Foreign Cultural of the 20th Century: Gadamer Collection

Author: Yan Ping
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-01-01
Features: Today, we are compiling the "Library of Foreign Cultural Figures of the 20th Century." The intention is to demonstrate the basic characteristics of several generations of intellectuals through the combination of individual selected works and outline the development of humanities and philosophy in this century. This is only a preliminary sketch, far from a comprehensive and grand mural. The predecessors had the "Universal Library," where everything was believed to be contained within, truly a magnificent and glorious endeavor. However, given our capabilities and conditions, we can only select a series of cross-sections. Of course, striving for completeness is not always a choice. The introduction of modern foreign thought has a history of over a century, yet many classic authors remain untranslated, and their names are seldom known. For a cultural powerhouse like China, this is highly unsuitable. Pound said, "A great literary century must also be a century of translation." Broadly speaking, culture is no exception. In light of this, when we are conducting a cultural summary of the century, we have resolved to cede part of it to others. The remaining work, the task at hand, can still be described as "stealing fire from the heavens," in the words of Lu Xun. As a large-scale series of books, it should not be limited to cultural accumulation. The fundamental purpose still lies in the reconstruction of modern culture. In this era of global information integration, the development of national culture must be rooted in the context of world culture. We can only create a favorable ecological environment for preserving, developing, and perfecting our own traditions by absorbing heterogeneous ideas, cultural knowledge, and humanistic literacy from within a predestined traditional system.