Chapter 6 Section 6: Spiritual Life

In fact, what I am trying to say here is that the extraordinary characteristic of the Chinese is not that they live a life of the heart.All primitive man lives a spiritual life.As far as we know, medieval Christians also lived lives of the heart.Matthew Arnold (21) said: "Medieval Christian poets lived by heart and imagination".And here I want to say that the extraordinary characteristic of the Chinese people is that although they live a spiritual life and a child's life, they also have the power of mind and reason at the same time. This is found in the Christians or other primitive people in medieval Europe. less than.In other words, the extraordinary characteristic of the Chinese, as a mature people, as a people who have lived so long with an adult rationality, is that they still live a child's life, a life of the heart.

Therefore, rather than saying that the Chinese are stunted, it is better to say that the Chinese never age.In short, the remarkable characteristic of the Chinese as a race is that they possess the secret of perpetual youth. (z-85) Now, we can answer the question we started asking: what is a real Chinese?We now see that the real Chinese is a man who lives with the reason of an adult but with the heart of a child.In short, the real Chinese have the mind of an adult and the heart of a child.Therefore, the Chinese spirit is the spirit of eternal youth and the immortal spirit of the nation.So what is the secret of the immortality of the Chinese nation?You will recall that at the beginning of the discussion I said that it was what I called empathy or real human wisdom that endowed the Chinese type of humanity - the real Chinese - with unspeakable refinement.This true human intelligence, I say, is the product of a combination of two things -- empathy and common sense.It is a harmonious work of heart and mind.In short, a wonderful combination of soul and reason.If the Chinese spirit is a spirit of eternal youth and national immortality, then the secret of immortality is this wonderful combination of soul and reason.

Now, you will ask me, where and how did the Chinese acquire this secret of national immortality—the wonderful combination of soul and mind that allows the Chinese as a people and race to live a life of perpetual youth.The answer, of course, comes from their civilization.However, you cannot expect me to give you a lecture on Chinese civilization at this time allotted.But I want to tell you something about Chinese civilization that is relevant to our subject. First of all, I want to tell you that, in my opinion, there is a fundamental difference between Chinese civilization and modern European civilization.Here let me quote a wonderful statement from the famous living art critic Mr. Bernard Berenson(22): "Our European art has a fatal tendency to become a science. We have few masterpieces without interest. The traces of a divided battlefield." Now, I will say that European civilization, as Mr. Berenson said, European art, is a battlefield of divided interests; , on the other hand, is the war of faith and philosophy; in fact it is the battlefield of constant conflict between head and heart, soul and mind.In Chinese civilization, at least for the last 2,500 years, there has been no such conflict.I said, this is a very fundamental difference between Chinese civilization and European civilization.

In other words, I would say that in modern Europe, people have a religion that feeds their hearts and not their heads, and a philosophy that feeds their heads and not their hearts.Now let's look at China.Some people say that China has no religion.Indeed, even ordinary people in China do not take religion seriously.I mean here religion in the European sense.Chinese Taoist and Buddhist temples, ceremonies and ceremonies are not so much enlightenment as entertainment; it may be said that they touch the Chinese sense of beauty rather than their moral and religious sense; in fact they appeal more to the imagination rather than their hearts or souls.But rather than saying that the Chinese do not have religion, it may be more correct to say that the Chinese do not need religion - do not feel the need for religion.

How, then, is the peculiar fact that the Chinese, and even the general population of China, do not feel the need for religion?So an Englishman explained it this way.He is Mr. Robert K. Douglas (23), a professor of Chinese at the University of London, said in his research on Confucianism: "More than forty generations of Chinese people have absolutely obeyed the authority of one person. As a member of the Chinese people, The teachings of Confucius fit well with the nature of his disciples. The Mongol race is very peaceful and sensitive in mind, and instinctively opposes the idea of ​​studying things beyond their experience. As Confucius expounded, a concept of unknowable future, simple China's fact-based moral system is sufficient to meet all the needs of the Chinese people."

The learned English professor was right when he said that the Chinese did not feel the need for religion because they had the teachings of Confucius, but he was right when he asserted that the Chinese did not need religion because the Mongols had a very peaceful and sensual mind. is completely wrong.First, religion has nothing to do with contemplation.Religion is a matter of feeling and affection, it is a matter of the human soul.Even in the savage African man, when he breaks away from pure animal life, his soul--the sense of religious need--awakens.Therefore, although the Mongoloids are peaceful and emotional, the Mongoloid Chinese should admit that they are superior to African savages and have souls. Since they have souls, they have a sense of religious need, unless they have other things that can replace religion. .