0610G同主题写作第三期——Issue147
TOPICISSUE147-"Tradition and modernization are incompatible. One must choose between them."
传统和现代化是水火不容的。人们必须二者选一。
修锐分类
新与旧（修锐老师的八大类）
文化类（修锐老师的新分类）
出现频率
在上个作文季度中，该题以34次的总频位居榜眼，可谓高频中的高频。
题目解析
按照修锐老师原来的八大类将其划为“新与旧”这一类，抓住题目中的两个核心词——tradition和modernization，前者为“旧”后者为“新”，而新旧事物必然有其对立和统一的一面，但这个对立和统一又包含在人类文化进程这个大范畴中！再看”incompatible”，这个词显然透析了作者的立场——the two (tradition&modernization) are mutually exclusive，而第二句话显然是对它的一个推断，或者理解为补充说明：因为incompatible，所以必须choose！那么大家不禁要问：传统和现代化是完全对立的吗？作者的观点是否太绝对了呢？很好！这篇文章的突破口就在于此！Issue文章往往倾向于中庸的观点，即一个事物或理念你可以写它好的方面，也可以写它坏的方面，然后将二者统一起来或突出其一。很明显，题目的观点过于绝对化了，传统和现代化有对立的一面，但二者并不完全排斥，在许多方面二者是相互融合、协调一致的。做了以上分析后，我们再来看看Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary对本题三个核心词的解释以便大家加深理解：
Tradition:
1: an inherited, established, or customary pattern of thought, action, or behavior (as a religious practice or a social custom)
2: the handing down of information, beliefs, and customs by word of mouth or by example from one generation to another without written instruction
3: cultural continuity in social attitudes, customs, and institutions
4: characteristic manner, method, or style
Modernization:
1: the act of modernizing : the state of being modernized
2: something modernized : a modernized version
Incompatible:
1: incapable of being held by one person at one time (used of offices that make conflicting demands on the holder)
2: not compatible: as
a: incapable of association or harmonious coexistence *incompatible colors*
b: unsuitable for use together because of undesirable chemical or physiological effects *incompatible drugs*
c: not both true *incompatible propositions*
d: incapable of blending into a stable homogeneous mixture
破题思路
一、有保留地反对观点
① 先做让步，即承认传统和现代化在某些方面是相互排斥的，比如现代化的进程使一些愚昧不科学的传统习俗消失，而一些通俗平庸的思想文化阻碍了现代化进程。（既然是偏向反对的观点，这段不应投入太多的笔墨去写）
② 然后转入论述的主体内容，即传统和现代化的协调与统一。那么这里可以分2～3个小意群来支持你的观点——a. tradition refers to the beliefs, values, customs, ways of life, crafts that are handed from generation to generation. 传统意味着人类文明的传承，通过它了解现代主流文化的产生、形成和发展趋势。尽管随着时间的流逝和现代化脚步的加快，有些传统湮灭，但大部分保留了下来并融入现代社会中。这里可举的例子很多，不妨点几个：Spring Festival, Mid-Autumn Day which represents the reunion of the whole family; The Olympic Game preserves the porch race and marathon; Christians go to church for praying and singing a chant. b. 现代科学的发展改善了我们的生活，如supermarket, automobiles, the Internet, household electrical appliance etc.. c.许多现代文明是基于古老的传统之上的，oftentimes so-called “modernization” is actually an extension or new iteration of tradition, or a variation on it. 这里可以进行分角度论述，下面我简要从科学和艺术这两个角度进行分析：从科学角度看，先进的仪器与设备使我们的科学研究不断突破，但许多现代科学研究仍基于传统的科学理论 (Classic Newton Theory)；从艺术角度看，诚然，现代音乐如R&B, Hip-Hop, Rock and Roll等pop-music与古典音乐有许多抵触，但是它们融入了许多古典音乐元素，eg. Tone, rhythm, scale, melody.
③ 可以将以上段落的TS概括一下整合为一段，通过一个主体段落中心论点之间的comparison（矛盾性与统一性）来强调一下传统与现代化的一致性，突出一下自己的反对观点，也可以省略，通过一两个精练的句子将其归纳于总结段中。
二、中庸模式
就issue写作而言，持有中庸观点的文章写作思路比较容易拓展，论点分支和论据例子较多，使整篇文章字数上一个台阶，显得比较充实，丰满。然而它的缺点是容易造成思路的分散，忽略重心的突出，导致泛泛而谈。因此以这种模式写作，把握各个论点(TOPIC SENTENCE)相当重要！下面简单理一下文章的大体框架：
一般采用三个层次，
论点一：传统对现代化的影响（侧重传统的重要性）
论点二：传统对现代化的让步（侧重现代化的优势）
论点三：传统与现代化结合在一起推动人类社会的发展；传统意味着人类文明的延续，二现代化关注高科技的创新，二者相互影响，共同促进人类文明的进步。eg. Especially in the field of education:多媒体网络教学和传统教学的结合。
一般来说，中庸模式普遍适用于新与旧类，统一与分歧类，当务之急与百年大计类，尤其适用于有对立概念的issue题，这里点几个：issue3、9、17、26、38、56、75、87、104、125、139、144、150、157、164、173、176、187、193、198、228、234、241、243.
