The common good is a matter of survival – Anti-epidemics and the World from the Perspective of Chinese Traditional Culture

（Photo by Xinhua）

1.“The extension of good-knowing”: the power to fight the epidemic

Xue Xiaoyuan: Humanity is experiencing a once-in-a-century catastrophe, with the novel corona virus pneumonia epidemic ravaging the world, with more than 25.59 million confirmed cases and 850,000 deaths so far. Faced with this epidemic, people with insight are thinking about the present and the future. Mr. Schmidt-Glintzer is well known in the international sinology community, and Mr. Bartosch has been the first German philosopher to write a monograph on Wang Yangming's philosophy. On this occasion, I would like to join you, as sinologists and humanists, to look at the fight against epidemic in China from the profound historical background of Chinese culture, and to discuss the post-epidemic era.

Photo Schmit-Glintzer

（Helwig Schmidt-Glintzer is a professor at the University of Göttingen, Germany, vice president of the International Confucianism Federation, and a renowned sinologist.）

Schmidt-Glintzer: China's policy of strict containment of the epidemic has been successful. The danger was averted thanks to the early action of Government agencies. Expectations of serious and responsible action by the Government are high, and Government institutions in particular have been challenged. The epidemic has clearly strengthened confidence in the central government. China is also a strong participant in the architecture of cooperation in a multipolar world. For China, the exchange of experiences with the international community, especially with neighboring countries, has reached a new dimension. Most importantly, efficient domestic infrastructure and centralized governance have been put to a test. The international community should share China's experience and the lessons it has learned from the crisis.

Bartosch: China was one of the first countries to be affected by the epidemic, or rather, the neo-coronavirus suddenly and unexpectedly appeared to the Chinese in a state that was completely unknown at the time. Chinese scientists did invaluable pioneering work in the study of the novel coronavirus; Chinese medical workers treated the infected with great dedication and sacrifice; and China's strict nationwide containment measures provided valuable lessons for other countries that followed. China's success in containing the neo- coronary pneumonia epidemic is the result of the joint efforts of the entire society.

Xue Xiaoyuan: It has been noted that East Asia, including South Korea and Japan, where Confucian culture radiates, performed well in the fight against the epidemic. It has been suggested that the way of thinking, behavior and traditional culture of the East is supportive of the fight against the epidemic, and that people have drawn inspiration and wisdom from Confucianism, which has served them well in the fight against the epidemic.

Photo Bartosch

（David Bartosch is a member of the German Society for Intercultural Philosophy and is known for his study “Knowing Unknowing” or “Good Knowing”? A Study of the Philosophy of Nicholas of Cusa and Wang Yangming.）

Schmidt-Glintzer: China, like other East Asian countries, has a deep-rooted sense of social responsibility. This sense of social responsibility can be explained by the Confucian tradition, but also by the social construction that has been perfected over the centuries. The slogan “the collective comes before the individual” is taken seriously. Together, these two are decisive prerequisites for success in containing the spread of the epidemic. China's success

will first and foremost have an inspirational effect on the countries of East and Southeast Asia. If Chinese success is learned and shared as a paradigm, the impact of Chinese success can be enormous. Especially in highly differentiated modern industrial societies, the common interest orientation supported by individuals and groups is a matter of survival.

Bartosch: In the political environment in which China's government decision-makers grow up, their behavior is constantly subjected to rigorous training and multifaceted assessments of both virtue and talent. Ultimately, virtue is the ultimate basis of judgment and the guide to behavior. This emphasis on virtue is based on the ethical system of Chinese Confucianism. Wang Yangming, one of the most important Confucian thinkers, understood this continuous moral cultivation and self-improvement as the “development of conscience”. Fundamentally, man is good. This consciousness supports the whole life process of man, and it is directly and repeatedly reflected in all the actions and decisions of man, and becomes the guiding principle of individual actions. Conscience contains tremendous energy and endurance, fairness and righteousness. Whoever is able to act on the basis of his inner conscience will be able to make the right judgment at the critical moment. Incidentally, the German poet Goethe referred to the same spirit in a verse of his poem “The Legacy” (Das Vermächtnis), which condensed his life's experience.

During the novel corona virus pneumonia epidemic, we saw the governments and people of East Asia quickly formulate effective policies to fight COVID 19 and consciously put these policies into practice.

2.“The unity of knowledge and action”: the need for continuous learning and adapting to adversity.

