Professor Xiao Gongqin
Xiao Gongqin, a native of Hengyang City, Hunan Province, was born in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province in 1946, and graduated from the Department of history of Nanjing University in 1981. He is a famous historian, political scholar, and a representative of the modernization theory of new authoritarianism and Neoconservatism in China. He is now a professor in the Department of history, School of humanities, Shanghai Normal University, a special researcher of China Research Center, Fudan University, a professor of political science and a doctoral supervisor in the school of international and public affairs, Shanghai Jiaotong University.
Why do we lack
A maverick attitude towards life?
Author: Xiao Gongqin
Professor Xiao Gongqin
Not long ago, we went to see a friend who came back from America to visit his relatives in Shanghai. My friend, who grew up with me, went to study in the United States 20 years ago. He talked about living in the United States for many years. What he felt most was that compared with westerners, the pursuit of Chinese life in the United States is quite different. That is, Chinese people in the United States attach great importance to the pursuit of material life no matter whether their career is successful or not, no matter what class they belong to 。
As long as the Chinese people are together, whether they are Taiwanese, Hong Kong, mainland Chinese or overseas Chinese who have lived in the United States for many years, they are very practical. They stress the enjoyment and happiness of life. The content of Chinese people's daily conversation is nothing more than houses and cars. They seem to have a strong herd mentality in the enjoyment of secular life, unlike the western people's pursuit of diversity in life.
In the west, there are many people who only care about their material life, but there are also many people who are pursuing other things. For example, some people like to take risks, while they are quite casual in daily material enjoyment. Some people have become billionaires in their career, but their life is ten percent simple, and they always drive an ordinary car. No matter how much money you earn, you won't think of buying a luxury car.
They don't care about other people's way of life, what they pursue and how well their material life is. Everyone is self-centered and pursues the value they feel worth pursuing.
In other words, Chinese people's pursuit of life is relatively simple, and they care about how others see themselves. Since the society is centered on material life, under the control of herd mentality, people will naturally show their success by ostentation.
Westerners are more diversified in their pursuit of life. Even the Japanese are much richer than the Chinese in their pursuit of multiple values of life.
The question raised by this friend is actually a cultural one. I think it's very interesting. The contrast between Chinese and Western cultures in the pursuit of life goals has been vaguely felt by me in the past. Take the Liberal Arts Postgraduates and college students I have met. As far as I have known for many years, there are not many students who choose this major out of their sincere love for this major.
Not long ago, I met an American woman professor who came to Shanghai for a meeting. Eighteen years ago, when I was a graduate student at Nanjing University, I became good friends with this overseas student who studied Chinese history. She now teaches at a less famous university in the New England area of the United States.
She said that she wanted to retire early so that she could have enough time to study Chinese culture and history freely, because she was too busy in class now, and what she lacked most was free time. She also said that her life is very simple, as long as she saves some more money, there will be no problem in her life after early retirement.
This attitude towards life, which regards learning as the most important pursuit of value in life, is not uncommon in the United States. In American universities, the income of assistant Faculty of humanities is not so attractive. However, there are often dozens of doctors or postdoctors who would rather not go to the company to earn a lot of money than come to apply. The competition of university faculty is very fierce.
I once asked an American friend this question: since it is so difficult to get a liberal arts position in a university, why do so many people choose to go to liberal arts degree in the United States? This friend told me that this is because they are really interested in philosophy, history, literature and art, and really take this subject as their sincere hobby, so they can make this choice.
At present, the value pursuit of Chinese people is unitary and homogeneous. I have deep experience in daily life.
I remember that one night, my bike broke down. When I was repairing it at the car stall, the title of a book "history of Western Philosophy" on the frame was seen by a middle-aged man resting on the road. He looked at me as if he had suddenly discovered an alien, and said to himself, "ha! Philosophy! What time is it now? There are people reading philosophy! "
At least two points can be explained by this incident. One is that for a long time, no one around this citizen has been interested in anything purely in the field of humanities. Otherwise, he would not regard me as an alien, and he would be so surprised. Secondly, he naturally believes that all people should pursue the same value as he pursues. He could not understand that it was reasonable and natural for others to pursue a value different from his. His performance is the most natural response to his attitude towards life.
I just want to use this example to illustrate that in terms of life values, there are indeed quite common phenomena of unification, plate and homogeneity among Chinese people, and the differentiation of Chinese values is very low. With this example, we can explain from the opposite side what is the "maverick" attitude towards life.