三、有保留地赞同
这其实是在中庸模式的基础上强调对立概念的一方，然而写作手法却与中庸模式不尽相同。
a. 传统和现代化的矛盾
b. 传统和现代化的协调
c. 古老陈腐的传统思想及事物必须让步于现代化（选择现代化）
下面我来简单分析一下该模式及其写作手法的应用：
为什么说它是建立在中庸模式基础上的呢？大家仔细看a和b这两个层次，很明显，它们是对中庸模式两个大层次——对立和统一的概括，将一个大范畴缩小为两个意群。为什么说它的写作手法不尽相同呢？大家回头看一下中庸模式的论点一、二、三，显然，在论述传统与现代化的每个段落是非常注重details的，也就是说写作的时候强调的是两个concept的comparison，通过突出对立概念的一方，从整个大意群中体现出它们之间的关系。再看有保留的赞同模式，a、b这两个层次的顺序是可以调换的，因为立场是赞同，你可以先让步简述一下传统和现代化在有些方面可以共存甚至相依相成——concordance，然后侧重论述它们之间的矛盾——conflicts，也可以开篇描述它们之间的矛盾，将论述它们之间的协调作为一段过渡。殊途同归，该模式与中庸模式在写作手法上的最大区别就是c层次，有了a、b层次的铺垫，c层次将是写作的重心，它给出了你的立场而非中庸模式那样仅仅对上两个层次进行概括。它是一个层次上的递进——现代化不仅仅带来了生活质量的提高还有思想的转变，世界在改变，人类文明在不断进步，我们在享受科技进步给我们带来的优越生活时也在不断的创造新事物！从写作手法来讲，该模式与模式一更接近，中庸模式是侧重意群内部的比较来体现整个逻辑关系，而该模式是采用递进层次的写法把重心放在表达自己的倾向性立场上！
文章参考
https://bbs.gter.net/viewthre ... light=%2Bhappypearl
https://bbs.gter.net/viewthre ... ssue147%2Btradition
https://bbs.gter.net/viewthre ... ssue147%2Btradition
https://bbs.gter.net/viewthre ... ssue147%2Btradition
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[ 本帖最后由 jingjingtous 于 2006-7-16 23:56 编辑 ]
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参考资料
TRADITION, MODERNIZATION ANDHUMAN EXISTENCE
WANG PING
The aim of this paper is to approach the issue of tradition and modernization from the point of view of human existence or life. Its main points can be summarized as follows.
(1) Tradition and modernization both are rooted in the needs of human life and are the means which meet such needs. Thus, human existence is the only criterion by which we weigh and evaluate tradition and modernization.
(2) The historicity of human life has determined that of tradition as well as the need for its transformation and renewal. Tradition is not an abstract stance beyond change and develop-ment; its vitality lies in its development.
(3) Modernization has met the needs of human existence at a high level. It is not only the a requirement in order that human beings pursue better conditions of existence, but also the key path through which transformation and renewal are realized. Hence, tra-dition should be subordinated to the requirements of modernization.
(4) Modernization is a synthetic process which includes po-litical, economical, cultural and social content.
TRADITION, MODERNIZATION AND HUMAN EXISTENCE
Tradition and modernization are so closely associated with the problem of human existence that only from the point of view of this existence can we really grasp the impetus and goal of tradition and modernization, and find the criterion by which to weigh and evaluate them.
Tradition is the product of the practice of human existence in which human beings transform nature, society and themselves. It is the unity of the various elements of culture created by human beings, which is handed down through the continuity of history. As the product of the practice of human existence, tradition is subordinated to the needs of this existence and the activities in meeting such needs. All traditions present or past are created in the activities by which human beings meet their needs for existence. Therefore, it can gain energy and vitality for its existence and development only from the needs of human existence. In a sense, history is a process in which tradition and the needs of human existence, as well as the activities in meeting such needs, interact on each other, but the impetus of this interaction comes from the activities of human life. Once a tradition separates itself from such needs and activities it loses the foundation of its existence.
All traditions try to explain the essential problems of human existence and to explore a path which can lead to a solution, no matter whether one take an optimistic or pessimistic attitude. We can regard this phenomenon as ultimate concern regarding the problems of human existence. Different traditions are characterized by their varied attitudes towards these problems.
