中国文化英语复习资料

中国文化三个特点The characteristics of Chinese culture1.Chinese culture regards human life as part of nature and ,as such, the only way for us to survive is to live in harmony with nature.The fundamental significance of civilization lies in the creation of a peaceful world, which also requires avoiding conflict between humans and nature.Instead of dictating to nature, people should hold nature in awe and gratitude.2Chinese culture emphasizes harmonious human relationships.An individual cannot live without community and society.Chinese culture strives to build a world of harmony based on friendship between individuals, mutual assistance between families, and respect between nations.3.Chinese thinking stresses self-reflection. People should not only understand the external world, but also and more importantly, improve their internal state of mind.孔子Confucius(551-479 BC), known as Kongzi, given name Qiu and alias Zhongni,lived in the state of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period.He was a great thinker, educator and founder of Confucianism.Confucius is an ancient sage to the Chinese people. His words and life story were recorded by his disciples and their students in The Analects.“天/自然”Confucius on Heaven/Nature: the Source of Everything Confucius regarded “Heaven” as nature. Heaven does not speak in words. It speaks through the rotation of the four seasons and the growth of all living things.Heaven equaled nature, nature was not a lifeless mechanism separate from humans, it was the great world of life and the process of creation of life. Human life was part and parcel of nature as a whole创造生命Equation of Heaven with the creation of life.The natural process of life creation was the “way of Heaven”. This idea was later developed in The Book of Changes.As the natural process of creation of life, Heaven was the source of all living things and the source of all values.The great virtue of Heaven and Earth is creating life.( The Book of Changes)In the natural process of creation of life, Heaven had its inner purpose in creating all things as well as protecting and improving life.天命Heavenly mission:Heaven had originated humanity, and humans were obliged to accomplish this purpose. In other words, humans are born with a sense of “heavenly mission”, and this is the meaning of human life.Confucian “Heaven” also had a certain sacred element, which was related to its being the source of life. Thus Confucius required people to hold Heaven in awe. He said a person of virtue must “respect his heavenly mission”, listen to and live out the purpose of Heaven by caring for and improving life.Under the influence of Confucius, the ancient Chinese developed a sense of awe and belief in Heave.Heaven was not a supernatural, personified deity, but was the world of ever-generating life.To them, Heaven was the highest sacred being, with the profound mystery never to be fully understood by mortal.Confucius on People: ren and li 仁Ren: love of people This kind of love begin with the love for ones parents.No one could love people in general if they did not even love their own parents.The essence of ren is “filial piety and fraternal duty”(孝悌）The Doctrine of the Mean中庸quotes Confucius : The greatest love for people is the love for ones parents.【Children should not travel far while their parents are alive. If they have no choice but to do so, they must retain some restraint.】【Children should think often of the age of their parents. They should feel happy for the health and longevity of their parents. They should also feel concern for the aging of their parents.】Confucius: One should be aware that other people may have similar desires as oneself.【While fulfilling ones desires, allow others to fulfill their desires as well.】【Do not do toward others anything you would not want to be done to you.】礼Li Mencius: Loving ones 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 and ancestral worship rituals as the most important, because they arose from human feeling.The role of li is to maintain harmony among people.Li also has philosophical implications.While individuals have a limited lifespan, life in nature is everlasting. Life is given by ones parents and extended through ones children.In this way, a limited, individual life becomes merged with the limitless life of nature.