Chapter 427 International Friends 3

1.

The president of the Yokohama University Love Charity Foundation in Yokohama, Japan, has an amiable Confucian image, with short gray hair, a pair of white-edged crystal enamel glasses, a thin figure sitting on the rostrum, waving his skinny right hand, and talking to the crowd in his stiff Chinese, with a few words of Japanese in between. At this time, the interpreter sitting next to him would quickly translate his Japanese into Chinese so that the audience could understand the president's speech in a timely manner.

The speech of the president of the Yokohama University Love Charity Foundation took about 10 minutes, and the translation took about a third of the time, and the teachers and students of Toyama Junior High School understood the content of his speech, which basically means that China and Japan are neighbors separated by a strip of water, and that they should help and support each other, and that they should continue to be friendly for generations, and so on. After his speech, he did not receive the expected thunderous applause, and although the teachers and students of Toyama Middle School in the audience were also applauding, the attitude of the applauding people was not positive, and the applause was not enthusiastic. However, the officials at all levels on the stage slapped very hard.

Although these Japanese came to Toyama Town with kindness and good intentions, the more than 1,000 teachers and students of Toyama Middle School sitting in the audience have not forgotten the harm caused by the Japanese to the Chinese people in history, and although the harm has ended, no Chinese should forget that shameful history, and forgetting history means betrayal. "The past is not forgotten, the future is the teacher", something similar will definitely not be repeated in us Chinese. Li Shimin, Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, once said, "Taking history as a mirror, we can know the rise and fall", history is always moving forward, and the purpose of summing up and drawing lessons from history is to learn from history and advance better.

These painful memories caused by the Japanese to the Chinese people in history have been performed in film and television dramas, written in textbooks, and often talked about by teachers and parents, not to mention that on the halfway point of Yuntai Mountain, not far from Hushan Middle School, more than a dozen martyrs who died bravely in the War of Resistance Against Japan are buried. All of these have left a deep imprint on the young minds of the children of Toyama Middle School.

Liang Qichao once said in "Young China Says": "··· The wisdom of the youth is the wisdom of the country, the wealth of the youth is the wealth of the country, the strength of the youth is the strength of the country, the independence of the youth is the independence of the country, the freedom of the youth is the freedom of the country, the progress of the youth is the progress of the country, the youth is better than Europe, the country is better than Europe, the youth is stronger than the earth, the country is stronger than the earth... In front of these Japanese who crossed the ocean to release their goodwill in Toyama Town, the children of Toyama Middle School deeply understood the truth of "teenagers should be self-reliant"!

2.

The president of the Yokohama University Love Charity Foundation probably saw the strange behavior of the teachers and students of Toyama Junior High School, and after speaking, he quickly got up and left the table, stood on the side of the rostrum, and bowed to the crowd on and off the stage to thank him, and he was the kind of "most respectful" who bent down 90 degrees.

This performance of the president of the Yokohama University Love Charity Foundation won warm applause from the teachers and students of Toyama Middle School, and their applause was given to the country and people of Japan to spread and inherit Chinese civilization and etiquette.

Once upon a time, the "State of Etiquette" has always been a name used to describe China. The Chinese nation is a country of etiquette, and the Chinese have been morally building the country and establishing their lives since ancient times; for thousands of years, they have always paid attention to benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faith, followed Confucianism, respected the old and loved the young, and the elders and young were orderly; this is the spirit that the Chinese nation has inherited for thousands of years, and it is also the spiritual pillar of our country.

However, when it comes to etiquette today, we have to talk about Japan and South Korea, two countries that have a relationship with China. It can be said that the name of China's ceremonial state has gradually been put on the heads of Japan and South Korea by everyone, which cannot but be said to be a great shame for us Chinese.

Although, it is undeniable that the two countries of Japan and South Korea do a better job than the Chinese in the inheritance and transmission of etiquette. I also have to admit that Japan and South Korea are both very good at learning countries, Japan inherited the civilization of the Tang Dynasty of China, and South Korea inherited the civilization of the Ming Dynasty of China. Especially after World War II, Japan has developed rapidly for decades, from its international status, to material and spiritual civilization, from the quality of its citizens, to social welfare, medical care, education, and culture, and it is indeed like a country of etiquette in the eyes of foreigners.

However, few people will find that there is a fundamental difference between Chinese and Japanese etiquette, that is, Chinese Confucianism values benevolence over etiquette, so the active shaping and pursuit of inner mind is far more important than the strict observance and compliance with external norms. In Japan, on the other hand, they are committed to the establishment of external reason, that is, the resolute establishment and strict implementation of the details of etiquette such as norms of behavior, posture and appearance, but do not focus on the shaping of the inner mind... This is the difference between China and Japan in terms of etiquette. It is precisely this difference that makes the Japanese look like a humble gentleman on the outside, but they are all murderous and violent in their souls. This may seem like a partial generalization, but historically, the Japanese have been such an image in the minds of most Chinese.

The "state of etiquette" that we talked about before is only the ancient system of China, and dialectically accepting the ancient etiquette civilization and making China a real state of etiquette is what we modern people should do, and it is also the historical mission of our generation.

Etiquette belongs to the spiritual level, and its development is inseparable from rich material guarantees, so that people can be humble gentlemen hungry, which is just an empty word. At present, China is still in the stage of development of widespread poverty and backwardness, and when the Chinese nation really reaches the point where the country is rich and the people are strong, the overall quality of the Chinese people will naturally follow.

Throughout history, the development of civilization, from a country to a region, to a village, to a family, is inseparable from education, from those teachers who are role models, and from the inheritance and development of the students who have grown up vigorously from generation to generation.