The tradition of Buddhism sees human existence as endless pain: birth, senility, illness and death are all pain, and human life itself is a sea of pain. What caused the pain of human life is the desire to pursue secular pleasure. The tradition of Buddhism, how-ever, does not mean a simple denial of human life because it has a great spirit of mercy and sympathy for the human beings. Its goal is to point out the path through which human beings can escape such a sea of pain; it is to break from the seduction of secular pleasure in order to achieve tranquility and harmony of mind. Whether or not the Buddhistic solution is correct, it expresses ultimate concern for human life through its great concern for the pain in that life.
Christianity established the notion of God. This is aimed at finding a fulcrum for the world in which human beings live, and at providing a goal and ideal for human life, as well as a system of values which makes it possible to realize this goal. According to Christianity human existence is sinful and decadent, but it is also a process of salvation for human beings: sin and salvation make up the subject of history. The tradition of Christianity scorns the corporeal existence of human beings because it sees the salvation of the soul, the ultimate goal of human life, as of dominant signi-ficance.
Confucianism has no deep religious notions as do Buddhism and Christianity. In its own way, however, it shows a great concern for the problem of human existence, focusing on its secular side. It pays great attention to the practice of human life and tries to provide for it a perfect system of ethical and political norms. On the other hand, Confucianism does not lack an ontology of human existence, which is embodied in the notion of the "unity of the cos-mos and human beings." Unlike the Christian tradition that regards the relation between human being and nature as one of opposition, the Confucian tradition sees it as a unity.
In a word, the three traditions which have the greatest influ-ence in the world all are closely associated with the problem of hu-man existence, though this concern is embodied in different ways. Other traditions cannot avoid this.
Like tradition, modernization also is rooted in the needs of human existence and is the embodiment of human beings’ desire to pursue a high level of existence. According to Max Weber, moder-nization is a tendency toward rationalization, that is, various uses of reason to control and overcome nature and the environment. The process of modernization begins in the Western world; it is a broad historical process of changes that takes the birth of industrial civili-zation as its origin and impetus, and contains political, economic and social contents. The needs of human life have different spheres which are finite in quality but infinite in quantity. The realization of the needs of a lower sphere will arouse the needs of a higher one and the realization of the latter will give birth to the needs of a yet higher sphere; the process is endless. We can treat history, in this sense, as the process in which the needs of human existence un-ceasingly are met, and as progressing from lower to higher needs. Modernization is a historically significant revolution which has revolutionized the conditions of human existence in many aspects and has met its needs at a very high level.
These needs are not only the impetus, but also the goal of modernization. The history of modernization in Western and the Eastern countries fully proves this point. Modernization in the West began during the period of bourgeois revolutions, the aim of which was to provide a certain condition of human life which could transcend that of medieval society, and to strengthen the nations’ ability to exist. German history from 1871 to 1914 was a good example. The problem of modernization in the Asian world was the crisis of the existence of nations. Hence, the goal of modernization was to free the Eastern nations from the predicament of conflict with the West. The situation of China was typical; its contemporary history since the Opium War has been the pursuit and practice if modernization so as to strengthen the power of the Chinese nation to exist and to meet the needs this entails. Japan has effectively practiced modernization and achieved great success because it was very clearly and early aware that modernization is essential to resolving the crisis of national existence. Modernization made Japan into a powerful country which could even match Western countries in the late years of the nineteenth century. As a result, in the conflicts between East and West, the Western great powers took a very different attitude towards Japan and China, respectively. In the World War II allied nations were able to win the final victory not only because their goal was just, but also because by moder-nizing they had greatly developed their power to exist; in a sense this latter factor was the more important. The great strength pro-vided by the modernization of most of the allied nations played a very important role in the war. The Soviet Union, whose social system differed from other allied countries, was not destroyed by the German invasion, largely due to the fact that it persistently practiced modernization in its own way, though some of its modernization policies were unreasonable and even barbarous.
THE HISTORICITY OF HUMAN EXISTENCE AND OF TRADITION
The needs of human existence and the activities which res-pond are not abstract, but concrete and historical. Hence, they have different expressions under different historical circumstances be-cause human life itself is concrete and historical, that is to say, it is always associated with a certain historical condition. Human exist-ence is a dynamic process in which the needs of human life are met unceasingly. As human existence and its needs are not an abstract and unchangeable metaphysical essence, but a dynamic process, tradition regarding human existence cannot be an ossified and absolute dogma or a metaphysical substance which completely transcends and controls the activities of human life. With changes in the conditions and needs of human life tradition must be trans-formed and renewed accordingly so as to help human beings cope with the new conditions and problems faced by human existence. Therefore, tradition should not be unchangeable, otherwise it will not have the tenacity and adaptability necessary for its existence and continuity. Rather, it would lose its vitality and become an obsolete artifact of history, like a dry corpse hermetically sealed in a vacuum which would crumble into dust were it to come into contact with fresh air.
With the changes of the conditions of human life, the tradi-tions of both East and West have undergone several transformative renewals whose degree of adaptability to the needs of human exist-ence has determined the tenacity and vitality of their existence and continuity.
