The Paper's reporter Peng Shanshan intern Qi Hongru
Treatise on Ancient Chinese Rites is a collection of research papers published by Yang Zhigang, director of the Shanghai Museum, between 1990 and 2014. In his time of study, "etiquette" was once an abandoned proposition, which was very different from its "heat" today. Revisiting etiquette in the new time and space context is the purpose of his "picking up flowers and nights".
Born in 1962, Yang Zhigang graduated from undergraduate to doctoral degree in the Department of History of Fudan University, stayed on as a teacher in 1987, successively served as the director of the Department of Cultural Relics and Museology, the director of the Liberal Arts Research Office, the dean of the Institute of Literature and History, and was transferred to the Shanghai Museum in 2014, where he also served as the director of the Key Scientific Research Base for the Preservation environment of cultural relics collected by the State Administration of Cultural Relics and the editor-in-chief of "Cultural Relics Protection and Archaeological Science". In his view, etiquette is a wide-ranging and profound content of traditional Chinese learning, and at the same time, it also lurks in the "hard-core" problem that cannot be avoided in exploring the relationship between traditional culture and modernization; the study of etiquette has never been a "ghost of thinking about the past", but a kind of care closely related to the current era. "We can ignore it, and even try to avoid it, but at some point in history, the problem will recur." And once it's proposed, it's gripping. ”
A Collection of Treatises on Ancient Chinese Etiquette, by Yang Zhigang, Fudan University Press, March 2021
The Paper: The "return" of traditional culture in the past one or two decades has aroused widespread concern, is the origin of the compilation of your recently published "Treatises on Ancient Chinese Rites" related to this?
Yang Zhigang: The Collection of Treatises on Ancient Chinese Etiquette can be said to be "Picking Up Flowers and Flowers" – the first article in this collection was published in 1990 and spans more than thirty years today. The significance of "picking it up" now is that there is still my concern behind this proposition, which is, in layman's terms, the relationship between traditional culture and modernization. Although the importance of this topic has not changed, the background of writing and the focus of care are constantly changing, and everyone's thinking on the specific issues of "etiquette" is also deepening. In particular, social life itself has undergone many changes, and this kind of research is closely related to social life.
When I started my research in the 1980s, China had not yet fully recovered from the rupture of its knowledge system. For a long time, "rituals" and "rituals" were regarded as crap and shackles, and books such as "Zhuzi Family Rituals" were not favored. In the second half of the 20th century, research on zhuzi jiali was first carried out outside the Chinese mainland; it was not until after the 1980s that people re-noticed the book, and the related research gradually warmed up. Ordinary citizens, the media, intellectuals, and even national leaders at that time had a different understanding of traditional culture than they do now. Tradition was once seen as an "antithesis", but in the past forty years it has undergone "earth-shaking" changes, both material and cultural, as well as ideological. These are all things I must pay attention to when compiling this collection.
The Paper: In 1985, the topic of your master's thesis was "Etiquette", which was the beginning of your study of ancient Chinese etiquette. As you said, in the social atmosphere at that time, the topic of "etiquette" was not mainstream, how did you consider it?
Yang Zhigang: During my studies in Fudan, I had the opportunity to come into contact with some fresh ideas and perspectives. We were not far removed from some of the leading scholars of the time. For example, Mr. Li Zehou once went to the graduate student dormitory to talk to us. The American historian Frederic Evans Wakeman also enjoys chatting with young scholars. Wei Feide knew that at that time Chinese it was generally believed that traditional culture had suppressed China's modernization, so "the sins were deep", such as Ba Jin's "Home", "Spring", "Autumn" and Cao Yu's "Thunderstorm", which reflected the criticism of "old etiquette" and "old culture". Weifeld gave a very vivid example in his chat with us, saying that everyone now thinks that British culture is "modern", but in fact, two or three hundred years ago, it was not the "gentle and elegant" appearance of today, but a "brave and fierce" people. But in those two or three hundred years, culture changed. We may think that culture is inherited and unchanging, but Weifeld believes that culture is like the track of a train, and there is a wrench in the track that can be pulled. The development of culture also needs to find the "trigger" on the "track", and then you can change the direction of development. So a new culture can be created. Why should we study tradition? In addition to exploring the historical truth, I also hope to further think about the past, present, and future, so that learning can provide more insights to society. After opening up new horizons, we are also expected to achieve the "innovative transformation" of traditional culture.
The Paper: Now that "etiquette" has regained its attention, what do you think is the reason for this?
