Unit 1 Chinese Humanis m
1. To understand the Chinese ideal of life one must try to underst and Chinese humanis m. The term 'humanis m' is ambiguous. Chinese humanis m, however, has a very definit e meaning. It implies, first a just concept ion of the ends of human life; condl y, a complet e devotio n to the ends; and the thirdly, the attainm ent of the ends by the spiritof human reasona blenes s or the Doctrin e of the GoldenMean, Which may also be calledthe Religio n of commonn.
要了解中国人的人生理想,就必须先了解中国的人文主义。“人文主义”这个词含义模糊含混,然而中国的人文主义却有它明确的界说。它的意思是:第一,对人生目的的确切认识;第二,为实现这一目的而行动;第三,实现的方式是心平气和,即中庸之道,也可称作“庸见的崇拜”。
2.The questio n of the meaning of life has perplex ed Western philoso phers, and it has never been solved- natural ly, when one startsout from the technol ogical point of view, according to which all things, including mosquit oes and typhoid germs, are created for the good of this cocksur e humanit y. As there is usually too much pain and miryin this life to allow a perfect answerto satisfy man's pride, teleolo gy is therefo re carried over to the next life, and this earthly life is then lookedupon as a prepara tion for the life hereaft er, in conform ity with the logic of
Socrate s, which lookedupon a ferocio us wife as a natural provisi on for the trainin g of the husband's charact er. This way of dodging the homes of the dilemma sometim es gives peace of mind for a moment,but then the eternal questio n, “whatisthemeaningoflife?”comes back. Others,like Nietzsc he, take the bull by the horns and refuto assumethat life must have a meaning and believe that progres s is in a circle,and human achieve mentsare a savagedance, instead of a trip to the market, but still the questio n comes back eternal ly, like the a waves lapping upontheshore:“what is the meaning of the life?”
人生的意义是什么,这个问题一直使西方哲学家备受困惑。他们从目的论出发,认为包括蚊子乃至伤寒菌在内的万事万物,都是为这个自负的人类的利益而存在的。如此这般,人生的意义就从来没有揭示出来过。今生今世自有百般磨难,因而自傲的人类始终无法事事如意。于是目的论又转向来生来世,把今生的世俗生活看作为来世所进行的准备。这与苏格拉底的逻辑恰好符合,即认为一个凶悍的妻子对她丈夫的性格锤炼来说,是一种天然的恩赐。以此躲避人生的难题固然可以使人暂时心平气和,但问题仍旧没有答案:“人生的意义何在?”另外有一些人,像尼采那样知难而上,否认人生“必须”有什么意义,认为人类的进步不过是一种循环,一种野蛮人的舞蹈,而不是去市场采购,所以没有什么特殊的含义。然而问题还是没能解决,它就像海浪一样不断冲击着堤岸:“人生的意义究竟何在?”
3. The Chinese humanis ts believe they have found the true end of life and are conscio us of it. For the Chinese the end of life lies not in life after death, for the idea that we live in order to die, as taught by Christi anity,is incomprehensible; nor in Nirvana, for that is too vainglorious;nor yet in progress for progress’s sake, for that is meaningless. The true end, the Chinese have decided in a singula rly clear manner, lies in the
enjoyment of a simplelife especia lly the familylife, and in harmonious social relationships. The first poem that a childre n learns in school runs:
While soft cloudsby warm breezes are wafted in the moon, Lured by flowers, past the river I roam on and on.
They’ll say “look at the old man in the spree!”
