Liang Qichao (1873-1929). Liang Qichao's "Young China Theory" is very popular, and the saying "A strong youth will make a country strong" is even more popular. Youth represent the future, and how a country's youth is will mean what the country's future will be like. This is proba

Liang Qichao (1873-1929).

Liang Qichao's "Young China Theory" is very popular, and the saying "A strong youth will make a country strong" is even more popular. Youth represent the future, and how a country's youth is will mean what the country's future will be like. This is probably something that no one at home or abroad doubts. However, Liang Qichao did not explain what "strong" means here, especially what "young strong" means. Perhaps he thinks that the meaning of "strong" is self-evident, but what is "strong" in a young man is really a question that needs to be analyzed and clarified. This is especially necessary today.

The word "strong" that most people think of is, first of all, physical strength. This was a particularly prominent issue at the beginning of the twentieth century. At that time, Chinese people were generally in poor health, so they were ridiculed by outsiders as the "sick man of East Asia." A series of literary and film and television works that are well-known to the public, such as "Fearless Fearless", "Fist of Fury" and "Chen Zhen", etc., were all inspired by the collective consciousness of the Chinese people at that time who wanted to keep fit and wash away the shame of being "the sick man of East Asia". Full disclosure and reflection. To this day, the "strength" of a country's youth still directly means a strong body. This is best reflected in various sports competitions. Therefore, the victory or defeat of various sports competitions has become a major event that affects people's mood. For example, the repeated defeats of Chinese football are heartbreaking because "winning" means "strong" and "losing" means "weak". Without "defeat" caused by "weakness", there would be no issue of national and national honor.

However, the "strong" in "Strong young people will make the country strong" does not just mean "strong" in the sense of being physically strong. As history enters the 21st century, the Chinese people have long since gotten rid of the shame of being the “sick man of East Asia”. Although football has suffered many failures, in other sports, Chinese athletes have experienced frequent successes, and China has long become a sports power. However, why do many people in the general public still have strong resonance with the former Liang Qichao's so-called "A strong youth will make a country strong"? This shows that the real "strength" that represents a country and a nation is not just the physical strength of the Chinese people, but even in a more important sense, it is not the physical strength. Why does

say this? Obviously, a strong body is only a reflection of "strong" in the sense of "strength", and as a civilization, human beings, in addition to "strength", pay more attention to "reason". In other words, the more important thing about the value and significance of human beings lies not in the "power" aspects of "physical strength", "material resources" or even "financial resources" and "military power", but in creating and embodying civilization. A "reason" aspect. Otherwise, human beings will become a wild jungle and animal world where the weak and the strong eat each other.

As the saying goes, "reason can travel all over the world", it means that the power of "reason" exceeds everything else, and everyone must be reasonable. There was an ancient emperor who thought he had the highest power and became the "strongest" person in the world. He proudly asked his ministers if he was the greatest in the world. As a result, the ministers who were deeply influenced by traditional Chinese values, especially Confucianism, responded: : "There is something greater than your Majesty in the world." Emperor Surprised and asked what it was, the minister replied: "The most reasonable thing in the world, your Majesty must also be reasonable." This story reflects the concept that whether it is "power" such as physical strength, force, financial resources, and power, in civilization , justice and other values ​​​​are in a secondary position in front of the "reason" reflected. It is precisely for this reason that "the Tao is higher than the powerful" and "obey the Tao but not the emperor" are not only traditional Chinese values, but also universally accepted values ​​in Western civilization. In this regard, the "strong" of "young man is strong", in addition to the enhancement of physical fitness, more importantly, is the enhancement of civilization.

This point can be deeply felt from Liang Qichao’s loud call for “public morality” at that time. He said: "What our people lack most is public morality. What is public morality? The reason why a group of people is a group and the reason why a country is a country depends on this virtue.Human beings are also gregarious animals (this is what Aristotle said) . People are not in groups, animals are making choices. It is not just empty words and high-level talk about the group of people grouping together, but it is also a person who can achieve success; there must be something that is concentrated and connected, and then the grouping is actually promoted. If this is the case, it is called public morality. ” (“On Public Morality”)

The “public morality” Liang Qichao talks about here refers to the “reasons” that should be emphasized in the public domain of society, which is the respect and observance of public order, which is what modern Chinese calls “civilization”. " and the so-called "ritual" in ancient Chinese. The old saying "ritual is the principle", exactly what it says : People's observance of "propriety" is actually the emphasis on "reason". In today's terms, whether it is "propriety" or "reason", it means being "civilized". The most direct and important reflection is whether one can respect and abide by public order. Therefore, the "strong" in Liang Qichao's so-called "young strong" corresponds to his theory of "public morality". It refers to the strengthening of "observance of etiquette" and "reasoning", in other words, the enhancement of the level of civilization.

