Chapter 84 worried

When I was in Pakistan, news came from Hong Kong that Japan's "Asahi Shimbun" was looking for me.I figured I'd wait until I was done with this trip, whatever, and didn't pay much attention.Unexpectedly, I received a call yesterday, saying that Mr. Chihiro Kato, the director of the China Administration of the "Asahi Shimbun", had arrived in New Delhi with the translator Ms. Yang Jing, and had already found this hotel to stay.This surprised me quite a bit, what is so urgent? It was only after we met that I found out that the Asahi Shimbun selected ten people from all over the world and asked them to express their opinions on the new century in turn in the first ten days of 2000. Somehow, I was selected.This made Mr. Kato, who is the director of the General Administration of China, very anxious. He first went to Shanghai to look for me, but he couldn’t find me. Later, he finally figured out our travel route in Hong Kong and planned to intercept it in Nepal. But counting the time, Nepal is already close At the end of the year, coming and going may not be in time for the publication time, so I decided to go to India to wait for the interview in advance.

He is so sincere, of course I have to seriously cooperate.So let's stop talking, and immediately get to the topic.The distance I have traveled and the place where I am talking today make the topic inevitable and heavy. Mr. Kato prepared carefully.The question he interviewed was roughly: The twentieth century is about to come to an end, what lessons do human beings have to bring to the new century?Have you remembered the tragedy of the two world wars?UN Secretary-General Annan said not long ago that the number of people killed in wars in the past ten years is still as high as 500,000. It can be seen that cannibalism has not stopped. How can we avoid it in the new century?In addition to war, there are also many crises. For example, the earth's resources are already very scarce, but countries that have developed better in recent decades have been wasting a lot with their inflated material desires. What should we do when our resources are exhausted?Another example is that the population explosion is still going on, but the population of the highly civilized and well-educated communities is declining sharply. The real population explosion is in poor and poorly educated countries and regions, so what should we do?As for political and religious conflicts, although they have changed in form, there is no sign of significant relaxation. How to reduce differences and coexist?What is the ideal country style?What is the shared civilization of all mankind?

Of course, the more important question is, as a Chinese literati, how do you view China's position in the world?What is China's current development status and future development prospects?What are some insurmountable troublesome problems?This time, I made a systematic inspection of the old places of world civilization. What changes have been made in my views on world culture and Chinese culture? These questions are big, and no one can answer them simply, they can only discuss them.The tape recorder turned on the table silently with the red light on. Mr. Kato and Ms. Yang Jing and I became more and more worried as we talked, shaking our heads and sighing from time to time.It is indeed difficult to relax, but I am still relatively optimistic about the situation in China.Thanks to the Asahi Shimbun for stimulating me to think more deeply about these issues.This diary of mine should also be sorted out a little bit before the end.

All problems are imminent.Culture is supposed to be a reminder and a force for thinking, but it often backfires and becomes a fascination with priorities reversed.Whenever I encountered a particularly shocking ruin on the road this time, I always wondered whether there were thinking figures and calling voices here before the destruction?But a large amount of historical data tells me that no, always no. Under the shadow of a generation of heroes and a hundred years of great achievements, culture often becomes extravagant embellishment, boring tastes, bitter mutual observations, and sometimes it is still elaborately dressed up until the soldiers approach the city.As a result, barbaric power always overcomes corruption, and culture dies unjustly, and what dies along with culture is always a rare period of light in history.Therefore, culture is the easiest to be trivial and the least should be trivial, and the culture that is most used to being particular about it should be the most vigilant about being particular about it.Cultural morality and cultural conscience are always the soul of culture.Otherwise, the buzzing so-called culture is a harbinger of self-burial.However, cultural morality and cultural conscience, how easy is it?

Mr. Kato wanted to adjust the atmosphere of the conversation a little more relaxed, and talked about some interesting things when he first arrived in India yesterday. He recalled the process of haggling with the driver when taking a taxi. In order to prevent being cheated, he pretended to be a Singaporean instead of saying that he was Japanese.There was one thing that really pissed him off.He was walking on the street, and a person chased after him to shine his shoes, but he thought it was unnecessary, so he refused.Unexpectedly, as soon as he refused, the man took out a ball of cow dung and threw it on Mr. Kato's leather shoes. It got on and had to be wiped by him.After polishing, I actually asked for 350 rupees. In fact, ten rupees is enough for shoe shine here.Two trustees suddenly walked out from the side, and persuaded Mr. Kato to pay 200 rupees in the face of mediation.

Before Mr. Kato finished speaking, I laughed, thinking how the evils of human beings are so similar.I said that I had the same experience as you. Someone spilled dirt on me, and asked me if I wanted him to wipe it off, and erasing it also requires a price.The difference is that the tools they smear are articles and books, and the price is to allow them to pirate. Mr. Kato said: Look, I can't deal with that shoe shiner, you can't deal with those pirates, the simplest right and wrong are completely reversed, and we have nothing to do.Just thinking about such trivial things, how can human beings effectively stop the evil?I can't be optimistic.

I said: Please allow me to continue to see the big from the small, and use these small things to look at the problem of the century.Our optimism in the past was because we believed that the law and public opinion could maintain social justice, but take this trivial matter you encountered as an example, such as a lawsuit, where is the evidence?As for public opinion, you have seen that, except for those two accomplices, it is impossible for anyone else to care.It will be even more troublesome if other people come to care about it, and they will bring in all their own concepts. For example, in the eyes of Hindus, the cow that pulls dung is probably a sacred cow, and you are quite blessed.That is to say, in many areas of social life, law, public opinion, religion, etc. cannot solve problems.Then extending to the problem of the century, we also encounter who is in control, who is in charge of the referee, whether the control and referee are fair, and what to do about injustice, etc., which are more difficult than the problem itself.My melancholy comes from this.

But I also have hopes.It is hoped that in the 21st century, more countries will improve their national economy and spiritual morality at the same time, and become the backbone of rational checks and balances on the world.I believe in my country, and most likely become one of them. As for individuals, when human beings are faced with such dense problems, I hope that more wise men will take on the real responsibility of culture, and no matter how many stones are thrown, they can still maintain a group of steadfastness.Mobs can assassinate Gandhi and Rabin, but their voices remain in the world after all.

December 16, 1999, New Delhi, overnight at Surya Hotel