Jiang Menglin's Cultural Thoughts And Undertakings

The modern Chinese culture formed in the conflict and combination of the Chinese traditional culture and the Western culture. The Western culture has permeated the Chinese native culture on a large scale since the Opium War. The unavoidable conflict between the two heterogeneous cultures caused controversy on the cultural battle line. Many intellectuals contributed to the development of the modernization of the Chinese culture by issuing their opinions on how to recognize inheritance and innovation of culture, how to think about the relation between material culture and spiritual culture, how to treat the relation between native culture and the exotic culture, etc. Jiang menglin was an outstanding representative of those intellectuals. How Jiang menglin treated the Chinese culture and the Western culture and his efforts to promote the modernization of the Chinese culture and the modernization of China are discussed in the article.At first, the course of the development of Jiang menglin's cultural thoughts is longitudinally outlined. The course consists of four periods. The first is the forming period. Influenced by the era, family and regional environment, drawing the advantages of the Chinese culture and Western culture, he thought the Chinese culture should be the combination of the Chinese traditional culture and the Western culture. The second is developing period. To save the country from being occupied and enlighten the people, Jiang menglin propagandized "New Culture and New Education", analyzed the success and failure of the New Culture Movement, and expressed civil disobedience to the temporal Beiyang Warlords' government. The third is the continuing period. Jiang menglin innovated education to modernize the country when he served as Minister of Ministry of Education of the Republic of China. He sighed with regret that the spiritual innovation is more difficult when he had resigned the position for his disagreement with some patriarchs of Kuomintang. He demonstrated moral integrity and national spirit when Japan invaded China. The fourth is the later years period. Reevaluating the Chinese culture and the Western culture, he thought the individual conductor should be in accordance with Confucianism, the interpersonal relations should be in accordance Taoism and the undertakings should be guided by the Westernscientific thoughts.Then, Jiang menglin's evaluation and analysis of the Chinese traditional culture and Western culture and his comparative study between the Chinese traditional culture and Western culture are transversely analyzed. He thought the Chinese culture formed on the basis of Chinese traditional culture, absorbing and merging other cultures constantly. Its quintessence is the ethics values of Chinese traditional culture with superstition and other drosses abandoned. And Western culture formed on Greek culture and Xibolai culture. Its quintessence is scientific thoughts. The conclusion that" the Western scientific knowledge should be inoculated to the knowledge system of Confucianism " is drawn.Next, all sorts of cultural activities taken by Jiang menglin to promote the modernization of the Chinese culture are systemically analyzed. The activities mainly include establishing and editing magazines, writing articles, attaching to social affairs, developing cultural and educational enterprises, and presiding educational bureaus. All the activities contribute to the modernization of Chinese culture and education.Finally, Jiang menglin's cultural thoughts and undertakings are evaluated and analyzed on the basis of the above analyses. There are remarkable rules in development of Jiang menglin's cultural thoughts: Academic thoughts and social reality be linked to each other closely; From Chinese culture to the Western culture, to both Chinese culture and the Western culture; From natural science to social science; From implements to thought. Jiang menglin's thoughts are characteristic with prospect, golden mean, rationalism and humanism, and certain limitation exists. But general...