"Confucianism and Modern China" is a compilation of speeches made by British sinologist Reginald F. Johnston on Confucianism between 1933 and 1934. This paper expounds the filial piety, teacher-student relationship, Confucian culture, religion and other issues advocated by Confucian culture, expounds Confucian culture from the perspective of a foreign sinologist, and shows the Confucian view in the eyes of a westerner.

This book is divided into twelve chapters. Chapter I Introduction; The second chapter discusses the influence of Zheng Xin's A History of the Scholars (also known as Fourteen Classics of the Scholars) on the education of overseas school-age children. The third chapter talks about "filial piety" in Confucianism; The fourth chapter discusses the relationship between teachers and students; The fifth chapter talks about "ancestor worship" closely related to "filial piety"; The sixth chapter is to combine Confucianism with the state and discuss the "political loyalty" of advocating Confucianism; The seventh chapter mainly discusses the reasons why "Confucianism" cannot be called "Confucianism"; The eighth chapter talks about the function of rites and music in Confucianism; The ninth chapter talks about the development and trend of Confucianism; Chapter 10 the relationship between Confucianism and 19 1 1 year revolution; Chapter 11 Confucianism and * * * and political power are explored from the political perspective of westerners; The twelfth chapter is about Confucianism and China in the future, and looks forward to the development of Confucianism. This book covers all aspects of Confucianism, from "artifacts" (music and etiquette) to "system" (* * and political power and political loyalty) to "culture" (filial piety and Confucianism). The article discusses all aspects of Confucian culture one by one, and comprehensively expounds the Confucian view in the eyes of a westerner.

Confucian culture is the soul that supports our nation. In today's globalization, only by understanding our own culture can we find our own national advantages and gain a foothold in the world powers. From our own point of view, Confucian culture is the beginning of education in China and the core of ancient education. The Analects of Confucius records the words and deeds of Confucius and his disciples, which is still valuable in modern education, because some educational ideas put forward by Confucius are still the core ideas we adhere to in education now. Similarly, Confucian culture is also the ideological core in the formation of our nation, and our national character is also the result of the influence of Confucian culture to a great extent.

Confucianism is profound and profound, and it is difficult to master it comprehensively and deeply through a book. But we can learn some basic ideas of Confucian culture from this book. Through these thoughts, we see the light that condenses its wisdom, which is still shining today in building a harmonious society and a modern Chinese dream.

We regard Confucian classics as the main thread of this post-reading. Through the interpretation of these classics, we can see the profoundness of ancient Chinese philosophy, and combine with our own reality, hoping to achieve mastery.

(1) Confucius said: the nature of heaven and earth, but people are precious. (Chapter 9 of Three Records of Filial Piety)

This is a classic in the Book of Filial Piety, which emphasizes the goodness of nature and the acquired energy of "people". Zheng's comment on this sentence goes a step further. He said: "saints" are just members who live with others. Even Confucius, regarded as a saint, is subordinate to the order of all beings, but he is better than his peers. Through unremitting efforts, mediocre people, as potential saints, may also give life value and meaning. This is actually an affirmation that everyone is born equal and must follow the world order. Moreover, human nature is good, and true followers of Confucius have a clear understanding of their dignity, rights and responsibilities, so they can calmly bear the insults and injuries of the world. Only "little people" will think that their nature is despicable and sink when they are incompetent or treated unfairly by others.

This sentence in the Book of Filial Piety is a very important criterion in our teaching activities. In teaching activities, we should always remember that every student is equal and "good in nature". We should treat every student equally and not treat them differently because of personal prejudice. Similarly, we should believe that a teacher plays an important guiding role in the growth of students, helps to shape each student's independent personality and guides them to be positive on the road of life. This is our duty as teachers, right?

The responsibility of resigning.

(2) See the sage Si Qi; if you don't see the sage, you will introspect. ("The Analects of Confucius, Establishing Four") This sentence is from Confucius, which means that unless we try our best to catch up with people with higher moral standards than us, we are in danger of falling into groups with lower moral standards than us. Similarly, this sentence reminds us of another wise saying of Confucius, "A threesome must have a teacher". This sentence can be used not only in situations where morality is better than ours, but also in any case, we should learn from people who are better than ourselves and get closer to them. Whether morally or at work, we should constantly learn and improve ourselves to prevent our own degeneration and philistinism.

(3) A gentleman talks but doesn't do it. ("The Analects of Confucius Learning First")

Ordinary people generally talk more and do less, but as "gentlemen", they talk less and do more. As a gentleman, we should pay more attention to appropriate practical actions rather than boasting about our cleverness.

