The Complete Works of Xu Zhimo's Classical Prose

Chapter 41 Laughing at Life's Hibiscus Bird (13)
This time, Gu Tong is discussing the big case that has recently been rumored in West Texas, USA; what is "consistent" with him is the attitude represented by the judges who judged the case. The ancestors of our humans and the ancestors of monkeys are of the same origin, because the Bible does not say so, and this is the most insulting kind of heresy to human dignity.As for Mr. Gu Tong's criticism on this matter, I will ignore it for the time being, although I hope that someone will care, because the passage of narrative and judgment in his article does not give me the impression that he has a real understanding of any creation.What I want to care about now is that Gutong leaked to us the basic attitude of his own thinking in this article.

Self-identification is a "superficial stream", and I have never dared to challenge the thoughts of modern "authorities in the ideological world". , ruthlessly I disagree, but I just refrained from speaking for a while.

At the same time, I think the fact that there is a figure like Gu Tong in the modern public opinion circle is not only interesting, but also welcome.Because in fact, it is not accidental to have a capable friend, but it is also an extremely rare opportunity to find a considerable opponent.The so-called new thoughts of the past few years just flowed in the non-resistance space; this is not the luck of the "new people", it should be their sorrow, because most of the fun in fighting, seriously, is with you In the fact that the enemy really competes with each other: you pull his hair, he pulls your hair back, and you go to strangle him by the throat in the air, to kill him, that is the way to arouse your excitement; Violent conflict is joy, and what's the point if all your strength is in an air of unresponsiveness?In the early years, the old school of thought in China had no protector, was too unprepared for a fight, and retreated too absurdly; Lin Qinnan only made a hand gesture to scare away the clamor of the enemy camp.The fists of the new school have never hit serious targets; I personally guessed for a while that the old school might never have the ability to fight.But no, the "Jiayin" weekly was born, and its influence, at least in terms of number theory, seems to exceed any current periodicals of the same nature.I have always paid [-]% respect to Gu Tong, although I know that in terms of thinking, he is symmetrical with me as I deserve to be with him, this time it is completely different.This honors him because he is a worthy enemy.In him, I often think that we have at least met an unscrupulous and responsible author.In his writings, we have seen at least part of the old school of thinking, the performance of organized ground argumentation.The fist with flesh, tendons and bones is no longer Lin Qinnan's first-class cotton-like fist; in his thinking, we see a inheritor of the traditional Chinese spirit, firmly clinging to a few outlines and a few classics. He is righteous and determined to win back a place for the ancients in the era of "heretics"; in his severe criticism, the new school has awakened many flaws and weaknesses that have never been noticed.No, we have no right, no excuse, to despise such a serious enemy, I often think so, even though we sometimes see a lot of ridiculous steps and cumbersome empty frames when he shows off his whole family.Every time I think of Arnold saying that Oxford is "the hometown of defeated doctrine", I imagine a round of the same proud halo around the head of "Jia Yin" Weekly; Relying on the power of a large number of people actually suffered a humorous loss!No, if my prayers are effective, I first hope that the spirit represented by the "Jiayin" Weekly will be "hundreds of millions of years"!
六

Because the two extremes often have the possibility of meeting.In philosophy, the latest realism and the oldest idealism find each other in close proximity; in literature, the most extreme Romantic writers tend to fit the classical model; When there is joint defense with the most conservative.This is no accident, and there is a profound message in it. "The times are different," said the poet Blanc, "but the genius will always stand above the times." "The movements are different," said a British art critic, "but the traditional spirit is continuous." The object is to discover the fundamental source of evaluation, and the most romantic (that is, most inwardly individual) adventures of the soul are often only a new mode of discovering truth, though its essence and the oldest mode contain There can be no measurable difference.Although there are characteristics of an era, after all, they are temporary and superficial: this is just the turbulence of the waves in the sea, and its abyss itself will not be affected; as long as you have the courage and strength to penetrate the surging upper layer of this era You are submerged in the substratum of still tradition.To be able to explore and get the invariance in the bottom of this change is to grab the pearl under the jaw of Lilong, and that is the last glory of a brave thinker.According to my humble opinion, the word "Tao" that people in the old school never leave their mouths should be explained in this way to make sense and understand.

Seven

This time, Gu Tong cautiously used the words "Da Dao" as the epilogue of his article, "Worries about Da Dao, what is more?" And the basic attitude of his thinking is fundamentally disappointed!And this disappointment was a deep pang of disillusionment for me.The beautiful Angel's legs, so seen, were made of clay!Please see below.

