issue207 [ dies in flames] by winning1030

winning1030UID: 2538401

207.Rituals and ceremonies help define a culture. Without them, societies or groups of people have a diminished sense of who they are.



A sense of who we are is closely related to our cultures. The content of the sense involves the sense of national identity, the ultimate goal of humanity as well as the knowledge about the unknown world which are all embodied in the cultures. Thus, the deep understanding about the roots, development and connotations of the culture along with the identification and pride based on the former must be got in order to acquire the sense of who we are. Rituals and ceremonies, which are the manifestation of behaviors and the external features of the beliefs, the consciousness and regulations of societies or groups, to a large extent, are the carriers of the cultures. Therefore, the exploration of rituals and ceremonies are dispensable to define the cultures.

Considering different points of emphasis, I divide rituals and ceremonies into two kinds: religious ones and public ones.

Religious culture is a most important element of cultures. Original culture of religion is the start of the civilization of man, which is a rife cultural phenomena in human societies in the meantime. In the early time of human societies, man was filled with the sense of wonder and owe to the nature. With the limit in cognitive ability, mystique felt by our ancestors appeared and then followed the natural worship. At that time, original cultures, the distinct knowledge system of the nature, inner need of forbears included, through singing, dancing, symbolic behaviors and so on, are expressed in religious rituals and ceremonies, for instance, the worship for totem. As history goes forward, more values, world outlook, aesthetics and spiritual pursuit have been injected into rituals and ceremonies in which also recorded the changes and the development of the culture. In a nutshell, ritual and ceremonies are an epitome of human cultures. Clearly, as a significant carrier of culture, they reserve the civilization, help define the culture and provide people with the chances to appreciate their culture, which means the loss of rituals and ceremonies will end with the group's absence in their sense of who they are.


As for public ones, they enforce the national cohesion and show the desire for humanity, such as peace, tolerance, virtue, which people all around the world expect in common so that participants identify with the culture gradually in the process at the sacred atmosphere. This principle can be well explained according to need-hierarchy by Abraham Harold Maslow, a famous Humanistic psychologist. The theory proposed five needs of human beings in ascending order of : physiological needs, safety needs, love and belong needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs. In these needs, only self-actualization needs stand for high need about superiority. His another theory peak experience based on need - hierarchy theory points out that peak experience appears at the most exciting moment in the activities of self-actualization, which is the most perfect and most harmonious state. People can realize the truth, the good and the beautiful spontaneously in the state and the experience in the process completely transcend fame and gain, time and space together with life and death. Actually, peak experience is always achieved in rituals and ceremonies. The scared and grave atmosphere make the participants express strong urge to identify with the culture. As the advancement of the process, people's perceptive degrees will deepen and cultural identification will be reached. Looking at the grand ceremony of the return of Hong Kong, "9.11" anniversary memorial or the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in 2008 in Beijing, it's easy to find people's aversion to wars, desire for freedom and peace as well as the harmonious world. People in such rituals and ceremonies can easily have an intense national cohesion. As a result, without public rituals and ceremonies, the sense of national identity can be weakened.



Rituals and ceremonies are the real monument of cultures" said a famous French scholar k.M.Schipper. Maybe it's a litter exaggerated but, to an extent, reveal the significance of cultural continuity. In conclusion, since rituals and ceremonies are the reflection of cultures and contribute to the national cohesion, their loss can lead to a diminished sense of who we are.

Alex_2009UID: 2616286

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207.Rituals and ceremonies help define a culture. Without them, societies or groups of people have a diminished sense of who they are.

A sense of who we are is closely related to our cultures. The content of the sense involves the sense of national identity, the ultimate goal of humanity as well as the knowledge about the unknown world which are all embodied in the cultures. Thus, the deep understanding about the roots, development and connotations of the culture along with the identification and pride based on the former must be got in order to acquire the sense of who we are. Rituals and ceremonies, which are the manifestation of behaviors and the external features of the beliefs, the consciousness and regulations of societies or groups, to a large extent, are the carriers of the cultures. Therefore, the exploration of rituals and ceremonies are dispensable to define the cultures.

Considering different points of emphasis, I divide rituals and ceremonies into two kinds: religious ones and public ones.(明智的选择)

Religious culture is a（one of the） most important elements of cultures. Original culture of religion is the start of the civilization of man, which is a rife cultural phenomena in human societies in the meantime. In the early time of human societies, man was filled with the sense of wonder and owe to the nature. With the limit in cognitive ability, mystique felt by our ancestors appeared and then followed the natural worship. At that time, original cultures, the distinct knowledge system of the nature, inner need of forbears included, through singing, dancing, symbolic behaviors and so on, are expressed in religious rituals and ceremonies, for instance, the worship for totem. As history goes forward, more values, world outlook, aesthetics and spiritual pursuit have been injected into rituals and ceremonies in which also recorded the changes and the development of the culture. In a nutshell, ritual and ceremonies are an epitome of human cultures. Clearly, as a significant carrier of culture, they reserve the civilization, help define the culture and provide people with the chances to appreciate their culture, which means the loss of rituals and ceremonies will end with the group's absence in their sense of who they are.（这段分析的很不错，很透彻）

As for public ones, they enforce the national cohesion and show the desire for humanity, such as peace, tolerance, virtue, which people all around the world expect in common so that participants identify with the culture gradually in the process at the sacred atmosphere. This principle can be well explained according to need-hierarchy by Abraham Harold Maslow, a famous Humanistic psychologist. The theory proposed five needs of human beings in ascending order of : physiological needs, safety needs, love and belong needs, esteem needs and self-actualization needs. In these needs, only self-actualization needs stand for high need about superiority. His another theory peak experience based on need - hierarchy theory points out that peak experience appears at the most exciting moment in the activities of self-actualization, which is the most perfect and most harmonious state. People can realize the truth, the good and the beautiful spontaneously in the state and the experience in the process completely transcend fame and gain, time and space together with life and death. （到这里为止，感觉论述的很详细，但是总感觉有点过了，太深了或者说这里有点像科技说明文了）Actually, peak experience is always achieved in rituals and ceremonies.(这里开始切入) The scared and grave atmosphere make the participants express strong urge to identify with the culture. As the advancement of the process, people's perceptive degrees will deepen and cultural identification will be reached. （这里开始举例子）Looking at the grand ceremony of the return of Hong Kong, "9.11" anniversary memorial or the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in 2008 in Beijing, it's easy to find people's aversion to wars, desire for freedom and peace as well as the harmonious world. People in such rituals and ceremonies can easily have an intense national cohesion. As a result, without public rituals and ceremonies, the sense of national identity can be weakened.

"Rituals and ceremonies are the real monument of cultures" said a famous French scholar k.M.Schipper. Maybe it's a litter(little) exaggerated but, to an extent(这个说法貌似，我只知道有to some extent), reveal the significance of cultural continuity. In conclusion, since rituals and ceremonies are the reflection of cultures and contribute to the national cohesion, their loss can lead to a diminished sense of who we are.

个人看法：整体感觉行文很流畅，分析的very deep，很透彻，很赞，但是话又说回来，总觉得本文缺少了一些东西，应有的一些波澜起伏，作者自己的观点体现的不是很足（主要表现在做develop的时候好像少了点对比）。

说句实话，作者写成这样已经很不错了，我个人对这篇文章觉得很难去把握，作者这样分开来讲不失为一种好办法。