The Western tradition is a union of Jewish and Greek cul-tures. Jewish culture gave the West the Old Testament by which Westerners obtained a faith and ethical rules, and find a fulcrum for the world in which they live and a goal and meaning of their exist-ence; Greek culture gave the West science and reason by which the Westerners probe the secrets of the universe and nature. Therefore, faith and reason, revelation and science, are dual basic factors which form the Western tradition. To a certain extent, the history of the continuity of the Western tradition can be regarded as the one of the conflict and compromise between these two factors.
During the Middle Ages faith held the dominant place in the Western tradition; Christianity controlled every aspect of social life, and only under the guidance of faith could reason and science be legitimate. According to Christianity, secular and corporeal existence was insignificant, and concern for secular advantage was sinful. Only in ascetic efforts could human beings achieve salva-tion and the eternal life of the soul.
From the 14th to the 16th century, with the emerging deve-lopment of economic relations in capitalism, the tendency toward secularization in the West became increasingly obvious. As the Christian tradition regarded such a tendency to be a sin and blas-phemous because it denied the positive meaning of the spiritual existence of human being, traditional Christianity became a yoke impeding people’s pursuit of secular existence. The humanism of the period of the Renaissance was a critique and correction of such a tradition, and a secularization of human existence. With the deve-lopment of the tendency toward secularization and the emergence of nation states, the Reformation in Christianity resulted in Prote-stantism which criticized decadence in the Catholic Church and its interference in secular affairs; it looked down on external forms and attached importance to internal faith. Protestantism approved the tendency to secularization which it implemented in religion, thereby adjusting the religious tradition of the Middle Ages to the secularization of human life. With the bourgeois revolution, this trend was fixed in the form of law.
The industrial revolution and the beginning of modernization engendered tremendous changes in the conditions of human existence which were a great shock to the world. Reason and science in the Western tradition gradually assumed dominance and controlled almost all of Western thought from the 17th to the 19th century. Philosophy also assumed the rigor and accuracy of science to be the goal that it should pursue, so that in the Enlightenment reason became almost a substitute for God.
By the end of the 20th century the achievement of moder-nization gives birth to the post-modern society in the Western world and human existence finds itself in a completely new situa-tion. On the one hand, the needs of material existence have been met to an unprecedented degree and the power to control nature has greatly developed; on the other hand, the image of God lost the aura it always possessed, individuals sank into a mass, and reason surpressed the emotions, freedom and desires of human being. How can the human being exist under such a condition? The cries of relativism and "God is dead" resounded through the Western world. Modern Western thought now is newly greatly concerned with the situation of human existence and the problems it faces; profound introspection and critique of the Wester tradition is underway.
In China, tradition has shown great tenacity, but it could not be insensitive to the new situation faced by the Chinese nation. The most influential among the cultural factors making up Chinese tradition was Confucianism which tried to provide a political-ethical ideal and a series of principles for its realization. In its history of more than 2000 years Confucianism has undergone several transformations and renewals in a process from Confucius and Mencius to the Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming Dy-nasties, and thence to contemporary Neo-Confucianism. All these transformations and renewals followed changes in the life situation of the Chinese nation, the former being a response to the latter.
But Confucianism is not a synonym for the Chinese tradition which includes also such other schools as Taoism, Mohism, Lega-lism, Buddhism and Logicianism, etc. With Confucianism these formed the body of the Chinese tradition which, like the Confucian tradition, also has undergone several transformations and re-newals. Typically these were expressed in the prosperity of the various schools of thought from pre-Qin times to the early years of the Han Dynasty, and in the spread of Buddhism during the period of the Shui and Tang Dynasties as well as in the process by which the Chinese people have been attempting to overcome the predi-cament of the Chinese nation.
The above discussion makes it clear that tradition always develops along with changes in the situation of human beings, indeed only in such unceasing transformation and renewal can a people find the vitality for its existence and continuity. No tradition that can meet the needs of human existence absolutely because no tradition can be absolutely perfect. Only a process of continuous improvement is possible, though this can never arrive at an abso-lutely perfect state. Once a tradition becomes absolutely perfect, it loses its vitality, for the absolutely perfect state fully excludes the possibility of development, whereas the vitality of tradition lies in development.
It must be pointed out that there is a notion that once a tradition has come into being, it transcends and controls the human being who is seen as a result or a tool that tradition can manipulate absolutely. Thus the activities and existence of human beings can be only a means for realizing the intrinsic principles of a tradition they can never transcend. Tradition in this sense seems to cor-respond to Hegel’s Absolute Idea. Nevertheless the Absolute Idea is logically prior to nature, society and human beings, whereas tradition cannot be beyond history. The notion in question com-pletely neglects and forgets the subjective creativity of the human being and the tremendous influence of his or her activities on tra-dition, that is, it forgets the very important fact that tradition is also the result of the activities of human beings.
