Chapter 11 Chapter 10 Applying what you have learned

10.1.1 Differences in Understanding Whether or not to learn classical Chinese is not a problem in the old days, because if literati wanted to use it, they would not be able to cope with the imperial examinations and deal with social life. The literary revolution started around the "May 4th Movement", and here comes the problem.Many people who are advancing say that classical Chinese is a dead language, and should have been discarded long ago, and should be written in vernacular instead.By the 1930s, according to those who advanced, the new literature in the vernacular had completely won.Victory, and the classical Chinese will give way to the country, of course, there will no longer be a question of whether to learn it or not.In this way, it seems that the problem no longer exists.In fact, this is not the case, because things have changed, and if you look back calmly, you will find that the victory at that time was mainly in the use of vernacular writing; as for how to deal with classical Chinese, it was either not considered, or it was considered and it was not seen clearly through colored glasses.For example, Hu Shi, an advocate of the Literary Revolution, wrote a book "History of Vernacular Literature" (only the first volume), saying that all valuable literary works are vernacular, which means that classical Chinese works are worthless; cultural heritage issues.Is this extreme statement correct?Presumably most people would not agree now.In fact, it was Hu Shi himself who, after the Literary Revolution, wrote the "Outline of the History of Chinese Philosophy" (also only the first volume), and devoted himself to studying "Shui Jing Zhu" in his later years.It can be seen that after switching to vernacular writing has become a foregone conclusion, the problem of how to deal with classical Chinese has not been resolved.Another important problem that has not been solved is that for the past 50 or 60 years, there have been classical Chinese in textbooks, but students are still learning it.Learn, of course hope to learn.Learn, with purpose.The purpose can be broad, to accept cultural heritage; it can be narrow, to appreciate some classical literary works; in addition, some people also think that writing in modern language can absorb some nutrition from classical Chinese.The general spirit is that classical Chinese is still useful and should be learned.However, there are also many people, starting from reality, think that learning is difficult, and it is not helpful for learning technology, and it is not worthwhile to waste time, so they should not learn.There is a reason to learn, and there is a reason not to learn, and they are in a stalemate, so the problems left over from the period of the literary revolution have become complicated.

The issue is complicated because the two opposing sides have reasonable arguments and are based on facts.The value of classical Chinese, as mentioned in the first half of Chapter Four, is probably recognized by most people.In this way, if you don't learn, you won't know how to accept cultural heritage, appreciate classical literature and other things.This is not a small loss for the whole country, and it is not a small loss for an individual.However, in fact, it is not easy to learn (mainly from the perspective of social statistics), and if you don't learn it, it doesn't seem to have any effect on being proficient in technology, or even being top-notch in technology.If there is disagreement, it is difficult to determine how to implement it, so the problem is more complicated.

10.1.2 Both should be considered The two extreme methods are decisive, and the advantage is that they are straightforward.But there are disadvantages, and it is not feasible to see it from the opposite side.It doesn't work to be partial to one end. Obviously, the feasible solution can only be in the middle, that is, between learning and not learning.The middle way is the principle. As for the specific method, because there is a difference between the whole country and an individual, it needs to be analyzed. As far as the whole country is concerned, there are people who learn the middle way and others who don't.If someone learns, tasks such as accepting cultural heritage will not be completely in vain; if someone does not learn, the worry of wasting time and being uneconomical can be relatively alleviated.With such a discounted balance, it is presumed that both sides in the stalemate will not be very satisfied, but I really can't think of a way to make both sides happy.Assuming that a balanced approach is feasible, the following questions arise.First of all, what kind of people learn and what kind of people don't learn.In principle, this is not difficult to determine. It needs to be learned by people who use classical Chinese and who are interested in classical Chinese.For example, if a person’s major or desire is to sort out ancient books, study ancient Chinese, or study the history of a country, etc., he has to learn classical Chinese.Those who do not engage in majors related to classical Chinese may be willing to read "Historical Records", "Anthology", Du Poems and other classics, so he has to learn classical Chinese.Add up those who need and those who are willing, how many people will there be?It's hard to say, but fortunately, it doesn't matter much, so you can ignore it.The next question is how to judge that some people need to learn or are willing to learn, and some people neither need to learn nor are willing to learn.If you want to know whether you like it or not, you have to try some.This puts us in what seems to be a circle of contradictions: because of the decision not to learn everything, but to learn everything.This means that in the early stage (such as the second half of elementary school and the first half of junior high school), you must learn both, so that you can safely distinguish who can learn and who can not learn.The next question is how to set the school system by the education administration, how to inspect and guide teachers and parents, and how to make a plan for publishing classical Chinese reading materials by the publishing department, so as to ensure the smooth implementation of this method of taste before buying.These are matters related to specific measures, so we don't need to talk about them in detail.

