Selected Works of Gu Hongming

Author: Xia Dan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: The content of this book attempts to elucidate the Chinese spirit and reveal the value of Chinese civilization. In my view, when evaluating a civilization, the ultimate question we must ask is not whether it has built or can build vast cities, magnificent buildings, or wide, flat roads. Nor is it about whether it has manufactured or can manufacture beautiful and comfortable furniture, exquisite and practical tools, utensils, and instruments. It is not even about the establishment of academies, the creation of art, or the invention of science. The question we must ask when evaluating a civilization is what kind of people it can produce—what kind of men and women. In fact, the peaceful men and women of a civilization—the type of people—perfectly reveal the essence and personality of that civilization, which is also its soul. Therefore, the language used by the men and women in this civilization will also indicate the essence, personality, and soul of the men and women in that civilization. In the early stages of human society, people had to rely on material possessions to suppress and restrain their inner desires. As a result, primitive communities were subjected to the pure power of material forces. However, as civilization progressed, humans gradually discovered that there was a more powerful and effective force in conquering and controlling human desires, which is called moral force. In past Europe, this moral force, which effectively conquered and controlled people's desires, was Christianity. But now this bloody war has surpassed it. It seems to have demonstrated that Christianity, as a moral force, has lost its efficacy. Due to the lack of an effective moral force to control and restrain people's desires.