This is a very important life rule, and it is also the tradition of our Chinese nation. This should also be our motto. First of all, as a teacher, we should practice our educational ideas in teaching practice, not only at the level of "ideas", but also through practical actions and constant revision through feedback. At the same time, at the student level, this is more important. As a teacher, we should not only impart knowledge to students, but also pay attention to cultivating a correct outlook on life and values. Teachers should set an example and warn students that as "gentlemen", they should pay more attention to actions and not develop into "dreamers" who only talk and don't do it. Pupils are an imaginative stage with all kinds of whimsy. How to develop students' imagination, not just "ideas", and turn it into real actions is also a challenge for our teachers. From this admonition of Confucius, we can get guidance.

(4) Confucius taught four things: writing, action, loyalty and faith. (The Analects of Confucius Seventh)

Confucius attached great importance to the cultivation of personality. For the above sentence, we can use a sentence in the Analects of Confucius to annotate: "Confucius said:' Disciples are filial when they enter, filial when they leave, sincere and trustworthy, and kind when they love others. If you have spare capacity, you should study literature. " "。 It means that young people should honor their parents at home, respect others outside, and be warm and sincere in all social interactions. He should love everyone, but make friends with excellent people. Besides, if you have spare time, you can also study music and art.

It is necessary to emphasize the importance of personality cultivation in Confucianism, because in today's society, we are facing a moral crisis with the center as the focus, and moral education is in danger of being ignored, which has nothing to do with the invasion of western capitalist egoism and the concern for money supremacy after market opening. This also requires the importance of our primary school teachers as the first line of educational defense for the growth of the next generation of the motherland. In teaching activities, we should pay special attention to the cultivation of children's growing personality and tell them what is right and wrong, what should be done and what should not be done.

According to Confucius' vision of an ideal society, our harmonious society should be: "The trip to the Avenue is also a trip for all, the world is for the public, the talents are selected, and the faith is harmonious." An old friend is not only a relative, but also an only son. Let the old have an end, be strong and useful, and be young and have strengths; The widowed, widowed and disabled have support; Men have points and women have returns; Goods, abandon it to the ground, don't hide it in yourself; Force, evil is not out of the body, not for yourself. Therefore, it is not prosperous to seek closure, and it is not prosperous to steal thieves, so it is not closed to the outside. It's to Datong. "

For example, several social events we are familiar with, such as Xiaoyueyue incident and helping the elderly, are all due to the lack of "moral cultivation" in current education and even public publicity and education. This can all be considered as a "warning" issued by our society. As a people's teacher, we pay special attention to the cultivation of personality in the process of imparting knowledge to students, which can be reflected by guiding children's daily behavior, learning Confucian classic etiquette and special classes.

This is an expression directly related to education. This passage is composed of four words, which is extremely concise, but it tells a very profound truth. Zhu explained this passage from the perspective of "nature is good". He said that the difference in personal growth from good to evil and its degree is caused by external education, communication and environment. Because people can be divided into different "classes", not by social standards, but by moral and knowledge standards. And our education can avoid these "categories" because an excellent educator can guide students to develop in the right direction and develop according to their kind nature. Therefore, all people who receive quality education are potentially equal in principle. Even if these people are different from each other because of differences in intellectual talent or other inevitable reasons, they should not be classified into different "classes". In other words, education can keep people's original good nature. To say the least, even if this nature has been defiled and distorted, education can restore its original goodness and integrity.

This can be regarded as a core concept of education in Confucian culture, which is universally applicable, and it is the same golden rule both in ancient times and now. In education, we should always adhere to this policy and give full play to the role of education. Therefore, the teacher is a professional teacher. The responsibility of teachers is not only to "dispel doubts", but more importantly, to have a positive impact on students and cultivate their personality. This is the real function of education.

On the basis of explaining the basic connotation of Confucianism, Johnston made an in-depth discussion on the characteristics and modern value of Confucianism from the perspective of caring for the development prospect of world spiritual civilization, trying to find a way out for world spiritual civilization. From the perspective of cross-cultural communication between China and the West. For a long time, an important proposition that attracts Chinese and foreign cultural scholars is to know what mentality they are paying attention to the traditional culture of China and how high their understanding of the traditional culture of China will be. As a practitioner of "learning from the East to the East", Johnston's dissemination of Confucianism, China culture and cultural exchanges between China and the West is a microcosm, which undoubtedly provides a unique text for us to understand the above issues.