Zhang Jian "mean" Thought

Steadiness and firmness were the most outstanding characters of Zhang Jian. The forming of the characters was relative to his complicated experience. He had experienced The Reform Movement of 1898, Late Qing Reform, The Revolution of 1911 and The War of The Warlord. It was the most unrest period in Chinese recent history, in which the structure of society was divided severely. During of the times, Zhang Jian took on many duties and played an important role in any of them. The drop of examination, the up and down in official position, and the suffering in business, all of these had a great influence on his character. However, we should not neglect another major factor, which is that man's mind is developing and maturing under the effect of culture. So one's behavior will be controlled by culture. In fact, only in culture or by culture, there's a perfect meaning and value. The Confucianists' thought of "The Golden mean" had the great influence on Chinese traditional spirit. As the core of the Confucianists' thought, "The Golden mean" was the fundamental standard of the traditional intellectuals in action. Zhang Jian was also printed traditional culture because of his experience. In his life, he also abided by "The Golden mean", and it was the basic standard of his behavior. The character could by summed up in the following points:In his political attitude, on one hand, he agreed to transform. But he choose the neutral road between the radical and the conservative. On the other hand, he believed that people must comply with the social order. His basic political thought was "Law should be changed, while the morality should be altered." In his economic thought, he wanted to link up the value of the tradition and the modern. In culture and education, he abided by the rule that "Chinese culture is the fundamental, the west culture is auxiliary",which was embodied in educational practice. In his social understanding, he also pursuit to perfection and harmony. He tried to communicate the official and the businessmen, and he wanted to seek the harmony between his cause and moral. The traditional value of "Internal lofty and external greatness" was his highest ideal.In general, "the influence of the Golden mean" made him pursuit the perfection and harmony in any case, while the contradiction of ideal and reality divided his personality. He can choose the fine and excellent aspect by sensible thinking. The open trait was the valuable spirit of Zhang Jian.