Saturday, February 21, 2015

News and Commentaries, 15-02-21

A Seminar I found interesting:
Seminars with famous scholars, held by Unirule Institute of Economics
2 full days a month for 6 months, RMB35,000 per person.
As a famous think tank, Uni Rule gathers China’s best social scientists to teach their thinkings. It is useful because though we live in the “ocean of information”, there is lots of garbage in the media and very little succinct, objective or effective information. Another reason is that as the development of smart phones people have increasingly lost their ability of deep reading and thinking, which weakens their ability to absorb, digest information and to be creative.
They seem to have the best scholars:
陈志武, 何光沪, 贺卫方, 雷颐, 茅于轼, 秦晖, 盛洪, 张曙光, 张维迎, 周其仁, 资中筠


Sheng Hong is the director of Unirule Institute of Economics
This is part of the “New Year’s Aspirations” Seminar held by Unirule Institute of Economics and China-Review.com
1, I also have some aspirations for intellectuals. Intellectuals need to have higher requirements for themselves, which also means the identification of intellectuals. In my view, for intellectuals, first they should think beyond their personal interests; and second they need to abide by moral standards, which is more or less the same. First we need to admit that we are ordinary people, so we should strive beyond it. If you live beyond your personal interests, you will not be satisfied just remaining an ordinary person. Actually this kind of identification is a basic one for intellectuals from the old time till now, no matter in the West or within China. Traditional Chinese intellectuals defined themselves this way. Intellectuals are not those who fight for their own interests, but rather for the interests of the “heavenly path”. This identification has exceeded beyond an ordinary person from a conceptual and spiritual point of view. Therefore intellectuals live beyond the limits of politicians in their spirit.
1, 我还要对知识分子做出期许。知识分子要对自己有某种更高的要求,也就是知识分子的定位问题。在我看来,对知识分子的定义,第一是超越个人利害,第二是遵循道德规范,这两者其实是一回事。首先还是要承认自己生来就是凡人,所以要超越。超越了个人利害,你就不能仅仅作为一个凡人为满足。其实这样的定位是古今中外知识分子的基本定位,中国传统士大夫就是这样定位的。既然超越了自己的利害,知识分子就不是为自己的利益而奋斗的人,而是为天道而奋斗的人。这种定位从观念上和精神上已经超越了凡人,所以知识分子在精神上是超越执政者的。

2, Second, to exceed beyond ordinary people, we need to understand ordinary people in order to help them. We need to transfer knowledge. We need to transfer the path we understand to practical and implementable proposals and suggestions. And then we need to propose to rulers in kind, understandable and acceptable ways. Actually from this point of view, though the ruling party could say that they would always continue to lead, they only highlight that they will continue provide public goods to the people. It does not necessarily mean that the whole world belongs to the rulers. Therefore in some sense, intellectuals need to think of the whole world and consider promoting the real “heavenly path” as their own responsibility. This is that Confucius says, “gentlemen’s will should be on the heavenly path”. In this way, in the spirit, the whole world is yours.
2,第二点,超越凡人,就能理解凡人,也能帮助凡人。要把自己理解的天道变换成可以去落实和实施的制度方案和政策建议。然后以善意的和可以理解的、可以接受的方式向执政者提出。其实从这个意义上来讲,虽然执政党可以说他要坚持领导,但这只是强调要继续向民众提供公共物品,并不意味着天下就是执政者的。而从某种意义上来讲,知识分子以天下为怀,以推行天道为自己的职责,就是孔子所说的“士志于道”,在精神上,天下就是你的。


Yao Zhongqiu is a professor at Beihang University’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences and a board member of Unirule Institute of Economics
This is part of the “New Year’s Aspirations” Seminar held by Unirule Institute of Economics and China-Review.com

1, (I think China should abolish family planning policy completely) My reason is not primarily economical, but more spiritual. The family planning policy has been implemented for more than three decades, I think the biggest destruction is that it makes Chinese people do not view human beings as real human beings. Why did they implement family planning? It was because they have been treating human beings as objects.
1,我的理由主要不是经济的,而主要是精神层面的。我认为计划生育政策实施了30多年,最大的危害是让很多中国人不把人当成真正意义上的完整的人看。为什么要实行计划生育政策?是因为把人当成了物,

2, Family planning policy is an organic component in the system of planned economy. The fundamental problem of planned economy was to treat people as objects. When they set up the plan, every person is a number or a nail in the system. Each person is a laborer or a consumer.
2, 计划生育政策,是计划经济体系的有机组成部分。计划经济的根本问题也是把人物化,在制定计划的时候,人都是一个一个的数字和系统中的螺丝钉,是一个一个的劳动力或者是消费者。

3, Family planning is a quintessential example of the spirit of planned economy - anti-spirit, which is to treat people as objects. The full-blown implementation of family planning has created huge damage to Chinese society. Or the most profound cultural and spiritual devastation is too many people don’t treat human beings as human beings.
3,计划生育非常典型的体现了计划经济的精神——反精神,就是他把人当成了物。全盘实行计划生育政策,给中国社会造成巨大的危害,或者最深刻的文化上的伤害、精神上的伤害,就是有太多的中国人不把人当成人。

4, China’s family planning policy has particularly hurt women a great deal. It has made many women lost their gentle and kind character. It makes the whole society do not view human beings as human beings. The government also has the same logic. Therefore, no matter if we aspire a happy society, or want to realize a cultural revival, or the resurrection of the Chinese nation, the most important is to retrieve the lost humanity.

4, 中国的计划生育政策对女性伤害尤其大,它让很多女性丧失了温柔敦厚的情怀,让社会太多的人不把人当成人看,政府的逻辑也是如此。所以,不管是向往幸福社会,还是实现文化复兴,抑或是中华民族伟大复兴,最重要的是将被物化的人性还原回来。

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