Whether a country or a nation is regarded as "strong" or "weak" in the world is not just about that. Military and wealth, but more importantly, the degree of civilization. If a country with strong military power cannot uphold justice and support justice in the world, it will rely on strength. Bullying of the weak will only be considered "tyrannical", "violent" and "strong", but will not be considered truly "powerful"; a country that is extremely rich will not be "benevolent and charitable" if it is "unkind for the sake of wealth". Or relying on one's own "richness" to be unable to respect poor countries, or even treat the disadvantaged people in one's own country well, it will also not be considered truly powerful. , I have already discussed it in "Rebuilding Civilization: Confucianism and the Modern World", interested readers can refer to it, and will not repeat it here.

The thirty-fifth volume of "Qing Yi Bao" published Liang Qichao's "Young China"

In short. , if the understanding of the "strength" of a country and nation must be more clear Focusing on "civilization" or "gentleness", then, in the sentence "A strong young man makes a country strong", the "strong" young people, which is the premise of a "strong" country, should obviously also refer to "civilization". "Elegant". In a word, in modern Chinese popularly speaking, "Strong young people will make the country strong" means: Only when young people not only have strong bodies, but also have good civilized education, can a country be strong? Only in this way can we truly win the respect of the world and be regarded as a truly powerful country.

Liang Qichao's "Young China" was written while he was staying in Hawaii in 1900. Now, 124 years have passed, but as mentioned at the beginning of this article. , the saying "A strong youth makes a country strong" is still unbreakable and continues to resonate strongly in people's hearts. , the truth mentioned in this sentence is not only applicable to China, but is universal across the world. If young people are the representatives of the future, then, which country is not "strong in its youth" but "strong in its country"? Of course, as Chinese, just like Liang Qichao back then, our first concern is the strength of China and the strength of Chinese youth. This is natural.

So, here comes the problem. Since everyone has repeatedly resonated with the idea that "strong young people will make the country strong", does this mean that today's Chinese teenagers are facing the problem of not being "strong" enough? In other words, when it comes to whether they are "strong" enough, are today's Chinese teenagers less than satisfied?

If the meaning of "strong" needs to focus more on "civilization" and "education", or on respect and observance of public order, perhaps young people in ancient and modern times, both at home and abroad, have difficulties in various forms and degrees. at. However, this cannot prevent us from facing up to and discussing the various problems existing among China’s youth today. Only by discovering problems and improving them can we change from "not strong" to "strong" and from "not so strong" to "stronger".If we still firmly believe in Ren Gong’s saying that “a strong young man will make a country strong”, and in order to “rebuild civilization” and make China a truly “strong” country that is “rich but courteous” and “peaceful but not arrogant”, then we It must start by making our youth “strong.”

As the old saying goes, "people are poor but have short ambitions." In difficult economic times, especially when the traditional values ​​of "propriety, justice, honesty and shame" are destroyed, it is inevitable that "gentleness will be wiped out" and public order will not be respected and observed as it should be. The problem of being downtrodden. In such an era, the majority of people, including teenagers, are probably both the sufferers and the creators of problems. However, since the reform and opening up, today's young people aged 15-25, especially young people of this age group in the more developed cities on the southeast coast, when they are already in a state of adequate food and clothing, have they been able to respect and respect the people well? Observe public order, "reason" and "observe etiquette", thus possessing and demonstrating good civilized qualities?

In this regard, I would like to use my personal experience as an example to make observations and thoughts. In this case, our discussion here is free from abstraction. Weather permitting, I have the habit of taking a walk on campus after meals. During my walks, I often encounter students riding electric scooters or bicycles on the sidewalk. Of course, sometimes road conditions force them to ride on the sidewalk for a while. This situation is outside the scope of my discussion. But there are also many times when these students deliberately choose to drive on the sidewalk. Even though the non-motorized lane is right next to it and it is not congested, they still ride to the sidewalk. Obviously, this situation is a lack of respect for and non-compliance with public order, a lack of civility, and a lack of strength in the sense of Liang Qichao's "Young China Theory".

