пјҲLIANG SHUMING. SHANGHAI. 1922.пјү
Those who are familiar with contemporary China know that there recently has happened something known as theвҖңNew Culture Movement.вҖқTo those who fear nothing but change and those whoпјҢas Bertrand Russell saidпјҢtakeвҖңmoralization for philosophyпјҢвҖқthis movement is thought to mean the complete destruction of the ancient Chinese cultureпјҢand therefore is too radical. ButпјҢin factпјҢit means an evolution rather than a revolution of the Chinese culture. TheвҖңnewвҖқculture movement may beпјҢafter allпјҢsimply the self-consciousness and self-examination of the old. Mr. Liang"s book is the first conscious and serious attempt to grasp the central idea and to show the excellences and the defects of the old Chinese culture in comparison with the European and the Indian.
William James said that every great philosopher has his own visionпјҢand that if one gets thatпјҢone can easily understand his system. This is Mr. Liang"s method in treating the different types of the world culture. To Mr. Liang the fountain of life is the ever struggling and never ceasing Will. All peoples have this Will but every people has its own direction to lead it to. There are three possible directionsпјҡ
1. To struggle to get what we wantпјӣto try to change the environment in order to satisfy our desires.
2. Not positively to solve the different problems of lifeпјҢbut to find satisfaction in the given situationпјӣnot to realize but to harmonize our desires.
3. Not to solve the problemsпјҢnor to leave them unsolvedпјҢbut to try to get rid of the desires that cause them.
Proceeding along these three different directions and using these different methodsпјҢthe EuropeanпјҢthe ChineseпјҢand the Indian peoples work out independently their respective culturesпјҢwhichпјҢaccording to Mr. LiangпјҢare but moods of life. Thus the fundamental spirit of the European culture is the realization of desiresпјӣthat of the Chinese is the harmonization of desiresпјӣthat of the Indian is the negation of desires пјҲpp. 62-72пјү.
Since the European mood of life is to struggle forwardпјҢthe European culture is characterized by ability in controlling natureпјҢthe scientific methodпјҢand democracy in the sense that each and every individual claims his own right to oppose authority. These are its excellences. With them side by side come its defects. There is too much intellectпјҢcalculationпјҢand self-assertion along with selfishness. The individual stands in the centre of the universe and treats everything outside of him as either material or rivals. Means is for the endпјӣpresent for the future. There is too much to doпјҢbut too little to enjoy пјҲp. 232пјү.
The Chinese mood of lifeпјҢof which Mr. Liang chose Confucianism as the representativeпјҢis just the opposite. Its fundamental idea is to repudiate calculation and intellect. It teaches not doing for somethingпјҢbutвҖңdoing for nothing.вҖқFollowing natural feelingпјҢor what Mr. Liang called intuitionпјҢa mother loves her babyпјҢand a baby loves its mother. This love is not means for the futureпјҢbut the end in and for itself пјҲpp. 174-176пјү.
Confucius also saidпјҡвҖңI have no course for which I am predetermined and no course against which I am predetermined.вҖқThis means that one must not make any foregone conclusion and not insist on one reasoning. If one holds one reasoning and does not admit changeпјҢone has to push to the extreme and thus miss the mean. For instanceпјҢif one adhere to the doctrine of universal loveпјҢlike JesusпјҢone has to love one"s enemies andпјҢlike BuddhaпјҢto refrain from killing any animal. FurthermoreпјҢone must not destroy anything in this worldпјӣthere is no reason to stop midway. ButпјҢaccording to ConfucianismпјҢsince by nature one loves one"s parents more and others" lessпјҢso ought one to. The degree of one"s love of different people ought to be differentпјҢbecause towards others in one"s intuition there is a different intensity of love. To ConfuciusпјҢit is wrong to insist beforehand on any objectiveпјҢchangeless doctrineпјҢbut right to follow one"s natural feeling and let it go пјҲpp. 160-161пјү. These aspects of Confucianism are included in the conception of Jen пјҲthis Chinese word is often translatedвҖңbenevolenceвҖқbut is more than thatпјү. Jen means the sensitiveness of the natural feeling or intuition and the pursuit of it without calculation of the consequence or reasoning about a general rule. Thus life is not dependent upon what is withoutпјҢbut upon itself. So there can be neither gain nor loss. There is always joyпјҢbut never sorrow.
