中文字的产生内涵 The Ideas of Chinese Characters

据传说，中国文字是传说中的黄帝的官吏仓颉(c. 2650 BC) 所创造。据说，仓颉在打猎时看到龟而被它的纹理所吸引。由于认为龟纹可能有合理的关系，他再观察世上动物、地球山水与天上星月，因而发明了中国文字符号系统，就叫做字。
听说文字发明当天，人们听到鬼泣号，农作物由天降下。不知是好是坏，反正文明就这样开始了。所以在华人的想法里，写字就被看成开天辟地一样，包含了统治生命的原理。
中文字的基本元素是点划。简言之，点划就是以各种工具不停运动所产生的痕迹。点划可分为点、线与勾，还可进一步以书写的方向来加以描述，起笔、收笔与外形。
不同的线条可以在生动书写中以势造势，给与每条线条完美的形与法。
每一个字都是始于第一划，并由此统领其他笔画。这就反映了宇宙始于太一的概念，而这正是华人几千年来所演变出来的思想。
写字也有笔顺。每个字笔画沿着一定的方向，顺着既定的次序书写。由左到右，由上到下，由外到内之类的法则就决定了顺序。笔画的运动就应由此而达到平衡，这样每个字就给人一种暂时均衡的印象。
我们可以说，中文字的产生内涵就是：和谐、自然与合而不同。每个可见的方格内的字都强调流势、平衡与视像。
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According to legend, Chinese characters were invented by Cangjie (c. 2650 BC), a bureaucrat under the legendary emperor, Huangdi. The legend tells that Cangjie was hunting when he saw a tortoise whose veins caught his curiosity. Inspired by the possibility of a logical relation of those veins, he studied the animals of the world, the landscape of the earth, and the stars in the sky, and invented a symbolic system called zi, Chinese characters.
It was said that on the day the characters were born, Chinese heard the devil mourning, and saw crops falling like rain, as it marked the beginning of civilization, for good and for bad. In Chinese thought, the act of writing a character is therefore seen as parallel to the universal process of creation, and an embodiment of the principles that govern all life.
The basic units of Chinese characters are the strokes that, simply stated, are the marks produced by a single continuous motion by various writing instruments. The strokes can be categorized into dots, lines and hooks and can be further described by the direction in which they are written, their beginning and ending characteristics and their contour.
The different types of strokes are codified as forces (shi) in dynamic composition, each with a perfect form and method (fa).
Each character originates from the first stroke, the one that preceded all others. This reflects the concept that the universe was created from an original oneness – a central idea in Chinese thought as it developed over the centuries.
There is a proper sequence to follow when writing characters. The strokes are always written in the same direction and there is a set order to write the strokes of each character. Rules such as writing left to right, top to bottom, and outside followed by inside dictate order. The flow of the strokes should move in such a way that they achieve balance giving the characters the impression of a temporary equilibrium.
One can state the ideas of Chinese character as ‘harmony, naturalness and variety within unity’. The flow, balance, and visual imprint are also emphasized by the invisible square framework within which each character is set.

智与知 Wisdom and Truth

有关中西哲学之不同的一个普遍描述指向哲学省思本质上的基本不同。
中国哲学是智慧的著述，意思是指它主要由故事与语录所组成，指引其读者采用某种生活方式，或肯定其所采用的生活方式。
西方哲学是有关知识真理，强调有系统的辩证与学说。据说是始于希腊哲学家，他们主张人类理性能产生永恒普世的真理，因为这些真理阐述现实。
令人感到兴趣的是，西方哲学一字源自希腊文，意指爱智慧。由爱智慧到爱真理，自有其理由。古希腊人住在一个由信仰神话所支配的世界；这些神话提供拥有无常力量、好坏参杂与明暗相间的天神的狡猾故事。当狡猾无常达到不可靠点时，希腊人以真理之名来转向清晰与驱除不可靠性。
一般来说，中国人从来就没有承继有系统的神话遗传。因此，在哲理上并不需要以真理来补偿。华人的大传统只关心智慧，就是精明与果断地应用对社会有价值的知识。从这点来说，华人并不觉得他们需要企图控制一切的真理，而趋向于发展一套任何处理情况的集体智慧。
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One common portrait of the difference between the Chinese and western traditions posits a radical incommensurability on the very nature of philosophical inquiry.
Chinese philosophy is ‘wisdom’ literature, which means it composes primarily of stories and sayings designed to move the audience to adopt a way of life or to confirm its adoption of that way of life.
Western philosophy is about truth, which emphasises systematic argumentation and theory. It is said to have begun with the Greek philosophers, who claimed that human reason produced truths which were eternal universals because they described reality.
It is interesting to note that the word philosophy is originally a Greek word which means ‘love of wisdom’. There are good reasons for moving from love of wisdom to love of truth. The ancient Greeks lived in a world dominated by religious mythology which offered shifting stories of gods with ambivalent powers, good mixed with bad, light with dark. At some point, the ambivalence advanced into an ambiguity which the Greeks attempted to dispel by turning to the clarity in the name of truth.
It is said that China, on the other hand, never had a developed or systematic mythological heritage. Therefore, it had no need of a philosophical drive for truth as compensation. Its grand tradition was concerned with wisdom, which is the judicious and purposeful application of knowledge that is valued in society. In this sense, China experienced no felt need for truth, which tries to control all situations, but rather moved towards the development of a collective wisdom about how situations might be handled.

