OPINION> Zhu Yuan
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OPINION> Zhu Yuan
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Question is who talks about what
By Zhu Yuan (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-24 07:55
"Rather than talk about isms all the time, better spend more time in studying the problems hindering our social progress" was Hu Shi's advice in an article published early last century. It is still relevant when we talk about one of the most controversial books Why Is China Unhappy? As far as the title is concerned, this book seems to be an answer to the earlier bestseller China Is Unhappy. But actually it is an antithesis, which lashes out at Chinese culture in different ways. Unlike China Is Unhappy, which claimed that China should assert itself militarily, diplomatically and in every other way, this book attributes all the problems China is facing to its traditional culture. In the opinion of the authors of China Is Unhappy, rather than clinging to the West that is declining, China needs to call the shots in establishing a new world order. It is apparent that the writers represent opposing viewpoints: left vs right. The left here is conservatism, and opposed to it is the "liberalism" The "liberals" call left-wingers as neo-leftists, as they differ from those hardliners, who stick to Maoism. Clearly the authors on both sides are talking about isms. Yet, both books are hardly serious on the point of isms. The problem is both books may mislead young readers born before and after the 1980s. They are supposed to be the Internet generation and usually they have not read a lot about ancient Chinese culture, or Western culture for that matter. For example, ancient Chinese culture is undoubtedly not as bad as described in the book Why Is China Unhappy. It is irresponsible and even ridiculous to claim that what Confucius advocated - how people should conduct themselves - is poisonous and the root cause of China's underdevelopment in recent centuries. It is not for the first time that Chinese intellectuals have reflected negatively on traditional Chinese culture including Confucianism. "Down with Confucianism" was the most resonant slogan of intellectuals early last century during the new cultural movement (China's Renaissance). Intellectuals at that time were not so much against traditional culture as they were anxious about China catching up with the West. Compared with their predecessors, the authors of Why Is China Unhappy and China is Unhappy care for nothing but money. If they mean what they have written, they would not have had their books published on the basis of a couple of days of brainstorming. The government has been promoting Confucianism and some scholars are invited to give lectures on TV about Chinese classics, which turn to be very popular. It seems that the classics have become trendy again with more people interested in knowing something about them. In this context, it seems necessary for scholars to talk about isms to find out the relevance of ancient Chinese culture for the development of China and the world at large. It is a pity that very few scholars are willing to endure the solitude and obscurity of conducting research. Most prefer to cut corners as has been done by the authors of the two bestsellers. E-mail: zhuyuan@chinadaily.com.cn (China Daily 06/24/2009 page8) |
