（维基百科）

Revive the Divinely Inspired Culture and Appreciate Its Significance (Part 3)  
 
4. The Essence of Traditional Culture
 
B) "Keeping to the doctrine of the mean" and "achieving harmony"
 
In the book Doctrine of the Mean, it is said, "Keeping to the doctrine of the mean is most fundamental in the world; achieving harmony will keep the road clear and smooth. When harmony is achieved, Heaven and Earth will stay in their right states, and all things will grow." The fundamental theory of the doctrine of the mean is based on the concept of the integration of nature and man as one, and it also serves as a principle for moral cultivation. Confucianism believes that all conflicts between other things and oneself, between other people and oneself, between reasoning and desires, and between people should be regulated by the principle of the doctrine of the mean and by maintaining harmony, in order to achieve the state of sincerity and kindness. Then Heaven, Earth, and all things will each have a role to play and all will reach the realm of harmony.
 
Confucius said, "A gentleman keeps to the doctrine of the mean, whereas a malicious man goes against it. The reason a gentleman keeps to the doctrine of the mean is because he is in that state at all times, and he never does more or less; a malicious man goes against the doctrine of the mean, because he is unscrupulous and always goes to extremes."
 
Zhu Xi said, "Keeping to the middle way is a righteous way, and the golden mean is a defined law." It says in Lun Yu, "In the application of rites, the most precious is to maintain harmony, and of the ways taken by rulers in the past, this is the most precious." Rulers in the past stipulated rites and created music to regulate people's code of conduct and educate the country, and they treated maintaining harmony of the land under heaven as their sacred historic mission. The Chinese nation has, since ancient times, attached importance to "maintaining harmony" and respecting the golden mean, and they relied on benevolence and virtues to keep the world in harmony. Song Yeshi said in Doctrine of the Mean, "Ancient people applied the mean, and, therefore, Heaven and Earth played their respective roles, and all things grew themselves; the emperors and court officials we know who followed the same principle include Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, and Wu; if you do the same, then illegal conduct will not find its way in."

Ancient people paid attention to harmony between man and heaven and earth. With regard to interpersonal relations, Xunzi also put forward the concept of the "collective Tao." He believed that the reason people could live together was because there were differentiated roles and there was morality and justice; people should not harm others for their own desires and interests, and should care for and be kind and tolerant towards one another. The Confucian principles in handling interpersonal relations mainly include benevolence, justice, rites, wisdom, and trust. The principles they promoted, such as "benevolence," "don't do to others what one does not want done to himself," "remember what is right at the sight of profit," and "if people have no faith in a person, there is no standing for that person," became traditional virtues of the Chinese nation.
 
C) Values of life
 
In the book Shi.Daya.Zhengmin, it says, "Heaven created the masses of people, and there are matter and principles. The nature of people came from the nature of heaven." From the universal perspective of "nature and man integrated as one," the principles of Chinese traditional culture advocate that one should start by perfecting himself, "from the emperor to the common people, everyone should treat self-cultivation as the most important." It believed that people could reach a realm of "nature and man integrated as one" through cultivation and could communicate directly with the Tao and with gods. Confucianism advocates "self-cultivation, family-regulation, and good government to maintain peace and harmony on earth." Confucius advocated that one must conduct oneself well, even when he is alone, and one must examine oneself; one should have far-reaching aspirations and mold noble characters; be upright and not go beyond principles. Zhu Xi believed that a gentleman should have an upright manner with a righteous heart and sincerity. The Tao School pays attention to returning to one's true self and cultivating to become a true person. The Buddha School emphasizes the cultivation of kindness, to ultimately reach the realm of Buddha.
 
Chinese traditional culture pays attention to benevolence, to conforming to the mandate of Heaven, to being content with a simple but virtuous life, to being strict with oneself in all aspects while being tolerant towards others, and to thinking about others and helping others. Lao Zi advocated that one must follow the Tao in his conduct, act according to the principles, direct one's action according to the circumstances, let things happen naturally, and be calm and tolerant. Confucius believed that people should show compassion to everyone equally. Mencius said, "The highest virtue of a gentleman is to be kind towards others."
 
In Chinese traditional culture, the teachings and concepts of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism had a deep influence on the Chinese people from generation to generation. People regarded the pursuit of truth and virtue as the most important, and they remained firm in their principles regardless of the circumstances. Zhuangzi once said, "A noble man is like a god. He would not feel the heat if lakes were burning, would not feel the cold if rivers were frozen, and would not be moved in the face of ferocious thunder and wind." For thousands of years, countless people with lofty virtue were widely praised, such as Tao Yuanming, who refused to curry favor for personal gains; Zhu Geliang, who could foresee events; Yue Fei, who was renowned for his loyalty to the country; Lu You, who was deeply concerned about his country and people.... These people were the backbone of the Chinese nation. They rose above personal loss and gain; they were upright and uncorrupted, cared about the people and were loyal to the country. Their upright deeds were recorded in history and have shone down through thousands of years. It is such values and the pursuit of truth that have pushed the Chinese nation forward through difficulties and hardships over its long history.
 
