This year's Youth Day is
Wednesday, May 4, 2022
It is also the 103rd anniversary of the May Fourth Movement
More than 100 years ago, Mr. Liang Qichao gave a speech entitled "Gentleman" to the young students of Tsinghua University, and quoted the symbolic words of "Zhou Yi" Qiankun Liang gua - "Tianxingjian, gentlemen with self-improvement" and "terrain Kun, gentlemen with thick virtue", encouraging young people to "worship virtue and cultivate learning, and be a true gentleman".
"Gentleman" is a description of a person's character, and how to be a gentleman is an important theme of traditional Chinese culture. In the pre-Qin classics, the Four Books and Five Classics of Confucianism do not need to be mentioned, even if it is the classic works of Taoists, Mojia, Dharma, etc., Junzi is also an important common word.
Of course, the connotation of the word "gentleman" has also changed in history, at first it was a sign of social status, and later it became a sign of personality. The key person who promoted this flow was Confucius. Confucius did not tire of learning, tirelessly taught people, taught according to their aptitudes, taught without class, actively passed on the culture that originally belonged to the nobility to the common people, cultivated many liberal arts gentlemen with important historical influence, and opened a new era of Chinese culture.
The emphasis on character, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, can not be excluded. The Power of Character is the work of the British scholar Samuel Smiles, which has been hailed in the West as "a classic manual of civilizational literacy."
In his book, the author quotes Martin Luther as saying: "The prosperity of a nation does not lie in the richness of its treasury, nor in the fortification of its cities, nor in the magnificence of its public buildings, but in the upbringing of its citizens, in the civilization, indoctrination and character of man, which is where its actual interests lie, where its main strength lies, where its real might lies." It can be seen that the West attaches no less importance to character than we in China.
"A soldier cannot fail to carry out his duties, and the task is heavy and the road is long", and he is determined to be a gentleman, which is a mission and responsibility, which is the same in ancient and modern times. How to be a gentleman? Something should be done in both leading the atmosphere and spreading the culture.
"The virtue of a gentleman, the virtue of a villain", the primary responsibility of a gentleman is to lead the atmosphere. The virtue of a gentleman is the source of social customs. To lead the social atmosphere, we must first have enough determination and not go with the flow.
Chinese culture is a culture of "seeking oneself against oneself", and has always emphasized "learning for oneself", emphasizing that the real purpose of doing learning is not to obtain fame and fortune, but to stand on the road, which requires being the master of one's own family and not being seduced by external temptations.
According to Mr. Luo Ergang's recollection, his teacher, Mr. Hu Shi, often told him: "Mencius said that the rich and noble cannot be adulterous, the poor cannot be moved, and the mighty cannot be bent. I think it should be added, fashionable can not follow! "It is not terrible to follow the trend, because the herd mentality is a universal human nature, and what is terrible is that there is no gentleman leading the way.
There must always be a custom in the world, and the atmosphere is positive or unhealthy, mainly relying on gentlemen, Zeng Guofan said: "The thickness of customs is self-conscious? It's just what one or two people want." Lü Benzhong of the Song Dynasty also said: "Scholars and doctors like to say that customs are not good." Who makes the customs? The body is a custom, do not do it yourself, how to be good? ”
The times call for more gentlemen who are independent and undependent, harmonious and not flowing, and who are strong and promising, who practice their deeds and jointly promote the improvement of social atmosphere.
"People can promote the Tao, not the Tao", a gentleman also has an important responsibility is to spread culture. As a life that is gradually unfolding, we are like trees, we have the existence of "roots" and roots, so not forgetting the original and "retribution and reversing the beginning" should be the main line running through life.
As a state of etiquette, one of the most important spiritual qualities in China is to know where it comes from and respect it. So, where is "Ben"? The Xunzi has a saying: "The one who is heaven and earth is also the source of life; the ancestor is also the root of the class; the master of the king, the root of the rule." "Heaven and earth are the origin of all life, without heaven and earth there is no life; there are different kinds of life, ancestors are the "essence" of each type; man is different from other animals, man should know the truth of being a man, which depends on the education of the state and the teacher, and the "jun" is the symbol of the country.
The tree is thousands of feet high and does not forget the roots, culture nourishes us, we must return the culture, and carry forward and enlarge Chinese culture in the inheritance.
"Gentlemen do their work, the original is established and the Tao is born", and the "Tao" of China, which is endless, lies in the endless irrigation of the "ben" by generations of gentlemen. Contemporary young people should aspire to this, develop the subtleties of tradition, endow them with modern consciousness, and be brave to be true gentlemen who inherit and carry forward national culture.
Transferred from people's daily, the copyright of the picture and text belongs to the original author
Minglun College - "Top Ten Chinese Studies Educational Institutions in China"