Chinese virtue

Chapter 41 Reality and Demand (2)
For the reform of the Chinese, there are three different views.The first is that there is no need for reform in China.Of course, this must be the opinion of the Chinese, but it does not represent all Chinese.In fact, some foreigners who don't understand China will also have such thoughts; the second is that China's reforms will definitely fail.Before the reform begins, there will be great resistance, and many people will have pessimistic thoughts because they are aware of this.To these people, reforming China is like giving an electric current to the heart of a mummy, which is utterly hopeless.In our eyes, the first two points of view are unreasonable, but if what we have said before can not make these people understand, it will be useless to say anything else; the third point is that China needs reform, and the reform The odds of success are high.Those who hold this view believe that the key to reform is the method adopted.Regarding the method of reform, there are also several different attitudes.

First, let's consider whether China can reform itself.Some Chinese politicians have realized the importance of reform, so they think China should reform itself. The "Beijing News" once published a memorial, in which this idea was put forward.The author of the memorial complained that the people in a certain province were constantly making troubles, and he had sent capable men to inspect the matter, and he also sent some special people to explain the instructions of the "Guang Xun" to the people.The purpose of doing this is to influence these troublemakers in this way.

This method of reasoning to the people was originally an imitation of Christian sermons. Although it had little effect, it was indeed the most commonly used method to improve the moral environment at that time.Unfortunately, in the end, the enlightenment still ended in failure, and the previous method could only be used again.After a long period of practice, we have learned that doing so will only make some superficial changes in things, but will not improve the fundamentals, and the final result will remain the same.This is the same as the fable of the "stone-legged old man" mentioned in the previous chapter.

It is useless to use theory to teach, and the Chinese pin their hopes on "models".

This point was also mentioned in the previous chapter, and when we mention this issue again, we want to explain why good role models have not produced good results, or in other words, have not exerted the expected influence.It is very simple to explain this problem. The reason is that these "role models" cannot make the people accept their own practices and follow their own practices.Let us illustrate with an example: It is said that Zhang Zhidong, the former governor of Shanxi, once took very strong measures to stop his subordinates from smoking opium, and even ordered the common people to be prohibited from planting it.As a result, his subordinates deceived him, and few of the common people were willing to cooperate with him.If it is a foreigner, when his Chinese "boss" does not approve of his reform proposal, then he can only express that he is helpless on this matter.In fact, not only foreigners, but Chinese also feel that such a situation makes him unable to do anything.

Although he is an official, the most he can do is to establish a goal, and then slowly start to solve the immediate problem.Like a cat hiding in the attic watching mice.As soon as the cat left, even just a little distance, the mice would come out and steal food as usual.

If there is a Chinese politician who wants to rely on his own strength to change the status quo of the country, it is not ridiculous, and it is very credible and natural, because the situation in China dooms him to do so, he can only rely on himself, no one Will answer his "call" to reform the country.

The Chinese have a kind of "oriental indifference and fatalism", and Mr. Schiller calls this fatalism "foolishness that even gods cannot change".If a wise British official had known the above situation, and knew what "reform" would lead to, what would be involved, he could fully predict the result of reform.When talking about the ills exposed by China’s copper mining, Mr. Bedroux said: “Before the copper mines are mined, Yunnan has to do two things. First, Yunnan must increase its population to increase its labor force; second, China must Roads must be built, and the shipping facilities on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River must be improved. In short, China must change. Otherwise, they will not be able to complete this project in 1000 years unless they rely on external forces.” China’s reforms, if they do not ask for foreign aid, are like It's shipbuilding at sea, where relentless waves and winds will smash what little you have to work on.If a maintenance worker is inside the machine from the very beginning, no matter how hard he pushes, he will never be able to drive the machine forward, because this in itself violates the laws of physics.

There is a North Canal between Tianjin and Beijing. Travelers passing by can see a bend in this canal, and a ruined temple stands on the bank of the bend.Most of the temple body has been washed away by the flood. Although there are many fences made of reeds around the temple, they don't seem to have any effect, and even half of the fence has been destroyed.The statues in the temple, as mentioned above, can only communicate directly with the heaven and the earth.The land has no flood protection and the entire river is blocked with sludge.This scene seems to be the epitome of China's current situation.There is a saying in China that "rotten wood cannot be carved". If you want to let the old roots sprout new shoots, you can only cut down all the "rotten wood".

Therefore, if China wants to reform from the inside out, it will definitely fail.

Some time ago, most Western countries felt that China could "alliance" with other countries, so that the chances of success in innovation would be much higher.But this is just an idea without any basis.

Western countries have sent envoys to Beijing 30 years ago, but these envoys have not played a role.It is undoubtedly sad that frequent exchanges with powerful countries have not brought benefits to China.The Chinese are very sensitive, and there is no evidence to prove that the purpose of reform in Western countries is higher than that of the Chinese.

China is slowly becoming a force, a force that creates conflicts of interest among Western countries.China, on the other hand, is waiting for the opportunity to reap the benefits of the fisherman.China has never learned anything from those barbaric countries that only rob.Therefore, reform through diplomacy will not work in China.

Many people have the idea that China needs to be integrated into the big family of nations. It needs free communication and trade, and it needs to establish good and harmonious relations with other countries.Increased trade volume can meet many of China's needs. China needs to conduct import and export trade with other countries more frequently, reduce some tariffs, and cancel toll taxes.Compared with more than 20 years ago, such statements have been much less.Because at that time, China often conducted diplomacy and trade with Australia and the United States, but it did not form a situation of "free exchanges" and "friendly harmony", because some words such as "the quality of tea exported by China did not meet the requirements" were always heard.In fact, Western countries have also exported substandard products to China. The two situations are the same to a certain extent.

