The 5,000-year history of civilization development of the Chinese nation is a vast universe and a brilliant galaxy. But in the modern era after 1840. Alas, let me slow down first, calm down some of my depressed mood first. China's modern history is the one I can't bear to look at, sad. Just like the Qing Dynasty did not want to face the changes in the world, but it was very helpless, no one could escape, this is the torrent of world historical development, even if you don't want to go, you must be involved in it, but what?
It was like this: It turned out that in the courtyard of our own house, men and women weaved, ate and drank, and when we were idle, we sang a poem (Tang) to make a pair, write a word (Song) and sing a song (Yuan) or something, and live a happy and happy life. Although there are many brothers in the family, they often have conflicts and will fight at every turn, but in general, they are all internal contradictions in the family.
There are also a few neighbors, but these neighbors are not rich, but also often to our house to grab some things, after a few fights, serve, respect us as the boss, every year during the festival, come to visit a door, pay tribute, but are we not the boss? There's actually more to give back than there is to offer. That's how the boss's self-confidence is built.
hey! Our family's courtyard is not only very large, the land is fertile, rich in minerals, and has everything, and there is no shortage of anything. And feng shui is good, there is a big river in the east, there is also a big river in the south, the weather in the north is particularly cold, deserted, the west is all big mountains, although we have also opened up a Silk Road, but also over the mountains, over the desert, it is very difficult, it takes several years to go back and forth, less people to see a light brigade can also, large-scale march, logistics supply is unable to keep up. Therefore, we don't leave the house, and it is difficult for others to come over.
China's geographical environment determined that ancient China had to implement an agricultural society. In a word, the closed landform has caused China to have to implement heavy agriculture and suppress business, when the productive forces are not developed, to be precise, when the transportation is not yet developed, you cannot exchange grain, the high profits of the business can be recycled, agriculture is one season a year or two years and three seasons, if you go to the business who still cultivates the land, no one plants the land, everyone eats, wears, uses, agriculture is the foundation. This is also the reason why the current real estate and the real economy are out of balance.
European civilization is to put it bluntly the Mediterranean civilization, it is an inland sea, the wind is small, in ancient times cut down a big tree can cross the ocean. China was a refined agrarian society before industrial civilization, while the West was a semi-agricultural and semi-commercial society.
Why did the Industrial Revolution happen in the West and not in China? This question is worth studying. Is it because our ability to innovate is not good, logical thinking is not enough, and philosophical thinking is lacking? Is it because our culture doesn't work? If so? So why did the four great inventions of ancient times originate in China? This doesn't make sense. So what is the reason why we are lagging behind? Is it because of our ideology and ideology? Is it because of China's political ecology?
For a long time, we have pursued a policy of emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce, and merchants had the lowest status in ancient times, and they were an industry that no one wanted to engage in, and they were also looked down upon. During the period of the Hundred Schools of Contention, the Mo family was best at invention and creation, and by the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, it was also completely eliminated. We invent and create only when we have it. For example, Zhuge Liang invented the wooden cow and the flowing horse, which is to transport grain and grass.
Without the soil for survival, without market demand, supply does not exist. Even if there is an invention, it will be snuffed out in the cradle. Over time, our ability to invent and create is buried deep in the deepest recesses of our hearts. It's not that we don't have philosophical thinking, it's just suppressed, not stimulated. Therefore, learning and excellence, and the idea of officialdom, is the goal we have been pursuing.
Confucian culture and Taoist thought are full of philosophical wisdom. But the focus of our research is on the humanities and society, the research objects stay on the surface, the grid has known for so many years, and there is no grid, Yang Ming Ge bamboo is very illustrative. But there is nothing wrong with the sentence of the lattice, the research direction is also correct, the lattice I understand, that is, the current molecules, atoms, calcium carbonate and so on, these are all out of the Western lattice. What we lattice is people and things, while the West is more realistic, things are things, and lattice things are lattice things.
Chinese culture is a traditional culture that aspires to the Tao. In our ideological consciousness, we pay attention to going with nature, catering to nature, not destroying nature, and acting in accordance with the laws of nature, which is the foundation on which we rely for survival. Therefore, our ancients looked more long-term and more profound, not just valued immediate interests.
Sooner or later, the West will also realize this, and learning from our Chinese culture is the right way. To say something that should not be said, it is not a good thing that science is always developing like this. It's a bit of a nonsense. Let's get back to the point.
During the first industrial revolution in Britain, when the Qing Dynasty was at its peak, the idea of "heaven is on the kingdom and rules all nations" was filled in the mind of the Qianlong Emperor, and the people's self-confidence was bursting. In 1840, when the British opened the door of our country with a strong ship and cannon, we did not realize that the world had undergone earth-shaking changes, and we were still dreaming of a heavenly kingdom.
