Chapter1ChineseCulturalvalues中国文化价值.pptx

1;;; So, culture is the difference between human life and animal life; Animals live in wild nature, while human beings lives in “culture”, which means survival and development. Then, what is culture? Culture is a broad term used to describe the arts, the belief, the value, the customs, the traditions and the institutions that are considered to be characteristic of a community, a people, a region or a nation. ; ; ; ; ;So the natural process of life creation was the ‘Way of Heaven’ (天道) . This idea was later developed in The Book of Changes (Yijing 易经). Heaven was the source of all living things and source of all values. So humans are born with a sense of ‘heavenly mission’, and this is the meaning of human life. ; ;By ren, Confucius meant universal love based on love of one’s parents. But how should people love one another then? Confucius said, “One should be aware that other people may have similar desires as oneself. ”He further said, “Do not do toward others anything you would not want to be done to you.(己所不欲，勿施于人; 推己及人)” Mencius(c.372-289 BC), a great Confucian scholar, best summarized ren as, “loving one’s parents, loving the people, loving everything in ;the world.” Li refers to rituals, traditions and norms in social life. Of these, Confucius regarded burial rituals (丧礼) and ancestral worship rituals (祭礼) the most important because they arose from human feelings. Through burial rituals and ancestral worship rituals, people are able to experience the everlasting continuity of life, appreciating the value and meaning of life. ;Confucius placed emphasis on li with the aim of preserving social order, stability and harmony. The Analects says, “The role of li is to maintain harmony among people.” 父子有亲，君臣有义; 夫妇有别，长幼有序，朋友有信; ;Chinese vs. Western Cultural Values Humanities (moralities) vs. Sciences (towards nature, seeking the truth, etc.;) Collectivism vs. Individualism/liberalism (group (sheep); liberalism (dog),