生命第二周期

日前，工人党在国会提到政府应该投资更多于老年人。可惜这个课题不受媒体注意，报道不多，讨论的人也不多。

不过，为了不让这个重要课题就这样静悄悄被忽视，我在这里提出生命第二周期概念以及其经济意义。

可以说，目前我们整个社会文化经济制度都是基于生命一周期理念。孔子的十五立志于学，三十而立至七十而从心所欲，是生命一个周期的典型述说。

可是随着科技的发达，人类一般可以获得更久，更长命。以前那种人生七十古来稀的观念已经不能反应当代的状况了。

我碰到不少70多80岁的老人，他们基本身体健康，思路也十分清晰。这些人有两种情况：经济不好的，继续工作为生活奔波，经济好的退休，无事可做，就算想出来做一些事也缺乏正确心态，社会上对这些想干一番事业的人也持怀疑态度。

如果我们可以把＂人生一百古来稀＂当作当代人生顶点＂来考虑，或许我们可以对生命周期有一番新思维，甚至可以考虑如何建立一个生命第二周期的社会制度。

如果把50当一个生命周期，那么第一周期到了50知天命刚刚好就算第一周期的结束，也是一个人思考如何完成自己生命第二周期的起点。在第二周期开始耳顺之年的人应该可以有能力自己计划与决定他们生命第二周期的目标与活动。

生命第二周期的经济与潜能应该比第一周期的更大与更有创造性，因为生命第二周期的人的起步会更好更快。

第二生命周期：60而再学，70而再立，80而重生，90而耳顺，100而从心所欲，不逾矩。

李斯：谏逐客书 Lisi: Advising Against Driving Away Foreign Talents

最近，外来人才又成为新加坡民间的热门话题。可是，这并不是一个新话题，在2千多年前的中国，秦国首相李斯就写了《谏逐客书》来劝秦始皇不要驱逐外国的人才，而秦始皇也接受了他的劝告。以下是该问的摘要：

臣闻吏议逐客，窃以为过矣。

昔穆公求士，西取由余於戎，东得百里奚於宛，迎蹇叔於宋，求丕豹、公孙支於晋。此五子者，不产於秦，而穆公用之，并国二十，遂霸西戎。

孝公用商鞅之法，移风易俗，民以殷盛，国以富强，百姓乐用，诸侯亲服，获楚、魏之师，举地千里，至今治强。

惠王用张仪之计，拔三川之地，西并巴、蜀，北收上郡，南取汉中，包九夷，制鄢、郢，东据城皋之险，割膏腴之壤，遂散六国之纵（合纵），使之西面事秦，功施到今。

昭王得范雎，废穰侯，逐华阳，强公室，杜私门，蚕食诸侯，使秦成帝业。

此四君者，皆以客之功。由此观之，客何负於秦哉！向使四君却客而不纳，疏士而不用，是使国无富利之实，而秦无强大之名也。…..

臣闻地广者粟多，国大者人众，兵强者士勇。是以泰山不让土壤，故能成其大；河海不择细流，故能就其深；王者不却众庶，故能明其德。是以地无四方，民无异国，四时充美，鬼神降福，此五帝、三王之所以无敌也。今乃弃黔首以资敌国，却宾客以业诸侯，使天下之士退而不敢西向，裹足不入秦，此所谓‘藉寇兵而赍盗粮’者也。

夫物不产於秦，可宝者多；士不产於秦，而愿忠者众。今逐客以资敌国，损民以益仇，内自虚而外树怨於诸侯，求国无危，不可得也。

注：由余：晋国人，先是在西戎任职，后来秦穆公设法使他投奔秦国。百里奚：楚国人，原为虞国的大夫，晋灭虞后，把他作为陪嫁的奴隶送给秦国。后来楚地的宛地，被楚国边境的人俘获。秦穆公用五张黑羊皮将他赎回，并封为大夫。迎蹇叔：原为岐人，旅居宋国，由于百里奚的推荐，秦穆公派人花重金请去做了大夫。丕豹：晋大夫丕郑的儿子，丕郑被晋惠公杀，丕豹逃到秦。公孙支：原是晋人，后来归秦，为秦大夫。商鞅：卫国人，姓公孙，名鞅。入秦后，被秦孝公重用，实行变法，有大功。因为封地叫商，故称商鞅，又称商君。张仪：魏国人，秦惠王任为丞相，他用连横的策略帮助秦分化瓦解东方六国，使它们服从秦国。范雎：魏国人，秦昭王用为相。他提出远交近攻的策略，帮助秦国统一天下。穰侯：秦昭王的舅父，曾为相国。华阳：秦昭王的舅父。

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In Singapore, the issue of attracting foreign talents has become a hot topic of discussion among the people again. However, this is not a new topic in history. More than two thousand years ago in China, Prime Minister Lisi once wrote to the First Emperor to advise him not to drive away the foreign born talents and the First Emperor accepted his advice. The following is his main argument:

I have heard that many officials have discussed the need to dismiss their foreign clients (talents), but I dare to think that this is a bad thing to do.

In the past, when Lord Mu was searching for distinguished men, he found You Yu from western Rong and Bai Lixi from Wan, he welcomed Jian Shu from Song, and he spotted Pi Pao and Gongsun Zhi in the kingdom of Jin. Although these five gentlemen were not born in Qin, Lord Mu used them and thus was able to annex twelve countries, and Qin emerged as a strong country in the western Rong.

Lord Xiao implemented the new legal system of Shang Yang and as a result, our old customs and habits were either changed or eliminated, and thus enabled our people to live better life. With this, our country is stronger and more prosperous. Our people are then happy to join the armed forces, and our neighbouring countries are willing to listen to us. After we defeated Chu and Wei, we occupied more that thousand square kilometres of land, and today our country are still strong and well managed.

King Hui adopted Zhang Yi’s strategy and thus occupied many territories around the Sanchuan River. We also annexed Ba and Shu in the west, Shang Jun in the north, and Han Zhong in the south. We conquered many minority races (tribes), controlled two major cities Yan and Ying, and occupied Cheng Gao in the east. A lot of fertile lands were seized, the alliance of six countries was dissolved and these countries were forced to pledge their allegiance to Qin. The impacts of the strategy have lasted even until today.

King Zhao employed Fan Sui and discharged his corrupt uncles Ranghou and Huayang, only to eliminate unauthorized behaviour and to invigorate the strength of the ruling family's position. He devoured the territories of the feudal lords and made the house of Qin able to become emperors.

These four rulers were successful because of their foreign advisors. From this aspect, how could the foreign advisors let the rulers of Qin down? If these four rulers would not have employed and incorporated foreign consultants in their courts, the state of Qin would not be as rich and prosperous as it is now, and Qin would not be a strong and powerful country…..

I have heard that a country with ample land and fields can grow abundant grain, a state with a vast territory can accommodate many inhabitants, and a strong army will have brave soldiers. Equally, the Mount Tai is large because it was not picky about the size of its rocks. All the rivers and seas run deep for they do not reject small streams. And a king can manifest his virtue only by not driving out the inhabitants of his country. Therefore, it is important not to stretch a country all over the world, and not to make people become estranged to their country; and only then, the four seasons will be completed and beautiful, the spirits and gods will grant good luck, and all will be like during the age of the Five mythical Emperors and the Three holy Kings (of Xia, Shang and Zhou), who are invincible in this world. If your majesty now would dismiss your foreign advising clients (talents), they would be a fortune for your enemies' countries. If you would allow people of ability under Heaven to draw back from your court and not to come here to the west, they would not put one step on the ground of your state of Qin. That would be tantamount to lending weapons to robbers and giving grain to the bandits who robbed Qin.

A lot of products may not be produced in Qin, but they can be treasured by us; many wise people may not be born in Qin, but they are willing to serve our country with loyalty. Now if we dismiss these people, they will become the treasure of other kingdom, this is to disadvantage us and benefit our enemies. This is amounting to weaken us internally and causing unhappiness among our dukes and princes. Under such circumstances, how can we avoid danger to our country?

