The Quintessence of China’s Cultural Heritage

San-pao Li, Ph.D.Department of Asian and Asian American Studies

California State University, Long Beach

California, U.S.A.

January 27, 2000

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Preface

•A macrohistorical and holistic approach

•New inspirations from an age-old theorum

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Preliminary Considerations

• What is “culture”?• A multifaceted phenomenon• A tree vs. a forest• Cultural resiliency and infragm

entability• The unity of Heaven, Earth, an

d Man

The Anthropocosmic Unity:Heaven, Earth, and Man

Heaven-----ReligionEarth -------CosmologyMan---------Ethics

The Anthropocosmic Unity:Heaven, Earth, and Man

Cosmology

kosmos + logos =cosmology

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Earth---Cosmology

•Existential continuum (ontology)

•Organismic whole (microcosm-macrocosm)

•Dialectical pattern of cosmic forces (epistemology)

Existential Continuum

Harmony of the oppositesThe absence of cosmogonical myths

Absence of interest in the “First Cause” Unity of the spiritual and the material, th

e subjective and the objective, the secular and the sacred

An existential continuum

Organismic Whole

Joseph Needham, Science and Civilisation in China“Heaven and I are one”The law of conservation

The fear of Nature

Dialectical Pattern of the Cosmic Forces

Harmonized opposites--Book of ChangesMutually creative yet destructive

wood, fire, earth, metal, water wood, earth, water, fire, metal

The Yin and the YangConfirmation by modern physics

Dialectical Pattern of the Cosmic Forces

Dialectical Pattern of the Cosmic Forces

Wood

Earth Fire

Metal

Water

Cosmology

Coincidentia oppositorumReconciliation of the

opposites

Earth---Cosmology

Cosmology---WeltanschauungPan Gu--the only cosmogonic myth

Yin-Yang and the Five Cosmic ForcesThings of the same genus

activate each other microcosm-macrocosm

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Man---Ethics

•Cultivation of the self•Self-family-state-world•Inner sageliness and outer k

ingliness•Humanism (Asian vs. Europ

ean)

Man---Ethics

Karl Jaspers, The Great Philosophers Socrates Buddha

Confucius Jesus

The Confucian “Ethos” Intense moralism

Man---Ethics

The “self” and the “society”The process of daily renewal

The concept of “self-renovation” Transforming potential A process of becoming

From “what is” to “what should be”

Man---Ethics

The five cardinal human relationshipsThe hierarchical structure: misinterpretatio

ns from the HanCore values in Confucianism

benevolence,loyalty, filial piety, and social decorum

The physical, natural order and the social, moral order are identical

and often spoken as one and the same.

Man---EthicsThe Five Cardinal Human Relations

Self

Monarch-Subject

Father-SonHusband-Wife

Brother-BrotherFriend-Friend

Man---EthicsThe Core Values in Confucianism

Ren(Benevolence)

Zhong(Loyalty)

Xiao(Filial Piety)

Jie(Chastity)

Li(Rites)

Xin(Faithfulness)

Man---Ethics

Confucian personality is not private but public

Publicly accountable and communally significant

Man---Ethics

The Confucian “subjectivity”A moral concept sui generis

“It is man who magnifies the Dao; the Dao does not magnify a man.”

The concept of “matching Heaven”Charles A. Moore, The Chinese Mind

“The ethical and the spiritual are one in China”Faust and Prometheus

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Heaven---Religion

The concept of “Creator-God” Institutional religion vs. diffused rel

igionWhat is “religion”?A means of ultimate transformation

Heaven---Religion

Prerequisites of a religion possesses transforming potential spiritually uplifts and transcends

Heaven---Religion

Religion in the Chinese langage: zongjiao

Zong (ancestors) Jiao (doctrines/teachings)

Heaven---Religion

Zong (ancestors)

Jiao (doctrines/teachings)

Heaven---Religion

The Creator vs. the created (polarity) The 17th-century Scientific Revolution命

Atman and atman in HinduismSpontaneity and naturalness

Heaven---Religion

Matteo Ricci and the “rites controversy” in the 18th-centurySpace and time in Asian traditions

“Timeliness” in the Book of Changes (Yijing)

Doctrine of the Mean (Zhongyong)

Heaven---Religion

Two types of Religion: Institutional religion

Diffused religion

Heaven---Religion

Institutional religionHas a system of theology, rituals an

d organization of its ownDistinguishable from and independe

nt of other secular social organizations

Heaven---Religion

Diffused religionIts theology, rituals, and organization are

intimately merged with the concepts and structure of secular institutions and other aspects of social order.

Heaven---Religion

ReligionA means of ultimate

transformation

The Anthropocosmic Unity:Heaven, Earth, and Man

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Concluding Remarks

• The anthropocosmic trio -- Heaven, Earth, and Man

• Fundamental cultural differences between East and West, each has its intrinsic value

• The importance of understanding each other

• Reconstruction of value system for our “Global Village”

• Challenges of the new millennium

The Quintessence of China’s Cultural Heritage

San-pao Li, Ph.D.Department of Asian and Asian American Studies

California State University, Long Beach

California, U.S.A.

January 27, 2000

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Please keep in touch!

sanpaoli@csulb.edu http://www.csulb.edu/~sanpaoli

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A Dedication

We dedicate our knowledge and wisdom to the future generations

whose youthful energy and intercultural understanding will create a more civilized world.

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Thank you!

Your comments and questions are welcome!