Yang Zhigang: I think that "etiquette" is a "hardcore problem", although it may not be noticed for a certain period of time, or even deliberately obscured, but it has always existed. When the surrounding environment changes, or the awareness of this aspect advances to a certain extent, it will be aware of the existence of the problem.
Like the Zhuzi Family Ritual, as well as other ancient Chinese rituals, they all provide a set of "rituals" for people's behavior, without which it is difficult to speak and socialize decently. These works also reflect how people at that time lived and how they behaved in a way that was recognized by the public. But in modern times, society has changed a lot, and we have developed new etiquette in many areas, but it is far from enough. Therefore, some people lament that the lack of "etiquette" has led to "losing ground and being helpless". I think that many aspects of life, such as marriage and funeral, eating and living, sweeping the court, etc., many contents should be reorganized. However, this is only superficial, not deep content. What we should see is the lack of rules and rituals in the process of people's interactions.
However, it is not enough to rely on the ancient "rites", but to use the ancient "rites" as a resource and then integrate the accepted norms of modern life. Such a job would also require more people to be involved.
"Zhu Zi Family Ceremony"
The Paper: You pointed out that the "Zhuzi Family Ceremony" gradually became a "folk universal ceremony" after the Song Dynasty. In what social context did "Zhu Zi Jia Li" appear, in other words, when the society developed to what stage, the family life of the general public needed "Zhu Zi Jia Li"?
Yang Zhigang: The Tang and Song dynasties were an era of great changes, and this change was all-encompassing. In the development of the commodity economy in the Song Dynasty, people's concepts and consciousness at that time also changed greatly compared with the Tang Dynasty. Zhu Xi felt that the ancient rituals in the "Three Rites" were no longer applicable, so he wanted to update and improve them. On the other hand, it was deeply influenced by Taoism and Buddhism at that time. Even Sima Guang also lamented that it was no longer a traditional way of life at that time. They sensed the change and had to rewrite the rules. This set of rules is not retro, but follows some ancient forms, but also makes a lot of innovations. For example, ancestral halls, in essence, the function of ancestor worship has not changed, and even through the efforts of Zhu Xi and others, the worship of ancestors in recent times has become more restrictive to people and family behavior. Therefore, in that era of rapid change, Zhu Xi used certain forms of antiquity to express his understanding of the present and the future. Zhu Xi also integrates the changes that have taken place in social life into his book, and in this way he expresses his understanding of the ideal life.
But I think what we need now is definitely not a book like "Zhu Zi Jia Li". I have mentioned some ancient Chinese views on etiquette in the book, and if you review these views today, you can find that "etiquette" is a very important resource. We should still selectively integrate it into our new lives.
The Paper: You also mentioned that everyone is now pursuing "ancient etiquette", such as wearing Hanfu and making ceremonies, etc. How do you think about these phenomena?
Yang Zhigang: I noticed these phenomena, but I did not comment on them, for example, the beauty and ugliness of these costumes and so on. But I think in this trend, we can grasp some problems. I will not comment on whether Hanfu is good-looking and whether it is in line with the style described in ancient books. But we can see that now, unlike thirty years ago, when tradition and the present can be "decisively separated", they have become fused together. We have come out of a situation of rigid thinking, and we have more wisdom.
Some people are also studying and studying the Zhuzi Family Ritual, hoping to restore the rules of this set of textual records unchanged. I think it's a fun thing, we can do anything that's fun and doesn't get in the way of others. But if this is the direction of development in the future, I don't agree. Although I don't have a passion for reviving the ancient rites, I will pay attention to these interesting phenomena. In modern society, everyone has their own hobbies, and it is a good thing if they all follow the rules of civil society. I think tradition must be integrated with the norms of today's civil society, and there is nothing wrong with developing one's own personality preferences to the extent that society allows.
The Paper: In your book, you point out that the prevalence of this type of behavior may be due to the pursuit of identity. How do you think scholars and academia should respond to this pursuit?
Yang Zhigang: I think scholars should first reflect on their values, and then dare to look for new possibilities. With this effort, our living space has indeed been opened, and it is definitely more open and rich than it was thirty or forty years ago.
Or to go beyond "retro" and carry out pioneering exploration. I think there are two concepts that are important, the first is "mutual learning among civilizations", which extracts the best things of all mankind, brings them together, and learns from each other. The second concept is the "community of human destiny", on the basis of which we need to find out the common truth, goodness and beauty of mankind. I'm against "total retro", for example, there is nothing wrong with putting "small shoes" in the showroom, but today it is a retrogression to promote foot binding. So I think we should first focus on values and then open up possibilities.