双语推迟痴呆病情的发作 Bilingualism: Delay the Onset of Alzheimer’s Symptoms

加拿大多伦多贝克列斯特老人护理中心罗特曼研究所，一所研究人类脑功能的国际中心，的一项研究显示讲两种语言可把老年老年痴呆症（学名为阿兹罕默症）发作时间推迟五年。研究员是检查了211名老年失智症患者的医疗报告后才得出这个结论的。目前，还没有药物可以推迟老年痴呆症的发作。

这项研究重新证明了2007年约克大学比亚韦斯托克教授所领导的一项研究。该项研究发现讲两者语言的痴呆病人比起只讲一种语言的病人，病情发作推迟。比起单语病人，双语病人的发作推迟了四年。

无论他们的语言能力如何，痴呆病人的脑还是会继续恶化；但是双语病人在遗失记忆、混淆、难以解决问题与计划事务等症状方面，看来推迟。

约克大学心理学教授兼罗特曼研究所科学家比亚韦斯托克教授说：‘所有参与这项研究的病人都被诊断为痴呆症病患者，所以很明显的，应有双语并不能避免痴呆病的发作。而是说，我们研究的结果显示，一生使用双语者累积了一种大脑认知贮备，帮助他们在病症发作之前，可以较长的时间来对抗病情。’

虽然双语病人的病情亦会恶化，研究员相信应用超过一种语言会为他们装备了补偿性能力，把遗失记忆、混淆等等病状控制。

这两项研究指明必须把双语使用当作是健康地老化的一种重要工具，和其他活动如运动、饮食、生活习惯等等一起应用。现在，我们有很好理由鼓励生活在多元文化社会里的人们继续讲母语，并传授给他们的孩子。

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A study conducted by researchers at the Toronto based Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care’s Rotman Research Institute, a premier international centre for the study of human brain function, suggests that speaking two languages can help delay the onset of Alzheimer's symptoms by as long as five years. The researchers came to the conclusion after examined clinical records of 211 patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. There are currently no drug treatments that can delay the symptoms of Alzheimer's.

The study replicated findings from a 2007 study led by Ellen Bialystok of York University that found bilingual dementia patients experienced a delayed onset of their symptoms compared to monolingual patients. It found that bilingual patients delayed the onset of their symptoms by four years compared to monolingual patients.

The subjects' brains still showed deterioration from Alzheimer's regardless of language skills, however bilingualism appeared to have delayed symptoms such as memory loss, confusion, and difficulties with problem-solving and planning.

Ellen Bialystok, professor of psychology in York’s Faculty of Health and associate scientist at the Rotman Research Institute, said, “All the patients in the study had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, so clearly bilingualism does not prevent the onset of dementia. Instead, our results show that people who have been lifelong bilinguals have built up a cognitive reserve that allows them to cope with the disease for a longer period of time before showing symptoms.”

While the brains of bilingual patients did show deterioration, researchers believe that the use of more than one language equips them with compensatory skills that keep symptoms like memory loss and confusion in check.

Both studies point to the need to treat bilingualism as an important tool for healthy aging, along with exercise, diet, and other lifestyle choices. Now, there is a good reason to encourage people in multicultural societies to keep speaking their native tongue and pass it along to their children.

中国广东省的方言 Dialects in China’s Guangdong Province

最近，有关中国广东省主要电视台的节目应以中国官方语言普通话为主的建议，引起省内市民的关注，担心粤语会被弱化。

在新加坡，一位姓蓝的读者于八月五日写给《海峡时报》，谈广东省的方言。以下是该文主要内容：

人们有一个普遍的错误观念，以为粤人是中国广东省主要居民；而事实是，省内有三大族群：粤人、客家人、潮州人。

粤语是古代越国语衍生出的一种方言。古代越人居住于现在的广东、广西与越南北部。越人很可能采用中国书写文字，但却保留了他们本身的语言。所以，粤语并不是唯一保留古代中国文字的语言。

其实，从中原搬迁过来的客家人，他们客家话可以说是真正的保留了中国古代语言。

古代中国的政权集中在中原，也就是现在的西安与洛阳。中国的主要语言应该是该地的语言。客家人自中原搬迁到南方，居住于与外隔绝的山地中，他们很可能保存了中国古代文化与语言。

有关粤人发动了动摇满清政权的主要历史事件的说法，是值得进一步考证的。

这些事件的领导人如洪秀全与孙中山等固然是来自广东，他们都是客家人。粤语成为播音界主要语言是因为它是香港主要的语言。香港溢出效应弱化了其他主要方言，如客家话与潮语。

所以，粤人对以普通话来播音的建议迅速提出抗议，他们也应该知道由于粤语的强势，其他主要方言因而受害。

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Recently, proposals for Guangdong's main television company to broadcast primarily in Mandarin – China's official language – have caused concerns among people in the province, who fear that Cantonese is being sidelined.

In Singapore, Lester Lam wrote to The Straits Times on 5 August 2010 to talk about the dialects spoken in Guangdong Province. Below are extracts of his letter:

There is a common misconception that southern China’s Guangdong province is overwhelmingly Cantonese, when it is actually peopled by three main dialect groups: the Cantonese, the Hakkas and the Teochews.

…… Cantonese is the derivative of the language spoken by the ancient Yue, who populated present-day Guangdong, Guangxi and northern Vietnam. The Yue would most likely have adopted the common written Chinese language but retained their language. So, the retention of ancient words in Chinese dialects is not unique in Cantonese.

In fact, the Hakkas, who migrated south from China’s central plains, can truly claim to retain the ancient Chinese language in the Hakka dialect.

Power in ancient China was focused in central China, in present day Xi-an and Luoyang. The dominant language there would have been the dialect of that area. As the Hakkas were central Chinese migrants who remained isolated in the mountains of southern China, they could well have preserved the culture and language of ancient China.

(The) claim that several historical events that jolted the Qing Dynasty were started by native Cantonese speakers also bears scrutiny.

While they originated in Guangdong, their leaders, such as Hong Xiuquan and Sun Yat Sen, were Hakkas. Cantonese shows dominate the airwaves in Guangdong largely because of the popularity of the dialect in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong spillover effect is causing the decline of major dialects such as Hakka and Teochew.

So, while the Cantonese are quick to protest moves to air programmes in Putonghua in Guangdong, they must also acknowledge that other important dialects in their province are suffering because of the dominant of Cantonese.

海选: 中国特色的选举 Haixuan: Election, the Chinese Style

在西方，人们一直猜想中国会不会成为一个民主选举的国家，敌对的政党在投票箱上决胜负。中国的立场看来是，中国并不需要模仿西方的体系，或者引进多个政党轮流执政的做法。

中国自古并没有政党概念。统治者就是政党。如果需要一个选举系统的话，那个系统一定要反映中国的国情。

二十世纪八十年代初期，中国政府就已经静悄悄地通过组织村民委员会的直选来推行这个可能是世界最大的民间基层组织的民主教育工作。他们有一个特别的名词：海选。

这个方法是吉林省梨树村的农人所构思出来的，其方式有如初选，很快的流行起来。每一个选民都有权提议他心目中的候选人来担任公职。候选人有竞选发言与回答问题的机会。拿到最高票的两个或三个候选人进入最后选举。

‘海选’生动地反映了从人海中选出人选的意愿。它也表示没有固定的候选人，每个人都可以选他所中意的候选人。

这个方法在1998年《中华人民共和国村民委员会组织法》第14条规定选举村民委员会应由本村有选举权的村民直接提名候选人后，成为官方接受的正式选举法。

这就难怪‘海选’成为一个新的流行语，现在几乎什么都用海选，包括‘超女’海选，书法海选。

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In the West, people always wonder whether China will ever become an electoral democracy - with rival parties fighting for power at the ballot box. The Chinese leaders’ position seem to be that China would never simply copy the system of Western countries or introduce a system of multiple parties holding office in rotation.

