“People today casually criticize Chinese culture, but have you even read a few ancient texts? Even if you have, did you truly comprehend them? And are you implying those few books represent the entirety of Chinese culture?”
“现在人随便批评中国文化，请问你读过几本古书？就算你读过，你读懂了吗？而且那几本书就代表中国文化了吗？
Nan Huai-chin (1918-2012), a renowned contemporary Chinese literary scholar, Buddhist scholar, educator, disseminator of ancient Chinese culture, academic, poet, martial artist, and Grand Master of Chinese Cultural Studies; he served as a professor at Taiwan’s Chengchi University, Fu Jen Catholic University, and Chinese Culture University.
南怀瑾，中国当代诗文学家、佛学家、教育家、中国古代文化传播者、学者、诗人、武术家、中国文化国学大师； 历任台湾政治大学、台湾辅仁大学及中国文化大学教授。
“The term ‘Chinese culture’ is a relatively recent construct, emerging specifically in contrast to ‘foreign cultures.’ Thus, when discussing the world’s four major ancient civilizations—Chinese, Indian, Egyptian, and Greek cultures—this distinction becomes essential. Contemporary Western culture, as claimed by Americans and the British, traces its lineage to Greek civilization. I often tease them during my visits to America: ‘Your roots in Greek culture? Nonsense!’ It’s as incongruous as ‘grafting melon vines onto willow trees.’ Authentic Western cultural heritage must be traced through its Latin and Hebrew roots—it is fundamentally distinct from, and certainly not synonymous with, the English language.”
“中国文化”这个名辞是最近起来的。“中国文化”是对应“外国文化”而言。所以说要了解世界上的四大古国文化，中国文化，印度文化，埃及文化，希腊文化。我们现在讲西方文化，美国人，英国人，他们自己说是从希腊文化系统下来的。我也在美国常常笑他们，你们从希腊文化系统下来？用上海话说是“勿搭界啦”，搭不上的，瓜棚搭在柳树上。西方文化要从拉丁文、希伯来文讲起，不是英文就是了。
Chinese culture, by contrast, blossomed freely like a flower from its inception. Thus, authentically speaking, China has embodied a distinct form of liberty and democracy rooted in ancient traditions—fundamentally different from Western conceptions. Taoism speaks of Dao-De (the Way and Virtue), Confucianism of Ren-Yi (benevolence and righteousness). These are not commandments like Moses’ Ten Commandments, but aspirational goals for human conduct. They span from ordinary behavioral ethics to the ultimate inquiry into life’s meaning, from political foundations to supreme ideals, from daily existence to the holistic integration of philosophy, science, and religion—all pursuing core questions of cosmic existence through defined paths and methods, embodying approaches profoundly different from Western culture。
When discussing Chinese culture today, what constitutes its foundation? I define it as follows: language, writing systems, thought patterns, and living customs—these four pillars. As for politics, education, military affairs, art, literature, and the like—these are secondary manifestations.
The ancients crafted our writing into a cohesive system—one that allows people ten thousand years from now to converse with those from ten thousand years past, obliterating all barriers of space and time. Such is the power of Chinese characters!
古人把文字变成个系统，一万年以后读了这个书，跟一万年以前的人交流对话，没有空间时间的距离，这就是中国文字！
This immense treasury of culture has preserved millennia of Chinese wisdom, experience, and devotion!1 Ancient scholars wrote books with lifelong dedication, crafting meticulous references for posterity with utmost reverence.12 How unlike modern writers who slap together books haphazardly—magnifying trivial insights into proclaimed truths!1 Those who casually criticize Chinese culture: How many classics have you truly read?1 Even if you skimmed a few, did you grasp their essence?2 And would those scant titles represent China’s entire civilization? Preposterous! Similarly, you comprehend little of Western culture—could years abroad unveil its depths?12 You’ve glimpsed mere fragments, yet return proclaiming expertise in all things Western—another absurdity!1 English, after all, gained prominence only after the two Industrial Revolutions. To study pre-modern Western thought, one must grapple with Latin or Hebrew—the true linguistic roots.
这个伟大的文化宝库，保留了几千年多少中国人的智能、经验、心血啊！而且古人写书是用毕生的心血写的，留给后人作个参考，非常小心谨慎。哪像现在人随便写书，东拉西扯就是一本书，有一点小心得就吹得不得了，当成真理了。现在人随便批评中国文化，请问你读过几本古书？就算你读过，你读懂了吗？而且那几本书就代表中国文化了吗？笑话！西方文化你也不懂，留学几年就懂了吗？你只看到皮毛的一点点而已，回来就说西方如何如何，也是笑话。英文是两次工业革命以后才流行的，你要研究以前的西方文化，还要研究拉丁文，或希伯来文。
Hence the paramount significance of writing! Mastering this primordial task stands as your foremost duty in studying Chinese classics—for it is the very gateway to China’s profound cultural treasury!
所以说文字重要！你们学国学第一要注意这个！这是中国文化宝库的钥匙！