Reading notes sample

The protagonist of "Don Quixote" was originally named Alonzo Quijada, a country squire. He was fascinated by the chivalric novels that were popular in society at that time, and named himself Don Quixote de la Don Quixote. In Mancha, he met Sancho, a servant, and a little girl from a neighboring village, named Dulcinea, as the person he would serve for his whole life. Then he got on a skinny horse and ran away from home. Don Quixote also acted according to the weird ideas in his mind, regarding windmills as giants, sheep as enemy soldiers, convicts as wounded knights, and wineskins as many ridiculous things. His behavior Not only is it of no benefit to others, but it also causes suffering for oneself. He was bedridden after arriving home for the last time, and it was only on his deathbed that he realized what had happened. He made a will that if his niece, the only heir, marries a knight, her inheritance rights will be revoked.

When I first read "Don Quixote", I thought it was just a funny and vulgar work. The protagonist's neurotic "brave spirit" was vividly displayed in the book, making people look down on him more and more. But after reading it carefully, I feel that the book contains a kind of truth. The nature of people is to pursue their goals regardless of anything. In the process of reality, the knight errant, who was as skinny as a sorghum stalk, and the gentleman with fantastic imagination, always reflected his integrity and kind nature. This is the most noble spirit of mankind. Because it is too simple, it is Many jokes were made.

Cervantes wrote "Don Quixote" in order to combat and satirize chivalric novels with random fabrications and bizarre plots and their bad influence. He originally planned to write several short stories, but as he continued to write, he wrote down his life experiences and life ideals. His ideological content became more and more rich, and his characters became more and more realistic, until he described the Spanish society brought to the people. The disaster has become an encyclopedia for us to understand and study the Spanish social politics, economy, culture and customs at that time. In "Don Quixote", Cervantes on the one hand criticizes the current ills and exposes and criticizes the ugly phenomena of society; on the other hand, he praises the good qualities of eliminating violence, punishing evil and promoting good, helping the poor and the weak, and praises the ideal social goals of the golden century. . All of these are the most common emotions of mankind, which can travel through time and space and have practical significance for every era and every nation. Four centuries apart, it still touches every reader.

Nearly 700 characters appear in "Don Quixote", and the picture of life described is very broad. It truly and comprehensively reflects the reality of Spanish feudal society from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 17th century, and reveals the decline of Spain. The various contradictions in the Kingdom of Spain condemned the shamelessness of the aristocratic class and expressed deep sympathy for the sufferings of the people. I think: It is this reason that prompted this work to be selected as the best classic literary masterpiece by 100 writers from 54 countries and regions around the world.

The immediate background of "The Siege" is 1937 and the following years, which was the period when China was invaded by Japanese imperialism. But to understand "The Besieged City", we must go back to modern times, especially since the Opium War. Under the powerful artillery and warships of the imperialist powers, China was forced to but historically began to contact the world. The ancient civilization of the Chinese nation and Western civilization An unprecedented confrontation, collision, conflict and even intersection and integration began. This cultural phenomenon is concretely and vividly reflected in a large number of overseas students - Qian Zhongshu is one of them - and therefore has typical significance worthy of dissection.

As a great scholar with knowledge of both China and the West, Qian Zhongshu almost inevitably had to understand the spiritual dilemma of the "siege city" from a cultural perspective, which resulted in a profound sense of loneliness and absurdity. At the end of the book, After experiencing the failure of education, love, career and family (marriage), Fang Hongjian lamented: When he was in a small town, he was afraid of being shunned by others, but when he arrived in the big city, he hated others' indifference, but he felt that the shunned people still looked up to him. express. Even though it is a microbial worm, it is still complacent, hoping that someone will put it under a microscope and magnify it to see it. The loneliness in the crowd and the desolation in the bustle made him like many people living on this isolated island, and his soul seemed like an isolated island with no shore. (p. 324).

The life lament of existential philosophy has been obviously introduced here. However, this kind of cultural dilemma and spiritual dilemma occurred in the fierce conflict between the declining and weak leader China and modern capitalist civilization. So we saw such a thought-provoking picture: Passing by a foreign bakery , the electric light in the kitchen window is bright, illuminating all kinds of pastries.

