The Study On Humanistic Spirit Of Tang Junyi

Humanistic spirit is the gem of Chinese traditional values. It drives the creation of Chinese culture and history. Regretfully, traditional Chinese values had been on a feeble existence during the last century or so as it was successively stricken by the invasion of Western powers, the rejection of the May-fourth Movement, the corruption of the Nationalist Government and the Communist takeover. Faced with the anxiety that traditional humanistic values was on the verge of being completely negated, contemporary neo-Confucians emerged to turn back the tide. As one of the leading figures of second-generation contemporary neo-Confucians, Tang Junyi emphasized the revival of humanistic values in Chinese culture and believed that humanistic values is the key to resolve the cultural conflicts between the East and the West.To Tang, humanistic spirit is the cornerstone of Chinese culture as it supplies the values, provides a direction and resolves conflicts. On the one hand, he affirmed the value of humanistic spirit within Chinese culture, making it the core guiding principle of his humanistic theory. On the other hand, he stated that the creation of every culture relies on the self-consciousness and morality of its people. This is an precisely a humanistic thought with an expanded definition and a realization of the value of humanistic spirit. Tang had strong faith in the fundamental Chinese cultural belief that what distinguishes human from animals is their benevolence (ren) and righteousness (yi) dispositions. Therefore all cultural activities are the work of the moral subject, aiming at the eventual realization of man’s moral personality. The only value of cultural activities is to illustrate their significance to the human spirit, but not to provide solutions to imminent problems or to demonstrate their instrumental value or utility. Besides, Tang’s theory of humanistic spirit was broader and more profound than Western humanism in terms of value and scope. He stated that Western humanism, vis-a-vis natural science, respects all human cultural values, but this definition is too broad and general to be remembered or noticed. Hence, with the value of humanistic spirit, Tang reiterated the fundamental beliefs of humanism and asserted that every culture must manifest the human moral personality as well as respect and tolerate opposing academic thoughts.Humanistic spirit is the theme that run through Tang Junyi’s philosophies. There were three phases of development in his humanistic thoughts. During the foundation phase, he was in China where he verified from personal experience that one’s moral self is the true master of his life. This verification later developed into a kind of ’moral rationality’(道德理性) which was taken as the core of all cultural activities.Tang came to settle in Hong Kong after1949. This was the flourishing phase in which his humanistic theory evolved and reached its full bloom. In his broadest and most encompassing humanistic perspective, all academic thoughts that originate from the creation of the mind are humanistic. There are5levels of humanistic thoughts, namely humanistic(人交), non-humanistic(非人文), sub-humanistic(次人文), trans-humanistic (超人文)and anti-humanistic (反人文). Each of these levels are contradictory yet complementary to each other, working towards the broadening of, advancement of or its integration with humanistic thoughts, with the aim of overcoming the drawbacks of anti-humanistic thoughts. With the values of humanistic spirit, Tang also elaborated on how cultures of the East and the West can be harmonized. In contrast to his predecessors, he asserted that heterogenous cultures are not to compete with each other but to seek for accomodation and harmony. The focus of cultural integration should not be on quantity and proportion but on structure, scope and sequence. It should also not be on the content but on approach.Chinese tended to regard Western culture with a utilitarian motive, seeing western culture as a means or technology. They might also refute their own cultural values and accepted that of the West. Anxious for quick results, they either grovelled cowardly to or showed envy against the West. Worse still, some might even deny outright their own traditional cultural values. This unhealthy mentality not only prevented them from learning valuable lessons but drove them to refute or despise their own culture, meaning a total destruction of their cultural roots. Hence, Tang proposed a "parellel perspective"(平视的眼光)ence. With an eye on the generality, he also suggested a perspective of "human spiritual journey"(人类精神之行程), through which the commonalities of the cultural development between the East and the West is revealed-both were created in nature, then reached upon a trans-humanistic faith or the Heavenly Way (天道), then with the contrast between the reality and the trans-humanistic, both return to the humanistic, the real world and the nature.Furthermore, Tang affirmed that the core value of the Western culture is in its science (non-humanistic) and religion (trans-humanistic). On itself, science is neutral. It is the work of man’s rational mind and reasoning power, reflecting their pursuit for the Truth. However, scientific rationalism is only one facet of development of the human mind. Purposeless and directionless advancement without restraint only creates doubts and emptiness.Therefore, scientific progress must adhere to the virtue of benevolence and science must be incorporated within humanities. On religion, the trans-humanistic religion seems to deviate from humanism of the West. But in Tang’s opinion, if man could enhance their subjectivity and autonomy, Man and God can actually become one and humanities can integrate with religion. Besides, Confucius advocated the Three Offerings (sacrificial offerings to the Heaven and Earth, the ancestors and the Sage) which was a highly religious practice. It emphasized the spiritual interaction between the living and the objects of the rituals and focused not on giving requests but on expressing gratitude. This highlights the transcendence and boundlessness of the human mind.Tang’s theory of humanistic spirit asserted the integrability of Confucious thoughts and Western concepts of equality, liberty and democracy. Being the prevalent value in contemporary Western societies, the three thoughts developed out of people’s resistance against the absolute power of the Church and the tyranny of the monarchy, which restrained or even stifled human nature and potentials. Philosophers including John Locke and Thomas Hobbes proposed that freedom and equality are natural endowments from God that are freely enjoyed by every man. But Tang stated that the universal values treasured by the West often just exists to solve practical problems. They were often hypotheses or utopian ideals formed out of reason, with no acknowledgement of the man’s innate goodness and the moral self. On freedom, Tang opined that in the West, freedom only refers to the protection of the rights of individuals and groups. At a more lofty level, freedom is rather the freedom to exercise one’s moral character, which is also the true freedom as defined by Confucius. Therefore Tang complemented by proposing his eight levels of freedom. In terms of equality and democratic ideals, Confucian thoughts emphasized man’s dignity and their innate goodness. This, in terms of man’s morality, is the general equality that embodies the spirit of equality under the protection of Western democracy. In his later years, Tang concluded his discussion by proposing the System of Nine Horizons(九境说) as the anchor of all philosophies. This system referred to Man’s spiritual journey of human nature, which directed towards the ultimate value of the theory of humanistic spirit.Tang’s theory of humanistic spirit was often criticized as a kind of pan-moralism, anti-scientism and cultural conservatism. The key point of such criticism was that what basically defines moral noumenon is the values and direction that one "ought to" adopt, but not the practical measures and methodology one actually takes. If man abandon his moral principals and cultural endowments, life would inevitably degenerate to a kind of instrumental rationality which emphasizes utility, producing various contemporary social problems. Tang’s intention was to provide general principals and direction for the modernization of Chinese culture on a theoretical basis. He agreed to his contemporary neo-Confucians like Qian Mu, Mou Zong-San and Xu Fu-guan that Chinese culture and Confucian humanism is of great relevance to contemporary crises that stemmed from man’s problems and their cultural disengagement.In sum, Tang considered humanistic spirit the most important and valuable asset of Chinese culture. Its modern contribution is to enable Chinese culture to face up to the challenges of Western culture as well as complementing on the insufficiency of the latter. It is also the cornerstone of the sustainable development of Chinese culture.