In our house, although the feng shui in the courtyard is good, it still makes the people in the west come from the waterway in the south. Since then, the beautiful and comfortable life has been broken, and the traditional agricultural civilization will accept the challenge of the new industrial civilization. One was the most powerful agricultural country in the world at that time, and the other was the most powerful industrial country at that time, without a little defense, without a trace of concern, you appeared in my world like this, bringing me earth-shattering and shocking.
After two Opium Wars, the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese Naval Battle and the Eight-Power Alliance, our strong hearts and high self-confidence have been repeatedly crushed again and again, and on the surface we have lost fights and lost, and our skills are inferior, but more importantly, our spiritual world has collapsed, and our self-confidence has disappeared. If it were not for our super ability to resist blows, the foundation is thick, the culture is strong (referring to the national spirit), and the wisdom of people, maybe what the situation is, the result may be worse, at least the courtyard is still complete.
To be fair, it is understandable to say that things like this are also understandable. In the face of major changes that have not occurred in thousands of years, the impact is no less than that of Mars hitting the earth, which is equivalent to a 10-story wave suddenly rolling up on the calm river. There was a thunderclap on the flat ground, and the sea rolled up in waves.
We suddenly changed from the head of a village and the only one family to a member of many villages, and there are many powerful village members in each village, and we have suddenly changed from the boss to the little brother who is slaughtered, and the most infuriating thing is that the neighbors next to us have also risen, and we have also been "flattened", and no one can bear it.
Since then, we have been forced to get caught up in the torrent of world history and begin to face the whole world. The confrontation between Chinese culture and Western culture began.
Originally, he felt that the technical equipment was not good, and launched a foreign affairs campaign. Later, he felt that there was a problem with the system, and implemented the Penghu Reform Law and the Gengzi New Deal. Although the Xinhai Revolution overthrew the feudal imperial dynasty for thousands of years, the fruits of victory were stolen by Yuan Shikai and carried out a restoration. Now, it seems natural that people blame the failure on the decay of traditional culture.
Subsequently, a group of Western-educated intellectuals launched a "anti-Confucianism, anti-literary, and anti-Confucian" ideological and cultural reform and literary revolution movement.
So conquered by you, cut off all retreats, my mood is helpless, my decision is confused; just like this, conquered by you, drink the poison you have hidden, my plot has come to an end, my love and hate have been buried.
The New Culture Movement advocated democracy and science and opposed feudal culture. This movement dealt a heavy blow to the traditional etiquette that ruled China for more than 2,000 years, enlightened people's democratic consciousness, promoted the development of modern science in China, laid the ideological foundation for the spread of Marxism in China and the outbreak of the May Fourth Patriotic Movement, and also opened a precedent for the whole people to actively learn Western culture.
The New Culture Movement is a product of the times. The invincibility of the Western countries has dealt a heavy blow to our national self-confidence, and their advanced weapons and equipment, developed science and technology, perfect political system, and liberal and democratic ideas have all impacted the heart of China's advanced intellectuals to save the country and save the country.
The difference in strength is huge, defeat after defeat, humiliation after humiliation, repeatedly refreshing people's cognition, subverting people's concepts, and even beginning to doubt life. In this case, the self-denial of traditional culture will inevitably arise. It is not surprising that intellectuals who advocate the negation of traditional culture and the total study of Western culture are in the majority. I think that if you want to quickly change the backward appearance of China at that time, learning from the West should be the most direct and effective way, there is no one.
However, the traditional thinking and inertial thinking that China has formed for thousands of years suddenly faces the impact of completely different ideological cultures in the West, and the ideological consciousness of most of the Chinese people is dazed and complex, the mood is entangled and contradictory, and the behavior is blind and somewhat confused. Moreover, the understanding of democracy and freedom in the West is superficial, one-sided, and not profound.
Some people shout about democracy and freedom, but their thinking has not changed much, and the way they behave behind the scenes is even more so. Others do the opposite. There are too many chestnuts to give examples, and those who are interested can learn about Li Yichun, a strange woman of the Republic of China, which fully illustrates the common state of thought and behavior of people at that time.
As mentioned above, Chinese culture is very inclusive. But if you want to take root in the land of China, blossom and bear fruit. There must also be common cognition, high recognition and complementary advantages. Why did constitutional monarchy and republicanism fail in China? Why is Marxism accepted by the Chinese people? I guess that's one of the reasons?
Once again, China's traditional culture and Confucianism have been hit hard, seemingly devastatingly. Not really. It's always been there. The wide spread of Marxism brought the Communist Party of China into being.
