The Face of the Chinese People / A Third Eye on China

Author: Arthur H. Smith [USA]
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: This book is a classic work by the renowned American scholar Arthur H. Smith. It pioneered the study of Chinese national character and is a sociologically-oriented work that explores this topic, thus exerting a profound influence on later scholars. At the same time, it represents the Chinese perspective of foreigners during its era. As a result, it was long regarded as a must-read for missionaries coming to China to understand the country. The book summarizes twenty-seven characteristics of the Chinese people, supported by rich citations and vivid writing. Whether praising or criticizing, every point is well-substantiated. Even today, reading it can still inspire awakening and deep understanding. The Chinese people summarized in this book are from the late Qing Dynasty, and it is inevitable that there are more criticisms than praise, making the tone somewhat somber and the language occasionally biased. Additionally, as the author was a Western missionary, his perspective and viewpoints were inevitably limited by this identity. His observations and conclusions could not escape Western values. To transform the Chinese people from being scattered and passive to united and proactive, it is essential to change their attitude of self-preservation. However, changing this attitude cannot be achieved through empty words alone—it requires transforming the social environment that forces people to be cautious, which means providing the Chinese people with the protection of public justice and the law. This ensures that everyone can speak freely, act according to their abilities, and pursue their ambitions within the bounds of the law. Not only should snow be cleared, but frost must also be managed. In other words, to prevent the Chinese from being like scattered sand, the fundamental solution lies in granting them constitutional and human rights protections. However, today, there are truly few who recognize this principle and truly understand the relationship between human rights protections and their attitudes toward life.