Luo Su's Comments on China People's Personality What are the important personality characteristics of China people in the eyes of foreigners at that time?

Bertrand Russell (1872may18-1970 February 2) is one of the most influential philosophers, mathematicians and logicians in the 20th century. He is also an active political activist, committed to the popularization of philosophy. Numerous people regard Russell as the prophet of this era, but at the same time, many of Russell's political positions are controversial. He was born in 1872 and died in 1970 at the height of the British Empire. At this time, Britain experienced two world wars and the empire had declined.

From 65438 to 0950, Russell won the Nobel Prize in Literature in recognition of his "diverse and important works, his persistent pursuit of humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought".

Westerners have a saying that China people are incredible and full of mysterious thoughts, which is hard for us to understand. If I go to China for a long-term life experience, it may make me hold this view. However, according to what I saw and heard in that country, I didn't find any trace to prove that this argument is correct. I talk to people in China just like I talk to the British, and they answer me just like the British answer people in China. China people are well-educated, smart and wise. I don't believe the myth that "orientals are insidious" at all. I am sure that in a game of mutual deception, an Englishman or an American will beat an China in nine cases out of ten. But when many poor China people do business with rich white people, such activities are often beneficial to only one of them. There is no doubt that white people have been cheated, while China people are just like those stupid bureaucrats stationed in London.

One of the most admirable qualities of China people is their ability to grasp the feelings of foreigners. Almost all foreigners, whether traveling to China or living in China for many years, like China people. Despite the alliance between Britain and Japan, I can't think of any Englishman who lives alone in the Far East who loves the Japanese as much as he loves them. Only those who live in it for a long time can get their own views and standards. When you first arrive in China, you will be shocked by the obvious disadvantages there: hordes of beggars, amazing poverty, rampant diseases, social chaos and political corruption. Every westerner with a sense of justice, without exception, strongly expects China people to get rid of these bad habits first. China naturally needs reform.

However, China people, even those who could have avoided being unfortunate victims, are indifferent and insensitive to the enthusiasm of foreigners. They are just waiting for the bubble of soda water to disappear, waiting for the disadvantages of the present situation in China to disappear. Moreover, this blind wait-and-see attitude has gradually affected the reason of confused foreign tourists. After a burst of resentment passed, they began to doubt whether the creed they had always believed in was correct. Is it really wise to always be wary of the possibility of misfortune? Is it prudent to give up the existing happiness and think about the possibility of a sudden disaster? Should our lives be spent on building a mirage that will never be inhabited?

China people have no answers to these questions, so they can tolerate poverty, disease and corruption. However, as a self-compensation for these drawbacks, China people have retained the ability to enjoy civilization. They often entertain themselves, laugh, play in the sun and discuss philosophy. This is not available in industrialized countries. China people, including people from all walks of life, like joking more than any other ethnic group I know. They look for fun in everything and always use jokes to ease disputes.

The damage caused by corruption and chaos in China's political arena is far less terrible than we thought. The so-called "high efficiency" government in the west, especially the Japanese government's pursuit of the predatory desire of big countries, has brought much more disasters than China. The actions of most modern governments are harmful. Therefore, the worse they do, the better the effect will be. In China, the government is lazy, corrupt and ignorant, but there is a certain degree of personal freedom. This personal freedom has been lost in other countries of the world.

China's laws are as imperfect as those of other countries. Sometimes, someone is imprisoned under the pressure of foreign forces for propagating Bolshevism, just as he will suffer the same fate in Britain and America. But this situation is rare; Usually, in real life, there are few cases of interference with freedom of speech and freedom of the press, just like a European enjoys personal freedom from 19 14 and an American enjoys personal freedom from 19 17. A China person will not feel the pressure of going with the flow. People still have to be like themselves and don't have to worry about the consequences after the conclusion is published. Individualism has been abandoned in the west, but it still exists in China. This has both good and bad aspects. Every working people in China has more or less maintained self-esteem and personal dignity, which only a few western financial oligarchs have.