And know not that my sprit’s on happiness borne.笔记本更换cpu
消失和消逝的区别
中国的人文主义者认为自己找到了人生的真谛,并时时意识到这一点。在中国人看来,人生在世并非为了死后的来生,对于基督教所谓此生为来世的观点,他们大惑不解,他们进而认为:佛教所谓升入涅槃境界,过于玄虚;为了获得成功的欢乐而奋斗,纯属虚荣;为了进步而去进步,则是毫无意义。
中国人明确认为:人生的真谛在于享受淳朴的生活,尤其是家庭生活的欢乐和社会诸关系的和睦,儿童入学伊始,第一首诗便是:云淡风轻近午天,傍花随柳过前川。时人不识余心乐,将谓偷闲学少年。
4. That represents to Chinese, not just a pleasan t poeticmood but the summerb onum of life. The Chinese ideal of life is drunk through with this ntiment. It is an ideal of life that is neither p articu larlyambitious nor metaphy sical, but neverth elessimmense ly real. It is, I must say, a brillia ntly simple idea, so brillia ntly simplethat only the mater-of-fact Chinese mind could have conceiv ed it, and yet one often wonders how the West could have failedto e that the meaning of lies in the sane and healthy enjoyment of it. The difference between China and W est ems to be that the westerners have a greater c apacit y for getting and makingmore thingsand a lesrability to enjoy them, while the Chinese have a greater determination and
capacity to enjoy the few thingsthey have. This trait, our concentration on earthyhappiness, is much as a result as a cau of the abnce of religion. For if one can not believe in the life hereafter as the consummation of the prent life, one is forcedto make the most of this life beforethe farce is over. The abnce of religio n makes this concentration possible.
在中国人看来,这不仅代表片刻的诗意般的快乐心境,并且是追求人生幸福的目标。中国人就是陶醉在这样一种人生理想之中,它既不暧昧,又不玄虚,而是十分实在。我必须说,这是一种异常简单的理想,简单到非中国人老实巴交的头脑想不出来。
我们时常纳闷,西方人何以竟想不到人生的意义在于纯净平安地享受生活。中国与欧洲的不同,似乎在于西方人有更大的能力去获取和创造,享受事物的能力则较小,而中国人享受仅有一点东西的决心和能力都比较大。把精力集中在世俗的幸福,这一特性是我们缺乏宗教的原因,也是它的结果。
因为如果一个人不相信有一个紧接着今生今世的来生来世,他就会在今生的一切消逝之前尽情享受,而宗教的缺乏又使这种想法变成可能。
5.From this a humanis m is developed which frankly
proclaims a man-centered univers e, and lays down the
rule that the end of all knowledge is to rve human
happiness. The humaniz ing of knowledge is not an
第一大姓easy thing, for the moment man swerves, he is carried
away by his logic and becomes a tool of his own
knowled ge. Only by a sharp and steadfa st holding to
the true end of human life as one es it can humani
sm maintai n itlf. Humanis m occupie s, for instance,
a mean position between the other-worldliness of
religio n and the materia lism of the modernworld.
Buddhis m may have capture d popular fancy in China,
but against its influence the true Confucianistwas
always inwardly rentf ul, for it was, in the eyes of
humanis m, only an escapefrom life, or a negatio n of
truly human life.瘦金体千字文
由此生发出一个人文主义,它坦白地宣告了人类是宇宙的主义,并规定一切知识都是为人类的幸福服务。知识同人类的结合并非易事,因为人类一旦动摇起来,就会被自己的逻辑所左右,成为知识的工具。人文主义只有坚定地把握住人生的真谛才能保佑自己。比方说,人文主义只是在宗教信仰的来生来世与现代世界的实利主义之间,占据一个中间位置。佛教也许在中国引起了人们的普遍兴趣,然而与之相对的真正的儒家,对它的影响总感到忿然不平,因为在人文主义看来它只是一种对生活的逃避和对真正人生的否定。
陶罐和铁罐教案6.On the other hand, the modernworld, with it’s
over-develop ment of machinery, has not taken time to
ensure that man enjoys what he makes. The glorif
ication of the plumber in America has made man
forget that one can live a very happy life without hot
photo的复数形式
and cold running water, and that in Franceand
Germany many men have lived to comfortable old age
88什么意思and made importa nt scienti fic discoveries and written
masterp ieces with their water jug and old-fashioned
basin. There needs to be a religion which will
怎么读大学transcr ibe Jesus’famousdictumabout the Sabbath
and constan tly preachthat the machine is made for
man and not man made for the machine. For after all,