China has no philosophy, and China has no history. Chinese civilization is still in the childhood of human civilization. This is the evaluation of the famous German philosopher Hegel of China that he witnessed in his era.
Hegel commented on China in "Philosophy of History" and said that the reason why caused China's backwardness is the darkness of the inner spirit of the Chinese people. China is a land that has not been illuminated by the light of human spirit. There, the sun of reason and freedom has not yet risen, and people have not yet escaped from the primitive and natural state of ignorance.
Chinese people do not have independent personalities, and those who obey clan elders at the inner side will obey them in front of the government. China's history is essentially without history, it is just a repeated repetition of the destruction of the monarch.
Ancient China was like a cage, which brought high efficiency of mobilizing resources at the cost of sealing almost all of its exports. Generations of people were repeatedly walking in the same continuous cycle, locked in the closed cycle of Chinese history, and for a long time it was not rolling until some external force appeared.
As a modern Chinese, it is generally difficult to accept such "nearly insulting" remarks. But if we just instinctively vent our criticism in an emotional way, then we are really as unbearable as he described it, especially since such an evaluation is not from a stupid person. So we must not curse like a shrew, we must know why he said that.
First of all, Hegel's era was from the late 18th century to the early 19th century. At this time, Europe experienced the Renaissance and the Enlightenment , and the Industrial Revolution is also in full swing, and Western civilization is about to usher in its highlight moment. However, the Qing Dynasty of the same time was still immersed in the dream of the Celestial Kingdom. It could hardly break out of the old-fashioned way of sages in culture, and relied entirely on agriculture in economy. Therefore, the crushing of agricultural civilization by advanced industrial civilization is the era background for Hegel to make these evaluations.
Of course, as a great philosopher, Hegel's evaluation of China cannot be just a few words of slander and slander. In his description, China is a place that has not been illuminated by the light of human spirit, where the sun of reason and freedom has not yet risen, and individuals are still in the most primitive state of ignorance. The Chinese have no independent personality. They blindly obey their clan elders, and even more obedient in front of the government office. China's history is just a constant repetition of the destruction of dynasties, so in essence, China has no real history.
Hegel's evaluations are from his representative work, the book Philosophy of History. In his eyes, history needs progress, while China at that time was completely backward and ignorant.
Although Hegel's theory was later criticized by some people, as Chinese people in the new era, we must never forget the historical lessons of being closed to the country and blindly arrogance. For some criticisms and different voices, we can no longer have an ostrich mentality, but we must uphold rationality and identify them. Only in this way can we better understand and develop ourselves.
Hegel's famous quotes
1. Only when a nation has a group of people looking up at the stars can they have hope. ——Hegel
2. The lesson we learn from history is that we don’t learn from history. ——Hegel
3. A person who is determined to achieve great achievements must know to limit himself as Goethe said. On the contrary, people who want to do anything can actually do nothing and end up failing. ——Hegel
4. The only thing that humans have learned from history. The lesson is that mankind has not learned any lessons from history. ——Hegel
5. Discipline is the first condition of freedom. ——Hegel
6. If a jealous person cannot accomplish a great cause, he should try his best to underestimate the greatness of others and derogate the great ambassadors who are with others.——Hegel
7. People often call willfulness freedom, but willfulness is just irrational freedom. Human choice and self-determination are not due to willful reason, but due to accidental motives and the dependence of this motivation on the sensory external world. ——Hegel
8. Personality is like white paper. Once polluted, it will never be as white as before. ——Hegel
9. People should respect themselves and should regard themselves as worthy of the noblest things. ——Hegel
10. Everything that is real (exist) is reasonable, and everything that is reasonable (exist) is realistic. ——Hegel
11. The ignorant is the least free because he has to face a completely dark world. ——Hegel
12. What is a tragedy? Tragedy is a conflict of goodness. ——Hegel
13. A heart with true beauty always makes a difference and is a real person. ——Hegel
14. We can assert that without passion, no great cause can be accomplished. ——Hegel
15. Only those who always lie in the pit and never look up at the sky will not fall into the pit. ——Hegel
16. Although the greatest genius lay on the green grass day and night, letting the breeze blow, and looking at the sky, gentle inspiration never stops him. ——Hegel
17. Beauty has the effect and power to attract people to be kind. ——Hegel