Xue Xiaoyuan: Confucius said: “Want of forbearance in small matters confounds great efforts”. The epidemic has fully tested the relationship between the individual and society, the interaction between the small tolerance of the individual and the overall situation of the group fighting against the epidemic, as well as the perseverance and righteousness of society and other major social ethical issues.

Schmidt-Glintzer: China has a long tradition of thinking and solving problems from small perspectives, from large perspectives, and of thinking about the relationship between cities and rural areas, provinces and the central government, and individuals and all aspects of society, which is more diverse than in almost any other civilization. Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism, as well as various schools of thought and painting and poetry, are all part of China's cultural tradition and are all used by the Chinese. In addition, doctrines from all over the world can be understood as China's wealth. Most importantly, China has a culturally rooted openness to the world and its possibilities, to new solutions.

Xue Xiaoyuan: Chinese civilization has endured more than 5,000 years of trials and tribulations, which has made Chinese culture “resilient”. This “resilience” or “tenacity” is invisible, but surging and powerful, and is the Chinese people's way of overcoming hardships.

Photo Xue Xiaoyuan

（Xue Xiaoyuan is a special researcher and academic committee member of Beijing Institute for Cultural Development, Beijing Normal University. His representative works include "The Beauty of Flight: Chinese Culture's Understanding and Explanation of ‘Dynamic Beauty’".）

Schmidt-Glintzer: The resilience of the Chinese people and the tenacity of Chinese culture are also based on the inherent diversity and harmony of the Chinese people, even if there are

some differences and contradictions. It is precisely because China has always found new ways to deal with challenges throughout its long history, and because it has shown a great capacity to learn, that today's China can be considered a model. This is not so much a matter of finding solutions to problems in China, but rather of China's own potential to learn. China can learn from its own history as well as from the experiences of other parts of the world. China's history of change is a history not only of China as a whole, but also of its constituent regions. In the context of internal exchanges, from north to south, from east to west, in a territory comparable in size to Europe, the possibility of exchange is an excellent prerequisite for maintaining unity in diversity.

Bartosch: I think the secret of the success of the Chinese ways and modes of operation lies in the ability to adapt to change. This success is based on the quality of perseverance and flexibility in decision-making that has lasted for thousands of years. At different times, decision-makers have come up with different solutions to different problems, and they have done so with the determination to overcome all difficulties. It is a combination of respective situational awareness and adequate knowledge and persistence in action. This is a kind of wisdom brought about by continuous learning. If one can use this wisdom confidently and consciously in the face of adversity, it can have a decisive impact on overcoming future difficulties.

Xue Xiaoyuan: Mr. Schmidt-Glintzer understands and summarizes this unique “resilience” as an extremely strong ability to learn and solve problems, and Mr. Bartosch understands and summarizes the basis of this feature as the grasp of a persistent “knowing-in-action”. I believe that “tenacity” is the real-life manifestation of the idea of “unity of knowledge and action” advocated by Wang Yangming. From traditional Chinese culture, we can interpret the lively vitality and dense tension of “resilience”, respectively “tenacity”. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has long held the words of Confucius, “Do not do unto others as you would not have them do unto you,” as the highest value of human life and governance. Today, when epidemics are ravaging the world, I think this wise saying has a very important practical significance.

3.“Do not do unto others as you would have them do unto you”: mankind is a whole.

Xue Xiaoyuan: The epidemic has impacted relations between countries, societies, and people's psychology. Uncertainty, fear, tension, and conflict are likely to be evident in the post-epidemic era. Traditional Chinese culture emphasizes benevolence, righteousness, ritual, and moral codes of conduct, which should inspire the handling of relations between countries and between people in the post-epidemic era.

Schmidt-Glintzer: The international community should learn from the current epidemic pandemic. During the epidemic, some weaknesses in international relations became apparent, and the importance of strengthening international cooperation was highlighted. In addition, people should avoid endangering their social ties by their own fear of contracting diseases. Future-proofing disease prevention requires new thinking about the risks of infection, as well as a new look at vaccination and health systems as a whole. The world must look at all aspects of health systems. China can share with other countries what it has done to improve its health systems.

Bartosch: In my comparative study of Chinese and European philosophies, I found that almost all cultures, not just China, emphasize goodwill, justice and good behavior. But China has taken a special path in terms of its social and humanistic structure. In the Confucian context, the primary task of human beings is to focus on real life, on the world which people can actually work out and understand rationally, on the relevance of human beings as individuals to society as a whole, and on ways to improve their own actions, which provides a lot of guidance on social governance and mental wellbeing, which will be desperately needed in the post-pandemic reconstruction and reflection.

