World Philosophy Know-It-All (Part 1 and Part 2)

Author: Li Yitian Yuan Hang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-05-01
Features: In ancient China, there was no concept of "philosophy," nor was any thinker referred to as a "philosopher." So, when Westerners use the term "philosophy," what meaning do they intend to convey? For the ancient Greeks, "philosophy" meant "the love of wisdom." Throughout the Western philosophical tradition, "philosophy" signifies the pursuit of truth, the questioning of the world, the grasp of history, the understanding of humanity, the perception of the divine, the analysis of knowledge, and the skepticism of all things! A group of young scholars from the Department of History and the Department of Chinese at Peking University compiled a series of "Know a Little" books and invited me to write the preface. I was curious about the title of the series, so I asked and understood their intention, and then decided to write it. It turns out that each book in the series is titled with "Know a Little" at the beginning, such as Know a Little Chinese History, Know a Little Chinese Culture, and Know a Little World Culture. The focus seems grand, yet the perspective remains humble, reflecting the wit of the young scholars. The cultures of the world are like a vast mountain range. We should not timidly avoid their towering heights or assume we have mastered them after a brief glance. What we can do is to respectfully gaze up from the foot of the mountain and eagerly inquire at the trailhead. In short, it is about "knowing a little."
First, not knowing is a pity. A mere five-foot body, without the cultural peaks as its backdrop, is merely a lifeless, unaware, and mediocre existence. People communicate with the outside world at different levels through culture and prove who they are through it. Even those with limited education feel a sense of honor and shame about it. I remember last year, China Central Television hosted a national live-streamed youth art talent competition. One of the events was a test of historical and literary knowledge, and the results were unexpected. Hundreds of millions of viewers paid far more attention to this part than to the main competition. The audiences from all provinces cared little about their competitors' failures in artistic skills but were unable to tolerate their inability to answer the historical and literary questions. This shows that even today, many Chinese people still seek their personal and collective dignity through culture, which is quite good. However, the immediate question is that we must also guard against people's obsession with historical and literary knowledge. Obsession may seem profound, but in reality, it is a disaster manufactured in the name of culture. After the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were always some famous people in China who made a living by luring others into obsession, which was very immoral. Therefore, we must mark some clear paths among the cultural peaks and lay some floating cables in the vast sea of history, so that people can appreciate the beauty of mountains and rivers without becoming lost. This practice, expressed in colloquial terms, is to "know a little." "Knowing a little" does not mean lowering standards; rather, it means raising them. Just as the path-setters must know the mountain better than ordinary hikers, and the cable-layers must be more familiar with the sea than casual swimmers, they must also be more knowledgeable, more experienced, and more humane, with a stronger sense of cultural responsibility. In this sense, I believe that the young scholars at Peking University who compiled this "Know a Little" series have undertaken a valuable endeavor. Citizens of the new century cannot entirely abandon the cultural and historical background created by humanity in the past, yet they must not let the past creations hinder today's creations. Therefore, there should be more path-setters and cable-layers. Only in this way can the magnificent historical and cultural heritage truly become the property of the new century.