So, why do you still ride an electric car or bicycle to occupy the sidewalk even though you know it is a sidewalk and there is a dedicated non-motorized lane next to it? The reason is that in the minds of these students, occupying the sidewalk is an insignificant behavior. And why does occupying the sidewalks not matter? If we conduct psychological analysis and delve deeper into this, we will find that this may not be related to some kind of subconsciousness of "taking chances", "bullying the weak and fearing the strong" or even "bullying the weak".

Some of the sidewalks on campus are very narrow. Once I had a "narrow encounter" with a classmate who was riding an electric bicycle on a narrow sidewalk. Since I have encountered this situation several times, I can't help but think about it. While I reminded the classmate that he was on the wrong road, I asked the classmate why he didn't ride on the motorway. That classmate must have never reflected on such a problem before, and was speechless for a moment. I said, "I'm afraid you know that riding on motorized lanes is dangerous, but there is no danger on sidewalks. But if you think like this, are you only thinking about your own safety and forgetting the safety of others? What about riding on motorized vehicles? On the driveway, those who ride electric bikes are weak; on the sidewalk, for those who ride electric bikes, , Pedestrians are weak. Have you ever thought about the danger to pedestrians if you ride an electric bicycle on the sidewalk? "

My question is that I believe that most students who ride on the sidewalk have not thought about it. However, this does not mean that those students do not have that subconscious mind, and it does not mean that my question is untargeted. If there was no such subconscious mind, they might not abandon the motor vehicle lane and occupy the sidewalk when there is a dedicated non-motorized lane but not using it.Some people may say that this kind of analysis is probably a "heart-killing theory". However, if any human behavior is the result of concepts, then if we don't look for the cause in concepts, and don't find the root of the problem in the "heart", How to fundamentally solve the problem?

We can imagine that a young man who does not respect and abide by public order will enter society in the future. What consequences will it have for public order? Will a young man who is only afraid of being bumped into himself and not afraid of bumping into others be a selfish or even bullying person in a hierarchical society in the future? Even if it's just a young man who wants to take shortcuts, will he ignore the rules, take risks, and do things that break the rules when he enters the society in the future? I am afraid these worries are not unfounded, but are actually related to the future of the country. If such young people account for a considerable proportion, one can only imagine what Chinese society will be like in the future and what China's image will be in the world in the future.

Of course, it must be noted that in my experience, in terms of riding bicycles occupying sidewalks, there are very few young people I see who do not respect and abide by public order. And when I point out the problems of students who encroach on the sidewalk, most of them will immediately show "shame", realize that their behavior is inappropriate, and correct it immediately. It is extremely rare for someone who is not ashamed to argue or even yell unreasonably. It is precisely because of this that I have never lost my faith in young people.

Some people would say that uncivilized behaviors such as bicyclists occupying sidewalks do not only happen to young people, but are universal to all ages. Indeed, if our observations are not limited to campuses, and only in terms of the behavior of electric vehicles occupying sidewalks, I am afraid that electric vehicles delivering express delivery are more common. Furthermore, if uncivilized behavior is not limited to electric vehicles occupying sidewalks, but widely involves various behaviors in society, then the behavior of some elderly people who have been baptized in special periods may be far worse than that of the majority of people. Young people want to be "excellent". In this case, why should I specifically target young people in this article?

The reason is very simple. As mentioned at the beginning of this article, Liang Qichao's "A strong young man will make a strong country" is widely recognized by humanity, and I am one of them who agrees and resonates with it. The so-called "deep love and deep responsibility" is precisely because I, like Mr. Ren, firmly believe that the future of a country lies in its youth, so I pay more attention to the youth. And I firmly believe that whether China can increasingly move toward civilization instead of descending into barbarism depends on whether today's teenagers can fully realize what "strength" is in youth; how can China's teenagers "strengthen themselves" and where should they go in terms of value? , will determine how China will stand in the world in the future.Therefore, the last thing I want to say is that I sincerely hope that our young people can truly "be self-reliant" in the sense of "obeying etiquette", "reasoning" and being "gentle", and draw nutrients from the values ​​of all traditions and civilizations at home and abroad, both ancient and modern, Be a person who stands upright and has no shame! (The author is Qiushi Distinguished Professor of Zhejiang University)

Peng Guoxiang

Editor Liu Xiaolei