18. There are probably two types of people in the world. "One person is dedicated to having all his life, and the other is dedicated to making a difference." He is eager to have it, but once he fails to achieve his goal, he will be lost, painful and despair. If you are unconstrained and concentrate on your career pursuit, you will forget many worries and find many happiness in the process of hard work. People who work silently are actually the wisest people. ——Hegel
19. An ideal character must not only be expressed in the satisfaction of material needs, but also in the satisfaction of spiritual interests. ——Hegel
20. The hardship of the times makes people pay too much attention to the ordinary trivial interests in daily life. In reality, many interests and struggles for these interests have occupied too much spiritual abilities and strength and external means, thus making people have no freedom to pay attention to the higher inner life and purer spiritual activities, so that many better talents are bound by this difficult environment and are partially sacrificed in it. Because the spirit of the world is too busy with reality, it cannot turn to the heart and return to itself. ——Hegel
21. Aesthetic senses require cultural cultivation... Only by relying on cultivation can we understand beauty and discover beauty. ——Hegel
22. Existence is reasonable Only in the state does man have a rational existence. ——Hegel
23. Everyone is a whole, and it is the world itself. Everyone is a perfect and lively person, not a fabled abstract of some isolated personality traits. ——Hegel
24. If a person counts what he learned from others as his own discovery, it is also very close to pride. ——Hegel
25. Abstraction of reality is the destruction of reality. ——Hegel
26. Love does have a noble quality, because it not only stays on sexual desire, but also shows a noble and excellent heart that is rich and rich, requiring the unity of another person with a spirit of vitality, courage and sacrifice. ——Hegel
27. Human beings have learned a lesson from history, that is, they have not learned any lessons. ——Hegel
28. Everything that is reasonable exists, and everything that exists is reasonable. ——Hegel
29. Only by completing the hard work of its development for a long time and sinking into it for a long time can we achieve something. ——Hegel
30. The life of the spirit is not manifested as fear of death and keeping an absolute distance from desolation, but as bearing death and preserving itself in death. Only when the spirit finds itself again in a rather absolute fragmented state can he win its truth.Spirit, as such a certain thing, does not evade negation... Similarly, when falsehood becomes a link in truth, it is no longer a false thing. ——Georg William Friedrich Hegel " Phenomenology of Spirit "
31. Personality is like white paper. Once polluted, it will never be as white as before. ——Hegel "Aesthetic Speech"
32. If a jealous person cannot accomplish a great cause, he will try to underestimate the greatness of others and derogate the greatness of others so that it is in line with him. ——Hegel
33. Whoever shakes confidence in the middle is weak-willed ——Hegel
34. The Owl of the Bird of Wisdom only begins to take off in the twilight of civilization. ——Hegel
35. Spiritual moral power has exerted its potential and raised its banner, so our patriotic enthusiasm and sense of justice must display its power and role in reality. ——Hegel
36. Life is valuable only when there are some precious things as its goal. ——Hegel
37. Only one person can understand me, but he cannot fully understand me either. ——Hegel
38. A philosophy that says in the mouth of young people is different from that in the mouth of elderly people. All the young man said is this philosophy itself, although he might have understood it completely correctly. The elderly not only talked about this philosophy, but also included all his life! ——Hegel
39. If your life is in an irresistible and irreversible pain, then this pain will be your happiness! Give yourself hope and courage and shouting is no big deal! He said generously, "The worst thing is death!" ——Hegel
40. The hidden essence of the universe itself does not have the strength to resist the courage to seek knowledge. For the brave and persevering seeker, it can only uncover its secrets, publicize its wealth and mystery to him, and let him enjoy it. ——Hegel
41. He is his own purpose. He has an infinite value and an eternal mission. ——Hegel
42. I saw Napoleon , the spirit of this world, patrolling the whole city. When I saw such a great person, it really made me feel strange. He rode on horseback, and he was here, focusing on this point that he wanted to reach the world and dominate the whole world. ——Hegel
43. Truth is mastered in the long and developing process of understanding. In this process, every step is the direct continuation of its previous step. ——Hegel
44. Marriage is essentially an ethical relationship. Marriage is ethical love with legal significance. ——Hegel
45. First of all, I ask you to trust science, reason, trust yourself, and believe in yourself. ——Hegel
46. An ideal character must not only express his or her physical needs, but also his or her spiritual interest. ——Hegel
47. The law is by no means unchanging. On the contrary, just as the sky and the sea change due to wind and waves, the law also changes due to situation and fortune. ——Hegel
48. Those who think great will have to go through the lost path of greatness. ——Hegel
49. Truth is indeed a noble word, but it is even more a noble achievement. If a person's mind and emotions are still healthy, his heart will be thrilled. ——Hegel
50. Youth is the best time in life. ——Hegel
◎ Source: Schopenhauer Philosophy and Wisdom