Schmidt-Glintzer: The pandemic has shown that the dangers facing some of humanity today must be understood as dangers facing all of humanity, and fought with that awareness. Therefore, the balance of any society and the search for justice on a small scale must be tested on a large scale. Only by ensuring the basis for the survival of all humanity can the basis for the survival of individual peoples and nations be secured in the long term. Despite the major challenges to the implementation of the concept of "one world", we have no choice but to build a peaceful and multipolar world in the interest of all humankind and in the interest of each and every nation. However, resistance to the perception of such a world is recurring, requiring us to continue our efforts, bearing in mind the goal of a peaceful and harmonious world.

To build a world in which environmental issues and access to resources are at the heart of the problem, international agreements and institutions must be established to ensure that such issues are addressed. China had made great efforts in that regard in recent years. The common interests of mankind require the efforts of all countries, and China, with its growing economic potential, is playing an increasingly important role in safeguarding such common interests, which represents a tremendous opportunity for the whole world.

Bartosch: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” is the key word and the right starting point for dealing with today's international problems. This is not only found in China, but also in the ancient wisdom of Egypt, Greece, Syria, Persia and India, and in the wisdom of the peoples of sub-Saharan Africa and the native people of the Americas. In Europe, although the ancient Romans also suggested such ideas, they unfortunately did not persist in doing so, which may be one of the reasons for the decline of Roman civilization. The German philosopher Kant developed his ethics from there.

In my opinion, this saying represents an innate moral intuition of all human beings, a way to practice Wang Yangming’s most basic principle of “good-knowing”. And since all civilizations agree on such a most basic moral code, at a time when humanity is facing great challenges together, we should summon the “good-knowing” of different civilizations and establish a universally accepted moral principle, so that we can face problems together as a whole, not just for the selfish interests of one country or one person.

4.To put human life at risk is to abandon the conscience of one’s “good-knowing”

Xue Xiaoyuan: In traditional Chinese culture, there are ideas that deal with the relationship between human beings and the relationship between human beings and nature, which of these ideas have the relevance to guide society in the post-epidemic era?

Schmidt-Glintzer: The idea of interactivity, and the idea that heaven, earth, and humans are one, is the foundation of spiritual humanism and is reflected in many variations of traditional Chinese culture, with many examples to be found in Chinese history and culture. Expanding the understanding of the pathways of infection between animals and humans must bring about a new awareness of the interrelationship between humans and the environment, especially in terms of resource conservation. Traditional Chinese culture has a peculiar understanding of nature, believing that humans and nature did not exist in opposition to each other from the beginning, but rather a unity was formed by the two. This understanding can make a new contribution to the solution of environmental problems for mankind. China has placed environmental issues on its scientific, practical and political agenda for decades, not unlike any other major country. China can make a very important contribution to global environmental protection by strengthening cooperation with all countries.

Bartosch: Chinese civilization is one of the oldest sedentary agricultural civilizations, and it is still present and thriving today. This agrarian-based society is not only economically important, but also determines some specific psychological patterns of Chinese society. The successful cultivation of a field depends on the mutual cooperation of a social group, and it is impossible for one person to perform the act of farming on a large scale. We feel that this concept has also been elevated by China to the level of a modern concept of international economic cooperation.

China wants to establish an international partnership for long-term cooperation and has proposed a win-win concept. The ancient Chinese philosopher Mozi had already developed this idea of win-win situation. From the perspective of an agrarian society, it contains a logic of success: if one party invites the other to cooperate in agriculture, each participant should receive a fair share of the reward for his or her work. This principle of cooperation can play a positive role in all aspects of today's international cooperation. Of course, such cooperation must also be based on concern for nature, which, if natural resources were exploited predatorily, the natural environment would rapidly become impoverished by the enormous burden, and any form of covetousness, even if it brought short-term profits, would lose everything in the end.

These truths sound very simple, but we find on an international scale that people are constantly making the wrong decisions. In traditional Chinese culture, there are many similar simple but classic understandings that apply not only to modern China, but also to other civilizations. This is because the solutions mentioned therein can provide new ideas for solving the fundamental problems of the current human civilization, culture and political system. Especially in the post-epidemic era, some countries that have been badly hit by the epidemic should adjust their development paths according to their respective cultural characteristics, which might all benefit from getting a little bit more in touch with some classical Chinese wisdom.

