said desolately to her husband's soul in heaven: "The result of your inflation is that you have harmed yourself and your wife." The Chinese are the nation that is most likely to expand in the world. Why is it easy to expand?Because the Chinese are "little and easy to make money", they have too little knowledge and too narrow a mind, and if they have a little climate, they think that although the world is big, it can't hold him.If only a few people are like this, it doesn't matter. If the whole nation, or the majority, or a relatively large number of Chinese people are like this, it will form a national crisis.Chinese people seem to never have self-esteem, so that it is difficult for Chinese people to have the concept of equality.If you are not my master, I am your master.This kind of situation affects the closed mind of the individual, and he refuses to admit his mistakes.But they keep making mistakes, so that we Chinese have a kind of neurotic fear.Let me give an example to illustrate: A friend in Taipei once suffered from a sudden illness and was taken to the central clinic, where a tube was inserted and he was revived.Two or three days later, his family felt that the central clinic was more expensive, and they planned to transfer to the Veterans General Hospital, so they talked to the doctor. When the doctor heard this, he became furious and said, "I managed to save his life. We need to transfer to another hospital now." So he couldn't help but pull out all the tubes, and the patient almost died.When my friend talked about this incident with me, he was both sad and angry, and I said to him: "Tell me the name of that doctor, and I will write an article to expose him." He was surprised and said: "You are too impulsive and good. I knew I wouldn’t have told you.” I was so angry that I went crazy, and I said, “What are you afraid of? He’s just a doctor. When you’re sick, you don’t have to go to him. Does he have to come to your house to see a doctor? Retaliation is not allowed? Besides, if he wants to deal with it, he can only deal with me, not you. I wrote it, and I am not afraid of it. What are you afraid of?" He said, "You are a desperado." I think I What should be praised is instead ridiculed by him.I think this is not his problem alone, he is my very good friend, and he is also a very good person, he said these words because he loves me and does not want me to cause trouble.But this is precisely neurotic fear, fear of this and that. I remember the first time I came to the United States, there was a robbery in New York. It was a Chinese who was robbed. After the robber was caught, he dared not identify it.Everyone is terribly afraid. They don't know what their rights are, and they don't know how to protect their rights. Whenever something happens, they always say: "Forget it, forget it." "Forget it, forget it." "Four words, I don't know how many Chinese people have been killed, and the vitality of our nation has been bruised.If I were a foreigner, or if I were a tyrant, it would be unnatural for such a people not to abuse her.This kind of neurotic fear is the best breeding ground for cultivating tyrants and officials, so China's tyrants and officials will never disappear.In traditional Chinese culture——you can see it in this article—the emphasis is on being wise and protecting one’s life. What tyrants and officials like and appreciate most is people’s