Civilization's self-help

Some people always ask, what is the difference between Eastern civilization and Western civilization?

Before we talk about this, let's look at the division of the two civilizations; Eastern civilization and Western civilization are divided into two categories based on the mainstream civilization in the world, and it is meaningless to include those ancient civilizations that have disappeared, because then the civilization of mankind is too complicated, and there are different civilizations in each region at different times, and they have a deep impact, which even includes many civilizations that are unknown to mankind. Therefore, when we say Oriental civilization and Western civilization now, we mainly refer to the modern civilization of the West developed with the origin of Greece and the modern civilization of Asia (mainly the eastern part of Asia) developed with the Chinese civilization, or the modern civilization of the East.

The difference between them is not difficult to find, from the difference in geography to the difference in historical inheritance, different divisions can have different perspectives, if there is any difference between the core of the two civilizations, that is, the difference in philosophical thinking, which is the main difference between all different civilizations, Western civilization pays more attention to the outside, while Eastern civilization is more concerned about the inside, which is reflected in all aspects of the two civilizations, if you are interested, you can take a look at our previous article, there are a lot of explanations for it, and I will not repeat it here; Rather than simply understanding civilizations by distinguishing them or searching for unity with a purpose, I prefer to explore the essence of civilizations among them;

In a brief explanation of the differences between the two civilizations, let's talk about the common points of the two, which mainly have several aspects, one is that both are civilizations developed by human beings themselves, the second is that the purpose of both is basically the same is to pursue a higher level of human beings, the third is that the timelines of the two are basically overlapping, the fourth is that the processes of the two are basically synchronized, and the fifth is that both have a relatively independent and perfect structure, and the sixth is also the main difference between the two civilizations and other civilizations is uninterrupted continuity. It is precisely because of this that the two civilizations have developed and become the two main streams in the world today, and the two may also be unified in the future.

Here we can also talk about some more digressions, the Eastern civilization has undergone a crisis of disconnection in modern times compared with Western civilization. This crisis may not have been as long in time as the Middle Ages in Europe. However, in terms of the degree of destruction of its own civilization, it is no less than the dark period that Western civilization has experienced. It is even more excessive, because it makes a great civilization have to bow its head under the pressure of external forces and admit that it is lagging behind. This is something that Western civilization has never had, even if it has not been at the forefront for a long time, but it has always preserved a pride in its heart. However, the Eastern civilization lost this pride at the end of the Qing Dynasty.

Looking back at history, we have to admit that at one stage, the pace of the development of oriental civilization slowed down little by little until it stopped. How far back can this point be made? Some people say that it can be traced back to the Ming Dynasty, which banned China after its blockade of coastal defense. We have to admit that a civilization that reduces its interaction with other civilizations in the outside world will be a great obstacle to its own development. There is no doubt about this, but for a long time, this information from the sea has been of limited use to the development of this civilization. However, the Eastern civilization has been advancing at its own pace, and has not stopped, but has been a distance ahead of other civilizations for most of the time. This cannot but be said that it would be a bit biased to take the Ming Dynasty's policy of sealing the sea as the cause of the decline of civilization, at least not because the Ming Dynasty's policy of sealing the sea itself had such an irreparable impact on the process of civilization.

No matter how brilliant it is and how ideal the external environment is, if it cannot have enough vitality for its own development, then the civilization will inevitably decline. And in the face of this crisis, only the civilization itself can be saved. Like a person, the genes of a civilization determine how far it can go; But luckily for people, the damage that a chance accident can do to a civilization is limited. Civilizations are like the stars in the universe, and they cherish them far more than individual people.