Sources of Chinese Tradition, Volume 2

by Wm. Theodore de Bary

  The scientific spirit of the West originated in the Greek dictum of “knowledge for the sake of knowledge.” This demands the suspension, at least temporarily, of all practical or moral activities, transcending evaluations and moral judgments to permit the intellect on the one hand to observe each phenomenon objectively and on the other to pursue rational inferences by means of which it may illuminate the laws of the universe and its categories of thought and logic. Such a spirit is precisely what was lacking in China’s ancient philosophy so that theoretical science could not evolve, and the progress of her arts and technology was arrested. The privation of such a scientific spirit was the result chiefly of the obsession with the fulfillment of moral principles, which prevented any objective assessment of the world. There was no theoretical scientific knowledge to link together the inner moral cultivation, the “establishing of virtues,” and the outward practical activities of tailoring nature to enrich life. . . .

  The Chinese people must therefore endeavor to achieve self-realization as intellectuals, as well as moral beings. As we have demonstrated, this requires the temporary suspension of their moral consciousness in favor and in support of intellectual activities. . . . At the same time, it is necessary to have a proper balance between the two elements. It is precisely this harmony between morality and intellect that is the supreme function of man.

  Democratic Reconstruction and the Development of Chinese Culture

  Apart from the aristocratic feudalism of the pre-Qin period (ended 222 B.C.E.), the sole form of government in China was monarchy, until 1911. In such a system the ultimate political powers lay in the ruler rather than the people, and because of this there arose many unsolved problems, such as the order of succession to the throne, the interim between two dynasties, and the status of the ministers. . . . In order to break through this situation the only way is to establish a democratic government.

  That China should have as yet failed to do so does not mean that her political development does not tend toward democracy or that there is not the germ of democracy in the culture. Chinese monarchy was quite different from its Western counterpart, for Chinese political thought early identified popular will with the decree of Heaven. Whoever proclaimed himself ordained by Heaven to be the ruler must also respect and seriously consider the desires of the people. Accordingly, it was provided that he should carefully weigh the admonitions of his ministers, high or low, and the petitions of his subjects. [Reference is here made to institutions such as the court historian, censorate, examination system, etc.] . . . These all serve to offset the monarch’s power and to bridge the gap between the central government and the populace, although their effectiveness depended ultimately solely on the personal integrity of the monarch, since there was no fundamental law or constitution to check him. It is therefore clear that the limitations on the powers of the ruler must be transferred from the ministers to the people outside the governmental structure if they are to be effectual. . . .

  It then follows that a constitution must be drawn up, in accordance with the popular will, to be the basis of the exercise by the people of their political rights. Only thus may the people all attain moral self-realization, since self-realization demands, politically, the freedom both to ascend to and to retire from official positions.

  Our Understanding of China’s Contemporary Political History

  That constitutional democracy has not been realized despite the aspirations of the people has its sociological and ideological reasons. . . . Although they had inklings of the notions of rights and sovereignty of the people, most of the Chinese, having no clear idea of what democracy meant, regarded the establishment of the new Republic [in 1911] as just another dynastic changeover. Furthermore, there were few religious, economic, cultural, or scientific organizations and no class opposition. Unlike their Western counterparts, the early members of the parliament were largely intellectuals who had little social experience and who hardly represented the interests of any organization or class. . . .

  Communism did not originate in China. Introduced into the country by intellectuals who dwelled in attics in the various foreign settlements, it has spread so widely only because China did suffer greatly from the imperialism and capitalism of the West. Communist premises were never accepted or demanded by the spiritual life of the people. . . .

  There are five fundamental reasons why communism as a guiding principle of Chinese culture and politics cannot last. (1) Marx-Leninism denies the possibility of individualized human nature except insofar as it is determined by economics. In this attempt to annihilate all institutions of religion, art, literature, and morality, it is violating the common principles of all the world’s higher civilizations. (2) It denies the individuality and rights of each human being. (3) The natural course of Chinese cultural history points toward humanity’s political, intellectual, and technological, as well as moral, self-realization. . . . That is, freedom of thought and academic pursuit must be affirmed without qualification. (4) In striving for political self-realization, the Chinese cannot tolerate party dictatorship, just as they could not tolerate absolute monarchy. (5) In the Communist totalitarian system, there is no rule governing succession of leadership, so that on the death of a leader there are inevitably life-and-death struggles between the aspirants. . . . To avoid such an unpleasant situation the only means is popular election in accordance with a fundamental constitution, making for peaceful transfer of political power.

  In view of these reasons, Communist totalitarianism is doomed, despite various temporary industrial and technological achievements. After all, Marxist-Leninism has no positive basis in Chinese culture. . . .

  The future development of Chinese politics cannot be precisely predicted, but it is certain that Marxist-Leninism will be discarded eventually and the spiritual life of the nation will press forward toward the establishment of a democratic government.

  What the West Can Learn from Eastern Thought

  It is clear that the formation of a world civilization is contingent upon cooperation on a high plane among the various cultures of the world. . . .

