智慧语录

   ——关于当代儒学复兴（注：副标题为本站编辑添加）

作者：姜洁（译者：吴万伟）

来源：《环球时报》（GLOBAL TIMES）

时间：2013年12月11日

图：北京4月份在纪念孔子的传统节日到来之前，两个小学生清洁祭扫孔子雕像。

在古代哲学家孔子（公元前551-479年）的诞生地曲阜，当地出版社正紧急加印两本有关这个圣人的书籍，因为订单如潮水般涌来。这是因为国家主席习近平最近在山东视察时称赞了这两本书。

得到习主席称赞的两本书是《孔子家语通解》和《论语诠解》。作者杨朝明在周一接受《环球时报》采访的时候仍然很激动。

杨转述习主席的话“这两本书我要仔细看看。”

习主席在11月视察曲阜的时候提出，在研究孔子和儒家思想时应该坚持“古为今用”和“去粗取精，去伪存真”的原则。

山东友谊出版社和齐鲁书社的工作人员告诉《环球时报》该社的书籍最近出现了需求暴涨的趋势。出版杨朝明著作的山东友谊出版社出版管理部负责人陈菁说“我们在得知习主席认可后感到很兴奋。本书本来只是作为学术交流之用，现在却成了市场热点。我们计划组织更多的推介活动。”

但是习主席的认可对杨朝明和出版社来说并不仅仅是潜在的巨大商机，而是一种鼓励，因为许多学者将这视为源远流长的儒家传统复兴的迹象。

迷茫的意识形态

在中国历史的大部分时间里，儒家一直是意识形态可靠性的最主要来源。作为中国主要思想流派之一，儒家常常受到道家和其他流派的批评，但是在国家支持的教育体制中发挥了关键作用。孔子被尊为最伟大的圣人之一，历朝历代的皇帝都要维护修缮曲阜的孔府、孔庙、和孔林，使之成为直逼皇家宫殿的家族建筑群，这在中国是十分罕见的。

不过，在1919年鼓吹“新文化”反对儒家的五四运动之后，儒家开始衰落，因为它被视为阻碍中国社会进步的传统文化残余，应该被彻底砸烂和抛弃。

杨朝明说，“自那时起，儒家长时间一直遭到不公正地对待。人们把国家落后、战乱和遭受受外国列强欺负的国耻怒火发泄到传统文化上，倾向于相信现代化等于与传统决裂。”

经营一个致力于介绍儒家文化的“儒家中国”网站的学者任重说，臭名昭著的文化大革命（1966-76）是反传统狂热的最高峰，那时儒家被谴责为反革命思想。任重告诉《环球时报》记者说，习主席的认可对传统中国文化和儒家有着象征意义，因为中国共产主义思想最初就源于现代的反孔观点。任重说“自1949年新中国成立以来，儒家第一次得到了最高当局的认可，我们有理由相信社会道德水平有望得到改善”。

失败的传统

北京航空航天大学教授和儒家学者秋风（姚中秋）表达了他对中国大陆教育的失望，因为这种教育没有能作为传统文化的载体。

秋风说“儒家讲究个人修身和克己。这就要求人们意识到自己存在于和他人组成的社会圈子中，也意味着在追求自身利益时不能危害他人利益。在推行集体主义时也不能牺牲掉个人的努力。”

秋风注意到孔子哲学在于培养君子，这种君子可以指政府官员也可以指管理方式受到价值观影响的管理者。“儒家鼓吹仁义，但是今天许多人热衷追求物质利益，难怪一直在强调经济建设。”

杨朝明解释了自汉朝（公元前206-公元220年）以来孔子的著名论断“君君、臣臣、父父、子子”所遭到的常见误解。人们往往片面地强调下属的忠诚和服从。“其实，它也意味着管理者必须是贤德之人。”

任重说，从儒家的视角看，当今的治理成本太高，行政管理的负担过重。应该为社会自治留下更多空间，人们可通过源自儒家思想的共同价值观团结起来。

中央民族大学哲学与宗教学院教授赵士林补充说，将儒家思想与当代法律体系结合起来能更好地服务于国家，因为民众道德水平的改善可减少犯罪，领导率先垂范能够带领民众前进。

道德之源？

最近一些年中国出现了一系列骇人听闻的事件，令人感到道德恐慌，比如老人或小孩摔倒，路人漠然路过任其死亡，还有老师性侵学生等。

秋风说“如果仅仅依靠改革体制，许多社会议题，包括人与人之间缺乏信任等在内都是无法得到解决的。我们需要改变深受物质主义影响的文化、价值观和道德观。”

秋风说，这是中国在现代化进程中遭遇的挫折之一，因为我们的现代化缺乏一种国家现代化应该扎根于文化的认识，而在中国，文化之根就是儒家思想。

杨朝明也注意到中国在遭受西方的文化入侵，现在到了返回传统重新获得民族自信的时候。

习主席在八月份的一次会议上强调，中国的软实力在于产生了中国特色社会主义的“灿烂文化”。中国共产党11月通过的改革计划誓言要深化文化体制改革，把中国建设成为社会主义文化强国。

王蕊 对本文做出了贡献。

译自：Words of Wisdom by Jiang Jie

http://epaper.globaltimes.cn/2013-12-12/P06.htm

英文版原文：

Two primary school students dust a Confucius statue before a traditional ceremony commemorating Confucius in April in Beijing. Photo: CFP

In Qufu, the birthplace of the ancient philosopher Confucius (551-479 BC), the printing presses are running hot. With orders flooding in, local publishing houses can't afford to stop printing two recent books about the sage, after President Xi Jinping offered them his stamp of approval at a recent trip.

