Navigating with the head

Author: Zhou Ruijin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features:
1,595 years ago, a famous Chinese poet who refused to "bend his waist for five bushels of rice" left official life and retired to the countryside. He farmed for a living, often engaging with neighbors and scholars in discussions about literature and current affairs, coining the timeless phrase, "Let us enjoy the fine writing together and analyze its doubts." Unbeknownst, nearly half a century later, this phrase was used by a great leader as a "club" and a "hat" to label a large group of intellectuals who criticized societal problems and commented on politics as "right-wing reactionaries against the party and socialism." From then on, "fine writing" was equated with "poisonous weeds," and "doubts" were linked to heresy. The timeless phrase was twisted into "let us jointly criticize the poisonous weeds and strike down the heretics." This led to a decade-long "leftist" crackdown, plunging the nation into a state where "all sang in unison and no one dared to speak." It wasn’t until the debate on the standard of truth rang out like a spring thunder, heralding the spring of reform and opening up, that this situation began to change. The times have now vindicated the phrase "Let us enjoy the fine writing together and analyze its doubts," restoring it to its true meaning.
The so-called "fine writing" refers to novel articles with fresh ideas, perspectives, materials, and language. Such writing enlightens people, offers social lessons, and benefits the nation. It is the essence of the times, a precious spiritual treasure worth collectively appreciating, critiquing, and discussing. As for "let us analyze its doubts," it advocates independent thinking, free thought, the hundred flowers blooming, and mutual refinement. Clearly, the famous phrase from 1,500 years ago still holds universal value today: pursuing truth requires walking with one’s head, tempering one’s thoughts, speaking one’s mind boldly, and daring to innovate.
Looking at human history, any nation that has advanced toward prosperity, civilization, and democracy has inevitably cherished its national intellectual treasury. Whether it is discussions on enriching the nation and strengthening the army or critiques of societal problems, as long as they benefit the country and its people, the more the better. Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle, among other great philosophers, contributed to the flourishing of Greek civilization. The Renaissance in 15th-century Europe then ushered in modern civilization, while Rousseau, Diderot, and Voltaire of the Encyclopedists laid the foundation for modern democratic political thought.
In Chinese history, the Hundred Schools of Thought during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods did not also lead to Qin’s unification and the splendid Tang and Han dynasties?