Early-talent civilization

Author: He Xiaoyan
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-04-01
Features: A work written in a notebook style, introducing Chinese history and culture. The book contains nearly 100 entries, covering a wide range of topics with exquisite illustrations, including mythology, philosophy, cuisine, artifacts, skills, flowers, and animals. It explores the origins of folding fans, bathing with fragrant water, men wearing flowers in their hair, and the ringing of gold bells. The rich and diverse social customs and folk traditions of Chinese history are vividly depicted here. The author's self-introduction: This book focuses on literary and historical content, covering traditional Chinese social customs and folk traditions. It is widely agreed in the world that "during most of the last two thousand years, China was the world's economic superpower—by 1820, its GDP accounted for about one-third of the global total" (Financial Times, January 3, 2002). Correspondingly, China's numerous inventions and creations during ancient and medieval times far surpassed those of other nations, as Dr. Joseph Needham, a member of the Royal Society of London, pointed out: "Chinese literature clearly shows us one extraordinary invention after another, and archaeological evidence or artistic representations confirm that China's inventions and discoveries often preceded those of Europe by a long time, regardless of which one you examine, China was always at the forefront of the world." However, for a period of time, describing Chinese culture as early-witted or early-maturing has carried a slightly derogatory connotation. It is like being prematurely wise (even more unflattering slang refers to it as a "little old man"), which is not particularly appealing. Those with a cultural inferiority complex have even regarded this maturity as a development in ancient China. For example, a critical viewpoint holds that the sensory aspects of ancient Chinese culture had not yet risen to a level of rational understanding before they and reached a state of rationality. As a result, although China excelled in skills and dialectical thinking, it lacked science—this science, it is argued, must depend on a stage of rational understanding to emerge. Additionally, there are various other specious theories. In reality, ancient China had no science but only technology, a notion that emerged in the early 20th century (first appearing in the inaugural issue of Science in 1915 with Ren Hongjun's "The Reasons Why China Lacks Science"). Even today, many scholars still hold this view. It should be noted that in the debate over whether ancient China had science, both sides often fall into the trap of meaningless word disputes, as their facts and positions are largely the same. Those who deny the existence of science in ancient China refer to "science" as specifically meaning "modern science," which began in the 16th century with the contributions of Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, and others, characterized by the combination of mathematics and experimentation and a rigorous theoretical system. Such science, let alone ancient China, was also absent in ancient Europe. If it is a concept that only emerged in modern times, why should we demand so much from the ancients! Those who affirm the existence of science refer to an expanded concept of "broad science," and as far as the author knows, a definition is even broader: "Science is humanity's evolving understanding of the world" (Renowned Chinese Academy of Sciences academic Cai Zesong agrees with this definition, see Tradition and Beyond, page 4, Jiangsu People's Publishing House, 2000 edition). As long as humanity emerges and develops an "evolving understanding of the world," science is born along with it. Following this logic, our ancient civilization is certainly free from a deficiency in science. Thus, the debate between "existence" and "non-existence" seems like a needle against wheat, with both sides arguing passionately, but upon closer examination, it is merely a matter of semantic disagreement. To be happy about its existence is unnecessary, and to worry about its absence is also unnecessary. Here is a suggestion: first, resolve the issue of a common name. For example, in astronomy, some argue that ancient China had no "great literature" in astronomy but only "astronomy of the heavens," which is essentially unwilling to use "astronomy" as a common term. When we broaden our perspective to regional civilizations, we can see the flaw in this inflexible approach: because ancient Greece and ancient Arabia also lacked modern astronomy and had to use their historical naming conventions instead, which is quite inconvenient. Conversely, by adopting a common term, we can call China's "astronomy of the heavens" "ancient Chinese astronomy," and similarly, we can have "ancient Greek astronomy," "ancient Arab astronomy," and so on, making their commonalities clear. I believe the same should apply to "science." Therefore, I agree that ancient China had science ( technology, that can be discussed separately. In my opinion, such depreciation is bound to fail. Take traditional Chinese medicine as an example—it is far more than just a technology). This does not contradict the insistence that ancient China had no modern science. The truly meaningful discussion lies in the differences, comparisons, and complementarity of Eastern