Indeed, human beings are always affected by tradition, but tradition is not simply the ossified norms and principles indepen-dent of human beings. More importantly tradition is also a living thing expressed in human activities. When tradition cannot cope with the new situation and the problems faced in human existence, new norms and principles appear which are expressed in one’s activities in life. In these, therefore, on the one hand, the human being is affected by tradition, while on the other hand, he or she transforms and renews tradition according to the needs of his or her existence.
If we take tradition as an eternal and unchangeable substance, we cannot explain either the transformation and renewal of tradition in the course of its development or the fact that there is not only the Western tradition in a general sense, but also particular traditions such as the German, French, British, American, etc. The reason why these different nations in the circle of the Western tradition have their own characteristics is that the situation and pro-blems which they face are different. They make different choices because of different situations and problems, which manifests the deeply subjective force that transforms and renews tradition.
TRADITION AND MODERNIZATION
How should we understand the relation between tradition and modernization? Broadly speaking, modernization also includes the modernization of tradition. If modernization is an approval of a higher sphere of human existence, tradition should be subject and adaptable to the requirements of modernization. Both tradition and modernization are rooted in the needs of human existence: the former is rooted in the historical needs of human existence, the latter in its actual needs. The historical needs of human existence should be subordinated to the actual ones because the latter contains the former within itself and therefore is the higher form of human life; hence tradition must be subordinated to modernization. A modernized tradition is the one which is adaptable to the actual needs of human existence and is vital. The modernization process of every country implies a certain transformation and renewal of its tradition.
This understanding of the relation between tradition and mo-dernization is based on the standpoint which treats tradition from the point of view of the needs of human life. In the final analysis, tradition is nothing but the means of meeting the needs of human existence. If we separate tradition from the problems of human existence and regard it as an unchangeable metaphysical substance, then we will subordinate modernization to tradition; modernization thus becomes a means by which tradition is safeguarded and main-tained. However, if we treat modernization in this way, certainly we will neither achieve authentic modernization with vitality and continuity. The Westernization movement of 19th century China provides an example of this.
In a sense the Westernization movement could be regarded as the beginning of the modernization of China, as a beginning un-doubtedly it had a notable influence on the history of modern Chinese society. But the misfortune of the movement was between tradition and modernization: they took modernization as a means to safeguard and intensify the feudal tradition of China. The guiding principle of the movement was "Chinese Body with Western Fun-ction", which was to advocate maintaining the Chinese traditional system while using the Western technology and industry. To mo-dernize China then was to introduce Western functions into China in order to safeguard Chinese Body. They did not realize that the "Chinese Body" would become the impediment and yoke to intro-ducing the "Western Function", or that "Western Function" would give the "Chinese Body" a great shock. The crushing defeat of China in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 shattered their dream and made the Chinese people reconsider in the light of this very painful experience the relation between tradition and moder-nization, and between these two and the crisis of national existence.
It must be pointed out that there is an inclination to criticize and even deny modernization from the point of view of tradition since modernization has to some extent led to the disintegration of tradition. This critique focuses its attention on the negative pheno-mena which have appeared in the course of modernization. These can be helpful for our reflection and evaluation of tradition, which it treats, however, primarily from the point of view of tradition rather than of human existence. Even when it does treat the latter point of view, its consideration of modernization is very one-sided because it claims that modernization has brought many unpre-cedented and insurmountable disasters.
Modern civilization was the product of modernization, which brought with it an intense inclination to criticize and reject it. This was expressed typically in eulogies of the state of nature and of returning back to nature. However, by taking too simple a path one cannot understand the influence of modernization and civilization on the conditions of human existence. It cannot be denied that modernization has brought human beings many problems and puzzles which they never meet before, such as the control of people by industry, the harmful influence of industrialization on the na-tural environment of human existence (environmental pollution), the tremendous consumption of energy resources and the threat of nuclear war.
How should we treat this problem? Is it logical and rea-sonable to think that such a great historical change as moderni-zation should bring only happiness without accompanying negative factors? Some problems which have appeared in the course of mo-dernization are not certainly associated with modernization itself, but are caused by human error and negligence. Moreover, the pro-cess of human existence, like that of the individual, cannot all be smooth. One may avoid many dangers by closing oneself in a safe, but no one could bear such a state of existence; this is impossible because in order to exist one has to plunge into a world filled with dangers and uncertainties. If one were to shackle oneself in pre-industrial society, even in the state of nature, one could avoid many dangers and troubles in modern society, but could not ensure having less dangers and predicaments: a terrible epidemic that pre-industrial society could not overcome could threaten equally the existence of all of humanity; the rigorous burdens of nature that modern society can bear would make pre-industrial society gasp for breath. Our forefathers who wandered in the primitive forests would not have tasted the bitterness brought by industrial po-llution, but they had to bear heavy burdens from nature.
