“Two modern Chinese philosophers on Spinoza” (Publication, 1975)
Year
1975
Text
Gálik, Marián. Two modern Chinese philosophers on Spinoza. In : Orienx extremus ; vol. 22, no 1 (1975). (SpiB22)
Type
Publication
Mentioned People (1)
Spinoza, Baruch de
(Amsterdam 1632-1677 Den Haag) : Philosoph
Subjects
Philosophy : Europe : Netherlands
Chronology Entries (2)
| # | Year | Text | Linked Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1932 |
Dem Andenken Spinozas. In : Deutsch-chinesische Nachrichten ; Sonderausgabe, 24. Nov. (1932). "Selten erheben sich in unseren Tagen Stimmen der selbstlosen und unabhängigen Humanität, besonders selten klingen sie nach China hinüber aus den Ländern, die ihrerseits mit Leibenschaft und Selbstverständlichkeit die höchsten Werte philosophischen Denkens zu ihrer Belehrung und Bereicherung aus China hinübernahmen. Sei es der Stimme Spinozas vergönnt, ein edler Dank zu sein für das Edle, das es Europa gab ! Sei die Stimme Spinozas für China das selten gehörte, aber stets wirksame Bekenntnis Europas zu der Wahrheit, dass sich derselbe Himmel über Europa und China wölbt." Marian Galik : The German part begins with the most diverse thoughts expressed about Spinoza between the years 1770 till 1831 by his propagator Goethe, follows with exceprts from Herder's Einige Gespräche über Spinozas System and winds up with the fragment Der Tod des Spinoza from the novel Amor dei von K.B. Kolbenheyer. The Chinese version starts with the Chinese ode Si bin no sha yu [Admiration before Spinoza's portrait] by He Lin. Then follows the Chinese translation of Spinoza's biograhy by Jean Maximillien Lucas. Then follows Si bin no sha yu Zhuangzi [Spinoza and Zuangzi] by Hu Shi and Si bin no sha zhi zheng zhi zhe xue [Spinoza's political philosophy by Zhang Junmai. The 'Festschrift' carried also the first chapter of Ethics in the translation of He Lin and the chapter XX of Tractatus theologico-politicus by Li Shuli (Pseud.). Hu Shi begins his essay by noting the great similarity between Zhuangzi's and Spinoza's philosophy. "Would it not be a pleasant and rewarding work to investigate in what Spinoza and Zhuangzi agree and in what they differ, and why they agree or differ in individual pints ?" According to Hu Shi, Spinoza and Zhuangzi agree most in pantheism. That omnipresent Zhuangzi calls Way (Tao), and Spinoza God (Shen). Even though both make use of different terms, they nevertheless have something very similar in mind. Spinoza's word God is very close indeed in its significance to Zhuangzi's Way and is remote from the normal Christian or Jewish interpretation. Spinoza's God is 'substance' and here Hu Shi quotes from Spinoza's Ethics : it is something "which is in itself and is conceived through itself". Hu Shi sees Spinoza's concept of God or Nature as self-crating (natura naturans) in Zhuangi's self-creating Way that "gave spirituality to the spirits and gods". The second point of contact between Zhuangzi and Spinoza is, according to Hu Shi, in determinism, and this in absolute determinism. In his view, Zhuangzi and Spinoza differ in their approach to logic. Zhuangzi "did not scold over right and wrong", Spinoza believed in his "mathematico-logical" method and considered it to be absolutely reliable in determining what is 'right' and 'wrong' or 'good' and 'bad'. Hu Shi does not document Spinoza's divergent view from the latter's philosophy, but from his life. He points out the fairly known case of Spinoza's sister who, on the death of their father, tried to appropriate the entire legacy. Spinoza won the lawsuit, but he renounced his share in favour of his sister. He was not interested in the inheritance, but held to show clearly the evident difference between 'right' and 'wrong', 'justice' and 'injustice'. As to Spinoza's political philosophy, Hu Shi just does not refer to it by a single word. But he equally fails to make any reference to Zhuangzi's political views. Zhang Junmai's essay Spinoza's political philosophy begins with a brief introduction into Spinoza's philosophy. It takes note of similar problems as Hu Shih : pantheism, determinism and others, for example, a mechanistic apprehension of the world-political issues are taken up in the second part. Zhang distinguishes two types of political scientists - those following Plato, who aim rather at ideal aspects of government, and those who are for Aristotle, concerned rather with the practical side. Spinoza belongs to the latter type. Zhang Junmai begins his analysis of Spinoza's political philosophy with a criticism of the first type of philosophers when he writes that they think of people "not as they are, but as they would like them to be", thus making use of Spinoza's own words. The result is that this most real of sciences, Zhang Junmai thus calls political science, does not originate in human nature and its expression in practical life. Zhang follows up with intent Chapter I of Spinoza's Tractatus politicus and applies his mind to politics. Human passions, like love and hate, jealousy, anger, pride, these he does not consider to be vices of human nature, but the properties as heat and cold, wind and storm. This, according to him, Spinoza holds in common with modern philosophy. The latter too is concerned with an objective, scientific approach to social phenomena. Zhang Junmai devoted about two thirds of his essay to three important questions of Spinoza's philosophy: that of the identity of the concept of right and power, that of