The Discovery Of M(?)θo(?)

With the rapid rise of western countries since15th century, the world situationhad undergone great changes. To the Qing Empire, this was a very tough internationalsituation. Since the Opium War, China had suffered an unprecedented national crisis.Why did China fall behind? And how to break out this crisis? For more than one and ahalf century, Chinese intellectuals have been trying to answer these questions. But todo this, an important reference should not be ignored, that is to say, firstly we shouldhave a in-depth and accurate understanding of western culture.From the Opium War to the New Culture Movement, science and technology, thepolitical system, and the spirit of scientific rationality of western culture had becomethe core content of its cultrue that had attracted the attention of Chinese people andhad became the symbol of the western culture’s essence in most Chinese people’seyes. By contrast, western literature and religion had always been marginalized, or atleast been excluded from the essence or the core of its culture.For the first time, this thesis attempts to study the cognitive process of westernliterature and religion by Chinese people from Opium War (1840) to the end of20thCentury on the basis of a theory about the basic structure of western culture proposedby Mr. Chen Zhongmei. Based on the previous studies on this issue by other scholars,this thesis trys to reveal the process of how “M(?) θo(?)” had been found and had beenupgraded to an equally important position with “Logos”, which includes science,technology, the political system and the spirit of scientific rationality of westernculture. At the end of this thesis, some problems are pointed out and the reasons ofthese problems are analyzed.The main body of this thesis is divided into four chapters. Chapter One focuseson how western literature and religion had been marginalized by Chinese intellectualsunder the influence of the mainstream understanding of western culture from theOpium War to the New Culture Movement. Chapter two is about the faint voices ofprotest against the negative attitude toward western literature and religion with thenew understandings of western culture. Chapter three is the core of this thesis. In thischapter, an important theory on the basic structure of western culture is introducedand explained in detail. According to this theory,“M(?) θo(?)”, a new concept coveringwestern literature and religion, is regarded as important as “Logos” in western culture.In chapter four, the subjective and objective reasons of such a biased and long-heldunderstanding of western culture by Chinese people are analyzed. In the conclusionpart, this thesis leads the readers to the depth of cultural reflection and points out whatwe can learn by reviewing this cognitive process.