The author of the books Yang Chaoming still sounded excited on Monday when he was reached by the Global Times, after his works, The Interpretation of The Analects and The Collected Sayings and Dialogues of Confucius, were recognized by Xi during his visit to the Shandong city. 

"He said he would read them carefully," said Yang. 

During his visit to Qufu in November, Xi said scholars should follow the principles of "making the past serve the present" and "keeping the essential while discarding the dross" when researching ethics passed down from forefathers.

Staff from Shandong Friendship Publishing House and Qilu Press told the Global Times that their books have experienced an uptake in demand recently.

"We are thrilled to know of Xi's approval. The book was designed for academic exchanges only, but now it is becoming a market focus. Now we are planning to organize more promotional events," Chen Jing, head of the publication department of Shandong Friendship Publishing House, Yang's publisher, told the Global Times. 

But Xi's approval isn't just a potential moneymaker for Yang and his publisher. It's encouraged many scholars, who see it as a sign of a revival of the long tradition of Confucianism.

Lost ideology

For most of China's history, Confucianism has been given the greatest priority as a source of ideological credibility. Confucianism was one among many schools of thought in China, often criticized by Daoists and others, but it played a critical role in the State-backed education system. Confucius was worshiped as the greatest of Chinese sages, and emperors from different dynasties built and renovated Confucius' temple, cemetery and family mansion in Qufu, making them a rare family compound that rivaled royal palaces. 

However, the decline of Confucianism began after the May Fourth Movement in 1919 which advocated "new culture" against Confucianism, blaming it as a remnant of traditional culture that stemmed the progress of Chinese society and calling for its wholesale jettisoning. 

"Confucianism has been mistreated for a long time since then. The underdevelopment of our nation and the shameful history of warfare have made people directed their anger at our traditional culture. People fell for the belief that modernization equals estrangement from traditions," said Yang. 

The notorious Cultural Revolution (1966-76) marked a peak of anti-traditional sentiment when Confucianism was denounced as counter-revolutionary thinking, according to Ren Zhong, a scholar who runs a website offering an introduction to Confucian culture. 

Ren told the Global Times that Xi's approval hence has symbolic significance for traditional Chinese culture and Confucianism, as Chinese Communism originally developed from modern anti-Confucian ideas. "It may be the first sign of approval from the top authorities since 1949 and we have every reason to believe that an improvement in social morality can be expected," Ren said. 

Failed tradition

Yao Zhongqiu, a professor at Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Confucian scholar, expressed his disappointment in education in the Chinese mainland, which has failed to serve as a carrier for traditional culture. 

"Confucianism calls for self-cultivation and self-rule by individuals. It also requires people see themselves as existing in a social circle with others, which means one should not harm others' interests in pursuit of their own. Neither should their own efforts be sacrificed, as in collectivism," Yao said. 

Yao noted that the philosophy of Confucius lies in the cultivation of junzi ("superior people"), which could refer to the government officials and managerial staff whose values affect the way to govern. "Confucianism preaches benevolence and justice, but today many worship materialism, hence the previous emphasis on economic construction." 

As for the famous saying of Confucius, "Let the king be a king, the minister a minister, the father a father and the son a son," Yang explained that the common misinterpretation started in the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) when it one-sidedly emphasized the loyalty and compliance of subordinators. "But it actually means that governors must be virtuous themselves." 

Ren stated that from a Confucian perspective,  the cost of governance is too high at present, and the burden of administration too heavy. Instead, more space should be encouraged for social self-governance, where people can be bound together with common values originating from Confucianism. 

Zhao Shilin, a professor from the School of Philosophy and Religious Studies at the Minzu University of China, added that a combination of Confucianism and the present law system can better serve the country as strengthened public morality can further reduce crime and noble leaders can influence their followers. 

Source of morality?

There have been a series of moral panics in China in recent years, following cases of elderly people or children being left to die by passersby, teachers sexually abusing students, and similar incidents. 

"Many social issues, including the prevailing mistrust between people, will not be solved if we rely solely on  reforming systems alone. Rather we need to change our culture as well as our values and ethics, which have been affected by materialism," Yao said.

Yao said this is part of the setbacks China has suffered in pursuit of modernization, which lacked the consciousness that a nation's modernization should be rooted in its culture and in China he sees that as Confucianism. 

Yang also noted China is under strong cultural invasion from the West and it is high time to regain national confidence by returning to tradition. 

President Xi has emphasized at a conference in August that China's soft power lies in its "splendid culture," which also breeds socialism with Chinese characteristics. The reform plan issued by the Communist Party of China in November vowed to deepen cultural system reform and build China into a socialist cultural power. 

Wang Rui contributed to the story

 责任编辑：泗榕