  The strength of the West’s cultural spirit lies in its ability to push ahead indefinitely. However, there is no secure foundation underlying this feverish pursuit of progress. Along with this pursuit of progress there is a feeling of discontentment and of emptiness. In order to fill this emptiness, the individual and the nation constantly find new ways for progress and expansion. At the same time external obstructions and an internal exhaustion of energy cause the collapse of the individual and the nation. . . . Chinese thought has always regarded “retreat” as more fundamental than “advance.” Complementing the characteristically Western push for progress, this will provide a solid and secure foundation for Western civilization. . . .

  The second element the West can learn from the East is all-round and all-embracing understanding or wisdom. . . . In Western science or philosophy, principles and universals are attained by intellect and are sharply enunciated and defined. They are abstract and cannot be applied to what is concrete, because the characteristics that are peculiar to each class and that are inexhaustible have been eliminated. Wisdom is needed to comprehend and to deal with all the unprecedented changes of life. This wisdom does not operate by adhering to universals, but by submerging universals in order to observe the changing conditions and peculiarities. . . .

  The Western world is in great need of this wisdom if it intends to understand the nature of the different cultures and to have an authentic communication with them. In addition to their knowledge, technology, ideals, and God, they must above all search deeper for the source of life, the depth of personality, and the common origin of human culture in order to arrive at a true unity with mankind.

  The third point that the West can learn from the East is a feeling of mildness and compassion. The Westerner’s loyalty to ideals, his spirit of social service, and his warmth and love for others are indeed precious virtues, to which Eastern counterparts
cannot measure up. However, the highest affection between men is not zeal or love, for with these emotions is often mingled the will to power and its acquisitive instinct. . . . Compassion, on the other hand, is the sympathetic consonance between the life-spirit of one’s own and another’s authentic being. Here there is also natural interflowing of true sympathy, which is partly directed outward and partly inward. The emotional flowback makes it possible to purge any desire to dominate or possess. . . .

  Fourth, the West can obtain from the East the wisdom of how to perpetuate its culture. Contemporary Western culture is, it is true, at its height of brilliance, yet many observers have been concerned with its future, whether it will perish like ancient Greece and Rome. Culture is the expression of a people’s spiritual life, and by the laws of nature all expression drains the energy of life. If this energy is exhausted, perishing is inevitable. To preserve its spiritual life, humanity needs a depth formed by a historical awareness that reaches both into the past and into the future, and this depth connects with the lifegiving source of the cosmos. . . . From this point of view, the West’s chief concern with speed and efficiency constitutes a great problem. While the former easygoing attitude of the Chinese is not a suitable remedy in many aspects, yet the maximum rate of progress with which the West leads the world is not conducive to durability. . . . The West needs to develop a historical awareness with which to tap the lifegiving source. It will then come to appreciate the value of conservation of life-energy and the meaning of filial piety, and learn to fulfill the ancestral will in order to preserve and prolong its culture.

  The fifth point the West can learn from the East is the attitude that “the whole world is like one family.” Though there are many nations now, mankind will eventually become one and undivided. Chinese thought has emphasized this attitude. . . .

  What We Expect from World Thought

  While the West can certainly learn from the East, we have also a few remarks to make concerning the intellectual development of China and of the world.

  1. The expansion of Western civilization has brought the peoples into close contact and unfortunately has also produced much friction. What needs to be done now is for each nation crucially to reexamine and reevaluate its own culture, taking into consideration the future of mankind as a whole. In order to achieve coexistence of the various cultures and world peace, one must first, through a transcendental feeling that goes beyond philosophical and scientific research, attain an attitude of respect and sympathy toward other cultures and thereby acquire genuine compassion and commiseration toward mankind in adversity. . . .

  2. In cultivating this feeling, it is evident that objective and scientific learning is inadequate. Man needs a different kind of learning, one that treats himself as a conscious, existential being. It is not theology; it cannot be the merely phenomenological study of ethics or mental hygiene. Rather it is a learning that applies understanding to conduct, by which one may transcend existence to attain spiritual enlightenment. . . .

  3. The human existence as formed by “establishing Man as the Ultimate” is that of a moral being that, at the same time, attains a higher spiritual enlightenment; for this reason, it can truly embrace God, thereby attaining “harmony in virtue with Heaven.” Hence, this human existence is simultaneously moral and religious existence. Such a man is, in politics, the genuine citizen of democracy; in epistemology, one who stands over and above the physical world. Not being bound by his concepts, his intellectual knowledge does not contradict his spiritual apprehension. . . . Such should be the direction of the new movement.

  [From Chang, The Development of Neo-Confucianism, 2: 465–483]

  MOU ZONGSAN’S CONFUCIAN PHILOSOPHY

  Mou Zongsan (Tsung-san) (1909–1995) is considered one of the premier Confucian scholars of his generation instrumental in founding the international movement called New Confucianism. He studied philosophy at Beijing University under Xiong Shili and later became known as the most creative systematic philosopher among the New Confucians. Along with Zhang Junmai (Carsun Chang), Tang Junyi, and Xu Fuguan, he was a cosigner of the 1957 Manifesto for a Reappraisal of Sinology and the Reconstruction of Chinese Culture.

