Reading Notes for the Preface

六六七

Reader: 王加琴
Reading Time: 6 days
Reading Task: Preface

Summary of the content:
Hung-Ming Ku elaborates the object of this book: to interpret the spirit and show the value of the Chinese civilization. He thinks in order to estimate the value of a civilization, we must be concerned about what type of humanity it has been able to produce, which shows the essence, personality and soul of the civilization. Therefore, he takes the Real Chinaman, the Chinese Woman and the Chinese Language as subjects of the first three essays to proceed. He also denotes that in order to understand the real Chinaman and the Chinese civilization, a man must be deep, broad and simple, for which are characteristics of the Chinese character and the Chinese civilization. He also analyzes that the moral causes of War I are the worship of the mob in Great Britain and the worship of might in Germany.

Evaluation:
1. The writing style is philosophical and contrastive. By comparing characteristics of different countries, Hung-Ming Ku confirms that foreigners don't really understand the real Chinaman and the Chinese language, which shows that he is proud of Chinese civilization. Besides, his writing style is also critical. He thinks the moral causes of War I are the worship of the mob in the Great Britain and the worship of might in Germany, and criticizes them.
2. Thematic ideas have both depth and limitations. Hung-Ming Ku praises the characteristics of Chinese civilization, namely depth, broadness, simplicity and delicacy, and he criticizes Western civilization's worship of the mob and worship of the might. However, his views are partial and idealized to some extent. For example, in his opinion, Chinese religion of good citizenship can help the modern European civilization. But he have ignored huge differences between Chinese civilization and European civilization.

Reflection:  
Hung-Ming Ku's viewpoints have profound significance in modern society. "depth, broadness, simplicity and delicacy" can be used as guidance to intercultural communication. With the development of globalization, we should respect and understand other civilizations to avoid conflicts. And in the era of social media, there may produce many people with the mob mentality. We'd better keep rational and thoughtful, avoiding being led by the bad crowd sentiment.