Personally speaking, the middle path can be learned or not.The criteria for deciding whether to study or not are still the same as pointed out in the previous paragraph: it depends on whether it is necessary, if necessary, you must learn; if it is not necessary, you don’t have to learn, but if you are interested, then you must learn.In this way, there will be a big difference between the whole country and the individual in terms of implementation and harvest: the whole country is the best of both worlds, while the individual is going to one extreme.However, the general spirit is the same: to learn, to have opportunities; not to learn, to have freedom.

10.2.1 Different requirements Since someone wants to learn, they have to consider how to learn.How to learn depends on how you ask.For example, what is required is proficiency. Like many sinologists in the Qing Dynasty, learning requires rigorous training, which requires both broad and refined.The next few are various majors related to classical Chinese. At least the requirements for Ph.D.At present, the vast majority of people who study classical Chinese have lower requirements. They want to use classical Chinese as a tool to read some classical Chinese classics worthy of modern people's reading, absorb or appreciate some of the outstanding elements in order to improve their cultural education.Such requirements, learning, the degree is only average, for example, reading "Shangshu", most of them do not understand, reading "Historical Records", referring to modern annotations, nine out of ten understand, read, without annotations, also nine out of ten understand; the scope can be Arbitrary, for example, if you are interested in history books, you should read more, and if you are not interested in scriptures, you will hardly touch them.Although this kind of learning is close to playing with tickets, it is actually enough, because we must consider the possibility of objective conditions when we formulate any measures, not to mention the degree of half-bottle vinegar, whether it is for the country or for individuals. benefit.

10.2.2 Based on familiarity Some people say that even such low and low wishes are not easy to realize.There is more than one reason. For example, classical Chinese is another language, which is difficult to learn. The fact is that many people have learned it (such as middle school students), but very few people have learned it and found it useful.For the former reason, if we disagree, there is still room for debate, but for the latter it seems we can only admit it.The addition of the two before and after clearly proves that learning classical Chinese is indeed not an easy task.It is not easy, and it has something to do with the social environment, because as far as most people say, it is possible to not use it; if it is not used, the motivation to learn will naturally be easily exhausted.Such people, according to the dichotomy mentioned above, should be put on the side of not learning, and they can be ignored.The problem is that some people are learning, even willing to learn, but they can't get what they want. Why?I think it may have a lot to do with whether the method is appropriate or not.

In the past, the traditional method was almost always used to learn classical Chinese, read more, and learn from familiarity; even the principle of going from the simple to the deep is not a big deal, such as the beginning of "human beings, nature is good", the subtle meaning is that even the great Confucianists feel profound of.But this way of reciting along with the old style, many people will gradually get used to it.This method is still used even by Brother Lu Xun as late as possible.They are in Sanwei Bookstore during the day, reading with the teacher, after school, reading and reading more.You have learned it, and you only need a prescription, so read more.It's time-consuming and labor-intensive.Is there a shortcut that saves time and effort?In recent years, many people have imagined that there is a shortcut, and the method is based on knowledge.The so-called knowledge is to understand the rules of the vocabulary and syntax of classical Chinese, and use the outline to understand everything.That's a good idea, and if it actually works, all the better.But the road doesn't seem to be smooth.For example, the so-called law, even if everyone thinks it is correct, is always cumbersome and boring. Remember, especially figuring it out, it is not easy.What's more serious is that the rules are all generalized, and the words and sentences we face are always specific. If you use generalizations to be specific, you will suffer from the fact that the shoes are too big and the feet are too small to touch them.This is manifested in the fact that after reading one article, you can use regular terms to explain clearly, such as a certain word is a part of speech, a certain phrase is an object in advance, etc., but when you open another article, you often feel at a loss.This is because I only memorized the terminology, but not familiar with the expression habits of classical Chinese; and the meaning of a certain word or sentence in a certain place is determined by the expression habits.This expression habit, in the words of "Xunzi", is "conventional".By agreement, everyone nodded their heads; by convention, everyone used it like this and it worked.Conventions are established, so it is related to laws or principles to make appointments like this and not to say that. But the rules are general, and as for the specifics, there is freedom of habit.For example, "drinking" and "buying wine" are in line with the principle of "movement-object", but it can also be said to be "drunk", which is based on the freedom of habit.Habit determines meaning, and to understand exactly what words mean, one cannot but be acquainted with habit.If you want to know the habits, obviously, there is no other way but familiarity.In short, if you want to learn classical Chinese, you have to read a lot.Of course, knowledge is not useless. For example, after reading a lot, if we can use knowledge to synthesize and deepen our understanding, it will be more beautiful than red flowers with green leaves beside them.In short, the principle should be based on familiarity and supplemented by knowledge.Read more, as well as what to read and how to read, and talk about it in the next section.