The Paper: You mentioned in the book that during the Ming and Qing dynasties, "Zhu Zi Jia Li" was different in its dissemination and popularization in various places, such as its influence in Fujian, and its influence in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, which also belonged to the Jiangnan region, was also different in size.
Yang Zhigang: Roughly speaking, this is related to the family system in ancient China. In Fujian, the family system is very developed, marriage and funeral dowry and family system are each other's appearance, we often say that Fujian people attach importance to hometown feelings and families. The influence of "Zhu Zi Family Ritual" is also inseparable from the spread of Zhu Xi himself, such as Zhu Xi's birth and activities in Fujian, and his ancestral home is Wuyuan in Huizhou, so both places are greatly influenced by Zhu Xi's thought.
The Paper: "Zhu Zi Jia Li" has a great influence throughout East Asia, and when you examine the circulation and influence of Zhu Zi Jia Li in South Korea, you pointed out that it "has not died in contemporary Korean society." What kind of influence do you think Zhu Zi Jia Li still has in contemporary East Asian society?
Yang Zhigang: There are two kinds of influences on books. The first is the Chinese on the southeast coast, which has brought this set of rituals to a foreign country across the sea, which is the "spread of people". The second is the "dissemination of literature", that is, the book "Zhu Zi Jia Li" and other Works of Zhu Xi, which spread overseas. During the Song and Ming dynasties, Korea and Japan embraced a lot of Chinese culture.
Zhu Zixue's orthodoxy as a Lee dynasty lasted for five or six hundred years, which made Korea a very typical Confucian country. Etiquette with the "Zhu Zi Jia Li" as the core has a far-reaching influence in Korean history, involving all aspects of social life, and still has a deep imprint, such as their crown ceremony education (that is, the coming-of-age ceremony), the funeral system and so on. I am very interested in the impact of The Chu Zi Jia Li in Korea, but it is mainly a literature-based study that has not yet been conducted in depth in the anthropological style, and it should be interesting if there is an opportunity to carry out such research.
In 2009, when he inspected Taoshan Academy in South Korea, he took a group photo with the researchers of "Zhu Zi Jiali", and the third from the right in the first row was Yang Zhigang
The Paper: You also mentioned in the book that you have consulted the 17th year of The Qing Guangxu engraving of Guo Songtao's "Revising Zhu Zijia Li" in the Ancient Books Department of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. In that era of change, why did a late Qing Dynasty scholar who opened his eyes and personally experienced Western culture edit the Zhuzi Family Ceremony? You didn't expand on it in the book, can you please talk about it here?
Yang Zhigang: I think we can see a certain sadness of the times from Guo Songtao. Guo Songtao was the first minister to Britain, and no one wanted to hold this position at the time, because many people were full of contempt for foreign affairs. Some people think that if a person has been in contact with foreigners for many years, going abroad many times may be "admiring the foreign world". I think That Guo Songtao himself is also contradictory, the limitations of the times have caused the sadness of the times, and individuals will feel their own smallness in the face of the times. Someone as smart as Guo Songtao has seen a lot of problems, but he can't find a better solution. Others did not understand him, so he chose to do learning. Guo Songtao did not have many choices, but at that time, unlike now, he could not use the rich academic resources of ancient and modern China and abroad, he could only study the most interesting content in the books he could read. So he saw the Zhuzi Family Ritual and revised it.
Guo Songtao
The Paper: You have also visited Confucius temples across the country. The fate of the Confucius Temple in modern China can be described as ups and downs, what kind of space do you think the Confucius Temple in China is at present? How should we view and use this space?
Yang Zhigang: I have probably inspected more than half of the Confucius temples in the country. This is a kind of space that is being changed, and there are not many Confucius temples that are still used to worship Confucius, but there is a trend of increasing. Some Confucius temples are "displayed in their original state", in which sacrifices are organized. Some have been converted into museum exhibition halls, or other open spaces. In my investigation, I found that some people would hold activities at the Confucius Temple before the college entrance examination. I am concerned about the use of space by the Confucius Temple, but in fact, what I most want to find through the Confucius Temple is a kind of "background color" of Chinese culture. Some of the Confucius temples scattered throughout the country are well preserved, some are not very complete, and some are just a renovated building. I think it is more important for us to see the "background" of Chinese culture in the middle of them, to find a suitable cultural direction.
Qufu Confucius Temple Dacheng Hall
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