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.

现代主义：理性至上 Modernism: The Supremacy of Reason

在西方，现代主义始于文艺复兴（16世纪至17世纪中）而初尝果实于启蒙运动（17世纪中至18世纪）。文艺复兴以前，强烈的个人主义并不存在。在这个充满责任感的社会，人们为上帝与国王而生活。
文艺复兴期间，个人成为哲学的焦点。现代哲学之父笛卡儿 (1596 – 1650) 视个人为观察客体世界的主体。这个理解正好符合新的科学质询方法，在这个方法中，观察者考察与客观地寻求测量地球上所发生之事物。
启蒙运动是一个强调理性高于宗教启示或祖宗传统的欧洲哲学与科学运动。现代主义把世界看成是一个可以用观察与推理来了解的客观现实。
18世纪末期，怀疑主义者哲学家如休谟 (1711 – 1776) 对自我能客观地了解现实的能力提出了强烈质疑。为了回应怀疑主义者，康德 (1724 - 1804) 主张知识取决于人脑的构造。他对知识要符合客体这个旧看法提出了反驳。相反的，他倒反过来，认为客体要符合知识。这就是他所谓的哲学上的哥白尼式的革命。
康德要为对客观真理的持续信仰提供根据。可是他的哲学带来了一个明显的问题：‘我们如何知道人脑所有的知觉真正的会符合现实呢？’
康德没有对这个问题为我们提供一个妥当的答案，最后由此导致了后现在主义的兴起。
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In the west, modernism started with the Renaissance (16th century to mid 17th century) and achieved its early flowering under the Enlightenment (mid 17th century to 18th century). Before the Renaissance, a strong sense of individualism did not exist. People lived for God and king in a duty-filled world.
During Renaissance, philosophy itself became focused on the individual. Descartes (1596 – 1650), the father of modern philosophy, thought of individual as a subject observing the world as an object. This understanding nicely matched the new scientific method of inquiry, in which observers view and objectively seek to measure what is happening in the world.
The Enlightenment was the European movement of philosophy and science which stressed the supremacy of reason over religious revelation or ancestral tradition. Modernism perceives the world as possessing an objective reality which can be discovered through observation and reason.
During the late 18th century, sceptical philosophers such as Hume (1711 – 1776) raised serious questions about the ability of the self to objectively comprehend reality. To respond to Hume’s skepticism, Kant (1724 - 1804) argues that knowledge depends on the structure of our mind. He rebuts the old believe that our knowledge must conform to objects. Instead, he reverses it and says that objects must conform to our knowledge. This is so-called his Copernican Revolution in philosophy.
Kant wanted to provide a basis for a continued belief in objective truth. But his philosophy raised the obvious question: ‘How do we know if the perception generated by the mind truly corresponds to reality?’
Kant did not provide us with an adequate answer to this question, which ultimately led to the rise of postmodernism.