To a great extent modern society alleviated the heavy burden born by human existence in pre-industrial society. It has extended greatly the life expectancy and abilities of people, and in an unpre-cedented manner it has displayed the wisdom and creativity of hu-man beings, opening thereby wide horizons. Indeed, some people do die in traffic and electrical accidents every day, but the auto-mobile and electricity as one of the most important means of travel and a most powerful energy resource, respectively, have brought human beings much greater advantages than disadvantages; they have made real many dreams, which were only illusions in pre-industrial society. Who can deny the reasonableness of the exist-ence of automobile and electricity, because of their harmful side effects? Some people argue that the socialized production of mo-dern society shackles the freedom and subjectivity of individual. But we would ask what freedom the individual had in Giordano Bruno’s society which brought fire and death upon those who dared to advocated science and truth? In the society in which God was regarded as absolute and omnipotent, the ultimate of values, what subjectivity had the individual? In the times of despotism in which the king was regarded as the incarnation of an absolute power, what freedom did the individual possess?
Some would disguise themselves as spokesmen for the whole human being, but they refuse to accept what they want the whole human being to accept; they display little hesitation or conflict of conscience. Is this not a very great paradox? Those who strongly eulogize the state of nature and vehemently state the evils of modern society always choose the latter without hesitation when the choice is between a thatched cottage close to nature and a luxury modernized building far from nature; they violently criti-cize industrialization but seize every chance to chase after all the comforts it provides. In China, registered permanent city residence is controlled very strictly, and the higher the degree of moderni-zation of a city the stricter is such control. The change of one’s re-gistered permanent residence in the countryside into a city gene-rally is regarded as a pleasure and glory; the life of city has very great attraction for the peasants who are close to nature and soil, but the life of the countryside has no such attraction to those living in a city. This is clear from the intense inclination of school graduates to return back to the cities where they were born and lived pre-viously. There is then little attraction by the conditions of human existence provided by pre-industrial society.
The discussion about modernization above did not argue in favor of the negative phenomena which appeared in the course of modernization, but showed that these phenomena occurred in the course of human striving. Problems and predicaments are unavoid-able because existence itself means striving, which is to face problems and predicaments. The human being can never arrive at a state in which there are no problems and predicaments; such a state is only an ideal goal which can never be embodied in any real form. When, however, it is recognized that the problems and predica-ments do occur in human activities, human beings are able to re-solve and transcend them in their exercise of existence; the history of this existence is precisely the process in which the problems and predicaments unceasingly are resolved and transcended. This pro-cess unfolds in the form "predicament -- the solution of predi-cament -- new predicament. . . ." From the point of view of the evolution of tradition it unfolds in the form "the crisis of tradition -- the elimination of the crisis (the transformation of tradition) -- the new crisis of tradition. As tradition is formed in the course of surmounting predicaments, it should be subordinated and subject to the requirements of surmounting predicaments. There is no need for us to escape the actual predicaments of human life and even to retreat into the fortress of history in order to seek protection. Modern society is born in the course of surmounting the predica-ments that human beings faced in the previous society it has transcended; likewise, modern society certainly will be trans-cended by a post modern society born in the course of surmounting the predicaments of human existence in modern society.
[ 本帖最后由 jingjingtous 于 2006-7-16 23:33 编辑 ]
继续
MODERNIZATION AS A SYNTHETIC PROCESSThe process of modernization of China began with the West-ernization Movement in the 19th century. The Movement took place under the historical circumstances of an intensifying conflict between China and the West and the encounter by the Chinese nation and tradition of a very serious challenge and crisis. The pur-pose of modernization was to enrich China and strengthen its military power by learning from Western industry and technology. At that time, the crisis of Chinese tradition expressed by the con-flict was not very obvious: therefore the Westernization Movement primarily regarded China’s crisis as one of material instruments. The power displayed by the industrialization and gunboat policy of the West made them think that what made the West stronger than China was its advanced technology and such powerful material instruments as gunboats, etc. Therefore, so long as China used the Western material instruments and followed the example of its industrial technology, it could enrich the country, strengthen its military power, and obtain an impregnable position in the conflict with the West. As they considered the tradition of China to be better than that of the West, the Movement must follow the principle "Chinese Body with Western Function." But the complete defeat of China in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 proved them wrong and urged the Chinese people to reflect further on the crisis China faced in its conflict with the West. The reform Movement of 1898 was the important result of such reflection.
The reformists thought that what made the West stronger than China was not only Western advanced material instruments, but also its advanced economic and political systems, with the latter being much more important than the former. In order to overcome the crisis, China had to introduce not only the former, but also the latter. The mistake made by the practitioners of the Westernization Movement was fully to deny the importance of introducing the Western economic and political systems. The success of the Meiji Reformation of Japan in 1868 held very great attraction for the reformists in China, who advocated practicing Western economic and political systems, while looking upon constitutional monarchy with reserve. They advanced many reform plans, but could not avoid their being aborted by conservative feudal forces.