I report that Mr. Gu Tong has no basic beliefs in his thinking.Let me repeat the circled sentences in my quotation above: "...Those who believe in it also expect to have it, and there is no need to hold absolute thoughts. This is the law of logic, and it is good or evil, or it is reasonable. Or not.” The power and inspiration of all idealism or idealism is to affirm the absoluteness of its basic beliefs; all the past examples of martyrdom and martyrism in history are nothing but those few individuals who are convinced of the absoluteness of their beliefs In the sincerity and enthusiasm, their considerations completely surpassed their own self-interest concepts, and happily went to the cross, entered the flames, went to the guillotine, took poison, and tasted the blade for the specific "love" in each of their minds.If they were Jesus, St. Paul, Joan of Arc, Brono, Madame Roland, or even Socrates, if each of them had had for a moment at one time realized Gu Tong's insight: "There is no need to be absolute. "Thinking", which is tantamount to utter doubt for them, how can they still have the courage to complete their respective missions?
But Gu Tong already thinks that he is just a "practical politician". His job, in his own words, is to "use the opportunity of stripping and reconciling, and the use of subtle coordination." Strange"?It was only me who was fooled. "My legs are made of clay," Angel said there herself, and we didn't need to find out.A "practical politician" is often a "speculative politician", because what he sees is only current and temporary interests, and in his mouth and writing, all doctrines and principles lose their fundamental and absolute meaning and meaning. Value, but it is just a set of presumptuous claims for a specific function. There is no honesty of thought behind it, and there is no brilliance of ideals in front of it. "The topic in the hands of the author," Arnold said, "if he doesn't carry it out, he must not be able to do it well: whoever cannot think independently will not be carried out by a topic." (Matthew Arnold: Preface to Merope) Now in Gutong’s article, we can tell with conscience, can we find some traces of “consistency”, can we find a little independence of thought?
Eight

A person who has no basic beliefs, whether he is new or old, not only has no right to be the leader of thought, but also cannot occupy any position in the world of thought; precisely because thought itself is independent and pure, without any role Yes, his motivation, as I said before, is to re-examine, to get rid of the fluctuation of the times, all evaluation standards, and the intentions of Gu Tong's so-called "second party" (that is, actual politicians): The opportunity, the use of subtle harmony", has nothing to do with it at all.The remarks of a "practical politician" can only be regarded as the remarks of a "practical politician"; the area he swims in is only at the upper level of the floating nature of the times!His restoration, like others, is not based on independent beliefs, but for practical convenience; his conservatism, like others, is not based on the implementation of traditional spirit, but for practical convenience. convenient.Such a person's attitude is actually neither "dimensional" nor "defensive", he is just "playing"!A person's fault is often exaggeration; a "practical politician" also has his position and his own field of speech, he should not intrude into the field of pure thought, especially he should not point to what he knows is The unreliable pillar said "This is reliable, you just take it", or the reference to Aesop's dog knew that the flesh and bones in the water were phantoms, but he still encouraged the dog friends on the bridge to dive into the water because he had no faith , His attitude and intentions at that time, I think, we must not allow it easily!

The original publication, "Morning News Supplement" on October 1925, 11, was included in "Falling Leaves"

art and life

It is impossible to talk about art and life without first describing the current social situation in which we have to live with the situation, and no matter how violent the current social situation is, it cannot be too much.We are accustomed today to think of the materialistic West as a civilization without a heart, while our own civilization, on the other hand, is soulless, or not at all aware of its existence.If Westerners are dragged away by their own efficient machinery and noisy scenes to unknown places, then this barbaric and cruel society as we know it is a stagnant pool of stagnant water, crawling with maggots , smelling of decay and death.In fact, there is no need for extreme cynics to assert that China is a majestic country of physical weakness, intellectual disability, moral cowardice, and spiritual impoverishment.In a society like ours, it is rare, if ever, to experience musical passion, intellectual exaltation, sublime love, or even religious or aesthetic bliss.Any form of idealism is not only unacceptable, but doomed to be misunderstood and ridiculed.What people have is a body without a soul, or, as Shelley said, spiritual death.