Xue Xiaoyuan: Traditional Chinese culture attaches importance to inner cultivation, and Wang Yangming's “study of the heart-mind” has been influencing it for more than 500 years and still has a strong vitality.

Schmidt-Glintzer: The cultivation of the heart is an integral part of Chinese literary, cultural and educational traditions, and is at the core of human dignity, which is now applicable worldwide. Confucianism believes that education and cultivation are essential to an individual's well-being, and the resulting principles of learning and self-education enable a person to strive for self-improvement. Human beings are good by nature, but they need education and guidance to become good. Today we know that if man does not engage in learning, he misses the mark.

Bartosch: Earlier, I mentioned Wang Yangming and his concept of “the extension of good- knowing”. His school of thought is known as the “Learning of the Heart-Mind”. The “heart” is at the core of his philosophy. The meaning of “heart” is not limited to a person's heart here, but refers to the basic and pure vitality of a human being, which is consistent with human consciousness and our loving heart. This love is not only the love for fellow human beings, but also the love for all natural life. Wang Yangming also called this omnipresent consciousness “spiritual brightness”. This is a very high wisdom, because in this way, man is unconditionally united with the organic and inorganic worlds, and the “heart” and “reason”, as well as the process of development of the world, coincide in all our actions, which is what Wang Yangming believes. “There is nothing outside the heart-mind”. To explain it in modern language is to say that our world is purely human, that we swim like fish in human consciousness and cannot live apart from it, and that the whole course of the world, as we experience it, is within the scope of human consciousness.

Based on this traditional Chinese philosophy, we can provide new solutions to some of the major problems that exist today. Today, mankind has the most modern technology, spaceships are constantly exploring alien worlds, the latest biotechnology is constantly bringing new treatments to prolong human life, etc. However, technological development and social construction cannot be separated from consciousness. However, technological development and social construction cannot be divorced from the accountability of the “heart,” the most essential meaning of human existence cannot be forgotten, and the conscience which the “good-knowing” of every human consciousness represents, cannot be absent.

During the novel corona virus pneumonia epidemic, we have clearly seen how in some developed countries, even though they have mastered high medical standards, decision- makers have abandoned their most basic “good-knowing”, that is, they have put human lives at risk, and now they are in deep trouble. After the epidemic has stabilized or ended, people should be strongly encouraged to reflect on the dangers of the epidemic and to redesign and restructure the public health system to address other aspects of the problem. For this epidemic is not the first, nor will it be the last pandemic humanity will have to face. It is to be hoped that lessons can be learned from it.

5.“Harmonious, but not the same”: learning to accept differences between civilizations

Xue Xiaoyuan: What is the significance of the idea of “harmony” in traditional Chinese culture for the establishment of international relations in the post-epidemic era?

Schmidt Glintzer: Confucius’ phrase “harmonious, but not the same” can be interpreted as meaning to come together even when there are differences, which applies to international relations. But in Confucius' terms, it also means that the “gentleman” should maintain harmony, but not go with the flow. It is important to note that harmony rests on two pillars: mutual respect and social justice. An essential element of this justice is sharing. For without sharing and organization of participation, the future of humanity is unthinkable. However, the mechanisms of participation and sharing are not first implemented on a global scale, but rather on a small scale, starting with the family, the village and the city, and finally with the nation as a whole. Such a culture of sharing and participation must be protected and reshaped again and again. The leading role that China will play in building a “harmonious” society and world has never been more important than it is today.

Bartosch: I believe that in addition to “hard power” and “soft power,” a country's “harmonic power” is also extremely important. “Harmony” is a word that we need to understand correctly. “Harmony” is not a sort of compromise, but a subtle wisdom that balances the tensions. The course of our lives and the development of our societies is never smooth, but full of tension and conflict. It is only in tension and conflict that we can progress and society can develop. The word harmony comes from music, and in order for a musical instrument to sound beautiful, the strings must be brought to the right tension. If the string is too loose, there is no sound; if the tension is too much, it will break.

Putting "harmony" in the context of national development, we can see that "hard power" and "soft power" refer to a single aspect of a nation's capabilities. „Harmonic power" is an even more important strength for dealing with social conflicts. Even in today's conflicts in international relations, „harmonic power" can be used to resolve many problems, allowing different countries to complement each other's differences and resonate on common ground.

In the post-epidemic era, we must first learn to accept the differences between civilizations, while accepting our own limitations, and then cooperate with other civilizations for common development in order to ensure the survival of all humankind in the next global catastrophe.