China and the West

Lin, Yutang. Xin di wen ping xu yan. In : You si ; vol. 30 (Oct. 7, 1929). [Preface to a new literary criticism].
Irving Babbitt's influence upon the Chinese literary world is a thing we all know : there are for example Mei Guangdi, Wu Mi, Liang Shiqiu and so on, some of whom are personal friends of mine. But the belief of a conscience is a matter of freedom of the individual. Babbitt (feels) that, exalted as religion is, it is not within the reach of ordinary humanity, and so he advocates a man-only-ism. (Mr. Babbitt uses the word humanism in a different sense than the humanism that informed the new culture movement of the Renaissance). In its opposition to religion on the one hand and naturalism on the other, his humanism bears close resemblance to the nature-principle philosophy (i.e. Neo-Confucianism) of the Song dynasty. This is why Babbitt esteems our not-know-life-how-know-death Master Confucius, and the Confucian disciples also esteem Mr. Babbitt.