艺术与有意味的形式 Arts and the Significant Form

我们注意到康德说过：适当地讲，美的判断只和形式有关。可以说，这是形式主义者的陈述。
形式主义的概念是说艺术最重要的就是它的形式。换言之，它被制成的方法和它纯粹的视觉外观，而不是它所陈述的内容或它与可视世界间的关系。形式主义者强调色彩、线条、形状和纹理这类的构成元素，而不是现实、背景和内容。
所以，在绘画，形式主义者会专注色彩、笔画、形式、线条与组合。
1914年，克 莱夫•贝尔提出了‘有意味的形式’的学说，把物体的真实形式与‘有意味的形式’分辨开来。他说：
‘唤起我们审美情感的所有对象的共同属性是什么呢？圣索非亚教堂（Sta.Sophia）、加特斯 的窗户、墨西哥的雕塑、一个波斯碗、中国地毯、乔托在帕多瓦的壁画、普桑（Poussin）的杰作、皮耶罗•德拉•弗朗切斯卡和塞尚的作品共同的属性又是什么呢？可能的答案只有一个 — 有意味的形式。在每件作品中，以某种独特的方式组合起来的线条和色彩、特定的形式和形式关系激发了我们的审美情感。我把线条和颜色的这些组合和关系，以及这些在审美上打动人的形式称作“有意味的形式”，它就是所有视觉艺术作品所具有的那种共同属性。’
对贝尔而言，以一件物体的表象来辨认艺术品并不比捉住这件物体的‘有意味的形式’或真正的内在本性来得重要。
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We noted that Kant says that judgment of beauty ‘should properly concern merely form.’ One can say that this is a formalist a statement.
Formalism is the concept that the most important aspect of a work of art is its form, that is, the way it is made and its purely visual aspects, rather than its narrative content or its relationship to the visible world. Formalism emphasizes compositional elements such as colour, line, shape and texture rather than realism, context, and content.
In painting therefore, a formalist would focus exclusively on the qualities of colour, brushwork, form, line and composition.
In 1914, Clive bell further propounded the theory of ‘Significant form’ to make a distinction between a thing's actual form and its 'significant form.' He said:
‘There must be some one quality without which a work of art cannot exist; possessing which, in the least degree, no work is altogether worthless. What is this quality? What quality is shared by all objects that provoke our aesthetic emotions? What quality is common to Sta. Sophia and the windows at Chartres, Mexican sculpture, a Persian bowl, Chinese carpets, Giotto’s frescoes at Padua, and the masterpieces of Poussin, Piero della Francesca, and Cezanne? Only one answer seems possible - significant form. In each, lines and colours combined in a particular way, certain forms and relations of forms, stir our aesthetic emotions. These relations and combinations of lines and colours, these aesthetically moving forms, I call "Significant Form"; and "Significant form" is the one quality common to all works of visual art.’
For Bell, recognition of a work of art as representational of a thing was less important than capturing the 'significant form', or true inner nature, of a thing.

道可道，非常道 Dao That Can be Dao-ed

老子在道德经一开始就说：道可道，非常道。
一般上，第二个‘道’字被解为‘说道’的道，就是说，能够被说出来的道，并不是永恒的道。
把第二个道当成动词来解，一般没有异议。可是解为‘说道’，却是可质疑的。在先秦，并没有把道当作‘说道’的用法，所以把道当动词，是如何解释，就要费一点脑筋了。
如果道是一种法则，或者可以把这句话解为：有方法与法则的道，不是永恒的道。
而无就是不可名，有就是可名。
以这样的理解来读道德经的第一章，可能有新的领悟：
道可道，非常道。名可名，非常名。
无名，天地之始；有名，万物之母。
故常无，欲与观其妙；常有，欲与观其皦。
此两者，同出而异名，同为之玄。
玄之又玄，众妙之门。
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Laozi started its Daode Jing by saying: Dao that can be Dao-ed is not the eternal Dao.
There is no doubt that the second word Dao is used as a verb. The sentence is generally interpreted as ‘Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao’. In this interpretation, Dao-ed means ‘told’. However, this interpretation may not be acceptable. This is because the word Dao used as a verb to mean ‘say’ happened only much later after Qin dynasty. It is also not easy to understand the word Dao used as a verb in Chinese.
If we agree that Dao refers to a way or a rule, then perhaps one can interpret the sentence to mean the Dao that can be referred to as a Way or Rule is not the eternal Dao.
Wu (无) means the unnamable, and You (有) means the namable.
With this, probably we can interpret the first chapter of Daode Jing as:
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The Dao that can be Dao-ed is not the eternal Dao,
The Name that can be named is not the constant Name.
The Unnamable is the origin of Heaven and Earth;
The Namable is the mother of the myriad things.
Therefore it is always from the Unnamable the subtlety of the Dao can be contemplated;
Similarly it is always from the Namable that the manifestation of Dao can be perceived.
These two have the same sources but different names.
They both can be called deep and profound.
The Deepest and Most profound is the doorway to all subtleties.