10.2.3 Habits and interests Read more, it takes time, be patient.No time is a hard obstacle, and impatience is a soft obstacle. When the two are added together, the resistance is doubled.Many people want to learn, but give up halfway, mainly because they cannot break through these two obstacles.There is a secret recipe for breaking through obstacles. It is a long flow of water, gradually forming a habit, and then using the habit as the driving force to cultivate interest, and using interest as the driving force to consolidate the habit.When habits and interests are mixed together, it will be a matter of course, then it is safe to learn.This is a principle that needs some explanation.The so-called long flow of water is to read frequently, and each time does not need to be too long, such as three times a week, half an hour each time, the important thing is to form a habit, and then you can turn the book unconsciously.Cultivating interest is also related to what and how to read.Reading, of course, must be good, but they are all good, some are boring (such as "Qi Min Yao Shu"), and some are interesting (such as Tang Dynasty novels), then read the latter first.Some works are relatively difficult and can easily destroy interest, so read the easy ones first.At the beginning of learning, the words and sentences are unfamiliar, and it is difficult to do it yourself (such as looking up dictionaries), and it is easy to destroy interest, so make more use of Jinren's annotations.Also, when you start to learn, you should not be greedy for speed or too much. Especially good works should be used as the foundation, chewed carefully, and even read well.With the foundation, you can gradually deepen and speed up in the future.Another point is that there is no need to seek quick success. If it is not successful in two or three years, it can be extended, or even ten or eight years. The result must be a natural success.

10.3 About Approval Applying it is to absorb what you need from it, and it is still valuable from now on.The issue of value is very complicated. For example, the "Mengxi Bi Tan" mentioned the trap, which seems too backward now, but it has value, which is historical value.Even many works promoting superstition, because they can make us understand the ignorant side of the ancients, can also be used as a warning, and it cannot be said that they are worthless.But this involves the problem of choice, wrong understanding, improper choice, you will lose what you want to gain.Therefore, when it comes to application, we must first have the insight to distinguish and choose.With insight, absorption is not a problem; as for how to express it for use, it is hard to say.Generally speaking, the matter of accepting cultural heritage is quite ambiguous. How to count as having accepted it, and how much it has been accepted cannot be measured by a ruler.The same is true for absorbing expression methods to enrich the modern language. How much, good or bad, it is not easy to say clearly.But we should always admit that after reading more and understanding, there is indeed something more in our hearts, and sometimes this excess will become at least a force to join in dealing with social life.Zhiyong also has something that can be really felt, which is to appreciate excellent literary works.Poetry and the like are the most obvious. Everyone knows that when the autumn wind blows and hums "Frost leaves are red in February flowers", you can get a moment of ecstasy.It is history books, such as "Zuo Zhuan". I remember someone said that he always likes to read them in his spare time, because it can make him enjoy reading novels and watching dramas.We all know that there are too many works worthy of appreciation in the classics of classical Chinese, so if you learn them, especially if you know them well, you can get them inexhaustibly.

Speaking of using, we also think of writing.Now use modern language to communicate affection, of course it is not required to write in classical Chinese.But not requiring does not mean prohibiting.If you are so happy, you can also come up with an article about it, and also come up with a mediocre melody, is that okay?Of course it is possible, but two conditions must be met: one is that the writing is indeed in classical Chinese, isn’t it true that the person who wrote it is also at the same table as you? Second, it depends on the recipient, for example, if the letter is written in classical Chinese, and the recipient is also proficient in classical Chinese, That's good, even good.In the same way, if you write a diary, if you don't intend to show it to others, but if you are willing to use classical Chinese, of course you have absolute freedom.

The application of writing, and the question of whether the advantages of classical Chinese expression can be absorbed into modern vernacular, will be discussed in the last chapter when the old is used for the new. Finally, I would like to add that learning and using are not divided into two stages, but in the process of learning, if you understand it, you are absorbing it at the same time, that is, you are applying it at the same time.Always learning, always learning, this is also an important condition for learning classical Chinese is not too difficult.