China does not need the concept of a party system and so if they need an election system, the system should reflect the Chinese situations and circumstances.

Since the early 1980s, the Chinese government has been quietly promoting, through the establishment of directly elected villager committees, what may be the world's largest grassroots democratic education process. And they have a special term for it: Haixuan (literally sea election, or competitive election).

Conceived by farmers in Lishu County, Jilin Province, a method which operates like an open primary has gain widespread popularity. Every voter has the right to nominate candidates for all open offices, candidates are often permitted to make campaign speeches and answer questions from the villagers, and the top two to three vote-getters then go on to compete in the final election.

The Chinese term ‘Sea Election’ vividly reflect the intention of the election is a selection from a sea of candidates. It also means that there is no fixed candidate and anyone can vote for his or her favourite candidate.

The method of election was formalised on 4 Nov 1998 when the 1998 Organic Law on Villager Committees (VC Law) requires that villager committees (VCs) be elected directly by the qualified villages and Haixuan has become the official method of election.

It is no wonder that Haixuan has become the buzz word in China and it is now used in almost all types of competitions or contests, such as the Super Girl Contest - the Chinese version of the American Idol, and even the Chinese calligraphy competitions.

马丁•雅克：不要以西方标准来判断中国Martin Jacques: Don't Judge China by Western Standards

伦敦卫报专栏作者学者马丁•雅克在其名为《当中国统治世界时》的书中说，‘我们正处于一个不同的世界的边沿。’他对‘中国会越来越像西方’的这种西方普遍接受的预设提出了挑战。他可能是第一个从文化的角度分析‘中国威胁论’的西方学者。

他于2009年11月29日在洛杉矶时报撰文如何理解中国。以下是摘录：

西方对中国的不了解导致重复地削弱了西方对中国行为预测的能力。一次又一次的，我们对中国的预测与想法都被证明是错误的：中国共产党会会在1989年垮台，中国会分裂，它的经济成长不会持久，它的经济数字大大地被夸大，中国对他从英国收回香港时所提出的‘一国两制’没有诚意，当然还有它会稳健地西方化。我们对中国估计错误有很长的纪录。

我们不能准确地预测中国的未来是因为我们不了解它的过去。虽然中国在上个世纪形容自己是个国家，它其实基本上是个文明个体。它是世界上最长久的现存政治个体，可以追溯到公元前221年时秦国的胜利。不同于西方的国家，中国的认同感来自它作为文明个体的长久历史。

当然，世上有很多文明流派，西方文明就是其中之一，但是只有中国是个文明个体。它以特别长久的历史为界定，再加上它的辽阔地理与人口的规模与多元化。这个涵义深远：以一统为优先，以多元为生存条件。（这就是为什么中国提供香港‘一国两制’，在一个国家中这是奇异的方式。）

与西方国家相比，中国与其社会的关系是不一样的。虽然其政府连人民的一票也没有得到，但是它却获得更大的自然的权威、合法性与尊重。理由是，中国人把政府看成是他们文明的监护人、监督人与具体象征。政府的合法性深深依附于中国历史。这与西方人如何看待他们的历史是完全不同的。

如果我们要了解中国，我们就要超越西方所习惯的现实、经验与所有概念的尺度来理解中国的历史。两百年来，西方由欧洲开始到美国垄断世界，并不需要了解‘他人’。有必要时他们惯常以欺压来使对方屈服。

中国作为世界势力的出现标志着哪个时代的结束。我们日渐必须以对等的条件来与‘他人’（以中国为代表）周旋。

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Martin Jacques, a columnist for The Guardian of London, argues in his book ‘When China Rules the World: The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order’ that ‘we stand on the eve of a different kind of world’. He challenges the common assumptions in the West that China will become increasingly like them. He is probably the first in the West to elaborate the China’s Minatory Theory from cultural angle.

He wrote in the Los Angeles Times on 29 Nov 2009 on how to understand China and I quote:

The West's failure to understand the Chinese has repeatedly undermined its ability to anticipate their behaviour. Again and again, our predictions and beliefs about China have proved wrong: that the Chinese Communist Party would fall after 1989, that the country would divide, that its economic growth could not be sustained, that its growth figures were greatly exaggerated, that China was not sincere about its offer of ‘one country two systems’ at the time of the hand-over of Hong Kong from Britain -- and, of course, that it would steadily Westernize. We have a long track record of getting China wrong.

The fundamental reason for our inability to accurately predict China's future is our failure to understand its past. Although China has described itself as a nation-state for the last century, it is in essence a civilization-state. The longest continually existing polity in the world, it dates to 221 BC and the victory of the Qin. Unlike Western nation-states, China's sense of identity comes from its long history as a civilization-state.

Of course, there are many civilizations -- Western civilization is one example -- but China is the only civilization-state. It is defined by its extraordinarily long history and also its huge geographic and demographic scale and diversity. The implications are profound: Unity is its first priority, plurality the condition of its existence (which is why China could offer Hong Kong "one country two systems," a formula alien to a nation-state).

The Chinese state enjoys a very different kind of relationship with society compared with the Western state. It enjoys much greater natural authority, legitimacy and respect, even though not a single vote is cast for the government. The reason is that the state is seen by the Chinese as the guardian, custodian and embodiment of their civilization. The duty of the state is to protect its unity. The legitimacy of the state therefore lies deep in Chinese history. This is utterly different from how the state is seen in Western societies.

If we are to understand China, we must move beyond the compass of Western reality and experience and the body of concepts that has grown up to explain that history. We find this extremely difficult. For 200 years the West, first in the shape of Europe and then the United States, has dominated the world and has not been required to understand others or The Other. If need be it could always bully the latter into submission.

The emergence of China as a global power marks the end of that era. We now have to deal with The Other -- in the form of China -- on increasingly equal terms.

总统的客人 All The President's Guests

在美国，一对配偶在奥巴马总统为招待印度总理曼莫汉所设的白宫第一次国宴上，由于是不速之客而成为媒体宣传的对象。这对40多岁的配偶，塔里克与米雪，被他们的朋友形容为爱好喜乐、不畏惧追求成为众人关注的焦点、不回避扮演认识或被有所裨益的人认识的殷勤有礼的情侣。

白宫所发布的相片显示奥巴马总统迎接这对配偶。负责保护总统与高官安全的部门正在全面检讨有没有安全漏洞，虽然这对配偶申诉这项调查令他们为难，因为他们相信他们是真的被邀请的客人。

看来这对配偶相当享受公众的注意。在‘面簿’(Facebook) 上出现了不少他们与晚宴贵宾所拍的照片，包括与副总统拜登、华盛顿市长奋题、新闻主播库丽、白宫办公厅主任伊曼纽尔所拍的照片。

在中国，另一个人在十一月十六日会见总统奥巴马是，也得到了很多的媒体宣传。和这对配偶不同的是，她是为了一件外套。

美国总统访问上海与年轻人的对话会上，坐在总统背后的上海交通大学学生王紫菲被人拍到了相片。

她穿着一件黑衣加上红色的外套。她被拍到脱掉外套。网上论坛大谈她的美丽与沉着，网民详细介绍了她的容貌与穿衣品味。但是，王紫菲看来不大情愿成名。她在她的博客上说：‘希望快快恢复平静。希望此事过后我能继续做简简单单的自己。’

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In USA, a couple who attended President Barack Obama’s first White House state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 24 Nov, has received a lot of publicity for being uninvited guests. The couple, Mr Tareq and his wife Michaele, who are in their 40s, were described by their friends as fun-loving and unabashed about pursuing the spot-light and playing debonair couple who know and are known by all right people.

A photo released by the White House has shown President Obama greeting the couple. The agency charged with protecting the president and other high-level officials is conducting a comprehensive review of the security breach, although the couple complained that the investigation was hard on them because they believed that they really were invited guests.

The couple seems to have enjoyed the publicity. A dozen pictures posted on Facebook appear to show the couple posing with dinner guests including Vice President Joe Biden, Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty, CBS News anchor Katie Couric, and White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

In China, another person who met President Obama on 16 Nov is also getting a lot of publicity, but unlike the couple, it’s about the coat she wore.