成语外交 The Proverb Diplomacy

先是‘乒乓外交’，现在是‘成语外交’。
‘乒乓外交’指1970年代中美的乒乓选手交流，标志中美关系融化，导致美国总统尼克松于1972年2月21日至28日访问中国。
希拉里上任美国国务卿以来由2月20 至22日首次访问中国，美国记者认为成功：‘她来了，她被喝彩了，她征服了。’这次访问被称为‘成语外交’。
希拉里的亚洲之行前，在纽约发表演讲时，曾借用中国古语来形容中美关系：‘当你在同一条船上，你就必须和平地一起度过这条河。’中国媒体把它译为‘同舟共济’。这句成语来至中国古代军事策略家孙膑的‘孙子兵法’。
2月21日，中国总理温家宝称赞希拉里引用中国成语，并介绍‘孙子兵法’里的下一句‘携手共进’。
这就鼓舞希拉里再说一句中国成语：临渴掘井，以示国际问题需要两国来共同解决。
好个希拉里，这次真的是有备而来。
可见，魅力外交的最易最好的方法之一就是引用对方国家的历史、诗歌和领导语录。
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First, there was a ‘Ping-pong Diplomacy’, now it is the ‘Proverb Diplomacy’.
Ping-Pong Diplomacy refers to the exchange of ping pong (table tennis) players of the United States and China (PRC) in the 1970s. The event marked a thaw in US-China relations that paved the way to a visit to Beijing by President Richard Nixon from 21 to 28 February 28, 1972.
Hillary Clinton’s first visit to China from 20 to 22 Feb 2009, as the US Secretary of State, was said to be a great success. The US journalists reported: ‘She came, she wowed, and she conquered.’ And her visit is known as the Proverb Diplomacy.
She had used an ancient Chinese saying in a speech in New York before her Asia trip to describe US-China relations: ‘When you are in a common boat, you need to cross the river peacefully together.’ The Chinese media translated it as tong zhou gong ji, a Chinese proverb which is from The Art of War by Sun Tze, an ancient Chinese military strategist.
On 21 Feb, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao praised her for using the Chinese proverb and shared another saying in the book with her: progress together, hand in hand, or xie shou gong jing in Chinese.
That encouraged Mrs Clinton to offer yet another Chinese proverb: ‘You should dig a well before you are thirsty’ or lin ke jue jing, which referring to the need for the two countries to work together on global issues.
Well done, Hillary. You were well prepared this time.

It shows that one of the easiest and best ways to charm in diplomacy is to make references to the other country’s history, poetry or leaders’ quotes.

人文主义 Humanism

我们注意到文化复兴所导致的现代科学的诞生，对后来现代哲学来说，十分重要。
当理性重新维护其任务，而新的科学方法从了解到改进与开始被应用，显现了人类对进步发展的乐观信赖；与此同时，人类对解决问题的能力的信心，与日俱增。因为这个原故，人类，人的力量与尊严日益被强调。
这是对一个正在沉睡中的巨人的搅拌。这个巨人在沉睡时，被捆绑与囚禁，直到不能移动。巨人慢慢的从囚禁中解脱出来，站起来，并向世界宣告他的势力。
人敢维护他控制世界的能力，要支配他所走的道路，并随他的心意而转移。因为强调的是人在这个世界，所以就叫做‘人文主义’。
作为一种哲学，人文主义发展于文化复兴时期，而在启蒙运动中获得了立足点。人的自由、平等、权力、理性与民主主义，都是他们的共同理念。
人文主义者相信民主与人权是普世价值，不论你生活于何处，它们都应该存在于所有人类当中。很明显的，西方人文主义者并没有办法从普世主义与理性主义中解脱出来。
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We noted that the birth of modern science was one thing that happened during the Renaissance that was of great importance for the later character of modern philosophy.
As the role of reason re-asserted itself and the new scientific methodology began to be employed, first to understand and then to improve it, an optimistic belief in progress arose, as well as an increasing confidence in the capacity of humans to solve problems. There was thus a growing stress upon man and his power and dignity.
This was the stirring of a giant who had been asleep and during his sleep had been tied and fettered until he could no longer move. Slowly the giant broke his bonds, stood up, and proclaimed his power to the world.
Man dared to assert his ability to control the world, to master his ways and turned them to his desires. It was an emphasis upon the human in the universe and, therefore, has been called ‘Humanism’.
As a philosophy, humanism started developing during the renaissance and gained ground during the enlightenment, sharing ideals such as human freedom, equality, rights, rationalism, and democracy.
The humanists believe that democracy and human rights are universal values and must exist for all people, regardless of where you live. It is obvious that western humanists are not able to think out of universalism and rationalism.