  Despite the complexity of his system, Mou succeeded in creating a new vision of the mainline of Confucian thought stretching from Confucius and Mencius to Cheng Hao of the Northern Song and down to Liu Zongzhou, the great Ming martyr to Confucian loyalty and perseverance.

  Mou conceived of his own philosophic development in three stages. First, he began as a student of Western philosophy and logic with a special love for the thought of Kant and the other philosophers of the German Enlightenment. Next, he turned his attention to political philosophy and the philosophy of history, including provocative studies of Daoism. Third, Mou returned to a discussion of human nature, the moral mind-heart and the rise and development of Neo-Confucian thought from the Northern Song to the fall of the Ming dynasty. Mou also wrote studies of Western philosophy, Buddhism, and ethics.

  Throughout his career Mou wrote about Chinese thought in the context of world philosophy, ranging from modern European phenomenology to a re-evaluation of the history of Chinese Buddhist thought. He believed that Confucian thought had been correctly based on the intellectual intuition of the patterns and dynamics of the cosmos and that it was the task of modern Confucian intellectuals to disclose the logical and epistemological rationales for these claims in light of modern Western critiques of Chinese thought. Moreover, Mou affirmed the profound religious dimension of the Confucian search for sageliness as a form of spiritual self-cultivation. What he ultimately sought to create was a moral metaphysics.

  THE SENSITIVITY AND STEADFASTNESS OF HUMANENESS (REN)

  In the following excerpt from chapter 5 of a series of public lectures on the nature of Chinese thought, titled The Uniqueness of Chinese Philosophy, Mou addresses the central Confucian ideal of humaneness, or ren. Set within his larger discussion of the connection of human nature and the Heavenly Way, Mou defines humaneness as sensitivity and steadfastness and as the ultimate human manifestation of creativity itself, the very core of the dynamic process of the Way of Heaven and earth.

  The qian section of the Classic of Changes says, “The great man is someone whose virtue is consonant with Heaven and earth, his brightness with the sun and moon, his consistency with the four seasons and his prognostications of the auspicious and inauspicious with the workings of gods and spirits.”2 In order to become a “great person,” one must join personal virtue with Heaven and earth, which is to say, the life-values of the individual must respond to the life-values of the universe in order to obtain a fundamental, unbreakable melding (or, we can say, a conciliation). What was cited in the first lecture as the virtue of Heaven and earth is certainly “the Heavenly Will mysteriously, unceasingly active” as representing the essence of endless creativity. The uniting virtue of the great person, Heaven and earth joined together have the unceasing essence of creativity. In modern terms, if one truly sees the life-value of the self, one has already embraced nonmaterial life-values; these nonmaterial life-values then become true life-values such that the person manifests the special characteristic of life. This true life-value is definitely a spiritual life-value and is not a worldly life-value and hence is somewhat analogous to what Jesus meant when he said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” The great person must also conjoin action with the spirits of auspicious and inauspicious fortune in a fashion that explains clearly how the life-values of the great person respond to both the dark and the light sides of the cosmos, both of which become mutually active in the world. In other words, it is necessary for the dark and light sides of humankind and the light and dark sides of the cosmos to be mutually interpenetrating and reconciled. The light and dark sides of the cosmos are commonly known by humankind; for example, the spirits, night and day, spring and summer are all recognized as the bright side of the cosmos, while demons, blackest night, fall and winter are all recognized as the d
ark side of the cosmos. Human life is like the cosmos because it has its dark and bright sides, as when we say that birth is bright and death is dark. In order to comprehend the totality of the idea of the cosmos, we must look at both the light and the dark sides of the cosmos; just as, in order to understand the idea of humaneness, we must also observe the life and the death of human beings. The “great person” must include the totality of the life-value of humaneness with the life-values in the cosmos in order to create unity. The essential natures of humaneness, wisdom, and sageliness are not disparate but are mutually connected with the Heavenly Will and the Heavenly Way.

  Another question follows the explication of the function of humaneness, wisdom, and sageliness—what causes humaneness, wisdom, and sageliness to be capable of being mutually connected with the Heavenly Will and the Heavenly Way? That is, in what fashion can it create unity with the cosmos? The answer requires an explanation of the idea of the concept of humaneness. According to the general idea of the perspective on humaneness found in the Analects, we know how an individual person can become one who is humane or a sage and we can also learn why one who is humane and a sage can become unified with the cosmos. According to the interpretation of this lecturer, Confucius’s idea of humaneness has two main characteristics:

  1. Sensitivity. This is not the awareness of the senses or sense perception, but rather the sensitivity of sorrow, what the Analects says is the feeling of “unease,” and what Mencius called the sorrowful mind-heart or the unbearable mind-heart. Having this sensitivity, then, a person can also have the four seeds of the mind-heart, but without that awareness, then one can speak of a numbness, as the Chinese saying has it, “numb and not humane,” which points out the special characteristic of humaneness as being aware and not being numbed. A person can have a great knowledge of or sensitivity to affairs of money, wealth, and possessions, but can also be very insensitive and numb, even though he has an extremely brilliant talent and understanding. This is because the point of sensitivity is the moral mind-heart, and whoever has this sensitivity can perceive the four seeds of the moral mind-heart.