As the European people have too much calculationпјҢthe Indian have too much insistence. The Indian people want to get rid of the problems of lifeпјҢbecause they want to seek a fundamental solution of them. They want to solve problems that are unsolvable. Life itself is a fluxпјҢbut they worry about its uncertainty and change. They are too sensitive to the affairs of lifeпјҢso they fall back to the complete negation of it пјҲp. 135пјү. So the Indian mood of lifeпјҢof which Mr. Liang chooses Buddhism as representativeпјҢis to try to return to the state of pure sensation or pure experience. According to Mr. LiangпјҢin pure experience there is no change and distinction. In pure experience every impression of a flying bird is a motionless image. It is our feeling that connects these successive images together and puts them in motion. In pure experience there is no distinction between object and subject. It is our intellect that makes this sharp demarcation and antithesis. If we return to the state of pure experienceпјҢwe shall have knowledge of nothing. There is real eternityпјҢsince there is no change. There is real OneпјҢsince there is no distinction. This is Absolute. This is Wisdom пјҲpp. 108-112пјү.
These are the salient points of the three types of the world"s culture as Mr. Liang sees them. Mr. Liang advises the Chinese people to accept completely European sciences and to resume critically the Confucianistic attitude towards life. He also sees that the European"s life of calculation is near its end and that the Western people are bound to change their way and to follow Confucius. But that is not all. There must be a time when mankind will become very sensitive to the unsolvable problems of life such as deathпјҢold age and sicknessпјӣthey will then begin to appreciate the Indian culture and to adopt it. In factпјҢthe three culturesпјҢaccording to Mr. LiangпјҢrepresent the three successive stages of human development пјҲpp. 259-263пјү. But since scienceпјҢas Mr. Liang points outпјҢis an organic part of the Western individualistic and utilitarian mood of lifeпјҢhow can it be combined organically with Mr. Liang"s ConfucianismпјҹScience for science"s sakeпјӣwe may invent science for nothingпјӣbut it is through and through a product of pure intellect. A life of feeling and intuition is for artпјҢnot for science. I see quite clearly that Confucianism is possible for scienceпјҢbut not the Confucianism of Mr. Liang"s interpretation. Mr. Liang"s Confucianism presupposes too much the pre-existing harmony of man"s feeling and the goodness of man"s nature.
Mr. Liang considers Bertrand Russell"s appeal to man"s instinct of creation as an indication of the fact that the Western peoples are going to assume the attitude of вҖңdoing for nothing.вҖқI may also say that Professor Hobhouse"sвҖңrational goodвҖқand Professor Dewey"sвҖңgood of activityвҖқare no less strong indications. Still I do not quite see why the Western peoples should adopt Confucianism completely and why future mankind should all be followers of Buddha. It seems that Mr. LiangпјҢbeing always a student of BuddhismпјҢhas too strong a monistic preconception that leads him to suppose that the three existing types of culture have exhausted all the possible ways of life and that mankind is bound to take or reject one or the other as they are.
Since Mr. Liang"s book is dealing with so comprehensive a subject matter and his prediction of the fate of the cultures is so far in the futureпјҢit is unnatural to expect that every one should agree with him. It seems to me that his interpretations of Buddhism and Confucianism are of interest and valueпјҢno matter whether Buddhism and Confucianism are really as he says or not. I think nobody can read these two parts of his book without being impressed by his originality and conscientiousness. Mr. Liang certainly has his vision. This is enough for a philosophical work to justify its existence.
YU-LAN FUNG.
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY.
Reprinted from The Journal of PhilosophyпјҢ Vol. 19пјҢNo. 22пјҢOct. 26пјҢ1922
