1. Should we pay attention to the classical Chinese debate competition?
If we don’t pay attention to classical Chinese, how can we understand and inherit the excellent traditional culture?
If no one of the 1.3 billion people in the country can read the Thirteen Classics and the Twenty-Four Histories, then when some of our neighboring countries tell you that the Diaoyu Islands belong to them, McMahon The land south of the flood line is theirs, the islands in the South China Sea are also theirs, and even many of China's historical figures and cultural traditions are theirs. Anyone or any country can distort and tamper with China's history at will, but we don't. People can criticize and refute, but how serious is this? (This question can also be split into two parts: culture and territory, especially the territory part. It can also refute arguments such as "classical language is useless" and "ancient culture is backward")
Does the Xia Dynasty exist? ? What is the history of the Shang Dynasty? Which student can answer this question seriously? For thousands of years, the Xia and Shang dynasties existed almost exclusively in simple histories and mythological novels. Why? Because the Xia Dynasty did not have rich documentary records, although the Shang Dynasty left a large amount of oracle bone inscriptions, they were lost in the Yin Ruins in Anyang for a long time. If we don’t study classical Chinese seriously and understand the literature and classics of the past three thousand years, it is not difficult to imagine that one day, Emperor Qin, Han Wu, Emperor Tang and Song Zu will also become figures like myths and legends. No one will remember or understand them. .
We admire the gorgeous diction of the "Book of Songs" and "Chu Ci" and the beautiful artistic conception of Tang poetry and Song Dynasty poetry, but how many of us can seriously understand the literary connotation of "The Book of Songs" and "Chu Ci"? How many people can understand the subtleties of each poem? Both are bold poets, what is the difference between Su Shi and Xin Qiji? Are there no differences between Li Yu, Liu Yong, Li Qingzhao and Jiang Kui who are all poets of the Wanyue school? I would like to ask, if we don’t have a superb foundation in classical Chinese, how can we be connected by blood and spiritual connection with the ancient poets and poets?
Today’s Chinese people wear suits, jeans, and long suspender skirts; they eat chicken wing burgers and steak pizza; they travel by cars, trains, planes, and ships; they contact relatives and friends by telephone, mobile phone, and fax Yi Meier. In addition, we have been learning hello and OK since kindergarten, and we are still learning classes 4, 6, 8, IELTS and TOEFL until college. We find it troublesome to pay New Year greetings to our elders during the Spring Festival and Mid-Autumn Festival, but we cry and shout to celebrate April Fool's Day, Valentine's Day, and Christmas. Excuse me, from food, clothing, housing, transportation to speech and behavior, what else can we use to prove that we are Chinese? Apart from a fragile soul that is increasingly being eaten away by Western civilization and modern fast food culture, what else do we Chinese have? Why can't we keep a little bit of our own unique style for ourselves?
Some people say that classical Chinese and traditional culture are too backward and outdated. Compared to us, do Hong Kong and Taiwan, which place more emphasis on classical Chinese reading, do their best to include the only remaining part of Chinese language textbooks? Will the mainland become more outdated and backward after eradicating every classical Chinese text? Is our neighboring country Japan, which still wears kimonos, celebrates old festivals, listens to Noh music, and watches sumo wrestling, any more outdated and backward than China? If you can't run, don't blame the road. Please check whether your shoelaces are tied first!
That’s all. These questions and answers are all beneficial to the positive side. I hope they can be used. 2. Asking for the opposing view of "should we learn classical Chinese well?"
We do not advocate writing classical Chinese, because we modern people speak modern languages ??and write modern texts.
For example, when we use English at the United Nations, we cannot use classical Chinese. Of course, the Party Central Committee must use modern language when issuing proclamations, and of course it must also be used when engaging in business activities.
Therefore, our primary and secondary school students must spend the main energy learning modern languages. Do you want to learn classical Chinese? I think you should learn a little bit. The purpose is to understand the literary talent of our ancient Chinese culture.
Getting to know the glory of our ancient Chinese culture will make them a little interested and generate a sense of national pride, but the main time and energy should be spent on learning modern Chinese well.
Classical Chinese accounts for 50% of the current high school textbooks, but the time we spend studying it has reached more than 50%, and what we get is less than 20%, so we are overwhelmed with the study of classical Chinese.
Those rural areas with low education cannot even teach modern literature well, let alone classical Chinese. I think the basis for learning modern literature well is to learn standard modern literature well.
Vernacular is modern vernacular, and vernacular has always had its own product. It did not evolve from classical Chinese. Modern vernacular evolved from modern vernacular, and modern vernacular evolved from medieval vernacular. I don’t agree with Mr. Han’s point of view here. He said that only by learning classical Chinese well can one learn vernacular well. This is misleading. For example, eating can make you full, and drinking can make you drunk. You can’t say that I will be drunk by eating and full by drinking. Right wrong? ! Mr. Zhu Ziqing said that vernacular Chinese is much more refined and rigorous than classical Chinese, so why not spend time learning it? Classical Chinese cannot be used as a necessary learning condition for modern literature.
It is said that if you learn classical Chinese well, you will be able to learn vernacular Chinese well. I don’t think there is an inevitable logical connection between this. For example, Kong Yi talked a lot about it, but in fact his classical Chinese was not good. We don’t need to study classical Chinese to learn vernacular. We can learn it from the vernacular books we are exposed to now. Lu Xun and Guo Moruo are both literary masters, but they also wrote in vernacular. They experienced the era of classical Chinese and experienced classical Chinese. situation, so during the May Fourth Movement, through the new culture, they opposed the old literature and advocated the new literature.