Shanghai’s Jiaotong University student Wang Zifei was snapped by photographers sitting behind the US President when he met Chinese young citizens at a town-hall style forum, while on his visit to Shanghai.

Clad in a black dress and red coat, she was photographed taking off her coat. Online forums have been gushing over her beauty and poise, with netizens describing in details her look and dress sense. Ms Wang, however, appears to be a reluctant celebrity. She said on her blog, ‘I’m hoping to quickly restore it to normal. I hope after all this, I can continue to be my simple self.’

小红点 Little Red Dot

印尼前总统哈比比（1936年出生，任期1998-1999）于1998年八月的一篇报道的言论使‘小红点’成为流行语。他说，他对新加坡作为一个朋友没有感情，并指着一幅地图说：‘我没什么，可是印尼有2亿一千一百万人口。所有绿色的范围都是印尼。而那小红点就是新加坡。’

这个话语被当作是对新加坡的一种打发，引起一片噪声。2003年五月3日，当时的新加坡副总理李显龙（现任总理）反映哈比比的话语时说：‘这个话语很生动及可贵地提醒了我们的确实是很小和很脆弱。小红点已经进入了新加坡人的心理中，成为我们常用词汇的一部分。我们为此而感激。’

2006年9月19日，哈比比向记者解释，他在1998年完全没有打发新加坡之意，他所要说的是虽然新加坡很小，可是成就却很大。他是当着印尼的一个青年团体前面，顺口来给他们精神鼓励。他说他告诉他们，‘如果你看一看东南亚的地图，印尼那么大，而新加坡只是个小点。可是，来到新加坡，你看到的却是有远见的人民。’他断言，‘我已经多次纠正，可是他们就是不听入耳。我没有记录证明因为我当时畅所欲言。’

其实，新加坡政治家与一般市民都以‘小红点’为荣，被看成是国家在国土限制下成功的象征。

对‘小红点’这个词语的积极态度并不令人惊奇，因为新加坡基本上是个华人社会，而华人对‘点’，尤其是红色的小点其实还算蛮有好感。中文的许多常用词语都反映出了这种情怀。这里有两个例子：

画龙点晴。这句成语有最后润色的意思。这一点可以把艺术品带来生命，或表示最后的一两字句赢得论点。

万绿丛中一点红。特出耀眼的意思。

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The term "little red dot" gained currency after the former Indonesian President Habibie (born 1936; held office 1998–1999) was reported as having remarked in August 1998 that he did not have the feeling that Singapore was a friend, and had pointed to a map, saying: ‘It's O.K. with me, but there are 211 million people in Indonesia. All the green area is Indonesia. And that red dot is Singapore.’

The remark caused an outcry as it was seen as a dismissal of Singapore. Reflecting on Habibie's remarks at a conference on 3 May 2003, the then Singaporean Deputy Prime Minister (and present Prime Minister), Lee Hsien Loong, said: ‘This (Habibie's remark) was a vivid and valuable reminder that we are indeed very small and very vulnerable. The little red dot has entered the psyche of every Singaporean, and become a permanent part of our vocabulary, for which we are grateful.’

On 19 September 2006, Habibie explained to reporters that far from dismissing Singapore in 1998, he had meant to highlight Singapore's achievements despite its small size. He said that he had made the remark while speaking off-the-cuff with members of an Indonesian youth group and trying to "give them spirit". He said that he had told them: "If you look at the map of South-east Asia, you (Indonesia) are so big, and Singapore is just a dot. But if you come to Singapore, you see people with vision." He also claimed that "I have corrected (myself) many times, but they have never put it (sic). And I could not prove it in writing because I was talking freely."

However, the term ‘little red dot’ has since come to be used by both Singaporean politicians and ordinary citizens with pride and with a sense of the nation's success despite its physical limitations.

The positive attitude towards the term ‘red spot’ is not surprising, as Singapore is basically a Chinese society and for the Chinese, a little dot, especially a red one can actually be viewed as something precious. There are in fact many popular Chinese sayings reflect this sentiment. Here are two examples:

Hualong Dianjing, which means ‘finshing touch’, or literally means ‘bringing the pained dragon to life by putting on dots (pupils) of its eyes’. The dot is to add the finishing touch that brings a work of art to life, or add a word or two to clinch the point.

Wanlu congzhong yidianhong, which means very outstanding or eye-catching, or literally a single red in the midst of thick foliage.

中国不高兴 China Is Unhappy

这些天，如果你认为中国人很快乐，没有人会怪你。毕竟，他们已经超越德国成为美国与日本后的世界第三大经济体；2008年，他们成功的主办了奥运会，同时即将举办上海世博2010；2008年他们也第一次完成太空漫步。就算是2008年五月发生的巨大破坏性的四川地震也具有正面的一面 – 中国人一致全面自愿援助他们的同胞。

但是，你可能没想到，根据一本新的畅销书，中国不高兴。其理由包括：

1。拉萨“3•14”事件背后鬼影憧憧，西方世界对中国的战略围堵越来越具体化和明目张胆。

2。三鹿奶粉事件对中国国民心理的‘精神撕裂’，使一个大国理应秉持的多项核心价值受到威胁甚至动摇。

3。萨科齐（法国总统）之类对中国的屡屡侵犯，是卑鄙下流的机会主义作祟。

4。一些‘知识精英’或所谓‘优秀的中国人’正在戕害中国国家的精神品质。

中国需要厘清的若干个“为什么”,包括：

1。为什么中国人‘现在挺爽’是巨大假象，西方阵营的‘拖垮’战略乃中华弥久大患？

2。为什么同西方‘有条件决裂’是必须筹划的未来选项之一？

3。为什么新儒家的‘感化论’，‘拯救世界说’是白日梦呓？

4。为什么行‘失败主义’之实的‘王小波神话’是当代最丑陋的文化蛊惑？（王小波，1952-1997，作家）

中国应持何种新主张？

1。中国应该成为抱负远大的英雄国家。

2。持剑经商，崛起大国的制胜之道。

3。解放军要跟着中国核心利益走。

4。不能听‘金融战士’忽悠，产业升级才是国之根本。

5。认清西方‘轮盘赌’式的外交玄机，把中法关系实质性降低。

6。应勇于在国际社会上除暴安良，在强国道路上扫清颓风。

7。在当代社会的各个层面，都需要‘去文艺腔’。不惟此，我们就无法准确指称政治及经济现实，无法实现大目标。　

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These days, no one will blame you if you think that the Chinese are happy. After all, they have surpassed Germany to become the world's third-largest economy behind the U.S. and Japan, they have hosted a successful Olympic Games in 2008 and are going to host another major event, World Expo Shanghai 2010, they have conducted their first space walk in 2008. And even the devastating Sichuan earthquake in May 2008 had positive aspects—Chinese volunteered en masse to help their stricken countrymen.

Yet, for all you know, according to a new bestseller, China is unhappy. And here are some of the reasons:

1. There are ghosts behind the Lhasa 3.14 incident; the strategic encirclement of Western World towards China has become more concrete and obvious.

2. Sanlu milk power incident has result in a ‘psychological tear’ among Chinese people. It threatens a strong nation's core values.

3. People like Nicolas Sarkozy (the French President) have been offensive to China out of nasty opportunism.

4. The so-called ‘knowledge elites’ or ‘excellent Chinese people’ are harmful to China’s national spirit.

The book further clarifies a number of issues, including the followings:

1. Why the ‘feeling great’ among Chinese people are just fake phenomena. And Western strategy in dragging China down has been a hidden illness to China.

2. Why China should consider it an option to break up with the West under a certain conditions.

3. Why the ‘reform theory’ and ‘world salvation theory’ of neo-Confucianism has become day dream talk.

4. Why ‘Wang Xiao Bo's myth’, which embraces ‘defeatism’, is the most ugly culture lie. (Wang Xiao Bo, 1952-1997, writer.)

