Chapter 4 Speech at the Chinese Public School (March 20, 1920)

Mr. Liang Rengong had recently returned from Europe, and it was the second time that Shanghai China Public School started after its restoration, so a meeting was held to welcome him.Mr. Liang made an impromptu speech, advocating the use of the inherent people-oriented spirit to correct the evils of the European representative system and capitalism, which is quite a blow to the people of the country.The words are recorded as follows: I have a moral friendship with everyone who works in the school. It can be said that I have been united in spirit for a long time, but I am ashamed that I have not fulfilled my obligations.This trip to Europe was short and covered a lot of places, so the observations were not very clear.Because there are not many native products, there is only one thing that can greatly affect the spirit, which is to completely eliminate the pessimistic concept.So the spirit can be refreshed, in other words, the old spirit will be swept away.That's all for this trip to Europe.How can this happen?It is because of observing why Europe has made progress over the past century, and why China has imitated other countries but cannot be similar, I have some thoughts on this point.

The reason for this in Europe is that it has developed naturally due to its inherent social and political foundations.Its inherent foundation is different from that of China, so China cannot follow suit.Europe has been in a state of unnaturalness and disease during this century.China followed this pathology, so it could not succeed. The first is political theory.For example, the representative system is a major trend and the only treasure of the nineteenth century. All countries have followed this path, with some success, but China alone has not.why?Gai representative system is indeed a class in Europe, but in China there is no such possibility.Gai must have aristocratic landowners before a constitution can be established, and the power is concentrated in the hands of a few sages, and it is considered a transition to the masses.For example, there are such a small number of outstanding people in Britain, first expanded from the aristocrats to the middle class, and then to the common people, so that there must be a class before they can be moved down. These few people all have their own ambitions.The same is true in Japan, where the entire people are represented by a minority of the inherent class.Not so with China.Since the Qin Dynasty, there has been no class for a long time, so I tried to imitate Britain and Japan, but failed, because the social foundation is completely different.China originally had the rudiments of public opinion politics, and people across the country have long had the impression that public opinion is popular.But the method of expressing it is very muddled, which is regrettable.Such as the censor system is one example.In fact, from the perspective of people-oriented principles, the Chinese people have always been reluctant to interfere with the government, which is also in line with the spirit of people-oriented principles.This characteristic cannot be ignored.In the past, we only dreamed of centralization and forgot this inherent characteristic.It should be known that centralization of power is most incompatible with the Chinese people's nature. If it is enforced, the result will not be reactionary, but abnormal. This is why although we want to imitate Europe, we cannot succeed.But is this failure the result of misfortune for China, or luck?Take other countries as a metaphor first.Like Japan and Germany, after all, if they imitate the English, is it a success or a failure?In Japan, because the result has not been announced, it is not discussed.Let's say Germany.It was originally divided into two factions, one was the republican unification faction, and the other was the monarchy unification faction. After Bismarck came out, the monarchy was unified.Assuming that there is no Bi clan, and assuming that it is on the road of republican unification, I dare to assert that it will succeed, especially after a while; and assuming that it has already adopted the people-oriented principle, I dare to say that although it has not developed as fast as it is now, then It must still be developed as before.It can be seen that the past fifty years have been a detour, and it is not fortunate that we still have to return to the original road.In short, although Germany learned from English, its value is still unavoidable to be re-evaluated today.For example, although China fails for learning, its failure may not be unfortunate.For example, if one person goes up a mountain and the other walks on flat ground, there is no way behind the mountain, and he will inevitably descend again, but those who cannot go up the mountain will have a flat road to walk on.It can be seen that the failure of the Chinese people this time is only a small setback, and it does not hurt the general, and there is great hope in the future.

The same is true of the second theory of society.The Chinese social system has a spirit of mutual assistance.The theory of competition has always been puzzling to the Chinese, while mutual assistance is not well understood by Westerners.Chinese ethics and ancestor worship are partly based on the spirit of self-denial and sacrifice.It is the nature of the Chinese not to abandon personal enjoyment, while the Europeans are the opposite.From a moral point of view, it cannot be said that individual hedonism is the highest, but the strength of the Chinese people is that they can maintain the survival and growth of society.Therefore, China has been ravaged by foreigners for thousands of years, but the number of people has not decreased.For this reason, I think that it is not necessary to learn from others' competitionism, it is better to modify and expand it based on its inherent characteristics.

The third is about economy.The development of the Western economy, all due to capitalism, is an unnatural state, not a rational organization.Although it is very developed now, it is coming to an end, and its accumulation is hard to recover, it cannot be saved, and it is bound to rupture.China is the most unsuitable for the concentration of capital. For decades, it has tried to emulate it, but it has always failed.However, this failure is not necessarily unfortunate.Since China has no aristocratic landlords, the small peasant system has always been practiced.This kind of small peasant system was acquired in France after the revolution, and the majority of Russia also advocates this system, but China is inherent in it.The modern economy is all based on agriculture, so it is a great fortune that China failed to learn from capitalism?In the future, it is possible to adopt the newly researched system.I feel that the loveliness of China lies in this.

In short, we should develop our inherent national character, that is, we should change the negative into positive.If politics is based on people-oriented principles, it is a pity that it is limited to opposition rather than organization; the social system is originally based on mutualism, but it is a pity that it is limited to family aspects. It would be better if it becomes positive.As I make this trip myself, I am very optimistic about China, and my interest is also strong, and I feel that the motivation to change from negative to positive has already begun.You should know that there is absolutely no pessimism about China's future, and China's inherent foundation is also the most in line with the world's trendy trends, but it is okay for everyone to exalt their own personality and move forward.In terms of personality, in modern times, Li Ning is the most important. His assiduous spirit and loyalty to the doctrine are the most powerful to influence people. He completely influences the whole of Russia with his personality, so his doctrine can be seen and implemented.But the national character of Russia is extreme, which is different from the moderate character of the Chinese.I think the Chinese must also try to reconcile, that is, the mind should be completely liberated, and the behavior should be down-to-earth, and they must stand on their own in a stable position.All students should be self-responsible, and try their best to cultivate their abilities, and they must develop themselves to perfection.There is no need to be pessimistic about China, but for yourself, if you try to develop a noble personality, the future is really immeasurable.