Thought in Feeling: Selected Academic Essays by Qin Jin

Author: Qin Jin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-04-01
Features: What is the philosophy behind basking in the sun? What insights do the red, green, and blue colors bring to people? What is the cultural connotation in the economic process? Qin Jin's book tells us—this is an era of essays, and academic essays can reflect the thinking quality of contemporary essays. The academic theoretical essays collected in this book are roughly divided into three categories: first, theoretical essays, which are essays with a theoretical flavor; second, reflective theory, which explains theoretical issues in a casual way; third, essay-style reviews, which are literary criticisms written in the form of essays. Among them, the 20+ works selected for this collection, such as "Noise and Tranquility," "Reflection and Anxiety," "After the Deconstruction of Tradition," and "Human's Quest and Call for Self," are basically reflective in nature.
Excerpt: Bird Matters and Human Matters
I was deeply moved by Mr. He Manzi's article "The Romance of Birds," published in the supplement of the "Life Times" on March 6. Mr. He's discussion was inspired by the British wild ducks. This vulgar duck travels to Spain every year to "chase" beautiful birds, resulting in the descendants of the rare white-headed ducks there becoming hybrids. It is said that under public pressure, the British had to hunt down these wild ducks, which were accustomed to chasing beautiful birds and producing hybrids, to save the rare species. Mr. He then thought of the current cultural market, where purple replaces red, many varieties are mixed with art, and the ecological environment is in a mess. He lamented that wild ducks can be hunted, but there is no way to deal with the harm to the cultural market. Mr. He Manzi is an elder, and as someone who has experienced it, his indignation is not entirely unreasonable. But I think Mr. He is a bit too worried. The world is not pure to begin with, and demanding it to be so with a purely conceptual mindset will naturally bring endless troubles. Take the case of the wild ducks and white-headed ducks, for example. They have feelings for each other, neither "unlawful" in their behavior nor engaging in a "sexual scandal." Why should humans interfere in their internal affairs? As for what their offspring will look like, the white-headed ducks are not picky, so why should humans meddle in "bird matters"? The white-headed ducks are on the brink of extinction because their own reproductive capacity is very low. The arrival of wild ducks could very well be an opportunity to continue their species, maintaining a natural ecological balance. But humans, in their desire to have them reproduce as they wish, resort to brutal killing to change their interactions and ways of survival. To me, this doesn't resemble nature conservation but rather human domination over nature.
As for the cultural market, since it is a market, it must cater to the diverse needs of people at all social levels, and it cannot be a monopoly of high-brow art and literature. It must inevitably be a pluralistic landscape. It will certainly have highs and lows, refinements and vulgarity, excellence and inferiority, truth and falsehood. Moreover, who is considered high-brow, genuine, and superior, and who is low, fake, and inferior can only be recognized through the competition of survival of the fittest in the market. Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. In his article, Mr. He mentions "disliking the music of Zheng and fearing it will disrupt the harmony of music" and "disliking purple and fearing it will disrupt red," which are words Mr. Meng Zidao quoted when answering his disciple Wan Zhang's question, recounting Confucius's words. There is a saying, "No one is perfect," but even sages are not immune to mistakes. Confucius and Mengzi were sages and role models for all generations. However, their understanding of the function of art was too simplistic, and they rejected everything that did not align with the Zhou rituals. Confucius admired the "Shao" music of Qi but detested the folk music "Zheng Sheng" of Zheng, believing it to be unrestrained and unseemly. But by the time of Emperor Wu of Han, "the music of Zheng was performed in the imperial court by both the women of the palace and the music bureau outside the palace" (Record of the Han Dynasty: Annals of Music and Rites). Music like "Zheng Sheng," such as vulgar tunes, was not only popular among the people but also flourished in the imperial court and government offices.
Bringing culture and the market together was seen as an even greater sin in the eyes of Confucius and Mengzi. Due to their limited understanding of the social changes of their time, they did not grasp the principles of "making laws according to the times" and "creating rituals according to the circumstances" (Shangjun's Book) or "ceasing when the time calls for it and acting when the time allows" (Diao Tie). As a result, despite their profound knowledge, extraordinary talent, and sharp theories, they remained unemployed as they traveled from state to state. About 300 years later, a new social structure formed and stabilized, and people then realized that the Confucian doctrine of "self-restraint and restoring rituals" and "benevolence" could govern and stabilize the state, which was then elevated to the "supreme" position. The changes in the times were far beyond what Confucius and Mengzi could have foreseen.
With the development of science and technology, humans can now analyze and adjust colors infinitely, and their aesthetic perceptions and concepts of color have also changed greatly. No one would despise a color similar to another to maintain its prestige, and instead, colors that are widely used in life are often the marginal ones. Popular colors are often the edge colors. This indicates that people's ways of thinking have changed. They have gained a broader and deeper understanding of things, leading to greater selectivity and inclusivity. Compared to the ancients, this is undoubtedly a liberation and freedom of cognition and perception. With freedom comes problems. Those who pose as artists and parade around, or those who "parody" history to attract audiences, are bound to appear. The reasons for this, apart from the drive for economic interests, are the fundamental needs of society. People not only need Pavarotti but also Whitney Houston; those who enjoy Shakespeare and Hugo may also be fans of Jin Yong. The series "The Reign of Yongzheng" caused a sensation in the capital, and "Return of the Condor Heroes" drew huge crowds. The former does not fully align with history, and no one would take the latter as genuine history. People's enthusiasm for "imperial palace dramas" stems from their concern for real issues, which is not a bad thing. Criticizing emperors and generals for decades has not toppled them, so how can a few funny plays affect the correct evaluation of a historical figure? Entertainment may not be allowed to imitate art and history, and neither can history and art replace entertainment. Otherwise, life would only be a joy for the refined, while the lives of ordinary people would become too serious and tedious.
Now, for most people, it is no longer just about valuing culture but entering an era of consumer culture. Moreover, many artistic giants started from humble beginnings, and many artistic masterpieces were originally just folk art. Therefore, the existence of popular culture is both unavoidable and indispensable. Since popular culture is indispensable, "mixed culture" is also hard to avoid. Culture naturally has national and regional characteristics, but it is also a process of mutual communication, influence, absorption, integration, and regeneration. The desire for "purity" is a wish, but in real life, few things are pure, and most can be considered "hybrids." Peking Opera is a national art, but aside from being itself a fusion of local opera genres, its costumes, headpieces, and stage props are not inherently Chinese. Even the pipa used in accompaniment evolved from the huqin, with its origins not in the Central Plains but in the Western Regions. In the interweaving and collision of tradition and modernity, Eastern and Western cultures, in the rapidly changing times, what we face today is actually a world connected by the internet, a constantly synthesized world. Integration is a trend; simplicity is already history.
As for those things that cause anxiety, I believe that if humans can change their lives, they can certainly solve the problems that arise during the process. As long as there is no forced intervention or destruction by some, birds will not go extinct on their own, and humans will not collectively turn back time. We should fully trust the ability of birds and humans to choose and adjust. Bird matters and human matters must all follow nature.
March 1999