Traditional culture was bestowed upon man by the Divine, and humans were created by God. The core of traditional and righteous beliefs is to teach people to be good and to act according to the law of the universe, so as to achieve harmony between man and the universe. The purpose and significance of the Divinely-inspired culture lies in guiding people to measure things against moral standards and to maintain a righteous state of understanding principles that define "good and bad" and "righteous and evil." It also encourages people to pursue truth so that their true self will have a beautiful future. Its moral values and profound inner meanings also comprise an even more significant, sacred mission bestowed by history.
 
复兴神传文化　感悟文化意义 (下)
 
（二）“道中庸”、“致中和”
 
《中庸》中写道：“中也者，天下之大本也；和也者，天下之达道也。致中和，天地位焉，万物育焉”，中庸之道的理论基础是天人合一，是道德修身境界的一种原则。儒家认为一切物我、人我、理欲、人际关系的矛盾、冲突，都应该用“道中庸”、“致中和”的准则来调控，以达到至诚、至善，通晓天地化育万物的道理，那么天地万物均能各得其所，达到和谐的境界了。
 
孔子说：“君子中庸，小人违背中庸。君子之所以中庸，是因为君子随时做到适中，无过无不及；小人之所以违背中庸，是因为小人肆无忌惮，专走极端”。
 
朱熹说：“中者天下之正道，庸者天下之定理”，这里“中”就是正确不偏，“庸”就是正常不乱。《论语》说：“礼之用，和为贵，先王之道斯为美”，“和”有调和、和谐之意，先王制礼作乐来调节人们的行为规范，以教化天下，即所谓平天下为自己的神圣历史使命。中华民族向来讲究“和为贵”，推崇中庸之道，实现平天下的理想所仰赖的是仁政与修德，所谓“故远人不服，则修文德以来之”。宋叶适在《中庸》中说：“古之人，使中和为我用，则天地自位，万物自育；而吾顺之者也，尧舜禹、汤、文、武之君臣也，夫如是，则伪不起矣”。
 
古人重视人与天地自然的和谐。关于人伦与群己的关系问题，荀子在论述时还提出“群道”的概念，他认为，人所以能群，在于有职分与道义，不以私欲而损害他人与群体，人与人之间应该互相关怀，敦厚宽容。儒家处理个人与他人关系的准则与规范，主要有仁、礼、和、义、信，其所倡导的“仁”、“己所不欲，勿施于人”、“见利思义”、“人无信不立”等，成为我们中华民族的传统美德。
 
（三）人生价值观
 
《诗﹒大雅﹒烝民》中说“天生烝民，有物有则。民之秉彝，好是懿德”，从“天人合一”的宇宙观出发，传统文化的做人理念主张从完善个人做起，“自天子以至于庶人，壹是皆以修身为本”，认为人们通过修身可达到天人合一的境界，能够直接与大道相感通，与神相感应。儒家讲“修身、齐家、治国平天下”，孔子提出以慎独自省，强调道德修养中的克己自省，人应当有远大的志向，塑造崇高人格，“从心所欲”，光明磊落，而又“不逾矩”（《论语、为政》，朱熹又提出君子要有“正心、诚意”的端正态度；道家讲返本归真，修成真人；佛家修善，达到佛的境界。
 
传统文化讲究仁爱精神，仁人君子顺天知命，安贫乐道，对自己要求严格而全面，对别人宽容而简约。要求人们要替他人著想，善待、帮助他人。如老子提出“上善若水”，提倡遵道以行，率理而动，因势利导，合乎自然，虚静处下，海涵宽容；孔子提出“仁者，爱人”、“泛爱众”，认为应当不分远近亲疏地爱一切人；《孟子﹒公孙丑上》中说：“君子莫大乎与人为善”，意思是说君子最高的德行就是偕同别人一道行善。
 
传统文化中儒家兼济天下、佛家大慈大悲的精神及道统的意识，深深影响著一代又一代中国人，人们把对真理和道德的追求看得比什么都重要，始终如一地坚持自己的原则，在任何情况下都决不动摇。庄子说：“至人神矣！大泽焚而不能热，河汉冱而不能寒，疾雷破山、飘风振海而不能惊”。千百年来无数仁人志士的嘉行懿德被广为传颂：不为五斗米折腰的陶渊明；先知先觉的诸葛亮；精忠报国的岳飞；忧国忧民的陆游……可谓不胜枚举。这些人是民族的脊梁，他们超越了个人得失，不以物喜，不以己悲，或一身正气，两袖清风；或为民请命；或精忠报国。他们的浩然正气，彪炳史册，光照千秋。正是这样的价值取向和人生理想追求，推动著中华民族不屈不挠征服千难万险，越过漫漫历史长河走到今天。
 
文化是神传的，人是神造的，传统信仰和正信的核心是教人向善，宗旨是按照宇宙规律去做，达到人与宇宙的和谐。神传文化的目的和意义在于引导人们以道德水准衡量一切事物，以正确的态度认识“善”与“恶”、“正”与“邪”这些原则性问题，鼓励人追求真理，使真正的自我生命有美好的未来，其正统的道德规范以及内涵的博大精深，也蕴涵著历史赋予他更为远大神圣的使命。