Trade is an appendage of civilization. Although its value is inestimable, it cannot be used as a means of reform.Adam Smith, a great proponent of political economy, once pointed out that man is a "commercial animal".Because no matter how clever two dogs are, they will not know how to exchange bones.If they knew, and a bone market was established in every city, it would make a huge difference to a dog's character.Those countries with huge trade volume in history are not good countries, to some extent they are the worst countries.But their descendants are all very good. This is not the fault of trade, but caused by other reasons.There is a saying that is very apt: business, like Christianity, has a very lofty goal; business, like a rainbow, bends where there is gold.

You only need to look at the African continent today to understand that whether it is alcohol smuggling or the slave trade, they were all introduced by those Christian countries.Therefore, business cannot play a reforming role.

Friends who have a deep understanding of China's current situation have come up with a variety of ideas for China's reforms, and each of them is more complicated than the methods mentioned above.Their views have three points: first, China needs to introduce Western culture; second, China needs to introduce Western science; third, according to Mr. Meadows, the Chinese need to develop "material civilization".China has been a civilized country since ancient times.When the ancestors of Westerners were still living a life of bare hair and drinking blood, the Chinese already had their own civilization.This method is only suitable for China, not for other countries. How to reform such a civilization is a very difficult problem.Culture is a very selfish thing, and it seems that every day there are foreign "invaders" who emphasize: "It's me, but not you!" Many cultures that Westerners are very proud of are laughed at in China.Other imports from foreign countries into China would receive the same treatment if left unchecked.

The Chinese need the power of science very much.Because his rich resources can only be mined with modern technological means.Now the Chinese have realized this, and in the near future they will understand how much their country needs the introduction of science.But will science improve the "moral character" of the people of this country?How to introduce science into China?As we all know, chemistry is an important subject in modern society, and it is related to the development of society, but no one knows whether the dissemination of chemical knowledge in China can bring new life to Chinese people.

Perhaps the introduction of chemistry will also spark new incidents of deceit and violence.According to the current character of the Chinese, if they master the knowledge of making modern explosives and do not control the flood of chemical agents, I am afraid that people's lives will also be full of danger.

People think that "material civilization" is what China needs most, because once "material civilization" is developed, China will have those highly developed material achievements of the West, such as steam engines, electrical equipment and so on.Railroads, inland waterway shipping, banks, coins, a perfect postal system, and the telegraph and telephone would all be hallmarks of improved life in China.

Zhang Zhidong once made a memorial on the construction of railways, which contained many good ideas, such as building railways can change the dangerous situation of river transportation, and can prevent the crew from guarding themselves and stealing, etc.But whether the development of material civilization can ameliorate moral evil, whether the construction of railways can make railway managers and workers honest, this is not known.We once read the "Erie Chapter," where it was written that the roads between the states were completely encroached upon, and the stockholders could do nothing about it, because they found "no one to blame."Whether this situation is caused by the "material civilization" itself, or due to the conflict of various reasons, no one knows.Letting China establish a republic system and turn it into a democratic country cannot be resolved by voting.Only when China has the same conditions as the West can it achieve the same reform results as the West and develop more "material civilization".And the conditions we are talking about are not material conditions, but moral ones.

Why doesn't China learn from Hong Kong, Shanghai and other treaty ports, and also set up some "concessions" in the interior?Because they cannot accept such a change, even if a "concession" is established, they will not accept it.For nearly 30 years, the Chinese have seen first-hand the benefits of standardized management at customs, but they have not adopted the same approach elsewhere.Because in this context, it is morally unacceptable for the Chinese to adopt taxation methods for their own country.It took ten centuries for the British to develop their conscience and character to their present level.And it is impossible for the current Chinese to accept and implement it all at once.Accepting that this kind of thing can't be like a Krupp cannon, which can be fired as long as it is set up.

Cultural advocate Matthew Arnold said: "Every educated person loves Greece and is grateful to Greece. Because the Greeks are the banner bearers of the arts and sciences of all nations in the world, just like the Jews are the banner bearers of justice. Art and science are needed in every nation in the present age. The great Greeks were so fond of art and science, and had no regard for character. In the end, the glory of Greece perished because they did not pay attention to character, because the world needs good character, quiet Mentality and excellent personality... Not only that, the experience of the Greeks also made the world understand that even though knowledge is very important and the world needs more and more knowledge, good character is still the foundation of everything. So , it is not the Greeks who rule the world, but the Jews; the world is always ruled by sublime justice, not by eminent arts and sciences.”

Only by finding the root of the Chinese characteristics and actually letting the Chinese people awaken their conscience can the status quo in China be changed.If, like the Emperor of Japan, he stays in the palace all day and does not go anywhere, there is no way to talk about reform.There is an advocate of modern philosophy who said a very philosophical saying: "Lead can never refine the quality of gold." What China needs is a heart of justice and integrity. In order to get this, we must understand God and change view of man and understand the relationship between God and man.China needs a new kind of life, whether it is an individual, a family or the whole society.All in all, all the needs of China can be reduced to one, and this kind of demand can only be permanently satisfied by a civilization that accepts Christianity.

(End of this chapter)