教育Confucius was the first figure in Chinese history to initiate private education.Confucius taught for many years and trained 3000 disciples. 72 of them excelled in the sixth arts., i.e., ritual, music, archery , (carriage) driving, calligraphy, and mathematics.Confucius believed the basic goal of education was to cultivate “persons of virtue”, who should have sound character and uplifted minds. Such persons should be able to shoulder important social responsibilities and to make contributions to society.Confucius regarded lofty ideals, great virtue, love of people, and the “six arts” as the general principles of education.Confucius emphasized aesthetic education. He said, “ Studying The Book of Songs(诗经）inspires the spirit and helps one appreciate beauty. Studying music lifts the spirit and helps one to enjoy life.”Simply knowing the highest standard of virtue is not as good as setting it as ones goal. Setting it as ones goal is not as good as enjoying the practice of it.Confucius regarded the highest state of life as harmony among people and harmony between people and nature. This was a true aesthetic outlook on life.影响Under the influence of Confucius, Chinese thinkers of later generations all believed that students and scholars should not only increase their knowledge, but also and more importantly, broaden their minds and enhance their spiritual ethos.In other words, they should continually seek the greater meaning and value of life. Many modern scholars think the theory on the perspective on life is the most valuable feature of Chinese philosophy.WhatisTheAnalectsmainlyabout?TheAnalectsismainlyaboutConfuciuswordsandlifestory.WhatisConfuciusviewonHeaven?ConfuciusregardedHeavenasnature.WhatisConfuciusinnovativeideaaboutHeaven?ConfuciusinnovativeideaaboutHeavenisthatHeaven(ornature)istheprocessoflifecreation.Whatdoesthe“heavenlymission”referto?TheheavenlymissionistoaccomplishHeavenpurposeofprotectingandimprovinglife.HowisConfuciusconceptofHeavenrelatedtothemodernecologicalcivilization?Confuciusadvocated“standinginaweoftheordinancesofHeaven”andwarnedagainstoffendingHeaven.Thisis,inessence,equivalenttothemodernideaofstayinginharmonywithnature.SointhiswayConfuciusconceptofHeavenissimilartothemodernecologicalcivilization.WhatisConfuciusinterpretationofren?Confuciusinterpretedrenasloveofpeople,whichbeginswiththeloveforonesparents.AccordingtoConfucius,whatisthemostimportantpartofli?AccordingtoConfucius,themostimportantpartofliistheburialandancestralworshiprituals.Whatqualitiesare“personsofvirtue”supposedtohave?Personsofvirtuearesupposedtohavesoundcharacterandupliftedmindsandtheycanshoulderimportantsocialresponsibilitiesandmakecontributionstosociety.WhydopeopleneedtostudymusicaccordingtoConfucius?AccordingtoConfucius,studyingmusiccanliftonesspiritandhelponeappreciatebeauty.What did Confucius think of Zeng Dians aspiration?Confucius thought highly of Zeng Dians aspiration and regarded harmony among people and harmony between people and nature as the highest state of life.天何言哉？四时行焉，百物生焉，天何言哉？Heavendoesnotspeakinwords.Itspeaksthroughtherotationofthefourseasonsandthegrowthofalllivingthings生生之谓易Continuouscreationoflifeischange.天地之大德曰生ThegreatvirtueofHeavenandEarthiscreatinglife.获罪于天，无所祷也HewhooffendsagainstHeavenhasnonetowhomhecanpray.仁者，人也，亲亲为大。Thegreatestloveforpeopleistheloveforonesparents.父母在，不远游，游必有方Childrenshouldnottravelfarwhiletheirparentsarealive.Iftheyhavenochoicebuttodoso,theymustretainsomerestraint.父母之年，不可不知也。一则以喜，一则以惧。Childrenshouldthinkoftenoftheageoftheirparents.Theyshouldfeelhappyforthehealthandlongevityoftheirparents.Theyshouldalsofeelconcernfortheagingoftheirparents.己欲立而立人，己欲达而达人。Whilefulfillingonesowndesires,allowotherstofulfilltheirs.己所不欲，勿施于人。Donotdotowardothersanythingyouwouldnotwanttobedonetoyou.子生三年，然后免于父母之怀。Achildshouldnotleavehisparentsbosomuntilheisthreeyearsold.礼之用，和为贵。Theroleofliistomaintainharmonyamongpeople.知之者不如好之者，好之者不如乐之者Simplyknowingthehigheststandardofvirtueisnotasgoodassettingitasonesgoal.Settingitasonesgoalisnotasgoodasenjoyingpracticingofit.亲亲而仁民，仁民而爱物Loving ones parents, loving the people, loving everything in the world.Godbless上帝保佑用于向某人表示关爱ThankGod谢天谢地，感谢上帝PleaseGod看在上帝的份上，行行好把表示某事很重要ForGodssake但愿用于表示非常强烈的愿望Godforbid但愿（某事）不会发生Manproposes,Goddisposes.