| The so-called spirit of Confucian scholars refers to the essence, core, internal soul and starting point of those scholars, which finds expressions in the ideal life they pursue after, their view towards cosmos and life, the definition they give of a perfect world, their notion about value, and also in their social practice and personality. The basis of the spirit of Confucian scholars was laid down by Confucius and Mencius, i.e., "Scholars are devoted to the way". They are the very people that sense, undertake, fulfill and testify the way, concerning themselves about the ultimate meaning of life, personal dignity and value, and fundamental solutions to problems related to society, politics and life. This spirit is "unified and persistent", which, if seen from different perspectives, can find embodiments in the spirit of seeking after the way, readiness to achieve value even at the cost of life so as to promote the way, universal standing point towards anything, harmony with the general public and the entire surroundings, high sense of responsibility towards determined cultural mission, no seeking after fame and wealth, studying for oneself so as to become a man of honor, harmony and merriness of the golden mean. The spirit of Confucian scholars sheds enlightenment on personality cultivation for us modern people. However, in order to get its essence sunk in, we need to accomplish creative transformation in 3 aspects, i.e., the pivot of our value system shall shift from acknowledgment of political power and responsibilities to acknowledgment of social responsibilities; the goal of life shall shift from perfection of personal virtue to perfection of universal value of the whole society; and the structure of personality shall shift from absolute authoritative personality, generalized community personality, and deep-imbedded political personality into independent and self-sufficient personality. |
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