Finally, what should China advocate?

1. China should become a country with heroic mission.

2. China should hold sword to protect its business, this is a way to build a strong nation.

3. The National Liberation Army should protect China's core value.

4. China should not listen to the sweet talk of ‘finance warriors’ and industrial upgrade is the fundamentals.

5. Get to know the ‘Russian Roulette’ nature of western diplomatic strategy, lower the concrete diplomatic relation with France.

6. China should be brave in protecting international security and clear its path towards a strong country.

7. Avoid high-art's culture for affecting Chinese social life or else China’s political and economic goals cannot be realised.

在中国，《以为真实，而非事实》压倒真理？ In China, 'truthiness' trumps truth?

安娜·多诺休是个工作了几乎30年的得奖的新闻工作者。2008年的春季学期，她在北京人民大学担任富布莱特学者，鼓吹新闻自由的价值。
5月12日，《基督教科学箴言报》发表了她的一篇文章，题为“在中国，《以为真实，而非事实》压倒真理”。以下引用她的一些言论，看看一些西方学者是如何地无知、傲慢与好为人师。她应该知道，中国学生完全有权利不赞同她的看法。真希望她能洗耳恭听，接受别人的意见。
‘我承认，我是天真。在中国政府残忍地镇压了天安门广场的学生民主运动的二十年后，我以为这个运动的一些痕迹还可以在中国找到。1989年学生的亲民主运动中很多是北京学生。可是，在北京的人民大学教了六个月的新闻学后，我发现很少年轻人有兴趣继续高举自由女神的火炬。
那些二十年前举世瞩目的学生大多已被遗忘。他们的民主、投票权与新闻自由的信息已经为现代中国的经济动力所埋没……
与其像大多数西方人一样对镇压感到惊恐，他们反而对1989年那些学生如果成功而造成混乱与社会剧变感到烦恼。安定与保证经济至上，其他公民自由权力之类能在遥远的未来一天达成就不错了。
更令人困扰的是缺乏批判性思维，有时还盲目认为中国正在正轨上，最好不要动摇它。中国人的自豪与自信，正危险地步向民族主义。健康的批判被认为是不爱国。
在怪异的角色交换下，这些年轻的学生反而提醒我这个年长的教师应该要有耐心。他们重复地告诉我，中国是一个发展中的国家，经济的发展总有一天会导致我所鼓励的改革。可是当我提醒他们，很多发展中的国家，如印度，民主与经济同时发展，他们并不为所动。
我在失望中离开中国。我要我的中国学生拥有的是美国学生认为理所当然的一个畅所欲言的机会，投票的机会，在不受政府管制的新闻界工作的机会。可是当我问我的学生，如果在一个理想的世界里，他们想不想政府不干涉他们的生活。他们一致的反应是‘不’。他们喜欢政府告诉他们的东西…….
正如一个美国外交官一再提醒我的那番话，他们不知道他们所不知道的事……’
注：Truthiness是美国电视讽刺明星史蒂芬·科尔伯特于2005首次应用的含有讽刺意味的新词，形容一个人自认凭自觉就了解事物，而不需有证据、逻辑、验明与事实。含有‘以为真实，而非事实’的意味。
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Anne Donohue has been an award winning journalist for almost thirty years. She was a Fulbright Scholar at Renmin University in Beijing during the spring semester 2008 where she preached the virtues of a free press.
On 12 May 2009, The Christian Science Monitor published her article “In China, 'truthiness' trumps truth”, and I quote some of her views to show how some Westerners can be ignorant，arrogant and, as the Chinese saying goes, like to lecture people. She should know that the Chinese students have every right to disagree with her views and if only she is willing to listen and accept their views.
‘I'll admit it, I was naive. Twenty years after the Chinese government brutally put down a student democracy movement in Tiananmen Square, I thought some vestige of that movement might still be found in China. But after spending six months in Beijing teaching journalism students at Renmin University, where several of the 1989 pro-democracy activists were once students, I found very few young people interested in carrying the torch of Lady Liberty.
The students who transfixed the world 20 years ago are largely forgotten. Their message of democracy, the right to vote, and freedom of the press has been buried by the economic juggernaut of modern China……
Rather than feeling horror about the crackdown, as most Westerners do, they were more troubled by the chaos and social upheaval those 1989 students might have unleashed had they been successful. Stability and economic security reign supreme; other civil liberties might be nice someday far into the future…….
More disconcerting is the lack of critical thinking, and at times, blind faith that China is on a roll, so don't rock the boat. Chinese pride and boosterism veer dangerously close to nationalism. Healthy criticism is seen as unpatriotic.
In a weird role reversal, the young students were the ones reminding me, the older teacher, to be patient. Repeatedly, they told me that China is a developing country, and that economic development might one day lead to some of the reforms I was encouraging. But when I reminded them that many developing countries – India, for example – have democracy and economic development, they were unconvinced.
I left China discouraged. I wanted for my Chinese students what my American students take for granted: a chance to speak freely, to vote, to work in the field of journalism unfettered by the government. But when I asked my students, if in an ideal world, would they want the government to get out of their lives, the unanimous response was no. They liked what the government was telling them…….
As one American diplomat repeatedly reminded me, they don't know what they don't know….’
Note: Truthiness is a term first used in its recent satirical sense by an American television comedian Stephen Colbertin 2005, to describe things that a person claims to know intuitively or ‘from the gut’ without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts.

美国总统就职演说语录 Inaugural Addresses of the US Presidents: Quotable Quotas

美国第四十四任总统奥巴马的就职典礼于2009年1月20日举行。奥巴马的就职典礼时自1981年雷根就职总统以来最多人观看的典礼。在美国东部时间早上10时到下午5时之间，17个电视台的观众有3千7百80万人，这还不包括互联网上观看的人数；虽然，电视观众比1981年观看雷根就职的人数的4千1百80万略少。
据说，奥巴马的就职演说时美国史上三个最伟大的就职演说之一。其他两个伟大的就职演说是1961年的肯尼迪与1933年的罗斯福。
以下是这三个伟大演说的语录：
奥巴马：2009年1月20日，星期二，面对美国金融大风暴
我们今日所要问的不是我们政府的组织大或小，而是它能不能运作，它能不能让我们的家庭找到像样薪金的工作，获得担当得起的照顾，过个有体面的退休生活。
肯尼迪：1961年1月20日，星期五，面对东西冷战大挑战
我的美国同胞们，不要问你的国家能为你做些什么，而是要问你能为你的国家做些什么。
罗斯福：1933年3月4日，星期三，面对世界经济大萧条
我们唯一恐惧的就是恐惧本身 - 莫名、无理、毫无根据的恐惧，它把人转退为进所需的种种努力化为泡影。
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The inauguration of Barack Obama as the forty-fourth President of the United States took place on January 20, 2009. The Obama inaugural events were the most watched since the inaugural events of Ronald Reagan in 1981. Viewership for the Obama inaugural events achieved an average of 37.8 million viewers (not including online viewers who watched live streaming video of the event) across the 17 broadcast and cable channels as measured between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. EST. Television viewership was lower than that of the 1981 Reagan inaugural festivities, however, which averaged 41.8 million viewers.
The Obama’s inaugural address of said to be one of the three great addresses in the US history. The other two were delivered by John F. Kennedy in 1961 and Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933.
Here are the quotable quotes from them:
Barack Obama on Tuesday, January 20, 2009，facing the US financial crisis
The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.
John F. Kennedy on Friday, January 20, 1961, facing the cold war crisis
And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country.
Franklin D. Roosevelt on Saturday, March 4, 1933, facing the world economic recession
The only thing we have to fear is fear itself—nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.