being wise and protecting one’s life, so the Chinese people are becoming more and more depraved and shrinking. Chinese culture was the most splendid era in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, but since that era, Chinese culture has been controlled by Confucianism.In the Eastern Han Dynasty, the government had a rule that every intellectual's speech, debate, and writing should not go beyond what his teacher told him. This is called "inheritance from master".If it goes beyond the teacher's inheritance, not only the theory cannot be established, but it also violates the law.After doing this, the imagination and thinking ability of Chinese intellectuals are all stifled and rigid, just like putting a plastic bag on the brain, and a drop of water will not enter.A friend said: "Why don't you have the ability to think? I still complain when I read newspapers." Thinking is a multi-faceted thing. One thing has not only one side, not only two sides, but even many sides.Mr. Sun Guanhan often used an example. There is a ball, half white and half black. The people who see the white half say it is a white ball, and the people on the other side say it is a black ball. To run to the other side to see, and to run to the other side to see, requires imagination and thinking.When we think about a problem, it should be multifaceted. There is a little American humor. A teacher in the Department of Meteorology held an exam and gave the student a barometer, asking him to use the "barometer" to measure the height of the building-of course it means to use "air pressure" to measure the height, but who The student used many different methods, but he didn't use "air pressure". The teacher was very angry and gave him a failing grade.The student complained to the school committee, and the committee asked him why he gave such an answer. He said: "The teacher asked me to use the barometer to measure the height of the building. He didn't say that the air pressure must be used. Of course I can use what I think is the simplest.的方法！”委员会的人问他：“除了那些方法之外，还有没有其他的方法？”学生说：“还有很多，我可以用绳子把气压计从楼上吊下来，再量绳子，就知道楼有多高了。”“还有没有别的方法？”学生说：“还有，我可以找到这栋楼房的管理员，把这个气压计送给他，让他告诉我这个楼有多高。”这个学生并不是邪门，他所显示的意义，就是一种想像力和思考力，常使糨糊脑筋吓死。 还有一种“买西瓜学”。老板对伙计说：“你一出门，往西走，第一道桥那里，就有卖西瓜的，你给我买两斤西瓜。”伙计一出门，往西走，没有看见桥，也没有卖西瓜的，于是就空手回来。老板骂他混蛋，没有头脑。他说：“东边有卖的。”老板问他：“你为什么不到东边去？”他说：“你没叫我去。”老板又骂他混蛋。其实老板觉得这个伙计老实，服从性强，没有思考能力，才是真正的安全可靠。假如伙计出去一看，西边没有，东边有，就去买了，瓜又便宜、又甜。回去之后老板会夸奖他说：“你太聪明了，了不起，做人正应该如此，我很需要你。”其实老板觉得这个家伙靠不住，会胡思乱想。各位，有思考能力的奴隶最危险，主子对这种奴隶不是杀就是赶。这种文化之下孕育出来的人，怎能独立思考？因为我们没有独立思考训练，也恐惧独立思考，所以中国人也缺乏鉴赏能力，什么都是和稀泥，没有是非，没有标准。中国到今天这个地步，应该在文化里找出原因。 这个文化，自从孔丘先生之后，四千年间，没有出过一个思想家！所以认识字的人，都在那里批注孔丘的学说，或批注孔丘门徒的学说，自己没有独立的意见，因为我们的文化不允许这样做，所以只好在这潭死水中求生存。这个潭，这个死水，就是中国文化的酱缸，酱缸发臭，使中国人变得丑陋。就是由于这个酱缸深不可测，以致许多问题，无法用自己的思考来解决，只好用其他人的思考来领导。这样的死水，这样的酱缸，即使是水蜜桃丢进去也会变成干屎橛。外来的东西一到中国就变质了，别人有民主，我们也有民主，我们的民主是：“你是民，我是主。”别人有法制，我们也有法制，别人有自由，我们也有自由，你有什么，我就有什么。你有斑马线，我也有斑马线──当然，我们的斑马线是用来引诱你给车子压死的。 要想改变我们中国人的丑陋形象，只有从现在开始，每个人都想办法把自己培养成鉴赏家。我们虽然不会演戏，却要会看戏，不会看戏的看热闹，会看戏的看门道。鉴赏家本身就是一个了不起的成就。我记得刚到台湾的时候，有一个朋友收集了很多贝多芬的唱片，有七八套，我请求他送一套或卖一套给我，他当场拒绝，因为每一套都由不同的指挥和乐队演奏，并不一样。我听了很惭愧，他就是一个鉴赏家。 民主是要自己争取的，不能靠别人赏赐。自由、权利是我们的，你付给我，我有，你不付给我，我也有。我们如果有鉴赏能力，就一定要争取选举，严格选择对象；我们没有鉴赏的能力，连美女和麻子脸都分不出，能够怪谁？好比说画画，假使我画了毕加索的假画，有人看到说：“这真好！”花五十万美金买下来了，请问你买了假画能怪谁？是你瞎了眼！是你没有鉴赏能力。可是在这种情况之下，真的毕加索的画就不会有人买下，假画出笼，真画家只好饿死。买了假画不能怪别人，只能怪自己。就好像有一个人请来了一个裁缝师傅修他的门，结果把门装颠倒了，主人说：“你瞎了眼？”裁缝师傅说：“谁瞎了眼？瞎了眼才找错人！”这个故事我们要再三沉思，没有鉴赏能力，就好像是瞎了眼的主人。