After the failure of the Reform Movement, it gradually be-came a tendency to rescue China from crisis by political means as advocated and practiced by the revolutionaries led by Dr. Sun Yat-sen. They maintained that only by fully revolutionizing the po-litical and economic systems of China, that is to say, only by over-throwing the feudal system of the Qing Dynasty and founding a de-mocratic republic could China overcome its crisis. The Revolution of 1911 finally overthrew the feudal system which had governed China for more than 2000 years, but the revolution did not fully realize the revolutionaries’ ideal: Yuan Shi-kai’s restoration of monarchy, the decadent rule of the Northern Government, the long separatist regimes and the web of warfare by warlords, etc., still immersed China in a dual crisis coming both from home and from abroad.
The debate about the issue of culture during the period of the May 4th Movement occurred under just such circumstances. It was a debate, between two basic schools: one traditional, the other mo-dern. The former advocated defending Chinese tradition, the latter advocated practicing westernization and rejecting the tradition. Regarding the problem of culture and the future of China, the two schools waged a tit-for-tat struggle against each other; however, they had a common point, namely both treated the crisis of China as one of culture and therefore advocated rescuing China in a cultural way. The traditional school maintained that China had its own special tradition and culture and would no longer be China without them, so it was necessary for China to rejuvenate and carry forward its traditional culture in order to overcome its crisis. The modern school claimed that as Western modernization was based on science, democracy and values, the way to rescue China was to reject its traditional culture and fully practice westernization, that was to say, to introduce completely the spirit of science and demo-cracy and the values of the West.
In the debate about the future of China, there was still another important school, that of communism, which regarded the political way as the essential path to rescue China from crisis. It maintained that only if China accepted Marxism and socialism could it over-come its crisis. In 1949, the political revolution of the Communist Party succeeded. From them on Marxism achieved a dominant place in China, and the Chinese tradition was greatly shocked. In the early years of the foundation of the People’s Republic of China, modernization made a great progress. But in the following, because of the influence of the "Left", class struggle and the political movement took a dominant position. Thus the goal of moderni-zation was postponed in favor of political change and the work of science and the social economy were neglected and even denied. Undoubtedly, this extended the gap between China and the West which had formed during the periods of modernization in the West.
Since the late 1979’s, China began to see modernization as its most important task and accordingly to practice reform and an open policy. This began with the economy. In the course of the reform and openness, the introduction of science and technology were specially emphasized, but the Western political and economical systems and values were to be resisted. As the economic reform unfolded the negative factors of the political superstructure were gradually exposed. If these factors were not eliminated, the eco-nomic reform could not proceed; the task of political reform was put forward under these circumstance.
With the continuous development of the reform movement, there was movement among the traditionalists, which took the problem of the modernization of China to be one of culture. In the debate about culture during the May 4th Movement, some people advocated westernizing China completely, others advocated a return to Chinese traditions. Thus the history in which the Chinese people pursued modernization since the Opium War underwent a very strange circle.
What then is the road to the modernization of China; and how should the tradition be treated? Any discussion of these problems must be based on an understanding of modernization in terms of the actual existence of the Chinese nation. Modernization itself is a means which serves to meet the needs of such an existence. It is reasonable to preserve anything in tradition that is conducive to this end, whereas anything in tradition that is harmful to this end is unreasonable and should be rejected. The attitude towards foreign cultures also should follow this criterion. Regarding tradition, more rational critique and reflection is needed; one should be not swayed by emotions. Tradition should not be regarded as a counter balance to emotions, an escape from ourselves and our actual predi-caments and conflicts, or a self-deceptive means of self-satisfac-tion, self-praise and self-solace. In the attitude of contemporary neo-Confucianism towards tradition, the emotional component is much stronger than rational reflection. Contemporary Neo-Con-fucians approach modernization from the position of tradition and ask people to look upon Chinese tradition with sympathy and respect, which prejudices reflection on the tradition.
Modernization is a complicated synthetic process which con-tains political, economic, social and cultural contents as an inte-grated whole; there would not be real and integral modernization without all these contents. If one sees modernization only as a matter of culture or of the transformation and renewal of tradition, one would neglect the social conditions for the solution of cultural problems and the transformation and renewal of tradition. Moder-nization would then be separated from the whole body of human life. On the contrary, if we see modernization simply as a political and economic matter, namely as the amelioration of the conditions of material human existence, we would have a poor modernization which overlooked the spiritual existence of the human being and the cultural content of modernization.