China people's "saving face" often makes foreigners in China feel ridiculous. However, China people only want to achieve personal dignity consistent with their social lifestyle. Everyone should "face", even beggars with the lowest social status. If you don't want to seriously violate the moral standards of China people, don't embarrass him, or you will humiliate him. If you talk to a China person in a way that violates China's moral code, he will certainly laugh at you. If China people don't want to regard your behavior as offensive, then your words will be regarded as a joke by them.

Once, I felt that some students I taught didn't work as hard as I thought, so I made some comments on my English students as before. But I soon found myself making a mistake. These students all laughed uncomfortably. I was surprised at this, and then I figured out why. China people, even the most civilized people, are far more polite than we westerners. But this habit is not conducive to improving efficiency, and what is more serious is not conducive to establishing sincere and true relationships between people. If I were from China, I would like to reduce the pain caused by superficial politeness. However, China people have developed a gentle mentality because of being bullied by western powers. I'm not sure whether China's manners are better or worse than our westerners' frankness.

In the eyes of an Englishman, it is a characteristic of China people to like to compromise and give in to the pressure of public opinion. Few conflicts will develop into riots. The treatment of the Manchu emperor can be taken as a good example. In the west, once a country becomes a republic, people always chop off the head of the deposed monarch, or at least exile him abroad. In China, the emperor still retains the title of emperor, a magnificent palace, a large number of eunuchs, and an annual pension of 9 million yuan. Puyi is now sixteen years old and lives a quiet and comfortable life in the Forbidden City. In a civil war, he was nominally restored for a few days, but was overthrown and was not punished for the restoration.

In China, public opinion is a very powerful force. 1920 the collapse of the "Anfu parliament" was mainly attributed to the pressure of public opinion. This Congress is pro-Japanese and accepts Japanese loans. The gnashing hatred of the Japanese is the most powerful and extensive political passion of China people. The movement against "An Fu Hui" was initiated under the propaganda and encouragement of students. At the beginning, the "Anfu Congress" had an absolute advantage in military strength, but when the soldiers understood who they should fight for under the influence of public opinion, they began to defect. Finally, the opposition entered Beijing and overthrew the "Anfu Congress" government without firing a shot.

The influence of public opinion also played a key role in a teacher strike, which won when I left Beijing. At that time, due to corruption, the government had been short of financial funds and owed teachers wages for several months. Teachers were forced to petition the government peacefully with the support of students, and strongly demanded to be paid. As a result, the military and police stepped forward to suppress, and the two sides clashed, and many teachers and students were injured. Respecting teachers and attaching importance to education has a deep and extensive foundation among the people of China, so this incident has aroused strong social repercussions. The press immediately published an article condemning the incident. The government just got 9 million yuan of ill-gotten gains from three warlords who extorted money by force. If the government refuses the teachers' reasonable demands of tens of thousands of yuan, it can't find any excuse and can only yield to public opinion. I don't think that in Anglo-Saxon countries, the interests of teachers will cause such a big social response.

Nothing surprises Europeans more than the patience of China people. Educated people in China are deeply aware of the threat posed by foreigners to the survival of the Chinese nation. They are well aware of Japan's aggression in Manchuria and Shandong, and understand that the British in Hong Kong are sparing no effort to sabotage the Guangzhou Revolution in an attempt to establish a pro-British southern government. They know very well that all the powerful countries in the world, without exception, covet China's undeveloped rich resources, especially China's coal and iron ore. The Japanese are typical examples of China people. Japan successfully curbed the greedy desire of "civilized" industrialists by propagating barbaric militarism, enforcing strict discipline and advocating a new reactionary religion. However, China people neither imitate the Japanese, nor are they willing to obey the control of foreign forces. They think about problems not for decades, but for centuries. They were conquered by foreigners before, first by Mongols, then by Manchus. But in the end, the two foreign conquerors were assimilated by them. The origin of China civilization goes back to ancient times and remains unchanged. After several generations, the invaders became more like China than China.