Another example is that one day last year, one of my rich junior high school students invited me to have dinner with several other students. On the taxi to a big hotel, he suddenly sighed, saying that the most pitiful one of us is the author himself. He said that this is because the author is still struggling to read.
In his opinion, how much money can you make from reading history books in today's China? I was speechless about it. I don't know how to answer. I really can't find the right language to refute his idea, because it's not a simple common sense question, but a different attitude of life value.
The reason why this example is particularly meaningful is that this friend was the most outstanding excellent student of the whole school in middle school. His composition is often printed by the Chinese teacher as the model text of the whole school's high school students for everyone to appreciate.
But now he really recognizes money and enjoyment as the only value worth pursuing in life, and quite naturally thinks that it can be used as the only yardstick to evaluate whether others are happy or pitiful. He doesn't think it's inappropriate to do so at all.
At least this example can show that the monistic values of money worship, utilitarianism and secularization have permeated our living generation like the tide. That is to say, this value advantage has gained the hegemonic position of instructing the country and the people.
As another example, last July I attended a family gathering held by a new Chinese expatriate in San Francisco Silicon Valley. I'm full of the idea that these overseas friends will ask about China because of my new arrival from home. However, in the whole party, people just talk about how to make money, the price of the newly bought house has risen again, where is the cheapest nursery nearby, and so on.
Almost no one noticed the presence of a visitor from mainland China. I didn't even think of asking my hometown what's new and interesting, what's changed in China, what's wrong with China, and what's going to happen in the future. On the way back,
I am very sorry for this. I asked the friends who brought me to this party why. My friend couldn't answer for a while, just said, "most of the Chinese people here talk about these things. What else can they talk about without talking about it? "
Why is that? Is it due to the lack of transcendental value pursuit in Chinese national character? Is it because of problems in Chinese culture? Or is it a temporary and transitional phenomenon?
It is said that this is because the Chinese have been too poor for a long time and are afraid of poverty. So I will try my best to pursue what I have never really enjoyed. Because people are animals with desires after all.
After visiting friends from gubeixin district and returning home, I talked about this problem to a middle school teacher of that year by telephone. The teacher explained this point with the plot in a novel by Jack London: when a drowner is rescued in the sea, the rescued person will unconsciously hide the water and food on the ship in his arms. For he was thirsty and afraid in the sea. Because of this, the teacher thinks that everything will change in the future when the Chinese are rich. People's pursuit will be diversified.
But this explanation can't explain why the newly rich middle class of overseas Chinese still pursues benefits so strongly. There seems to be no sign of any new values in them. Take Taiwan, which is getting richer and richer, for example. The trend of money first has developed to the point of becoming more and more intense.
Take Hong Kong for example. I have been a visiting scholar in Hong Kong for three months, and one of my most amazing discoveries is that Hong Kong, known as the world's first free port, is a megacity with a population of six million people of high quality. Apart from the 21st century, which was run by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, I can't find a pure humanities publication run by local people. Does this mean that the Chinese in Hong Kong are more like economic animals than the Japanese?
Some people say that the homogenization of Chinese value is related to the unified Confucian value, because compared with other cultures, such as Islamic culture, Eastern Orthodox culture and Western Christian culture, because there is no religion as its metaphysical basis, Confucianism lacks strong religious feelings and value beyond utility. Influenced by Confucianism, Chinese civilization is undoubtedly the most secularized culture compared with other civilizations.
However, when we go back to Confucius' thoughts, we will find that Confucius is just a man with a unique attitude towards life. Confucius himself has a strong pursuit of value beyond utility.
For example, Confucius said that "when one hears Tao in the morning, one can die overnight." in the Confucian sages, the belief and pursuit of metaphysical Tao are quite persistent and strong. "One can eat and one can drink. In the alley, people can't afford to worry about it, and they can't change their happiness." A gentleman with spiritual belief like Yan Hui will live a full life and have personality power.
Confucius has always regarded the pursuit of super utilitarian art and spiritual field as far more important than material gains. He said that "rice, water and water are spared, and music is also in it." He also realized that "those who know are inferior to those who are good, and those who are good are inferior to those who are happy." In his opinion, it's the pleasure of self satisfaction that makes one's pursuit have real power. His love of music can make him "unknowable in March". In the Analects of Confucius, people can find many comments in this regard.
On the other hand, Confucius' pursuit of "Tao" did not make him an asceticist, and he never simply refused to enjoy the material. He's not like the rest of the world