It is well known that in the course of modernization, the problem of population is a big puzzle for China, and birth control is imperative. This policy goes smoothly in the city, but encounters great resistance in the countryside, especially in very poor regions. Why is there such a striking contrast between the city and the countryside in this regard? There is a notion that the reason why this policy encounters great resistance in the countryside is that the values of tradition seriously control the thinking of the peasants. Is this notion convincing? Of course, the influence of tradition in the countryside is stronger than that in the city, but this cannot explain the above phenomenon. What affects its outlook most strongly is not tradition, but the conditions in which people live. These are much better and more comfortable in the city than for the peasants. City dwellers enjoy many goods, such as public health services, stable salaries, labour insurance, good facilities for everyday life and retirement pay. On the contrary, the peasants do not enjoy these benefits; when they become old and lose their ability to work they have to rely on their sons and daughters for their livelihood. This is much more obvious in regions where the physical environment is arduous and the conditions of human existence require high labour intensity. Thus having children in order to guard against old age is still a reality for many peasants in China.
To see the peasants’ ideas regarding the number of children as the product only of tradition, and to try to change it only through a transformation and renewal of tradition is to attend to trifles to the neglect of the essentials. If the conditions in which the peasants live are not changed their ideas on the number of children could not be changed essentially. There is a strikingly general phenomenon in the world today: the poorer an area is, the higher its birthrate; the countries and areas whose birthrates are the highest are almost all in Asia and Africa. On the other hand, the developed countries, especially the Western ones, have a very low birthrate, while some developed countries such as Germany have minus growth in popu-lation; this is very closely associated with the conditions of human existence in these countries with modernization: to a great extent the standard of people’s material life has been raised. Giving birth to children in order to guard against old age is seen as stratagem, and some people even see having children as unpleasant burden of existence. Therefore, the outlook on children is primarily not one of ideas or of tradition, but of existence. This requires that we lift it to the high plane of human existence and cope with it in various ways.
It is well known that the modernization of education and science as well as technology are essential to a country’s moder-nization. China is a country with numerous illiterates; many child-ren are unable to go to school or are obliged to discontinue their studies in some areas of the countryside. This is associated pri-marily with the conditions in which these children live. Some very backward countryside regions lack the conditions for running a school. According to statistics, among all chinese schools (include elementary and middle schools) those in the countryside make up only one-third of the total, while the population in the countryside is four times that of the cities. In the countryside, especially in the very poor regions, backward conditions of human existence have cultivated a backward outlook of education, which is held in low esteem. Education and knowledge are not related because under the circumstance, manual production by the individual is the essential way of making a livelihood. Some simple tools, a tract of land, ordinary experience and physical strength: the simple combination of these factors can meet the requirements of this way of making a living. Therefore, if it be thought that the elimination of illiteracy and the intensification of education in the countryside are only an educational task, the backwardness of education in the countryside cannot be overcome.
In sum, on the one hand, the transformation and renewal of tradition are conditions of modernization, on the other hand, mo-dernization is the foundation and impetus by which the trans-formation and renewal of tradition are realized in reality. These two processes condition one another in the course of meeting the needs of human existence. China must take the four modernization as an integral process including political, economic, social and cultural content, and treat their interrelation from the point of view of human life.
参考资料word文档下载：
[ 本帖最后由 jingjingtous 于 2006-7-16 23:39 编辑 ] jingjingGG好样的！大家加油！ SEAT TAKEN~
辛苦斑竹们了~ Gorgeous.... 等着占位子呢//~~~
困困。。
谢谢YY提供第一手消息
交作业咯
Outline：
1。让步，传统和现代有时候的确有冲突
2。传统是现代的基础
3。现代给传统带来新生
https://bbs.gter.net/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=497689&extra=page%3D1
请各位在我贴子里留下连接哈：）
[ 本帖最后由 dicmi 于 2006-7-19 13:48 编辑 ] 发个我写的，不过我写的是完全反对。。。https://bbs.gter.net/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=488840&extra=page%3D1
交作业哩~
jingjing一出场总是动静比较大滴;P谢谢大家，帮忙看看啊，呵呵~
提纲：
1. 承认有些传统的东西是与现代不相容的，必须被废除弃用。
2. 但是并不是所有的传统都与现代不相容。一方面，传统的很多东西对现代的东西还有着影响，现代的东西包含着传统的因素。
3. 另一方面，传统和现代即使截然不同，也不一定不相容，非要选其一，而是可以都来为人类服务。
全文：
https://bbs.gter.net/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=496654&extra=page%3D1
[ 本帖最后由 winnie_nn 于 2006-7-17 20:18 编辑 ] 11th
up
哭了，本来我要加这个精华了，+手脚利索，下次我来抢……不然估计没机会了，嘿嘿
[ 本帖最后由 11yaoyao 于 2006-7-17 00:32 编辑 ] 望斑斑指点～！
https://bbs.gter.net/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=498851&highlight=147%2Bxmbjowl
[ 本帖最后由 xmbjowl 于 2006-7-23 16:05 编辑 ] 厉害 seated 先占个座，下午写这篇
真是抱歉了，这么久才贴上。找了不少的例，不过也累死了。
最后欢迎和大家互拍
https://bbs.gter.net/bbs/viewthread.php?tid=497743&extra=page%3D1
[ 本帖最后由 zhaobotju 于 2006-7-19 15:07 编辑 ]