The Quintessence of China’s Cultural Heritage San-pao Li, Ph.D. Department of Asian and Asian...
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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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Transcript of The Quintessence of China’s Cultural Heritage San-pao Li, Ph.D. Department of Asian and Asian...
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
2
Preface
•A macrohistorical and holistic approach
•New inspirations from an age-old theorum
3
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
37
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!