Let us now turn to our arts music, painting, poetry, sculpture, drama, architecture and dance.In the Northern Wei Dynasty before the [-]th and [-]th centuries, we experienced a great era of sculpture, but few people saw and really appreciated those sculptures, even in fragments, not to mention Shanxi, one of the most outstanding achievements in world sculpture Yungang Grottoes?Music was the Eden of spring long ago, perhaps never to be revived again.Today, the sacred duty of music has degenerated sadly into the hands of vulgar jinghu and pipa players, which can only add to the atmosphere of those so-called theaters and Luozi knots.Painting is another miserable scene.We have experienced Wu Daozi's open and clear painting style, admired Wang Weibo's large and detailed scrolls, and recently, we have also seen Jin Dongxin's calm and solid composition. Ingenuity, phony imitation and outright deceit, without originality and creativity.The followers of the nine-rate European creative methods, with childish skills and poor imagination, are not as good as those painters who stick to traditional forms. Fortunately, the latter can bring you humor and make you smile, while the former often make you unhappy. Stimulate sadism and abnormal psychology.The theater as an art is really of little value, though some of the old-fashioned plays are admirable as a popular form of mass entertainment, and are a good testament to Mr. Dickinson's Chinese sense of humor.The famous drama critic Granville Barker said, "The greatness of a nation and the profundity of a race's soul are measured by the achievements of its tragic poetry and drama." The essence of tragedy is an artistic representation of spiritual crisis, We Chinese do not yet have this art, nor have anything that can replace it, so we cannot measure our talent for tragedy.We are never even aware of the reality of the soul, which is both beautiful and terrible, and take pride in our apparently shrewd avoidance of ignoring it.Modern architecture also has no artistic value. Taking Beijing as an example, the monument "Victory of Justice" has reached the apex of architectural ugliness. When you walk into Central Park, this monument will definitely disappoint you.As for the dance, needless to say, we are very satisfied with the beautiful postures of Mei Lanfang and Qin Xuefang in "The Heavenly Girl Scattering Flowers" and "Chang'e Flying to the Moon".

When it comes to poetry, we cannot think of a more miserable situation.The slightest mention of Fan Fanshan and Yi Shifu makes people lament and weep like Gengzi-style patriotic poets. So many tears were wasted, but their poems are not remembered.There are still many limerick poets today, but in the past few centuries, no real poet has appeared.But some people will object, don't we have so-called new poetry.Yes, so we are not yet hopeless.But the greatness of the future has not led our critical faculties to sleep, and to think that we have indeed got real poetry.On the contrary, the attempts hitherto have been really unsatisfactory, and in magazines, newspapers, school yearbooks, and love letters one is doomed to encounter what I call the absurd use of some undigested theory.The new poetry is realism on the surface, but it is completely unrealistic in its essence; what's more, there is unnatural naturalism and symbolism without symbolic meaning.In other words, as long as a certain doctrine is achieved, no one would take the liberty to call it poetry.I need not cite examples to justify my assessment, and those who keep up with the movement will understand that the unpleasant assessments I make are by no means extreme.

Well, this overview suffices to say that we have no art at all.The question is why and how did this deplorable state of affairs arise.To me, the reason is simple; we don't have art precisely because we don't have life.

The Chinese are a virtuous and intelligent race, but we never fully know and express ourselves, whereas the Greeks and Romans did so through the artistic medium of living consciousness.The famous critic Walter Petel said: "Eastern thought is full of vague understandings of life, no real understanding of life itself, and no understanding of human instinct. Human beings' awareness of themselves is still the same as the world of animals and plants. Confused with the ever-changing life.” Pater brilliantly pointed out that the Greek sculpture that created the “rule of the soul” exerts power and divine power over human eyes, hands and feet.

"Without a true intellectual understanding of life itself, it is impossible to recognize the sublime characteristics of human nature." This is the most convincing critique of our culture that I know.Our sage, like the Bolshevik leaders of today, was doing a hard job that was by no means easy, only in a different way.They balance and coordinate the obvious desires that people share, such as food and sex.But God, they forgot that people are not only material, but also spiritual, and they need spiritual care and food.Therefore, although Confucianism is admirable, it has been distorted and easily put into practice by later generations, resulting in a culture that relies on the sentimental foundation of leisure.There may be loveliness in this culture, but it is nothing but sentimental, and it treats the human spirit as something unworthy.

They forget the spirit and suppress reason.Confucius brilliantly draws a boundary between the extension of the senses and the enjoyment, and teaches us to depend on a criterion he never defined, namely, ritual.

Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu even use charming language to make our confused minds realize that a complete life is an ideal monster, just like Shakespeare's 70-year-old doll, without teeth, eyes, taste, and everything.If the gentleman, once born with his sense organs, could not keep his life intact, it would at once disperse and destroy the natural faculties of man.The same is true of the dull Mozi, who would be ecstatic if human beings were content to eat grass and live in caves, abandoning all forms that the natural senses might discover.

(End of this chapter)