Chapter 34 Section 34: Intellectual Deficiency

Chinese Studies (2) Mr. Hua Zhi'an once said that the Chinese do not understand any systematic methods of scientific research.However, in a classic work in China, "University", which is regarded as a "cliché" by most foreign scholars, it proposes a series of procedures that scholars should follow to conduct systematic research.Students of China probably do no better than following a course in this work.Such a course is one that begins with the study of the individual, proceeds from the individual to the family, and from the family to the government. Therefore, first of all, it is an essential step for a person who studies China to understand the most basic knowledge of the principles of Chinese personal conduct.Second, he must examine how these principles are applied and implemented in the complex social relations and family life of the Chinese.Third, after completing the above work, he can take the country's administrative and management system as his attention object and research direction.Of course, as we have pointed out, this research procedure can only be roughly followed.If you want to implement it thoroughly, it will take almost a lifetime of energy for scholars to pursue it persistently.However, there is no doubt that only when a person is very familiar with the above-mentioned principles can he be qualified to be called a Chinese scholar or consider himself to be very knowledgeable.The German poet Goethe once said: "Just as in the creation of nature, in the works of man, will is the thing that is truly noteworthy and transcends everything." The most important and most noteworthy thing to study national character is also this aspect.That is, attention should be paid not only to the activities and practices of a people, but also to their concepts and theories.It is necessary to understand how they distinguish between good and bad, and by what standards the nation divides justice from injustice.How do they distinguish beauty from ugliness, wisdom from stupidity, etc.That said, those who study China should examine personal codes of conduct.In other words, what we want to express is that to study China, you must understand the Chinese people's national philosophy.If someone asks: how can this be done?Our answer is to study the literature of this nation, from which we can see their best national characteristics and at the same time see their worst characters.Therefore, the authoritative national literature of the Chinese people should be one of the objects that attract the attention of those who study China.This preparatory study is necessary, both as a necessary course of study and as a means to an end.Next, let's look at how to study Chinese literature. (z-66)

A German writer once said: "The basis of European civilization is the civilization of Greece, Rome and Palestine. Indians, Europeans and Persians all belong to the Aryan race, so they are relatives in terms of race. In the Middle Ages, European civilization Development was influenced by contacts with the Arabs. Even today, this influence still exists." But the origin, development, and basis of existence of Chinese civilization have nothing to do with European culture.Therefore, for foreigners who study China, it is necessary to overcome the inconvenience caused by not knowing the basic concepts and concept groups of China.It is necessary for these foreigners to use Chinese national concepts and concepts that are different from their own, and they should find their counterparts in their own language.If these counterparts are lacking, they should be dissected in order to bring them into common humanity.For example, "benevolence", "righteousness" and "li" appear frequently in Chinese classics, and are generally translated into English as "benevolence", "justice", and "propriety".However, if we carefully scrutinize the connotation of these words, we will find that this translation is not very suitable.The equivalent words in English cannot cover all the meanings of Chinese characters.In addition, the word "humanity" may be the most appropriate English translation of the Chinese word "仁" translated as "benevolence".But "humanity" at this time should be understood from a different meaning than in English idioms.An adventurous translator might translate "benevolence" with "love" and "righteousness" in the Bible.Perhaps this translation is better than any other translation that is supposed to express the meaning of the word and at the same time conform to the idiom of the language.Now, however, if we break down the ideas conveyed by these words into universal human nature, we get their full meaning, namely "goodness", "truth" and "beauty".

In addition, to study the literature of a nation, we must study it as an organic whole, instead of dividing the whole and conducting research without planning and procedures like most foreign scholars do.Mr. Matthew Arnold once said: "Whether it is the complete spiritual history of mankind, that is, all literature, or just a great literary work, in order to embody the true power of literature, they must be regarded as an organic unity. research as a whole." However, among the foreigners we have seen studying China, almost no one studies Chinese literature as a whole!Because of this, they seldom recognize its value and significance, and in fact almost no one is really an expert.The means to understand the strength of the Chinese national character are also minimal!Except for a few scholars such as Ryage, Europeans mainly learn about Chinese literature by translating some not the best but the most ordinary novels.It is as absurd as a foreigner's evaluation of English literature, relying on the works of Ms. Broughton, or the novels that children and nurses read.When Sir Wade accused the Chinese of "intellectual insufficiency", there is no doubt that he must have these things in his mind.