Manzhouli has a vast territory and is the hometown of immigrants. The Japanese invaded Manchuria, claiming that they needed colonies to accommodate the rest of the population. However, there are more immigrants from China to Manchuria than Japanese 100 times. Whatever the political situation of Manchuria at this time, it must still be a part of Chinese civilization; Once the Japanese are in danger, Manchuria will be returned to China. The 40 million people of China have gathered into such a powerful force: indomitable national spirit, indomitable strength and unparalleled national cohesion. Although there is a civil war in China, it is only ostensibly noisy. The people of China despised the means of the enemy's army, and they waited until the enemy exhausted their spirit and energy in the internecine war before they rose up to resist.

The civilization of China is far more unified than that of China. Chinese civilization is the only one that can survive and continue among several ancient civilizations in the world. Since the time of Confucius, Egyptian, Babylonian, Persian, Macedonian and Roman civilizations have all died out, but China civilization has been maintained through continuous improvement. Chinese civilization has also been influenced by foreign cultures. From the influence of early Buddhism to that of modern western science. However, Buddhism did not turn China people into Indians. Western science didn't turn them into Europeans. I met some people in China who are as familiar with western culture as our professors in western countries. However, they have not lost their cultural and psychological balance, nor have they divorced from their own people. In their view, some bad things in the west, such as barbarism, turmoil, bullying, greed and the pursuit of pure material enjoyment, are not desirable. And some good things, especially western science, China people want to learn and adopt.

China's ancient local culture has become almost dead, and culture and art are not as vibrant as in the past. Confucius' Confucianism can no longer meet the needs of modern China people. All China people who have been educated in Europe and America realize that they need new external factors to revitalize their traditional culture. Therefore, they began to turn to western civilization, eager to make China traditional culture gain new vitality. However, they don't want to create a civilization similar to ours. They expect to open up a more ideal road to civilization. If China people are not inspired by the martial spirit, they will certainly create a new and more brilliant civilization. This new civilization will be more fascinating than any civilization that we westerners can create now.

So far, I have mainly talked about the good character of China people; However, the Chinese nation, like any other nation in the world, also has its shortcomings. I don't want to talk about the weakness of China people's personality, because I deeply feel that China people are so humble, gentle and kind in my contacts with China people, and I prefer to talk about these beautiful feelings. However, it is wrong not to admit the weakness of China people's character, whether out of genuine goodwill towards China or from the perspective of respecting facts. I only ask readers to remember that, in all fairness, I think the Chinese nation is one of the best nations I have ever seen in the world. At the same time, I will draft a serious indictment against any foreign forces that bully China. Before I left China, a famous China writer sincerely asked me to talk about the main shortcomings of China people's character. I hesitated to talk about three points: greed, cowardice and lack of compassion. Strange to say, instead of being angry, the author admitted that my criticism was to the point and continued to discuss with me ways to correct these shortcomings. This also vividly embodies one of the greatest virtues of China intellectuals.

China's lack of compassion shocked all westerners. They lack the humanitarian impulse, which urges the West to spend 1% of its energy to comfort 99% of its energy to comfort the misfortunes caused by others. For example, we have repeatedly prohibited Austria from joining Germany and prevented them from emigrating and obtaining industrial raw materials. As a result, many people starved to death except some Viennese who were willing to live on our relief. China people didn't spend the energy to starve Viennese, nor were they kind enough to let some Viennese live. When I was in China, millions of people died of famine; Some people sell their children as slaves for a few dollars. If they can't get such money, they will even kill them. Many white people do this kind of good work to help the hungry, and few people in China do it. Even if very little relief money is swallowed up by corrupt officials, of course, it can be said that westerners do it not so much to help the people of China as to appease their conscience. As long as China's current fertility rate and agricultural production mode remain unchanged, famine is inevitable. Those who survive this famine on the charity of others may find it difficult to escape from the next famine.