Standing outside the window was an old man in short clothes and ragged clothes, looking at the things in the window intently. He held a basket on his arm, which contained rough clay dolls and wind spins made of wax paper. (Page 353)

There is also the famous old ancestral clock at the end of the book. Fang Hongjian’s father gave it to his son and daughter-in-law as a wedding gift. It is “only 7 minutes slow” every hour. The "very accurate" clock is now five hours behind the clock: this outdated time machine unintentionally contains irony and sentimentality about life, which is deeper than all language and all laughter. (Page 359)

Some Western critics say that "Fortress Besieged" describes the spiritual crisis of Chinese intellectuals under the influence of Western culture, while some Chinese critics say that it shows the failure of modern Western civilization in China, thus proving The theme of capitalist civilization will not save China. There is some truth to all of this, but Qian Zhongshu does not seem to take an either/or position. He focuses more on ridiculing the ridiculousness, pity and shame of pseudo-literate people, and more on writing about the embarrassment in the conflict between Chinese and Western cultures. , embarrassment and dilemma. From a broader cultural perspective, "The Besieged City" is mainly about the plight of the "Besieged City". Its artistic summary and ideological implications transcend narrow personal experience, national boundaries and era divisions, and reflect the author's understanding of the entire world. The in-depth thinking of modern civilization and modern life also embodies the author's historical reflection on the basic conditions of human existence and the basic nature of human beings.

Notes on reading "The Analects of Confucius"

Zhao Pu, the founding prime minister of the Song Dynasty, once boasted that he ruled the world with half of the "Analects of Confucius". It can be seen that the Analects of Confucius played a huge role in ancient social and political life and the ancients respected the Analects of Confucius.

So, does The Analects of Confucius have any practical significance for our modern society and modern people's lives?

The true meaning of "The Analects" is to tell everyone how to live a happy life that our souls need. It teaches us how to obtain spiritual happiness in modern life, adapt to daily order, and find personal coordinates.

The Analects of Confucius is a collection of quotations written down by students about Confucius’s teachings and life more than 2,500 years ago. These records, mainly class notes, were compiled by his students and later became The Analects of Confucius.

The Analects of Confucius ultimately conveys a simple and warm attitude towards life. As we all know, Confucius had three thousand disciples, including seventy-two sages. It was with this simple and gentle attitude towards life that Confucius influenced his disciples. His disciples were all like seeds, spreading that attitude towards life and the wisdom of life widely.

One of Yu Dan’s insights from “The Analects”: The Way of Heaven, Earth and Man

Chinese people value change. This change is gradual, and finally reaches a state of "divine in heaven, holy in earth".

The six words "God is in heaven, holiness is in earth" are actually the Chinese people's personality ideal: with an idealistic sky, you can fly freely without compromising on many rules in the real world. and obstacles; and has the ability to be down-to-earth, able to expand his behavior on this earth. Those who have only ideals but no land are dreamers, not idealists; those who have only land but no sky, are pragmatists, not realists. Idealism and realism are our heaven and earth.

The meaning of man is the same as that of heaven and earth. Heaven, earth and man are collectively called the "three talents". Only when the energy of heaven and earth is condensed in a person's heart can it be so powerful. The essence of the thought of "The Analects" is to integrate the essence of the vastness of the sky and the thickness of the earth into the human heart, so that heaven, earth, and humans become a perfect whole, and the power of humans is therefore extremely powerful. We should never forget the power given to us by heaven and earth.

Confucius’ attitude was very peaceful, but his heart was very solemn. Because there is a powerful force in it, and that is the power of faith. Confucius was a person who paid special attention to faith.

His student Zigong asked, what are the requirements for a country to have stability and political stability?

Confucius’s answer was that there are only three answers: enough soldiers, enough food, and the people’s trust.

First, for the state apparatus to be strong, it must have sufficient military strength as a guarantee.

Second, there must be enough food so that people can have enough food and clothing.

Third, people must have faith in the country.

This student said three items were too many.

If one thing must be removed, which one would you say should go first?

Confucius said: "Go away the soldiers." We don't need this kind of force guarantee.

Zigong asked again, if one more should be removed, which one would you say should be removed?

Confucius told him very seriously: "Go and eat." We would rather not eat.

Then he said: "Death has occurred since ancient times, and people cannot stand without faith."

Being without food is nothing more than death. Who has not died since ancient times? So death is not the most terrible thing. The most terrifying thing is the collapse and disintegration after the people lose their faith in this country.

The real inner peace and recognition of the government come from faith. This is a political philosophy of Confucius. He believed that the power of faith is enough to unite a country.

This story is called "Zigong Asks for Political Affairs" in "The Analects of Confucius".

It is true that no one wants to live a hard life, but relying solely on material abundance cannot solve spiritual problems. Our material lives are obviously improving, but many people are becoming increasingly dissatisfied. Because he sees that there are always those who are suddenly rich around him, and there are always things that make him unbalanced.

Everyone hopes to live a happy life, and happiness is just a feeling, which has nothing to do with wealth and poverty, but is connected with the heart.