谋势在人，成事在天Godhelpsthosewhohelpthemselves.自助者天助也Laozis Philosophy of Non-action老子a recluse who lived during the Spring and Autumn Period.Fewrecordshavesurvivedabouthim,whowassaidtohaveonceheldalowcivilpositionintheroyalcourt,inchargeofthearchivalrecordsofthezhoudynasty.Yet,duetohisgreatleaming.EvenConfuciuswassaidtohavetraveledmilestoconsulthim. 老子 Laozi, known as Classic of the Way and Virtue, consists of just over 5000 Chinese characters. Its 81 chapters are divided into two parts, Dao (the Way) and De (Virtue). It became the basis of Daoism.It was first introduced into Europe possibly as early as the 15th century and has been one of the most translated philosophical works of ancient China. Many of Laozis enlightening views are based on his philosophy of naturalness and non-action,which alsoexertedadirectimpactonthecharacteristics,trendsofthoughtandaestheticsensibilitiesoftheChinesenation.Naturalness and Non-actionNaturalness is an important concept of Laozis philosophy.It refers to a natural state of being, an attitude of following the way of nature.Laozi emphasizes that everything in the world has its own way of being and development.Birds fly in the sky, fish swim in the water, clouds float in the sky, flowers bloom and flowers fall. All these phenomena occur independently and naturally without following any human will, and humans should not try to change anything natural.Non-action is another important concept of Laozis philosophy. Humancreativityshouldbeincompliancewith thewaysofnature.It is the guarantee of naturalness.Laozi said, “acts through non-action”, by which he did not mean that one should do nothing and passively wait for something to be achieved. Neither did he deny human creativity.Desire-driven, human beings fight and deceive one another, leading to war. War springs from humanitys bloated desire. Conflict arises out of peoples struggles to satisfy their desires, and conflict escalates into war.To Laozi, human striving and competitive strife is the root ,which is also the cause of decline;.Therefore desiring nothing is the natural way of life.Laozi made a comparison between the laws of nature and the laws to the human world. Nature takes from the surplus to make up the deficit, such as the wind leveling sand dunes and the water washing away earth and stones. The human world is just the opposite, i.e., robbing the poor and oppressing the weak.Laozi: Beautiful colors blind the eyes, complex music harms the ears, rich flavors numb taste, while riding and hunting madden the mind.Desire disturbs peace of mind. If immersed in a sea of desire, in the end humans would be submerged.大巧若愚Great ingenuity appears to be stupidity.Resorting to deceit is true futility and would accomplish just the opposite result.Those who intend to play tricks are not genuine and therefore are not natural.水The greatest virtue is like water. Water nourishes everything but contends for nothing.No life can exist without water. Water contributes to the world without regard for gain or loss.Remaining low, level and tranquil, water embraces and reflects everything under heaven. The way of water is completely different from the way of people with avid desires. But the philosophy of Laozi is by no means weak. On the contrary, it is full of strength.Water accumulates great strength in its weakness and quietude. Its strength can break down all barriers in the world. Nothing in the world is weaker than water. Yet nothing is stronger than water when it comes to breaking something strong.“Aware of the strong, one should remain weak.”：One should start with ones own weak points, accumulating strength by keeping low, just as water does. Giving up the desire to flaunt ones superiority is the basic way to prosperity.Remaining weak is not only the way to prosperity, but also the way to preserving life.The way of the weak is the best way to avoid conflict.