The Cultural Interpretation Of The Discrepancy Between "Ming" And "Shi"(Name And Reality)

In the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period the various schools of thought and their exponents approached the relationship between Name and Reality from different angles, because at that time it was a very serious social problem that the Name fell short of the Reality. They wanted to know how to make the Name match the Reality by studying the relationship between Name and Reality. Although they made great efforts, they achieved little. The discrepancy between Name and Reality existed from the day it produced right up to now as the aspect of Chinese culture. At the turn of the 20th century, with the spread of the traditional Formal logic of the west, the scholars tend to treat the relationship between Name and Reality in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period as a logic issue, while neglecting the social reality. So their conclusion go against the realism which is the outstanding characteristics of Chinese culture. -This issue originates in the Civilization of Rite and Music, which includes its form and content. At the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, the breakdown of the Civilization of Rite and Music brought forth the separation of the form and the content, which finally resulted in the discrepancy between Name and Reality. As a serious social problem, the discrepancy at that time extended so far as to influence politics, economy, law, morality and ideology and continues to have an impact on our present life. Gradually influenced by the Civilization of Rite and Music, Chinese people pay more attention to the Name, because Name link up profit. It means that you get profit when you get the Name. So in order to get profit they will use all kinds of means to confuse Name and Reality and so it is very difficult for us to solve it.Before solve the problem, we must know how they confuse Name and Reality. By studying we get three patterns which the other means evolve from, and there are two ways to solve it: The first, try to make the Name match the Reality. This is not aThe second, separate Name from Reality. This is a better way because it is impossible for people to seize a chance to seek private gain by confuse Name and Reality, then people will switch to other way to get profit and now the problem is resolved.By studying the pattern and the resolution of the discrepancy between Name and Reality of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, we can find that it is also helpful in dealing with the discrepancy of the present society. On the one hand, Chinese culture can be remolded. On the other hand, the society can get rapid development.