新加坡：文艺复兴城市 Singapore: The Renaissance City

新加坡要成为文艺复兴城市。这是居于这样的一个理念：在发展一个有文化动力社会，艺术与文化是一体的，它会给与新加坡一个独特的国家身分，并提供人民牵连在一起的社会凝聚力。
这个梦想始于二十年前，1989的呼声：发展前圣约翰书院成为美术馆，新加坡历史博物馆，东南亚自然历史/民族博物馆，在奎因街有一个现代的国家图书馆，和在滨海中心有一个表演艺术中心。
二十年后，新加坡艺术与文化受到了国际瞩目，正如路透新闻网在2008年七月17日所写的：‘三个世纪前，这个经济繁荣的国家，在艺术与文化方面被挂上未垦处女地的标记。今年于六月22日结束的艺术节，却包括了来自27个国家的1千八百名艺术家，和两个世界级表演。至今，二十个本地或与外地联合制作已经在世界超过三十个城市，包括纽约、伦敦、巴黎，与观众见面。’
2007年六月，摩诺阁‘适居城市’生活素质调查，把新加坡列在17位，是亚洲的第三名，排在东京（第3名）与京都（第14名）之后。调查称赞新加坡的国际一流生活水平，新加坡的X-因素却是它最近才有的生机蓬勃的文化景观：‘新加坡的景观生机蓬勃，本地有才华的设计者与国际巨星Toyo Ito, Moshe Safdie 与 Kohn Pedersen Fox同放光芒；而艺术界盛花处处，如博物馆，表演艺术地点，和艺术画廊。它还是相当保守，但是这个城市国家正享受着文化繁荣。’
在2009年，美梦还在继续，我们可以想象新加坡会成为‘新加坡人最好家园’与‘世界人才磁场’；在那里，艺术与文化扮演关键的角色来加强新加坡作为一个适于居住与独特的国家，同时使新加坡人、居民、游客感觉到亲切可近。
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Singapore wants to be a renaissance city. This is based on the belief that arts and culture are integral in developing a culturally vibrant society, giving Singapore a unique national identity and providing the social bond that holds its people together.
The dream started 20 years ago in 1989 with calls for the development of a fine arts gallery in the former St Joseph’s Institution, a history of Singapore museum, a Southeast Asian/natural history/ethnology museum, a modern National Library on Queen Street and a new performing arts centre at Marina Centre.
20 years later, Singapore Arts and Culture have received international recognition as noted by Reuters Newswire on 17 June 2008: ‘Three decades ago, the economically flourishing state had been labelled a barren wasteland in terms of arts and culture. This year’s arts fest, which ends on 22 June, includes more than 1,800 artists from 27 countries and two world premieres. To date, 20 local commissions and co-productions have been seen by audiences in over 30 cities around the world, including New York, London and Paris.’
In June 2007, the Monocle Quality of Life Survey of “Liveable Cities” ranked Singapore 17th, only the 3rd Asian city after Tokyo (No. 3) and Kyoto (No. 14). Whilst the survey lauded Singapore’s first-world standard of living, Singapore’s X-factor was cited as her newly blossoming cultural landscape: ‘Singapore’s landscape is blossoming, with talented local architects making their mark alongside international stars such as Toyo Ito, Moshe Safdie and Kohn Pedersen Fox; and the arts scene has seen a flowering of museums, performing arts venues and galleries. It’s still conservative but this city-state is enjoying a cultural boom.’
In 2009, the dream continues, as one envisions Singapore will be the ‘Best Home for Singaporeans’ and an ‘International Magnet for Talent’, where arts and culture play a critical role in strengthening Singapore’s liveability and distinctiveness as a nation, as well as endearing Singapore to Singaporeans, residents and visitors.

美国著名政治学家亨廷顿逝世 Samuel Huntington Died on Christmas Eve

美国著名政治学家亨廷顿(1927-2008)在圣诞节前夕逝世。亨廷顿在他工作事业后期，以‘文明的冲突’学说而闻名，即关于‘西方与其余者’之间不可避免的摩擦。
在《文明的冲突与世界秩序的重组》中坚持关注文化课题，而文化在传统上被其他政治学家认为是个软课题。他确定八种世界文明：西方、儒家（中国、韩朝和越南）、日本、回教、印度教、东正教（以俄罗斯为核心）、拉丁美洲、以及非洲文明。
源于发表于政治期刊‘外交季刊’的1993 年的一篇文章，三年后出版成书。它辩证说冷战后摩擦的主要根源不是国家或理念，而是文化。冲突是亨廷顿对那些认为在共产党垮台后西方价值普遍胜利的敏捷回应。西方傲慢的认为自己文化具普世性，会蒙蔽了他们看到其他文明挑战者的出现，尤其是回教与中国。
文明冲突立刻在学术界引起争议与辩论，尤其是它与福山的看法截然不同。福山是个有影响力的历史学家。他在冷战平和落幕后，写了‘历史的终结’，辩说西方自由民主的出现，是人类理念演变的终点和人类政府最后形式的信号。
那些认为世界政治主要演员是国家而不是文明的人自然的批评他的观点简化当前政治形势。他被指责替西方在国外的军事干预制造理由。
亨廷顿一直站稳他的文明冲突学说立场。去年，他自哈佛退休前说：‘我的见解还是一样，就是文化的一致、敌对、关联在国与国关系中不但扮演一个角色，而且会扮演一个重要的角色。’
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Samuel Huntington (1927-2008), an American political scientist passed away on Christmas Eve. He achieved fame late in his career for his "Clash of Civilisations" theory concerning the inevitability of conflict between the ‘West and the Rest’, notably Islam.
The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order was a hard-headed look at what political scientists had traditionally dismissed as a soft subject: culture. He identified eight major civilisations in the world: ‘Western, Confucian, Japanese, Islamic, Hindu, Slavic-Orthodox, Latin American and African civilization.’
Originating as a 1993 article in the policy journal Foreign Affairs, and published three years later as a book, it argued that the key sources of post-Cold War conflicts would not be national or ideological, but cultural. Clash was Huntington’s riposte to those who thought the fall of communism meant the universal triumph of Western values. The West’s arrogance about the universality of its own culture would blind it to the ascent of ‘challenger civilisations’, particularly Islam and China.
The Clash of Civilizations prompted immediate controversy and debate within the academic world, particularly as it contrasted so starkly with the vision of the influential historian Francis Fukuyama, who had written about the End of History, following the largely peaceful resolution of the Cold War. In the book, Fukuyama argues that the advent of Western liberal democracy may signal the end point of mankind's ideological evolution and the final form of human government.
Those who believe that nation-states rather than civilisation are the primary actors in world politics would naturally criticise his view as oversimplification of current political situations. He was accused of framing arguments that justified Western military intervention abroad.
Huntington always stood by his clash of civilisations thesis. ‘My argument remains that cultural identities, antagonisms and affiliations will not only play a role, but play a major role in relations between states,’ he said last year, after retiring from Harvard.