and Western civilizations and cultural models. However, during China's transition from tradition to modernity, it suffered from backwardness and humiliation, facing too much suffering and cultural setbacks, which led to a fervent and frustrated intellectual climate. There was a desire to overturn history rather than inherit it, using anti-tradition as enlightenment, colored with a strong streak of cultural nihilism. The hollowing out of cultural identity inevitably led to reliance on external elements for filling, although it included universal and advanced civilizations such as freedom, democracy, science, market economies, and the rule of law. However, this also brought along the hegemonic Western-centric view, which became, without realizing it, the benchmark for measuring and evaluating the value of our ancestors' legacy. As a result, over the past century, the complex of self-deprecation has been difficult to resolve, making it impossible for us to objectively and calmly confront our traditional culture and truly extract its essence and nourishment. The process of modernization has shown that China has benefited from Western modern industry, modern agriculture, modern science, and modern theoretical thought. When it comes to advanced achievements of human civilization, Lu Xun's active and selective "policy of bringing in" is indeed the best approach, and there is no need to be humble or feel ashamed. Because, when we look back at history, we will find that "modern agriculture, modern navigation, modern petroleum industry, modern observatories, modern music, as well as the decimal system, paper money, umbrellas, reel seats on fishing rods, three-wheeled carts, multi-stage rockets, guns, underwater torpedoes, poison gas, parachutes, hot air balloons, manned spacecraft, brandy, whiskey, chess, and printing" were all once "benefited by the West" (see Robert K. G. Temple's The Genius of China: Invention and Discovery, pages 11–12, 21st Century Publishing House, 1995 edition). It is precisely this exchange and interaction between Eastern and Western civilizations that has advanced the pace of history. However, "Chinese people reached a level of scientific knowledge that the Western world could not match between the 1st and 13th centuries AD" (see History of Chinese Science and Civilization, Volume 1, page 2, Shanghai People's Publishing House, 2001 edition), a fact unknown to the West until the mid-20th century, and even to us Chinese, it remains a mystery. Moreover, even today, when this historical fact, recognized by Western academia (which is inseparable from the research and influence of Joseph Needham), is presented before us, some of us are still entangled in the obsession with questioning the past and cannot accept it calmly. The author here does not intend to repeat the research work already done by Joseph Needham and many predecessors, nor does he intend to avoid well-known major contributions like the "Four Great Inventions." He even chooses to overlook many traditional treasures and skills that have already been widely discussed, focusing instead on the nooks and crannies of ancient Chinese culture, making some minor excavations and descriptions. Even so, the author can deeply feel the profound depth, wisdom, and intelligence of traditional Chinese culture. Although the book focuses on the early-maturing and early-witted Chinese civilization, it does not deliberately highlight major examples to prove it. Instead, it adopts a miscellaneous essay style, including many topics that have long been ignored, forgotten, or not deeply explored. The author now examines them to fill in the gaps and offer his modest insights, which is enough. Some articles in the book have already been published separately in newspapers and magazines such as Knowledge of Literature and History, Garden of Historical Views, People's Daily, Jiefang Daily, Xinmin Evening News, and Social Sciences News. It is said that each small essay indeed requires effort and originality, and when writing, the author often keeps in mind Laozi's "too much talk leads to exhaustion" and Zhu Xi's "the purpose of writing is to express my thoughts," striving for fame to match reality and meaning to suit appropriateness. Writing is not just about introduction but also includes commentary, research, and, when necessary, the original sources of documentary evidence. For example, in the article "Cooling Fan: Wheel Fan, Wind Wheel, Windmill," the author first outlines and examines the evolution and production of cooling fans from the Han to the Qing dynasties. In "Bath," the author, through fragments of the Annotations to the Shiyaliu Record (now lost) quoted in the Shiyaliu Notes, proves that public baths already existed in the early Southern Dynasties, correcting the long-held academic view that they originated in the Song Dynasty. Interestingly, the author also discovers that steam baths existed in the Ming Dynasty (both articles originally published in Knowledge of Literature and History of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, September 1995 and July 1992 editions). Among other things, the author presents new insights on Tang Dynasty cooking dyes, Song Dynasty records of spherical lightning, Yuan Dynasty aquariums, Ming Dynasty news hunting in official gazettes, and Qing Dynasty "waste paper" collections, all of which are new perspectives that others have not explored. Such unique insights