On the Fate of Traditional Culture in Modern China

Abstract 中国传统文化既包含中华民族在几千年社会生活中自然形成的、合理处理人与人 之间关系的许多道德原则和行为规范, 也包含先人们在分析周围事物时表现出来的高 度智慧; 同时又有着封建统治者为维护其统治利益而精心培育的思想毒素。在近代中 国社会大变革的实践中, 经过多次反复, 人们对中国传统文化有了比较清醒而全面的 认识: 既不能肯定一切, 也不能否定一切, 而要具体分析, 做到取其精华, 弃其糟 粕。传统文化在近代中国不断得以承传与创新, 这一进程将不断向前推进。 关键词: 传统文化 鸦片战争 辛亥革命 近代中国历史 Traditional Chinese culture covers a variety of ethical principles and behavioral norms that have arisen from thousands of years of Chinese social life to handle interpersonal relationships in an appropriate way. Such principles and norms are a typical expression of Chinese people’s wisdom in the analysis of their surroundings. However, traditional Chinese culture also contains some poisonous thinking that has been carefully nurtured by feudal rulers to maintain their power. In the practice of the great social changes of pre-1949 China, after repeated experience, people gained a relatively clear and comprehensive understanding of traditional Chinese culture: it should neither be totally affirmed nor totally rejected. Rather, we should analyze it concretely, endeavoring to separate the dross from the essence. In late Qing and Republican China, traditional culture was continuously handed on and renewed, and this process will be carried on and on. Keywords: traditional cultureOpium War1911 Revolutionmodern Chinese history Notes 1 Zhang Dainian, Culture and Philosophy, p. 7. 2 Zeng Guofan, Eight Works of Zeng Guofan, pp. 120-121. 3 Translator’s note: the Three Cardinal Guides are: ruler-subject, father-son and husband-wife. The Five Cardinal Relationships are: ruler-subject, father-son, husband-wife, older brother-younger brother and that between friends. 4 Wang Tao, Essays from the Tao Garden, Outer Chapters, p.12. 5 Liang Qichao, “Autobiography at Age 30,” p. 2. 6 Yan Fu, Collected Works of Yan Fu, vol. 2, p. 361. 7 Lu Xun, Collected Works of Lu Xun, vol. 7, p. 135. 8 Translator’s note: 340,000,000 taels of silver, about 6.4 times the Japanese government revenue. The original only says “200 billion.” 9 Liang Qichao, “Memoirs of the Coup d’Etat of 1898,” p. 249. 10 Zou Rong, Collected Works of Zou Rong, p. 40. 11 Yan Fu, Collected Works of Yan Fu, vol. 1, pp. 50, 53. 12 Zhang Zhidong, Exhortation to Study, p. 2. 13 Tang Zhijun, ed., Selected Political Comment Works of Zhang Taiyan, vol. 1, p. 272. 14 Lu Xun, Collected Works of Lu Xun, vol. 1, p. 12. 15 Qin Xiaoyi, ed., An Anthology of the Late President Chiang’s Thinking and Speeches, vol. 12, pp. 88, 140. 16 Mao Zedong, Selected Works of Mao Zedong, vol. 2, pp. 707-708. 17 Selections of Important Literature since the Founding of the Country, vol. 1, pp. 3, 10, 11.