Liu Zhen, born in 1978, is a native of Jinan, Shandong. From 1997 to 2001, he studied management science at the School of Management, Shandong University, and obtained a bachelor's degree in management. From 2001 to 2004, he studied Chinese philosophy at the School of Philosophy and Social Development of Shandong University and obtained a master's degree. From 2004 to 2007, he studied Chinese Philosophy at the School of Philosophy and Social Development of Shandong University and obtained a doctorate degree.
He is currently the director and professor of the Institute of Philosophy of the School of Humanities of China University of Political Science and Law. His main research areas are Yixue and ancient Chinese philosophy, and the "Introduction to Zhou Yi" department opened at the University of Law is one of the first batch of national first-class undergraduate courses. He has been repeatedly named "Top Ten Most Popular Teachers by Students". He has been invited to give lectures on "Zhou Yi" at well-known academic institutions at home and abroad such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, Confucius Institute Headquarters, Harvard University, University of William and Mary, Tufts University, University of California Santa Barbara, University of Bucharest, Romania and other well-known academic institutions at home and abroad.
Interviews with people
Q: Knowing that you studied at Shandong University, what is your impression of the school, and have you witnessed the changes at Shandong University in the past ten years of study?
In fact, I did not only study at Shandong University, my kindergarten years began on the campus of Shandong University, and later became the first batch of students of Shandong University At that time, it can be said that Shandong University is the most important part of my life. When it comes to the biggest change in Shandong University during the study period, it should be the merger of the three universities, and the merger of Shandong University and Shandong University of Technology and Shandong Medical University at that time became the current Shandong University, which is also a milestone event in the 120-year history of Shandong University.
Q: We learned that you studied management science in the School of Management as an undergraduate, what prompted you to switch to philosophy as a graduate student? Did you have any teachers who impressed you during your studies at Tetsusha College, and what influence did that have on you?
There are two reasons, the first is that I studied "Zhou Yi" with my father, Mr. Liu Dajun, very early in my life. Later, during the undergraduate study stage, I taught some related courses on my own and gained a more comprehensive understanding of philosophy. Another reason is that I met my wife when I was in college, she was my classmate, and we were both interested in Chinese philosophy. In the process of studying together, the two of us had both common academic pursuits and emotional encounters, and finally we were admitted to Shandong University's Chinese philosophy major together.
During my studies at Shandong University, there were many teachers who impressed me, such as Teacher Fu Youde, Teacher Fu Yongjun, Teacher He Zhonghua, Teacher Yan Binggang, Teacher Lin Zhongjun, Teacher Wang Xinchun, etc., as well as Teacher Zhou Lisheng and Teacher Ding Yuanming of the older generation. I think that the teachers of Shandong University are very knowledgeable, have solid academic skills, and have different advantages in teaching, which has greatly helped my academic and life.
Han Huiying and Liu Zhen jointly obtained their doctorates
2007 Dr. Liu Zhen's graduation defense
Q: How did you determine your research direction? How do you ask of yourself in the process of doing academic research?
Talking about my academic career, I was first influenced by my family, and my father's academic process made me yearn for "Zhou Yi". In addition, in the process of studying Chinese philosophy, I have always been interested in the philosophy of the pre-Qin era. Later, he gradually realized that the idea of "Zhou Yi" was related to the study of hundred schools of thought, so if he wanted to study the origin and development of Chinese academic thought, he first needed to have an accurate understanding of "Zhou Yi". In addition, Shandong University is in a leading position in the country in the research field of Zhou Yi. I finally chose "Zhou Yi" as my academic direction.
When it comes to the self-requirements of academic research, I think first of all, "I note the Six Classics", that is, in the process of doing academic research, we must clearly explain what ancient Chinese thought is all about, and we cannot make non-academic distortions. Secondly, we should also achieve the "Six Classics Note Me", just to restore the ancient ideological system is obviously not comprehensive, we must use the ancient for the present, learn from the past, implement it into our current social life, and provide wisdom for the current social governance and development. We must transform and innovate the ideas of the ancients in research and form an ideological system suitable for modern society.
Q: Zhou Yi is often mistaken by people who don't know it as just a book of divination, how do you think we should justify Zhou Yi? What advice do you have for beginners to get into the easy-to-learn horizon?
"Zhou Yi" was indeed the book of Bu Xiao at the beginning, but with the annotations of the sages represented by Confucius, the "Zhou Yi" is no longer the book of Bu Xiao today. The so-called correct name of "Zhou Yi" is actually to clarify the difference between the two concepts of "Zhou Yi" and "Number", at the level of academic classics, "Zhou Yi" appears in the image of a philosophical classic, and the expression of its original Zhengfa is more in the form of mathematical techniques after the Han Dynasty. The reason why everyone now misunderstands the "Zhou Yi" is because the general public is difficult to distinguish between similar academic categories, so the philosophical ideas of the "Zhou Yi" are confused with the techniques of arithmetic and feng shui.
