| Modernization and Civilization, can coexist? | |
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| Aug 24, 2006 05:08 |   |
 | Though I do not have so many chances to travel around China and see all these places of interest distributed all over this great land, I am intensely drawn to anything trivial, such as an old photo, to feel the glorious 5,000-year civilization. Sometimes, I am a little upset when I find out that some historical civilization is disappearing. I am wondering How to make a balance between modernization and the protection of ancestral civilization without adding anything man-made to it. Sometimes, I heard many foreign visitors say that it is hard to trace China’s cultural features when all the most famous places of interest are introduced as scenic spots and when more and more Chinese young men pursue a western style way of life. I am always wondering how foreign friends feel after they visit these places, amazed or disappointed or nothing interesting. Maybe, I am a little pessimistic. Maybe, China is creating a new glorious chapter of civilization. Anyway, can anyone share with us his or her trip in China, and tell us how you feel when you first see something thousands of years old and then have to walk among the skyscrapers and have your dinner in elaborately decorated restaurant. anything similar in your country? |
| Aug 24, 2006 12:47 | #1 |
| I was in Guangzhou a few months back, while walking through a pedestrainised shopping street I noticed a hole was dug in the middle of the road, cordoned off and protected by a plexiglass. Looking down, it shows the thoroughfare of past centuries/ dynasties at various depth that laid under that very road I was walking through. Coming from Singapore that has no more than 200yrs history, that suddenly impressed on me how rich this country is in terms of history and culture. Chinese are not only practical but also a proud people (I'm also Chinese). I think they will treasure their rich history even in this hectic time of rapid progress. Like you said "China is creating a new glorious chapter of civilization", we should be optimistic. |
| Aug 24, 2006 19:10 | #2 |
| On a recent visit- my first- to China I was amazed to find such wonderful places of history. Coming from New Zealand- where our history is a mere 200 years old I was overawed to stand in places that were quite ancient by our standings. I only hope that the people of China realise and protect the uniqueness of their cultural heritage as they move in to the modern world. By this I do not necessarily mean renovate everything, this often destroys the essence of the place in the process. I came home with a feeling of awe at the history and wonderment at the age of the places I visited. I will be back. |
| Aug 24, 2006 19:58 | #3 |
| I think this problem does not lie with China alone - it is happening all over the world. It is nice to be able to preserve the ancient relics and cultural lifestyle in their original forms for as long as possible. But we know this is very difficult. In a big country like China, the govt can have the leeway to try to leave these as untouched as possible but in smaller countries the leeway is much narrower. Nonethless, there is a price for development and progress. Something has to give way. Who wanna continue living in the past just for the rich tourists to come and admire them ? There are much more other consideration and consequences of not moving forward inline with time. This is the dilemma the govts are in. |
| Aug 25, 2006 04:13 | #4 |
| With science making new discoveries, hopefully one day someone can come up with convenient time-travel machines. In that way, we can move back/forward into times and admire/appreciate history and ancient lifestyles at the press of a button. Then we can proceed with destroying everything in the present to our hearts' content. How nice ! Anyone wanna make a booking for such a trip ? Please place your deposit with TCG - time of travel & travelling details to be announced in due course. |
| Aug 25, 2006 13:54 | #5 |
| You make excellent points, Pinetree. But each modern innovation exacts a payment from the soul. When I was a little boy, my mother and father would spell the word divorce at the dinner table because they did not want to expose us to something that was considered disgraceful. They were concerned that we would believe divorce was normal/acceptable. The free sex movement in the US, the feminist movement, the homosexual movement and the sympathetic media coverage and hollywood movie productions of these things has contributed greatly to the corruption of humankind's soul. For instance, in the news in the US today, a jailed murderer is claiming that he has the constitutional right to a sex change operation...at taxpayer's expense! There is much more to exlife's question than ancient tourist sites preserved for rich tourists. To my eyes China is already paying dearly for modernization and new affluence. In our shore leave briefing in 1978, the only crime worth mentioning in China then was rape. I had a merchant run all the way down Nanjing Boulevard to the waterfront to return a few fen to me because he had over charged me for something. In 2006 I witnessed killing (newspaper report), theft, prostitution, and cheating. It seemed to be widespread (except for the killing). Divorce is common now. Children do not continue to live with their parents? Chinese society always took care of the old ones by keeping them with the family. What happens now. The price tag for Western living is devastatingly high. The Chinese people must find a way to guide the leadership along this perilous path. |
| Aug 25, 2006 23:01 | #6 |
| Indeed that is the price that China is paying for her giant economic, technological & political leap forward. If she were to remain as she was 50 years ago, visitors like u and me would certainly enjoy the China we would love to see - real cheap and real good. But for the country & people as a whole, China would not enjoy the status that the world is viewing her now. She would probably still be bullied by countries like USA, Britain, France, even little Portugal/Netherlands & that Japan & to an extent even Taiwan. As it is, she is still struggling to have more dignity as a country - 1 of the countries with the longest history/culture & most intelligent people in the world. The price she is paying might be "high' but I personally think she has not much choice. Modernisation & Cultural Civilisation cannot co-exist in totality - unless every country & everyone else are as humane as they preach. |
| Aug 26, 2006 00:05 | #7 |
| As an American, a modestly wealthy American, I can say I would trade all of my wealth for the human warmth and integrity I knew in my country before our last leap forward in modernization. I believe only China has the cultural wisdom to adopt the good of the modern world while retaining the human warmth that is lost here and elsewhere in the modern world. Unless the Chinese apply the wisdom "all things in moderation, even moderation" (book of changes - I Ching) to their progress then we are all condemned to a new sort of slavery. China will soon be the largest unified, participating world marketplace. China must lead the world with its ancient soul. It will have the economic influence, but will it have the soul? I hope so. It is my hope I do not over estimate the power of the ancient wisdom I read in the old books and what I saw in China in 1978. Western society is seductive. Mao saw this clearly and held back. Zhou En-lai embraced the opportunity for the good of the people. No fault to either leader who made tremendously difficult leadership decisions. China is, in my opinion, the last hope for a civilized, modern world. I hope my view is realistic and not romantic, but only time will reveal that...opinions...while interesting are no more than conjecture. |
| Aug 26, 2006 01:26 | #8 |
| Pinetree is spot on. But with 'romantics' like Griz, I'd like to believe that there must still be hope for all of us that may have lost that 'something' along the way. Cheers to the both of you. |
| Aug 26, 2006 01:48 | #9 |
| Yes, love the romanticism in you, GRIZ326. Your hope is ideal & I think all the Chinese too hope that China would be as you said. Time will tell. Good to know that China has a friend in a USA citizen !! Cheers !! |
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