子曰：学而时习之 Confucius Said: To Learn with a Constant Perseverance and Practice

子曰：学而时习之，不亦悦乎？有朋自远方来，不亦乐乎？人不知而不愠，不亦君子乎？
第一句里的‘习’，并不是指温习，而是指习惯。这个‘习’与他所说的‘性相近也，习相远也’的习是一样的。以动词来读，就是多多实践以成为习惯。就是说，我们学习了新的东西，能够时常应用，那不是件愉快的事吗？
第二句的‘朋’，固然可指朋友，亦可说是知我者。‘远’是远方，指空间之远，亦指时间之长。人生能有一知己，实在是不易，在远方或久久能得到一个知己，自是一大乐事也。
第三句，不愠就是不感到烦恼。有大学问而不为世所知，并不觉得有所烦恼，那才算是君子。
这三句话都是有关作学问的态度。学了就要有所应用，就要有知音人，但不要显耀。
In the Analects, Confucius started by telling the correct attitude of learning. He said that with three sentences.
In the first sentence, the word xi习means practice. This is the same word when he said ‘Men are close in human nature but far apart in practice’. It is used here as a verb, to mean one must always practice or apply on what one has learned.
In the second sentence, the word ‘peng 朋’ means friends, or those who understand and appreciate you. The word ‘yuan远’ refers to far away place in terms of distance or once in a while, a long time. If there is someone who lives far away or once in a while someone understands you, is it not delightful?
The third sentence says that as a true gentleman, one should not be troubled if his wisdom is not noticed by anyone.
So Confucius said: ‘Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and practice? Is it not delightful to have friends coming from distant quarters? Is he not a man of complete virtue, who feels no discomposure though men may take no note of him?’
These three sentences summarise the way of learning. A person must always apply what he learns, will be delighted that some ones appreciate him and will not be troubled if nobody takes note of him.

华人的横向超越观念 The Chinese Idea of Horizontal Transcendence

我们注意到中国哲学中并没有超越这个概念。
对柏拉图而言，我们感官所看到的和经验的世界是不真实的。在这个世界里，我们发现事物一直在改变、来了又去，可是它们并不真实。同可视世界分开的是一个理念世界。在理念世界里，一切完美，它们不会有任何改变，永不退色或死亡，保持永恒。
换句话说，西方哲学家告诉我们不能相信我们说看到的。我们只能以理性能力来发掘真实与永恒世界，而这个永恒世界超越我们每天所看到的世界。
我们说华人不认同这个超越概念，是否意味着华人相信我们所看到的世界是真实的？很明显的，答案是‘不’。
华人以经验观物，以人常所见之物来观物。既然事物在变，我们需要把事物改变前的状态与将变成的未来状态加以联系。过去与未来的事物并不在我们的眼前出现，可是它们是真实的。
换句话说，华人相信言外之意与弦外之音。要了解所显现的，就要知道所隐蔽的；而隐蔽可在过去与未来中找到。
就是说，华人观物，其实从显现超越到隐蔽。而隐蔽是无限与永恒的。我们叫这种超越为横向超越。
为了把华人的超越和西方的超越划分界限，我们把西方的超越称为纵向超越。
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We noted that the notion of transcendence is not part of the Chinese philosophical thinking.
For Plato, the world which we see and experience through our senses are not real. In it, we find things changing, coming and going, but they are not real. There is a world of ideas that is separated from our perceivable world. In the Idea World, things are perfect; they do not change in anyway, never fade or die, and remain forever.
In other words, the western philosophers say that we cannot trust what we see. We can only trust our reasoning power to discover the real and eternal world, which transcend the physical world that we see every day.
When we say the Chinese do not subscribe to the idea of transcendence, does it imply that they trust what they see and trust their experience as real? The answer is obviously no.
Chinese view of things is based on experience and what they see in their daily lives. Since things change, there is a need to relate the past state of things before they change and the future state to which they will transform. Things in past and future are things that are absent from our view, but they are real.
In other words, Chinese believe that one must read what is implied but not expressed on the surface, or the meaning behind what is said. To understand the present, one must know the absent, which can be found in the past and the future.
That is to say, the Chinese view of things actually transcend from the present to the absent. The absent is unlimited and eternal. We can call this transcendence the horizontal transcendence.
To draw a line between the Chinese idea of transcendence and the western transcendence, we shall call the western transcendence the vertical transcendence.