I have two pieces of advice for beginners who are into the easy-to-learn horizon. First of all, it is necessary to clarify the difference between the philosophy and number of "Zhou Yi", only if you have a correct understanding of the system of "Zhou Yi", can you truly understand "Zhou Yi". The second is to suggest that beginners should start with the modern academic works of "Zhou Yi". Because there are many obscure words in "Zhou Yi", beginners can start with modern introductory works to understand the general appearance of "Zhou Yi" more quickly and conveniently.
Q: Seeing that you have always taken it as your duty to publicize traditional Chinese culture, what is your original intention in doing so?
The core vocabulary that my father had been teaching me for years was "Hongdao". In the ugly year of 120 years ago, when Shandong University was just born, China at that time was incomparable with today's China. People blame China's backwardness on traditional Chinese culture, which has caused many people to have a deep misunderstanding of traditional Chinese culture to this day.
Today's China is walking in the great journey of national rejuvenation, in the process of integration into the world, only with a real sense of self-confidence in its own culture, the nation can achieve a real sense of rejuvenation. If the culture of the nation has been assimilated or withered away by others, then the so-called revival has no practical significance. In this sense, every Chinese should learn traditional Chinese culture in their lives and should understand traditional Chinese culture more accurately.
When it comes to building the culture of today's China, I think it needs to be based on traditional Chinese culture. There is a unique wisdom in traditional Chinese culture, and the use of this wisdom can provide new ideas for the development of the world. It is under this belief that I strive to spread traditional Chinese culture, hoping that more people will have a correct understanding of traditional Chinese culture, and then contribute Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to world culture.
In 2016, he was interviewed by CCTV at the Confucius Institute of William and Mary in the United States
In 2021, he participated in CCTV's "China in the Classics" program and read "Zhou Yi"
Q: You once said that Zhou Yi can "guide us to understand life and be kind to life", so what impact has Zhou Yi had on your personal life?
The content of "Zhou Yi" is indeed very broad and profound, in the process of systematic study and research of "Zhou Yi" for more than 20 years, I have also felt the charm of "Zhou Yi" more and more deeply, and changed my temperament in a subtle way.
One is that "Zhou Yi" places special emphasis on a sense of gratitude. Everyone lives in this world, and the physiological life benefits from the cultivation of parents, and the cultural sense of life is inseparable from the help of teachers and friends. Therefore, we should always be grateful, so we must repay the society, "take measures for the people of the world", which is to express this realm and expectations.
The second is that "Zhou Yi" particularly emphasizes that in the process of human beings and nature, it is necessary to maintain the necessary reverence for nature, and at the same time not to be lost in reverence. There is a saying in the "Zhou Yi Shuo Gua Biography" called "exhaustive reason to life". I personally cite it as a motto. Thinking that "exhaustive reasoning", first of all, the knowledge of the world should be systematically studied, "Zhou Yi" emphasizes that the world can be recognized, and the process of knowing the world is through scientific means, that is, "poor reason".
But just knowing our objective world is obviously not enough, more important is to know ourselves, so on the one hand, people must have a grasp and understanding of the objective world, on the other hand, they must have a grasp of their own hearts. Influenced by "Zhou Yi", my life pursues triple harmony: the first is the harmony between man and nature, the second is the harmony between man and man, and the third is the harmony between man and the heart. This is called "even fate". It was in this that I realized the freedom from my heart.
Q: You have been named one of the top ten most popular teachers among undergraduates at China University of Political Science and Law many times, and I would like to ask you to talk about how to become a good teacher who is popular with students or what are the criteria for a good teacher?
I consider myself to be just a newly qualified teacher, and over the years, my teachers and classmates at the University of Law have given me so many honors, which is really a kind of love. I personally feel that as a university teacher, I have always insisted on two points:
The first aspect is to pay attention to teaching according to aptitude. At the university level, students' personality, learning ability and other aspects have entered a relatively mature state. Therefore, for university teachers, it is necessary to guide students to better develop their own learning methods, and in the general education process, they should be educated differently according to the different subject backgrounds of students and the focus of their academic attention, so as to ensure that the knowledge we teach and their professional knowledge have a high degree of compatibility.
The second aspect is that university education is also a process of personality development, and in this process I think that what a good teacher should do is to teach by example. Chinese culture especially emphasizes the unity of knowledge and action, and a good teacher should not only provide corresponding knowledge for everyone in the classroom, but also should personally recognize the knowledge you have disseminated in life. With this warm and dynamic teaching model, students can have a deep understanding of what they have learned.
Teaches at China University of Political Science and Law
Blessings to the Alma Mater:
I think the changes at Shanda University are really great, including the Zhixin Building, the gymnasium where the Philosophy Department is located, and the high-rise buildings that can be seen everywhere on campus. In addition, the alma mater has also made remarkable achievements in academics in recent years, such as philosophy and sociology have become the country's first-class undergraduate major construction points. I believe that with the efforts of all the teachers and teachers, the future School of Philosophy and Social Development will surely get better and better.
Source: School of Philosophy and Social Development, Shandong University