A brief analysis: The three cornerstones of Marxism, which are composed of three major parts of Marxist philosophy, Marxist political economy and scientific socialism, are the scientific system of proletarian thought founded by Marx and Engels in the 1840s on the basis of critically inheriting and absorbing the outstanding achievements of mankind in natural science, thinking science and social science, and constantly enriching, developing and perfecting proletarian thought in practice.
That is to say, the three cornerstones of Marxism occupy two seats in Chinese Confucian culture, philosophy and scientific socialism (communist society is Datong society), because China is an agrarian society, and it is slightly difficult to produce economics. Therefore, Marxism has quickly been highly recognized by the Chinese people, and it has complementary advantages.
The founding of the Communist Party of China has completely changed the fate of the Chinese nation, made the Chinese revolution look completely new, and also opened the way for the rise of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. In the long-term concrete practice of revolution, construction, and opening up, the CPC has formed a socialist culture with Chinese characteristics.
At the beginning of the founding of the Communist Party of China, it was because it was because it comprehensively studied the experience of the victory of the Soviet revolution and obeyed the orders of the Communist International in everything, that the Chinese revolution suffered tremendous setbacks. Both Stalin and Bukharin had instructed the Chinese Communists to take the cities first, but what had been the result? Fortunately, China produced a great man, Mao Zedong, and God also helped (the Zunyi Conference was completed without being able to contact the Comintern), and he perfectly integrated Marxism with the practice of the Chinese revolution, saving the Chinese nation and saving the Chinese revolution.
Without the mistakes made before, the Chinese revolution would not have created the greatest feat in human history, the Long March. At the beginning of the 21st century, The American Times Life Publishing Company published a book called "1000 Years of Mankind", announcing 100 major events that profoundly affected the development of human civilization between 1000 and 2000 AD, of which China occupied three seats, and the Long March was one of them.
Why is it necessary to mention the Long March? Because the Long March is a turning point in China's nearly one hundred years of history since 1840. The Long March is a great miracle in human history created by the Chinese Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, and the spiritual strength it has displayed has shocked and impressed the world, is a concentrated embodiment of the spirit of the Chinese nation, and is a magnificent epic poem that China has contributed to the world, and it will surely forever be recorded in the annals of the development of human social civilization.
The Long March of the Red Army forged the great spirit of the Long March, which solemnly declared to the whole of China and the whole world that the Communist Party of China and the people's army under its leadership were invincible and could not be overwhelmed by any difficulties. More importantly, the Long March has regained the national self-confidence that the Chinese nation has lost in the past 100 years, raised the head that has been hanging low, and once again erected the national spirit that has been overthrown.
From its founding to the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Communist Party of China successively formed the red culture of the Chinese revolution, such as the spirit of the Red Boat, the spirit of Jinggangshan, the spirit of the Long March, the spirit of Yan'an, and the spirit of Xibaipo, which basically led the cultural trend of the people at that time, especially after arriving in Yan'an, the holy land of revolution, and became the temple that the enthusiastic young people at that time longed for. Thanks also to the American journalist Edgar. Snow wrote the book "The Red Star Shines on China".
After the end of the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the Western countries led by the United States were afraid that China would rise, so they changed their tactics (because of Mao Zedong, they could not win fights) and turned to the Cold War period, using peaceful evolution to carry out cultural infiltration and aggression. At that time, the US Secretary of State Dulles proposed peaceful evolution. The enemy's heart is not dead, what can be done.
In the 1960s, the CIA formulated the Ten Commandments specifically for China, the first of which was to use materials to lure and corrupt their youth, encouraging them to despise, despise, and further openly oppose their original ideological education. Especially the dogma of communism. Create for them an interest in pornography and opportunities to encourage them to engage in sexual promiscuity. Let them not be ashamed of their superficiality and vanity. We must destroy the hard-working spirit they have emphasized. You say, isn't it bad? Really M bad.
Around the 1970s, many major events occurred in the world, the missile crisis in Cuba almost caused a nuclear war, the United States fell into the quagmire of the Vietnam War and could not extricate itself, the United States was on the defensive in the struggle for hegemony between the United States and the Soviet Union, and China, while carrying out the Cultural Revolution, incidentally also did a war with the Soviet Union - the Treasure Island Incident, and China and the Soviet Union were at odds. All kinds of signs and conditions have prompted the leaders of China and the United States to change their diplomatic strategies. This happened later in the ping-pong diplomacy of the small ball turning the big ball.
