Chapter 19 Section 19: Chinese Women

Matthew Arnold called the poetry of the best Greek poet the imaginative priestess of reason.The spirit of the Chinese, as seen in the best specimens, their art and literature, is what Matthew Arnold called imaginative reason.Matthew Arnold said: "The poetry of the later pagans lived by feeling and reason; the poetry of medieval Christians lived by heart and imagination. And modern spiritual life, the main factor of modern European spirituality today, is neither feeling nor reason, Nor mind and imagination, but imaginative intellect." If what Matthew Arnold says here is true, that the element of the modern spirit of the European peoples today is imaginative reason, then you will see how much the Chinese spirit is of great value to the Europeans - the spirit It is what Matthew Arnold called imaginative rationality.I say that it is very valuable, very important, worth studying, worth understanding, worth loving, rather than ignoring, belittling, trying to destroy it.

But now, before I conclude, I want to give you a warning.When considering the spirit of the Chinese people I have explained to you, you must remember that it is not science, philosophy, theology, or any doctrine, such as the theology of Mrs. Blavatsky (31) or Mrs. Besant (32) Or doctrine.The spirit of the Chinese is not even a mental activity - an active working of the brain and heart.I want to tell you that the spirit of the Chinese is a state of mind, a disposition of the soul, and you cannot learn it like shorthand or Esperanto—in short, it is a state of mind, or in the words of the poet, a kind of peace and tranquility. mentality.

Finally, allow me to read to you a few lines of the very Chinese English poet Wordsworth, which, better than any words I have ever said or could say, describe to you the peace and tranquility of the Chinese spirit. mentality.These few lines of English poems present to you the perfect combination of soul and rationality in Chinese-style humanity, as well as the unspeakable elegance and tranquility endowed to the real Chinese. Wordsworth wrote in Tindon Monastery" said in the poem: (z-21) Likewise, by virtue of their I'm still on a higher side Get another gift: peace of mind Let the burden of mystery,

Let the whole incomprehensible world give a heavy and annoying burden, To be relieved:--in a peaceful state of mind Tenderness leads us on,-- until the breath of our flesh even blood flow have stopped, our bodies have Sleeping, became a living soul: Our eyes become under the power of harmony Serenity, deep under the power of joy, We see the life of all things clearly. The serene and peaceful state of mind allows us to see the life of all things clearly: this is rationality full of imagination, and this is the spirit of the Chinese people. Chinese women Matthew Arnold, speaking of biblical arguments being used in the House of Commons to support a bill granting a man to marry his late wife's sister: "Consider this troublesome matter, who would believe that when female nature, female When ideas and our relationship to them go wrong, the graceful and sensible Indo-European race, who invented the Muse, the Chivalry, the Virgin Mary, finds the problem settled by having seven hundred wives and Semites under a wise king with three hundred concubines?"

Here, the word I want to take from the sentence quoted at length above is "feminine conception".So what is the concept of women in China?What is the Chinese people's idea of ​​female nature and their relationship to that idea?And before going deeper, although I respect Matthew Arnold and the Indo-European race, I still want to say that the Semites and the ancient Hebrews’ concept of women are not like Matthew Arnold used their most wise kings to have a large number of wives and concubines. As horrible as the facts speculate.Because of the ancient Hebrews' femininity, as we can find in their literature: "Who can find a chaste woman? She is worth far more than rubies. Her husband trusts her with peace of mind. Before dawn she also Get up, prepare food for the family, dowry for the sisters. She holds the spindle and holds the reel. When it snows, she doesn't worry about the family; because her family wears a coat. She talks wisely and kindly. She looks after the family. .Her children are growing and blessing her, and her husband is blessing and praising her."

I don't think it's scary after all, it's not bad -- that's the Semitic concept of femininity.Of course, it is not as refined as the Virgin Mary or the Muses in the Indo-European concept of women.However, I think it must be admitted - the Madonna and the Muses are great for hanging in a room as a portrait, but if you leave the broom in the hands of the Muses or let Maria into the kitchen, you can be sure your room will be a mess, You probably won't have breakfast when you wake up in the morning.Confucius said: "Tao is not far away from people. People are Dao and people are far away, so they can't be Dao." However, if the Hebrew concept of femininity cannot be compared with the Virgin Mary or the Muses, then I think it can be very Compare well with the concept of femininity in modern Europe, the concept of Indo-European femininity in Europe and America today.I don't mean suffragettes in England.Compare the concept of femininity of the ancient Hebrews with the modern concept of femininity, such as the heroine in modern novels, such as Alexandre Dumas' La Traviata.Incidentally, one might be interested to know that of all European literature translated into Chinese, Dumas fils's novel, which presents the filthy and depraved woman as the ideal of superfemininity, is the bestseller in today's modern China, earning The Chinese translation of this French novel has become a great success, and it has even been transformed into a play, which is popular in theaters all over China.Now, if you compare the ancient Semitic women's concept of women who are not afraid of the snow for their husbands and only want their husbands to dress decently, with the current European Indo-European women's concept of women who do not have a husband and therefore do not need to care about their husband's clothes, But compared to La Traviata, who was dressed luxuriously and decently, and died with a rotten camellia on her chest: then you will understand what is real and what is hypocrisy and flashy civilization. (z-54) (z-42)