As long as China improves agricultural production technology and combines immigration and mass birth control, famine can be eliminated forever. People of insight in China realized this. Therefore, they use a simple relief method to save the hungry people, which is different from the white people's relief method. Most people in China have the same explanation for their lack of compassion, and their views on many related issues tend to be consistent. But there is still a problem that I can't understand. If a dog is seriously run over by a car, people passing by in China will nine times out of ten stop to laugh at the poor dog's whining and have fun. Seeing the pain itself cannot arouse the sympathy of ordinary people in China. In fact, they seem to feel comfortable and happy when they see others suffering. Judging from the history and criminal code of China191years ago, China people are by no means without cruel psychological impulses, but I have never encountered such a situation myself. It must be pointed out that western powers are cruel practitioners, while we westerners cover up our cruelty with hypocrisy.

Cowardice is an obvious shortcoming of China people. However, I don't believe they really lack courage and are afraid of death. On the battlefield, the two armies are at war, and both sides want to escape from the war. Victory belongs to the party who first discovers the other side's defeat. But this only shows that China soldiers are smart people. Because there is no major conflict, the army is composed of mercenaries. When the situation is serious, such as the Taiping Rebellion, it is said that China people are very brave and tenacious, especially when there are good soldiers. But I think, compared with the British, French and Germans, China people are not brave people, and they often just passively endure. The patience of China people is rare. China people will endure torture, and even die for reasons that seem unnecessary to many people of militant ethnic groups, such as refusing to say where others hide their stolen goods. Although they lack the courage to fight, they are not more afraid of death than we westerners, which can be seen from their preparation for suicide.

Greed, in my opinion, is the greatest shortcoming of China people. Life is hard, but it is difficult to make money. In order to get money, except for a few well-educated people, many people will commit corruption and crime. For a few cents, almost all coolies will be willing to die once. China got into trouble in the war against Japan, mainly because most politicians in China could not resist Japanese bribery. I think this shortcoming of greed may be rooted in economic conditions. Perhaps for decades, people with clean conduct have suffered in life and can't get the money they need. Only when the economic situation improves will this greed be reduced. I don't believe that corruption in China today is more serious than in Europe in the18th century. I have never heard that China's generals are more corrupt than Duke Biourd Burroughs, and China's politician Bikadi Nardoux Bois is more corrupt. Therefore, with the process of industrialization in China, China people have every hope to become as honest as we westerners. Of course, at least how honest westerners are, only we know.

As I said, most people in China are smart, capable and suspicious except that they are a little lazy and lack passion in their daily life. However, this is only one aspect of their character. On the other hand, China people are very enthusiastic; And it is often a collective fanaticism. Although I seldom see it, it is undoubtedly true. The rise of the Boxer Rebellion proves this point. China's history is more or less full of such turmoil. It is this factor in the character of China people that makes them unpredictable, even for the future of China people. You can imagine that some of them will become active Bolsheviks, fearless anti-Japanese saviors, crazy Christians, or devote themselves enthusiastically to a leader who finally declares himself absolute ruler. I think it is this factor in the character of China people that makes China people the most reckless adventurers in the world, although they are always cautious. Although romantic love is much despised in China than in the west, many emperors in China lost their crown because of the pursuit of romantic love.

It is not easy to generalize the character of China people. What impressed foreigners most was that China people maintained an ancient civilization and were not affected by industrialization. All these ancient civilizations may be lost under the oppression of Japanese, European and American financial capitalists who invaded China. China's art is being destroyed and replaced by second-rate paintings that are poorly imitated in Europe. Most China people who have received European education lack aesthetic ability in their own paintings, and rashly think that China has not followed the perspective law of painting.

It is difficult for tourists who have been to China to keep China's excellent cultural traditions unique. It will disappear with the arrival of industrialization. However, some things can still be preserved, such as some incomparable excellent moral qualities of China people. These excellent qualities are the most urgent needs of modern social life. Of all the moral qualities of China people, what I admire most is their peaceful temperament, which makes them pay more attention to equality and justice when seeking to solve disputes, instead of relying on strength like westerners. Of course, whether China people can continue to maintain their moderate and peaceful character depends entirely on what the western powers have done. If the people of China are forced to face the extremely brutal atrocities of corporatism as the Japanese did in China, then the people of China will become more fearless in self-defense.