返璞归真Returning to a Newborn State People with the highest virtue,are all resembled newborns. The highest level of ones cultivation was to return to the state of a newborn baby.The state of the newborn is free of any knowledge, desire, impurity or falsehood. Laozis state of the newborn refers to “ complete innocence”. When human being come into the world, they gradually acquire external knowledge and accept social norms, along with the growth of their bodies.Step by step, their originally pure minds become tainted with chaotic colors.As humans mature, they become more and more hypocritical. The process of acculturation is the process of losing ones true self.顺应自然Followthewayofnature.无为而无不为Actthroughnon-action.兼爱Loveforall.大巧若拙Greatingenuityappearstobestupidity.以柔弱胜刚强。Overcomethestrongbybeingweak.不战而屈人之兵Winawarwithoutfightingwater.上善若水Thegreatestvirtueislikewater.人往高处走,水往低处流Humanstendtoseekhigherpositions.返璞归真Returntothestateofanewbornbaby.无欲则刚Oneisinvinciblebecausehedesiresnothingandcontendsfornothing.Natureisconqueredbyobeyingher.顺应自然方能征服自然。Hethatfollowsnatureisneveroutofhisway.按自然规律办事的人绝不会迷失方向。Thedropofrainsmakesaholeinthestone,notbyviolence,butbythefrequencyoffalling.滴水穿石，非蛮力所致，皆因坚持不懈。The philosophy of Non-contention Laozi overcoming the strong by being weak.VS Sunzi winning a war without fighting it.Laozisthoughthasagreatinfluenceonthecharacteristics,trendsofthought and aestheticsensibilitiesoftheChinesepeople.Theexamplesofbirds,fish,cloudsandflowersareusedtoillustratethateverythingintheworldhasitsownwayofbeinganddevelopment.Thedifferencebetweengreatingenuityandordinaryingenuityliesinthefactthatthelattercanbeachievedthroughhumaneffort,buttheformerissuperiortothelatter.Inordertobecomestrong,oneshouldstartwithonesownweakpoints insteadofoppressingtheweak.InLaoziopinion,fragilityisthesymboloflife.Thehighestlevelofonescultivationistoreturntothestateofanewbornbaby,whoisfreeofanyknowledge,desire;impurityorfalsehood.Peoplefightanddeceiveoneanotheroutofdesire.Accordingtothelawsofnature,peopleshouldnotrobthepoorandoppresstheweak.孙子兵法Sunzis Art of War is an ancient classic on war. It consists of 13 chapters in about 6000 characters. Sun Wu, respectfully called Sunzi, was born sometimes between 550 and 540 BC, or toward the end of the Spring and Autumn Period.It represents the theories of war of the Sunzi School originated by Sun Wu.Sunzis Art of War stands out as the greatest classic.It excels over the other books in terms of strategy design, philosophical grounding and in tactical application. Over the centuries it has been respected as “ the source for all books on war.”战略思想The Stragegic Thoughts of Sunzi：先计而后战The first example is, “Planning before going to war.” Before entering a war, one must compare and analyze all factors of both sides. These mainly include:Morale(士气），climate, terrain, commanders, and rules.Morale refers to the approval or disapproval of the people. The army that has the approval of the people will gain their support, while one without endorsement will lose their support.Climate refers to seasonal conditions at the time of war.Terrain refers to the distance, position, size, and height of the topography for war. Consideration must also be given to the degree of security or danger in the area.Rules refer to regulations governing the army, “Who should carry out orders? What are the respective strengths of the soldiers? Who is responsible for training the troops? Who decides rewards or punishments?”One or two of these factors are insufficient for one to judge the feasibility and consequences of a war. Consideration must be given to all these factors and their combinations. Such holistic thinking is a special feature of Sunzis Art of War.知己知彼，百战不殆The second example is, “ One can fight and win a hundred wars if one knows both oneself and the enemy.”The purpose of considering the five aspects, is actually to know the real situations on both sides.It is not easy to get to know the enemy, because they do their best to keep their secrets and resort to all sorts of deception.Getting to know oneself is not easy, either.What do the people think about the war?What is the capability and state of mind of the commander?How is the morale and training of the troops?Sunzi said, “One can fight and win a hundred wars if one knows both oenself and the enemy. The odds for winning are half and half if one knows oneself but not the enemy. And one is bound to fail if one knows neither oneself nor the enemy.The odds for winning are half and half if one knows that ones tro