In 1971, Kissinger secretly visited China, and the two sides reached an agreement on Nixon's visit to China; in 1972, Nixon officially visited China, and the two countries issued a "Joint Communiqué" in Shanghai, which successfully broke the ice in Sino-US relations; in 1979, China and the United States formally established diplomatic relations. The strategy of the United States is to unite china to control the Soviet Union, and the tacit understanding between China and the United States coupled with the contradictions within the Soviet Union finally successfully disintegrated in the early 90s.
The drastic changes in Eastern Europe have exploded in the self-confidence of the United States, and they have made further adjustments to China's strategy, for which the Clinton administration has also debated fiercely. Eventually they decided to assimilate China. Isn't that a bit naïve? Because China has been assimilating others, the successful cases of others assimilating China have not yet appeared. The calculation of the United States at that time was that with the continuous development of China's economy, "China will become the same as us (the United States)", that is, adopt the political system and system of the United States.
The United States is still very cautious, they used "Westernization" and "differentiation" to get rid of the Soviet Union, they feel that it is a little difficult to engage in China, in addition to these "two modernizations", they have added the "four modernizations": that is, let the Chinese people "dilute" politics, let the party cadres "corrupt" under the impact of the tide of the market economy, "ugly" the Chinese leaders, and let Marxism-Leninism "melt" under the pluralistic ideology.
By the beginning of this century (2000), the United States felt that the effect was not very good, progress was very slow, and Republicans immediately put forward the governing platform that "China is a strategic competitor of the United States, not a strategic partner." However, the occurrence of the "9.11" incident has changed the pattern of the world a lot. They had a big appetite and wanted to get rid of bin Laden, but they also wanted to get rid of Saddam Hussein. In this way, it has been carried out for more than ten years at once. Special thanks to bin Laden and Saddam Hussein for winning us more than a decade of very valuable development opportunities.
During this period, the United States also wanted to engage us. The George W. Bush Administration is quite hostile to China, but it is really overwhelmed and overwhelmed. On the one hand, they need our cooperation on counterterrorism, because Al-Qaida's Afghanistan borders China, and in return, the United States has accelerated China's accession to the WTO, and the strategic focus of the United States has shifted to the Middle East. On the other hand, the economic crisis that broke out in the United States in 2008 also needs To be alleviated by China's strong market. It's not that they don't want to do it, it's that they have more than enough and they don't have enough strength.
When Obama cleaned up the two messes, he looked back and saw that our GDP had surpassed that of Japan. In 2011, Obama announced a "pivot to the Asia-Pacific" strategy that began to contain China's development. Obama, unlike Trump, is a lawyer by training, and he cares a lot about rules and decency, so he chooses to open the market and make his own profits to win over his allies, which has the advantage of maintaining the cultural soft power of the United States very well, and the price is that the United States has to give some practical interests to allies. Trump, on the other hand, is a typical businessman president who values immediate interests and doesn't care about the rules, and the U.S.-China trade war begins.
Ancient and new, tradition and modernity, farming and commerce, agriculture and industry, East and West, feudal society and capitalist society, when they meet in pairs, that great change is not only a great change in geographical vision or historical vision, in a sense, but also a world-shaking change in the entire value vision and cultural vision.
Two completely different civilizations clash, which civilization is more powerful and advantageous? It is not you and I who have the final say, this is tested by history, the people, and practice.
"Dive into the night with the wind, and the moisturizer is silent." In the face of the strong impact of Western culture, in the long-term process of mutual collision, interweaving, mutual convergence and mutual integration, people's ideological consciousness and behavior have indeed changed a lot, and have also affected some people.
Among them, there are a small number of people who are not firm in their will, under the infiltration and aggression of Western culture (because the West has always mastered advanced technologies such as broadcasting and the Internet, and has dominated media propaganda), the phenomenon of Westernization is more serious, and they always think that the moon in the West is rounder than the moon in China.
But from the current point of view, the mainstream is still good, the roots are still Chinese culture, and the Eastern and Western cultures are still far from being integrated. Yes, it just needs to be done or must be done, but it is not necessarily true approval, and I can absorb and accept what I really recognize. In a word, what has changed is only the surface and the way of behavior, and the things in the bones and essence are difficult for even you to really figure out, and you think that you have changed but in fact you are still the original you.
The confrontation between Chinese and Western cultures is also a process of slow development and constant change, and in general, it conforms to the law of negation of negation. Chinese culture has gone from being highly confident to falling off the altar, from self-denial to becoming stronger to overpowering the West. This is a historical process of development that we must go through.
Western culture has essences and dross, and China's traditional culture is the same, not all essences, and culture also develops with the development of the times. Tolerance, seeking common ground while reserving differences, and harmony without difference are the reasons for the profound cultural heritage of our culture. From the confrontation between Eastern and Western cultures, we can still feel that Chinese culture has great tenacity and life tension.