预兆即将成为事实：写在墙壁上的字 The Writing on the Wall

好像越来越多西方人关心亚洲人缺乏创造力。韩纳斯先生就是其中的一个。
韩纳斯会说十二这语言。他说东亚与西方国家比较，在科学与技术重要突破方面是失败的。他归罪于中国、日本、韩国的书写系统。
他写了‘汉字困境’、‘写在墙壁上的字’*之类的书。据一个网站说是‘依据认知科学和语言学识，及作者的东亚语文深刻经验’，‘为环球化中，现代亚洲所面对的一个重要问题，提供一个平衡和深思熟虑的解释。’
在中国书写系统中，每一个字对应一个音符。它是音节系统。
相比之下，西方的字母系统依赖完全抽象的字母，而单一字母并不代表一个音符。
因为东亚书写系统缺少字母的抽象特征，它们限制了科学创新所必具的分析和抽象思维。韩纳斯关注的是，沉浸于字体文化里的孩童会居于劣势，因为这些书写系统没有训练抽象思考能力。
他注意到西方的亚洲移民，在字母系统中工作，吸取和应用西方花费大量资源所创造的科学成果，来进行创意工作和赚取财源。
我们有理由相信他当他坚持他不是在批评亚洲人和说他们缺乏智力。
他本身写在墙壁上的字响亮和明显：东亚应该改用字母系统。
*注：英语The Writing on the Wall 直译是‘写在墙壁上的字’，真正的意思是指很明显的预兆（多指不祥的预兆）即将成为事实。一语双关的意图明显。
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More and more westerners seem to be quite concerned with Asians’ lack of creativity. One of them is Mr William C. Hannas.
Hannas who speaks 12 languages, blames the writing systems of China, Japan and Korea for what he says is the East Asia’s failure to make significant scientific and technological breakthroughs compared to the Western nations.
He has written books, such as ‘Asia’s Orthographic Dilemma’, ‘Writing On The Wall’, which, according to one Internet Website, are ‘based on the scholarship in cognitive science and linguistics, and the author's intimate experience with East Asian languages’, and provide ‘a balanced and thoughtful account of one of the important problems facing modern Asia in the age of globalization.’
In the Chinese writing system, each character corresponds to a syllable of sound. It is a system of ‘syllabaries’.
In comparison, the western alphabetic systems rely on letters that by themselves are pure abstractions since a single letter does not represent a syllable of sound.
Because the Eastern Asian writing systems lack the abstract features of alphabets, they hamper the kind of analytical and abstract thought necessary for scientific creativity. He is also concerned that children who are immersed in a character-based culture are at a huge disadvantage because such writing systems do not cultivate the ability for abstract thought.
He noted that Asian immigrants to the West, who work in an alphabetic system, do innovative work and make money by taking and applying the fruits of science that the West creates at great expenses.
One has good reason to believe him when he insists that he is not criticizing Asians and claiming that they lack intellect.
His own writing on the wall is also loud and clear: East Asians should switch to the alphabetic system.

王国维：学无中西 Wang Guowei: Learn Both Chinese & Western Cultures

美学还没从西方传入中国之前，古代中国没有美学。在廿世纪，有不少重要美学家把西方的美学著作翻译或改编而引进中国，为中国美学的发展做出了巨大贡献。
回顾当年，我们发现不少美学家对中西文化的态度是正面的。因此，他们不但有意识的学习西方美学理论，还积极的更生中国美学和尝试把中国传统美学现代化。
王国维(1877–1927)，就是这样的一个学者。他是当时一个优秀的中国美学家，可说是第一个把西方美学介绍到中国的人。
他在‘国学丛刊’序中写道：
所谓学无新旧、无中西、无有用无用之说，可得而详焉.....
世界学问，不出科学、史学、文学。故中国之学，西国皆有之，西国之学，我国亦类皆有之；所异者，广狭疏密耳.....
余谓中西二学，盛则俱盛，衰则俱衰，风气既开，互相推助。
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Before the concept of Aesthetics was introduced to China from the West, it was not an academic discipline on its own. The During the 20th century, there were many important aestheticians in China who made great contributions to the development of this subject by translating or adapting the Western aesthetic works into Chinese.
Looking back, it is noticeable that the attitude of most of the aestheticians at that time were positive towards both Chinese and foreign cultures. As such, they not only consciously learned the western modern aesthetic theory, they also actively revived and attempted to modernise the Chinese traditional aesthetics.
Wang Guowei (1877–1927) is one of such scholars. Wang Guowei was among the best during his time for the studies of ancient aesthetics in China, probably was the first person to introduce Western meixue to China.
His said in his Foreword to the Journal of Chinese Studies that:
It is clear that the nature of learning has nothing to do with making a distinction between the modern and the classical, the western and Chinese, or the useless and the useful…….
Human knowledge in the world is basically contained in such disciplines as science, history and literary studies. These studies exist in both China and western nations. The only difference is that they vary in the degree of depth and superficiality.
I would say that Chinese and western studies cannot be done without each other in terms of their respective rise and fall. There is a need to promote both to the extent that they thrive and decline in a synchronous fashion.

蔡元培: 以美育代宗教 Cai Yuanpei: Replacing Religion With Art Education

二十世纪初，随着西方思潮的进入，中国对本身传统文化的幻灭，我们看到了一个新文化运动。
新文化运动的发展触发了对中国千年文化的质疑和重新检讨。学者呼吁以世界和西方准则来重建新中国文化。就是说，孔子教义和古代经典都要以现代内容及批评方法来重新检验。
蔡元培(1868-1940)，一个二十世纪初卓越的开放的教育者，就以他在改革传统教育和综合中西方教育思想所做的努力而著名。他的教育方针是“五育”并行 ：军国民教育（体育）、实利主义教育（智育）、公民道德教育（德育）、世界观教育（哲学观念教育）、美感教育（美育）。
西方美育的概念由王国维(1877 - 1927)，一个在哲学、文学批评、中国历史等领域的先驱人物，最先介绍到中国来。但是，蔡元培却是比较有效的推行者。他们两位都确信衰退中的古老中国制度能以现代教育来重建和更生。
蔡元培靠着他的前线行政员和著名教育家的地位，带领北京大学行政改革来展开他的信念。他的‘以美育代宗教’口号特别有名。这事实上是宗教教育在中国终止的信号，而自1949年以来，宗教教育被禁，只能在特别批准的神学院中传授。
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Around the turn of the twentieth century that featured the influx of western ideas, China witnessed a new cultural movement sprang from the disillusionment with traditional Chinese culture.
The development of the New Culture Movement promoted the questioning and re-appraisal of millennia-old Chinese values. The scholars called for the creation of a new Chinese culture based on global and western standards, especially democracy and science. That also meant there was a need for re-examination of Confucian texts and ancient classics using modern textual and critical methods.
Cai Yuanpei (1868-1940), the leading liberal educator of early twentieth-century China, was noted for his pioneering work in reforming the system of traditional education and for his efforts to synthesize Chinese and Western educational ideas. His educational policy was characterized by the unity of five types of education: military/citizenship, utilitarian, moral, a world view, and aesthetic education.

The Western notion of aesthetic education was first introduced to China by Wang Guowei (1877 - 1927), a pioneering scholar in fields as diverse as philosophy, aesthetics, literary criticism, Chinese history. However, it was more effectively promoted by Cai Yuanpei (1868-1940). Both were convinced that the declining institutions of old China could be reconstructed and revived by means of modern education.

Cai Yuanpei took advantage of his role as a front-line administrator and renowned educator who led the administrative renovation of Peking University to spread his ideas. He was especially known for his slogan of “replacing religion with aesthetic education”. This actually signals the end of religious education in China and since 1949, formal religious education is banned except in licensed schools of theology, which are usually college-level and above.

布莱克: 一沙见世界 Blake : To see a World in a Grain of Sand

‘天真的预言’是英国诗人、画家、制版者布莱克(1757 – 1827)的一首诗。据说写于1803年，可是直到1863年才发表。这首出自英国诗人之手的诗很不寻常，因为它与佛教思想颇多暗合之处，所有有人怀疑布莱克看到过或研读过译为英文的佛教经典。
这首诗有132行，充满了谬论，把纯真和邪恶、腐败相提并论。可是它的首四句却相当叙事和‘有趣’。事实上，可以说布莱克只选了这四句不含谬论和矛盾。
华人对这四句很入迷，所以有不少翻译，这里选了佚名和宗白华的翻译。
一沙见世界，一花窥天堂。

手心握无限，须臾纳永恒。
——译者不详
一沙一世界，一花一天国，

君掌盛无边，刹那含永劫。
——宗白华.
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The poem ‘Auguries of Innocence’ was written by William Blake (1757 – 1827), an English poet, painter, and printmaker. It is assumed to have been written in 1803, but was not published until 1863. This poem is unusual to be written by an English poet as it seems to resonate with Buddhist thought and world views. It is therefore suspected that Blake might have studied Buddhist scripts and was influenced by Buddhist philosophy.
The poem is 132 lines which contain a series of paradoxes which speak of innocence juxtaposed with evil and corruption. However, the first stanza of four lines is very descriptive and "pretty". In fact, one could say that they are the only lines that Blake chose to leave free of paradox and conflict.
The four lines were translated beautifully into Chinese style poem and the lines are well liked by the Chinese. Here are the first four lines of the poem:
To see a World in a Grain of Sand

And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an hour.

