I often hear people say: It's scary to be uneducated.
But what exactly is "culture"?
- Is it education? Is it an experience? Is it experience?
Writer Liang Xiaosheng once summarized culture in four sentences: cultivation rooted in the heart; Consciousness without reminders; freedom premised on constraints; Kindness for the sake of others.
01
Cultivation rooted in the heart
Our hometown boasters have a matching saying: This person is really cultivated!
Cultivation, which is the most basic trait of culture.
In ancient times, people often compared "jade" to a gentleman.
A gentleman is like jade, gentle and soft, brilliant and restrained, not dazzling, not ostentatious, polite, gentle, not aggressive, not aggressive like fire, this is cultivation.
The ancients read books, read the four books and five classics, shaped personality, cultivated conduct, self-cultivation, governance and peace in the world.
Modern education, on the other hand, emphasizes the function of pure knowledge education rather than self-cultivation, as long as the score is high, other things are not important.
Bai Yansong said: "Whether a person has culture or not does not depend on how high his education is. People with academic qualifications are not necessarily literate; People without education are not necessarily uneducated. ”
Reading a lot of books, having a high diploma, and having a culture or not are sometimes completely different things.
Gentle and pleasant, pleasing to grace.
Truly cultured and cultivated people are peaceful, calm, and restrained, and they will not think of invading others.
On the contrary, an uncultivated person, his heart is not peaceful, his anger is not harmonious, he is domineering, and he is disgusting.
Such a person, no matter how many books he reads, cannot be considered literate.
02
Consciousness without reminders
I once saw such a story in the People's Daily.
The nephew followed a Chinese man to fish in the waters of Sydney, Australia. Every time a net is cast, there is always a catch. But every time the net is pulled up, the Chinese always have to pick it up and throw most of the shrimp and crabs back into the sea.
His nephew was puzzled: "It's hard to hit it, why throw it back?" ”
The Chinese replied: "Only fish and shrimp that meet the prescribed size can be caught." ”
His nephew said, "Far away on the high seas, no one can control you?" ”
The Chinese smiled faintly: "It's not that everything has to be reminded and urged by others!" ”
What is culture? That's culture.
Culture is self-awareness without reminders, a code of conduct that will be adhered to at all times.
In the Book of Rites and the Mean, it is written:
Those who are also of the Word shall not be separated from each other; Can leave, not the Tao. It is the gentleman who warns against what he does not see, and fears what he does not hear. Do not see hidden, do not show little, so the gentleman is cautious.
When others cannot see or hear, a gentleman should also be careful about his words and deeds.
A literate person must be a conscious person.
Waiting for the car knows to queue, eating knows not to waste, others will take the initiative to avoid when entering the password, and they can do their best to bear the disaster if they break into trouble.
Self-awareness does not need to be reminded, only when a person compares his heart to his heart and puts himself in his shoes, will he always pay attention to his words and deeds.
03
Freedom premised on constraints
Western culture has always emphasized "freedom and equality".
There are even people who are willing to give their lives for freedom: "Life is precious, love is more expensive, if it is for freedom, both can be thrown away." ”
But freedom has boundaries, as the thinker Montesquieu said:
Freedom is not unlimited freedom, but a right to do whatever the law allows.
Freedom is not something that individuals can do whatever they want. The premise of a person's freedom is that it must not hinder or harm the freedom of others, so everyone's freedom should be restricted.
A cultural person, before enjoying his freedom, always restricts himself and is free in a free space.
The freedom of cultural people is more manifested as a freedom of mind than freedom of behavior, and the mind is not bound by external objects in order to realize the true freedom of life.
Ancient sayings:
A gentleman fears the destiny of heaven, the adults, and the words of the saints. The villain does not know the destiny of heaven and is not afraid.
People are born in the world, all of which are in a variety of rules, some are explicitly stipulated, and some are conventional.
People who have no reverence in their hearts, no bottom line in their work, no stop in words and deeds, seemingly unrestrained, but will leave a bad impression of flying and domineering.
And those who are in awe stop walking. Know what to do and what not to do, so you can go far and steady.
04
Kindness for the sake of others
Gu Dao is warm, sincere to people, quite the style of an ancient gentleman, is the description of this kind of person.
Before the dramatist Xia Yan died, he was in very bad pain. The secretary said, "I'll call the doctor." ”
Just as he was about to open the door, Xia Yan opened his eyes and said with difficulty: "It's not called, it's please." ”
He then passed out and never woke up.
"It's not called, it's please." Elder Xia changed one word, but it touched many people.
How did Liang Qichao die, do you know?
He died in a medical accident at the Union Hospital: doctors cut the left kidney that should have been removed into the right kidney.
Before dying, Liang Qichao did not curse the doctor, but told his family: "Don't tell the media, don't publish it." Ordinary people have just begun to believe in Western medicine, and if they know about me, they will inevitably retreat. ”
Kind people who make others good from the heart.
Kindness is not ugly, kindness is to punish the strong and help the weak, and kindness is to help the needy.
With a gentle attitude, a calm mood, euphemistic words, and a concerned gaze, what it brings to people at any time is trust and care.
This is truly literate.