If every pore of Lu Xun had been soaked in the sauce vat of classical Chinese, he would not have become Lu Xun. Lu Xun was the leader of the New Culture Movement. He used modern thoughts, modern concepts, and modern thinking. Do we want to use classical Chinese to speak, publish articles, engage in negotiations, and go to the United Nations to speak? It is an ironclad fact that classical Chinese texts have no vitality up to now.
Human beings have created all knowledge, and no one person in the world can master it all. Therefore, our society must divide labor. In the words of the common people, beating gongs and selling candies, each doing his own job, using Han Yu It is said that there are specializations in academic fields. After entering university, only those who study the history of Chinese mathematics in the Chinese Department of History and even the Department of Mathematics must master classical Chinese. However, that is to say, we do not encourage all primary and secondary school students to devote a lot of energy to learning classical Chinese, because most of them will become workers, farmers, businessmen, and leading cadres in the future, and may not necessarily need it.
I can say that in our Chinese Department, Ancient Chinese is the most troublesome course for Chinese students. Some of our college students say that reading a few pages of Ancient Chinese text before going to bed at night can replace taking sleeping pills. I think that from elementary school to now, I have never been particularly interested in classical Chinese because I didn’t have that kind of learning environment. If you tell a primary school student, “Hang on to the clouds and sail across the sea,” he won’t understand it at all. He could only memorize the meaning while shaking his head. Parents watch their children memorize these things all day long. They will never use things in their lives. When they recite them hard, they must feel very uncomfortable. I think this is also A simple truth is that our language is used for communication. Let everyone understand it first. That is to say, primary school students must first be able to communicate with others. Secondly, no matter what, today's parents teach their children the vernacular first when they are born.
We must go back to the basic things and apply what we have learned. Whether it is spoken in vernacular or classical Chinese, it is all Chinese. The fundamental function of language is communication, which includes oral and written. That said, it is also a tool for thinking. I do admit that classical Chinese is relatively concise, but sometimes it is difficult for us to understand just because it is so concise.
When I was studying "The Story of Yueyang Tower", I had to explain one word. In the textbook, "Yueyang Ning" means the third year, but our Chinese teacher said that this year's new textbook has just been revised. , and then I felt that it caused me to have a question. The annotations of classical Chinese were given by predecessors and later changed. Learning classical Chinese in this way cannot achieve the purpose of understanding its key points, so there is no need to learn classical Chinese.
I would like to ask you a question. On April 22, the "China Education News" put forward such a point of view, "Without learning classical Chinese, we can't find our way home." What I want to ask you is, where is our home? Mr. Lu Xun said that when I opened history, the whole book was filled with benevolence, righteousness and morality. After reading carefully for a long time, I saw two words between the words "eat people". This country is full of monarchs and ministers, fathers and sons, and an ethical outline. And a home with a strict feudal hierarchy, a home with no human rights, no equality, and no law at all. Do we want to take the majority of young people back? We must inherit excellent cultural heritage, but we do not require everyone to understand it in depth. Classical Chinese itself has a certain depth and difficulty, and it is impossible for everyone to be able to understand it and appreciate its truth.
Since it is difficult, why can't a small number of people inherit it like classical music and folk dance, instead of asking everyone to do it? I want to distinguish the most basic concepts: learning, appreciation, and edification.
What we do not agree with is the emphasis on classical Chinese in basic education. Rather than opposing the influence of classical Chinese.
I am also exposed to classical Chinese. This is a mentality with two different concepts. One is the tradition of national history and culture accumulated behind me for thousands of years. We can rely on it as a big tree. Rather than a burden that rests on each of our shoulders. Classical Chinese is divorced from our real life, and it is an inevitable trend of the times for vernacular Chinese to replace classical Chinese in primary and secondary school textbooks. 3. Is it necessary to learn classical Chinese?
I don’t deny that learning classical Chinese is beneficial. We now need to learn from some of the great principles of ancient Chinese. Ambassador, I don’t think it is necessary to recite classical Chinese. Some people say that reciting classical Chinese can help us mentally. To understand the vocabulary of classical Chinese, I would say that it is even more unnecessary to learn the vocabulary of classical Chinese. Those vocabulary of classical Chinese are really useless for daily life.
As for "zhi, hu, zhe, ye", who of us uses them in our daily life, unless it is a mental illness. If reciting or learning classical Chinese can help inherit the cultural heritage of the motherland, then I think learning oracle bone inscriptions can help us inherit the cultural heritage of the motherland. To know the age of oracle bone inscriptions, we can learn the principles in classical Chinese. It is not necessary to be able to read classical Chinese, because the ancient books handed down are limited after all, and those language workers have already translated them into vernacular! (To be honest, I really don’t like to memorize classical Chinese texts. I feel helpless if I am forced to do so!) It makes me feel better to complain. 4. Asking for opposing views on "Should we learn classical Chinese well?"
Opposing views
Don't learn classical Chinese!
Reason:
Classical Chinese is only useful when studying ancient books and has disappeared in daily life. For example, when we chat here, we don’t use classical Chinese, although sometimes out of hobby, Occasionally "text" a little bit.
Classical Chinese is the language of the past. It is basically consistent with ancient spoken language, but it is more refined. Modern people speak vernacular, and the words that reflect their spoken language can only be vernacular.
Classical Chinese can only be understood after studying ancient Chinese. But the vast majority of people don’t read or basically don’t read ancient texts. Not to mention China, isn’t this the case in other countries? Who still speaks Latin these days? How much has modern English changed compared to ancient English? This dead language can only be studied by a few!
If you only want to read it yourself and don’t want others to read it, of course you can write it in “Zi Hu Ye Zhe”. You can even write in any dead language, such as ancient Greek, Celtic, Hebrew, or Oracle.
If you want to communicate with others - and language is a tool for communication - then of course you should use the common language.