谈天 Tan Tian: Let’s Chat

英文把天译为天堂，是值得澄清的。
天是中国宇宙学里最早用的一个字，也是中国神话，哲学里一个重要概念。据说天最早用于周朝，是指最高的天神。周朝为了说明其篡夺天下的正当性，而提出了天命的政治说辞，是说当一个统治者无道，他就应该被上天所指定的人来取而代之。
我们不难了解帝皇为什么要自称天子，或天神之子了。
孔子和他的弟子把天的概念延伸为人性化的道德之天，天为最高道德标准。中庸里首句‘天命之謂性’就是这个天。
老子则把天放到道之后：‘有物混成，先天地生…….吾不知其名，故强字之曰道。’这就把天还回凡俗，而超自然力量的天神也就从中国文化中被排除了。
中国的天与西方的天堂概念是不同的。天堂为了翻译英文Heaven才有的一个新的中文名词。
天加其他字又有新意，如天空，天性，天体，等等。
中国哲学常把天和互补的地合为天地 – 这就是我们的物质世界和宇宙。
再加上人，就形成了华人宇宙观的三才：天地人。
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The word Tian, which is usually translated as Heaven in English, needs clarification.
The Chinese word Tian is one of the oldest Chinese terms for the cosmos and a key concept in Chinese mythology, philosophy. Apparently Tian was first used during Zhou dynasty to refer to the highest deity. Zhou developed a political theory to justify their usurpation of the emperorship in a doctrine called Tian Ming, or the mandate of the highest deity, which is usually translated as the ‘Mandate of Heaven’ in English.
According to the Mandate of Heaven, whenever a ruler was no longer worthy of his position, he would be deposed and replaced by a ruler more favored by divine powers.
One can understand why emperors in China had decided to call themselves Tianzi, or the son of the highest deity.
Confucius and his disciples extended its meaning to mean an ethical Tian, that is, one having a moral principle and which is the highest principle of the universe. This is the sort of Tian which the book Zhong Yong (Doctrine of the Mean) refers to in its opening sentence when it says: ‘What Tian confers (on man) is called his nature.’
Laozi put Dao before Tian when he said: ‘There was something undifferentiated and all-embracing, which existed before Tian and Di (地 earth)….. I do not know its name, and hence call it Dao.’ With this, Tian is back to the terrestrial world and thus the mighty supernatural god is eliminated from the Chinese cultural context.
The Chinese concept of Tian is therefore different from the concept of the western Heaven. When the original English word Heaven is translated into Chinese, a new Chinese term Tian Tang (堂 hall) is used.
However, when Tian is combined with other Chinese words, the meaning may change accordingly. For example, Tian Kong (空empty, air) means the sky, Tian Xin(性 nature), inborn nature, Tian Ti (体 form, system), celestial phenomena, etc.
In Chinese philosophy, the term Tian is usually mentioned in relationship to its complementary aspect of Di (地), which is most often translated as "Earth". Put these two words together, the term Tian-Di actually means the terrestrial world, the universe. Together with Humanity (ren 人), the Chinese have therefore conceived a three-tier universe – tian, di (earth) and ren (humanity).

中文的提示性 The Suggestiveness of Chinese Language

中文是一种提示性的语言和文字。中国的哲学自然也就是用提示性的方式来说和写的。这个形而上学里的许多概念如道，德，自然，阴阳，气，都是提示性的字词。
可以这么说，提示，而不是明述，向来是中国哲学，诗歌，绘画，等等的典型表述。
提示就是有非直觉和示意的意思，所谓字简意深。提示性的文字和叙述不容易被翻译成另一种文字。在翻译的过程中，提示性的部分不可避免的会被遗漏。翻译只能表达一个观念或想法；可是，原本叙述和书写可能包含的其他意思和想法。
西方老子道德经有不少翻译版本，可是每个版本都有不足之处。因为这本书原本句子的提示太多，要以明述来了解它的意思，实难胜任，翻译就更不用说了。原书字句简练，学者对它们的注解已经意见分歧，要翻译，自然问题多多。
要了解原书的风貌，需要把所有译本，加上将来的各种译本一齐读才可。如果不会中文，西方读者要进一步了解中国哲学和艺术，简直是件不可能的事。
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It is well recognised that the Chinese language is suggestive and it is therefore expected that many Chinese philosophical writings follow the grammar of suggestiveness. For instance the whole idea of metaphysical conception of Chinese philosophy dao(道)，de(德)，ziran(自然），yin-yang（阴阳）, qi（气）all stands for some suggestive meanings.
It can be said that suggestiveness, not articulateness, is the ideal of all Chinese writings, whether it be philosophy, poetry, painting, or anything else.
Suggestiveness means to show something by indirectly hinting in it. The suggestiveness of the writings and sayings of the Chinese philosophers is something that can hardly be translated into other languages. The translation would inevitably miss the suggestiveness which can mean a great deal in the original writings. Translation usually conveys only one idea, one interpretation, while the original saying or writing may contain many other meanings and ideas besides the one given by the translator.
There have been many translations of Laozi’s Dao De Jing, but each is only partially successful. This is because many of its sentences are so suggestive that definitive interpretation, much less translation, has been proved unattainable. Translating into another language a work that says so much in so few words, and about whose meanings scholars differ greatly, can only be problematic.
It needs a combination of all the translations already made and many others not yet made, to reveal the richness of the Chinese classics in their original form. This makes it almost impossible for Western readers who do not read Chinese, to have a better understanding of Chinese philosophy and arts.

谈风流 Feng Liu: Romantic, the Chinese Way

华人讲到风流，自然而然想到流连于妇女间，和她们有亲密关系的男人。

风流不易讲清楚，因为它的含义丰富。

风流本来主要和道家思想相连。据说源自魏晋期间道家的清谈。清谈被认为是一种高水平的智力活动，只能在智力较高，或旗鼓相当的人之间进行。

‘世说新语’就记载了很多的清谈。这本书用语精简含蓄，渊博奥秘，意味深长和发人深省，成为了解‘风流’最好的资料。

就如西文的romanticism一样，风流现在用法含有性的元素。可是，原本这个词用于审美感多过官感。‘世说新语’记载阮籍的一个故事足以说明。

阮公临家妇，有美色，当垆酤酒。阮与王安丰常从妇饮酒。阮醉，便眠其妇侧。夫始殊疑之，伺察，终无他意。

在古代，醉后睡在美妇旁的这种行为，是不拘小节，也是所谓风流快活。

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In Chinese, when one mentions the term Feng Liu, it come almost immediately to mind a man who likes many women and has short sexual relationships with them.

But, what actually is the meaning of Feng Liu? It is one of those terms that conveys a wealth of ideas, but is very difficult to define exactly.

In China, Feng Liu is originally mainly connected to Daoism. The idea is said to have started during the Wei Jin dynasties by the Neo-Daoists who were famous for the art of Qing Tan (清谈), or plain conversation. Such conversation could be held only between people of a comparable or high intellectual level, and was therefore regarded as one of the most refined intellectual activities.

Many of these plain conversations were compiled in a book entitled Shi Shuo Xin Yu, A New Account of Tales of the World. The language of the book is concise and implicit, profound and mysterious, meaningful and thought-provoking and it has become a major source of Feng Liu tradition.

Today, like romanticism in the West, the term Feng Liu often has in it the element of sex. However, originally the term was used more aesthetically rather than sensuously.

As illustration, it is recorded in the Shi Shuo Xin Yu that Ruan Ji's neighbour, who was a wine merchant, had a beautiful wife. Ruan Ji used to go the merchant's house to drink with his wife. Ruan Ji would sleep beside her when he became drunk. The merchant was naturally suspicious. But after paying careful attention, the merchant found that Ruan Ji did nothing more than sleeping beside there.

In the ancient time, such behavour of sleeping beside a beautiful lady, even it was done after became drunk, was really something very unconventioanl, or being happily Feng Liu.