are scattered throughout the book, even for topics already discussed by predecessors. The author must also combine historical records to express his own views. As for many Chinese grand and exquisite arts that are widely discussed and often imitated, losing their charm in the process, the author avoids them here to prevent readers from getting bored. For example, the folk custom of "fighting roosters," which everyone knows like the back of their hands, is not included in the book, but the author instead combs through old records to write about "fighting ducks." As for the musical instrument "iron flute," which is often dismissed as merely a decorative item, the author takes a different approach, extracting a piece titled "The Hero's Journey." The book aims to fill gaps in literary and historical studies and correct academic biases. For example, the globally 5,000-year-old Han culture pot with inscriptions, which scholars have interpreted as being related to the "sun" (though not conclusively), the author reveals the truth of its patterns through comparative cultural studies by comparing similar symbols in major ancient civilizations worldwide.，，《》， is about wind bells, not kites, the misunderstanding arising from the fact that people are unaware of the existence of ancient wind bells (which they mistakenly believe to be modern imports), and dedicates a chapter to wind bells. Such examples cannot be listed one by one, but readers can understand the essence. Therefore, what is presented here is a cultural with a strong personal perspective. We should not be overly proud but nor should we be overly humble. The Chinese nation indeed appears to be early-maturing and early-witted. When we rummage through the ashes of our ancestors' civilization, profound wisdom, like phosphorus meeting the air, occasionally flashes with dazzling brilliance. He Xiaoyan February 2002
Excerpt: Heat is overcome by tranquility On hot summer days, everyone suffers from the heat, just as they have throughout history. Ancients used rich terms like "toxic sun," "left as 'huo' right as 'ru'" (a character combining 'fire' and 'humiliation'), "scorching heat," and "blazing warmth" to describe the oppressive heat of the dog days, with metaphors like "the sun umbrella hangs in the sky" and "blazing light soars" showing the severity of the heat, truly a torment. During the Qing Dynasty, a scholar, suffering from severe heat, wanted to bathe in snow but could not, so he placed a white jade stone on the left side of his bed, calling it "snow mountain," and a white porcelain basin filled with clear water on the right, calling it "well," sitting and lying between them all day. He felt the heat dissipate and a coolness gradually come, as if he were truly climbing snow mountains and bathing in ice wells. This story might make some laugh, thinking the scholar was just a literary eccentric leaving behind a joke. In reality, such whimsical methods of cooling the body might have scientific backing today. In fact, another psychological victory method, known as "calmness naturally cools," is perhaps more widely believed, making it a common saying. However, to truly combat the heat with this method is not easy. The Song Dynasty scholar Ye Mengde's Notes on the Jade Creek records that when Ouyang Xiu asked Prime Minister Du Yan how to endure the heat, Du Yan replied, "Only by sitting quietly can one avoid the heat." But the book immediately points out, "How many people can truly achieve this?" The "sitting" here refers to mental calmness, not just posture. In the 1970s and 1980s, "transcendental meditation" became popular abroad, said to originate from the "science of creative intelligence" advocated by Indian academia, abbreviated as TM (Transcendental Meditation, meaning transcending all, meditating deeply). The method involves closing one's eyes and meditating deeply according to certain requirements, gradually reaching a state of tranquility and forgetfulness. Du Yan's method was similar, but its origins were Chinese. As the Guanzi states, "Only by stopping and being calm can one achieve stability, and stability lies in the heart, making one's ears and eyes sharp and limbs strong." The Great Learning says, "Only by knowing where to stop can one achieve stability, by stability can one achieve calmness, and by calmness can one achieve peace." Qigong likely evolved from sitting meditation (qigong is called zazen in Japan). During Emperor Yuan of Han's reign, Prince Zhongdu of Hanzhong, "when summer was extremely hot, he sat in the sun and surrounded himself with ten fire braziers, yet he did not sweat despite not speaking of heat; he could also endure cold, wearing only his shirt on cold days, riding in a four-horse carriage around Kunming Lake, while the driver wore thick fox fur and felt very cold, but Zhongdu remained unfazed" (see Xin Lun by Huan Tan). He had clearly reached a high level of qigong. Sitting meditation seems to require some qigong techniques. If one is not well-trained, sitting in the heat for a short time can lead to restlessness and even more sweating. The great poet Lu You, in his poem Summer,: "To escape the heat with wine is still a matter of waiting, but to rely on calmness to defeat the heat has no other way!" Heat is overcome by tranquility, in the eyes of the ancients, was one of the ways to deal with the scorching heat. (Click on the small image to view the illustration for this chapter)