In "The Analects", Confucius told his students how to find happiness in life. This kind of thought has been passed down and has had a huge influence on many famous literati and poets in history. For example, Tao Yuanming was unwilling to give up his waist for five buckets of rice, which made everyone feel happy.

In the face of such fierce competition, everyone is working hard to develop their own careers. Income and position seem to have become signs of a person's success. But the more fierce the competition, the more you need to adjust your mentality and relationships with others. So, how should we behave in modern society?

Zigong asked Confucius a very big question, "Can you tell me a word that I can practice throughout my life and benefit permanently?"

Confucius said in a discussion tone He said to him: "If there is such a word, it is probably the word "forgiveness"."

What is "forgiveness"? Confucius added another eight words of explanation, called "Don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you." If you don't want to do something yourself, don't force others to do it. It is enough for a person to do this in his lifetime.

Zeng Zi, a student of Confucius, once said, "The essence of my teacher's knowledge in his life is the word 'loyalty and forgiveness'." Simply put, it means being good to yourself and thinking of others at the same time. To expand a bit, the word "forgiveness" means that you should not force others to make things difficult or cause harm to others. The implication is that if others cause harm to you, you should also be as tolerant as possible.

However, being truly tolerant is not easy. There is an interesting little story in Buddhism:

The young monk and the old monk went down the mountain to ask for alms. When they walked to the river, they saw a girl who was worried that she could not cross the river. The old monk said to the girl, "Let me carry you on my back." So he carried the girl across the river.

The little monk was stunned and didn't dare to ask. After walking like this for another twenty miles, I couldn't bear it any longer, so I asked the old monk, "Master, we are monks, how could you carry that girl across the river on your back?"

The old monk told him calmly, "Look, I put her down after carrying her across the river. Why haven't you put her down after carrying her for twenty miles?"

The truth of this story is actually the same as what Confucius taught us. Let go when it’s time to let go. By tolerating others, you are actually leaving yourself a brighter future.

So what does "the benevolent do not worry" mean? Just make your mind infinitely big, and many things will naturally become small.

In fact, "The Analects" tells us that not only should we be able to take things and let them go when encountering difficulties, but we should also do our best to help those in need. As the saying goes, "Give someone a rose, and the fragrance will linger in your hands." Giving can fill our hearts with happiness more than receiving.

As we all know, in addition to the word "shu", the core and most essence of Confucian theory is the word "benevolence".

Fan Chi, a student of Confucius, once respectfully asked his teacher what benevolence is. The teacher only told him two words: "Love". Loving others is called benevolence.

Fan Chi asked again what is wisdom? The teacher said: "Know people." Understanding others is called wisdom.

Caring for others is benevolence; understanding others is wisdom. It's that simple.

So, how to be a compassionate person?

Confucius said: "If you want to establish yourself, you can establish others; if you want to reach yourself, you can reach others. Being able to draw examples from close friends can be said to be the way of benevolence." ("The Analects of Confucius·Yongye") If you want to establish yourself, You immediately think of letting others set something up; if you want to realize your ideals, you immediately think of helping others realize their ideals. Being able to start from the small things around you and extend yourself to others is the way to practice benevolence and righteousness.

There is a short fable written by Tolstoy, which says that there was a king who was thinking about three ultimate philosophical questions every day: Who is the most important person in this world? What's most important? When is the most important time to do things? Regarding these three questions, no one in the court could answer them.

He was depressed. Then one day, I went out for a private visit incognito, walked to a very remote place, and stayed at the house of a strange old man.

In the middle of the night, he was awakened by a noise and found a man covered in blood breaking into the old man's house.

The man said, someone is chasing me from behind. The old man said, then you should stay away from me. So he hid him.

The king was too frightened to sleep, and soon he saw his pursuers coming. The pursuer asked the old man if he saw a person running towards him? The old man said, I don’t know, there is no one else at home.

Later the pursuers left, and the hunted man said some words of gratitude and left. The old man closed the door and continued to sleep.

The next day the king asked the old man, why do you dare to take that man in? Aren't you afraid of getting killed? And you just let him go, why didn't you ask who he was? The old man told him calmly that in this world, the most important person is the person who needs your help right now. The most important thing is to do it right away. The most important time is now, and there can be no delay.

The king suddenly realized that his three long-standing philosophical questions were all solved at once.

In fact, whether it is Confucius, Zhuangzi, Tao Yuanming, Su Dongpo or Tagore, what is the significance of sages at home and abroad in ancient and modern times? It is to use their experience of life to summarize some principles that are useful to each of us. They passed on their lively life experiences through vicissitudes of life to this day, making us still feel warm; and thousands of years ago, they smiled and watched silently, watching us still benefit from their words.