the state of nature and political State, and the question of the freedom of thought and speech. While in the first part of his essay Zhang adhered strictly to the Tractatus politicus, now he calls to his aid also the Tractatus theologico-politicus. The statement concerning the identity of right and power is taken from the first book, while concrete illustration to it comes from Spinoza's second work. Both of them, power and right, are bound by a relationship of reciprocity. Right is determined by power. Man may enjoy as much right as he is able to win for himself or maintain ("he has as much right as he has power and strength"). Zhang illustrates this Spinoza's axiom from Spinoza's work about fish swimming in the water. Their life is determined by their presence in the natural element. At the same time big fish eat small ones, and with perfect right. Spinoza speaks of natural power and right. One has as much (natural) right as he has (natural) power. And Spinoza considers also man, as long as he is not firmly set in some State framework, only as a part of nature, "Right is the sphere of man's free movement", writes Zhang Junmai, faithfully interpreting Spinoza, "there is no other [right] except that whose basis is formed by power". Considerations on State formations lead Zhang to the lenghtiest part of his essay that deals with the State, or the so-called contract, or social contract. In this part he compares Spinoza's views on social contract with those of Th. Hobbes, J. Locke and J.J. Rousseau. He could not be said to stick up for anyone of them. Naturally, Zhang's attention is focused on Spinoza's views on social contract and he justifies them from a relatively wide angle as being the consequence of Spinoza's methaphysics and his view on the psychophysical habitus of the "political animal". Zhang's longest quotation from Spinoza and its application to Chinese conditions of the time: "The best condition of a commonwealth (imperimn) is easily discovered from the purpose of political order: which is simply peace and security of life. Accordingly, the best commonwealth is one in which men live in harmony and the laws are kept unbroken. Rebellions, wars, and contemptuous disregard for law must certainly be attributed to the corrupt conditions of the commonwealth rather than to the wickedness of its subjects. For citizens are not born, but made. Besides, men's natural passions are the same everywhere; hence, if wickedness is more dominant and crime more prevalent in one commonwealth than in another, this certainly is due to the fact that the first has not done enough to promote harmony, has not framed its laws with sufficient foresight... For a political order which has not removed the causes of civil strife, where war is a constant threat, and laws are often broken, differs little from a veritable state of nature, where everyone lives as he pleases with great danger to his life." Zhang Junmai applies these thoughts directly to China. He says that "our country still lives in barbarism and cannot even be called a State". Zhang deals not of "barbarism" any more, but of an ideal State, such as was, for example, the city of Amsterdam in Spinoza's time. In his exposition of the freedom of thought and speech, he adheres to Spinoza, but distorts him so some extent : he sets the ideal of a free development of the individual largely in an antithesis to the governing system of the society. Zhang further states in agreement with Spinoza that the people have a right to the freedom of though and speech, but again distorts him in a certain measure when he says that this freedom 'cannot extend to acts'. According to Zhang, an analysis of things is a matter of 'right' and 'wrong' and belongs to the competence of philosophers and scholars, and who incites the masses against government is a 'rioter and rebel'. To maintain order and peace, the State must punish these rioters and rebels. Zhang Junmai's essay was related to the fight for bourgeois democracy directly, even though it was not a consisten fight. He has distorted Spinoza's message in order to avoid direct confrontation with Chiang Kaishek and not to have to sympathize with the struggle of the Chinese communists. His demands for freedom of thought and speech must be evaluated as a very progressive one for that period. |
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| 2 | 1932 |
Guo, Moruo. Chuang zao shi nian [ID D11361]. "Ich habe unter Johann Wolfgang von Goethes Einfluss begonnen, Versdramen zu schreiben. Nachdem ich den ersten Teil des Faust übersetzt habe, ging ich anschliessend daran, Tang di zhi hua (Geschwister Nie Ying und Nie Zheng) zu schaffen... Dann noch Die Wiedergeburt der Göttinnen, Xianglei und Die zwei Prinzen des Herrn Guzu. Alle diese Stücke sind unter Goethes Einfluss gestanden." "During the first period I followed Tagore. This was before the May Fourth Movement, and I strove for brevity and tranquility in my poetry, with rather little success. During the second period I followed Whitman. This was during the high tide of the May Fourth Movement, and I strove to make my poems vigorous and robust. This must be counted my most memorable period. During the third period I followed Goethe, the passion of the second period was lost and I became one who played the game of versification. It was under the impact of Goethe that I began to write poetic dramas." Er schreibt über Baruch Spinoza, dass er Ethica, Tractatus theologico-politicus und Tractatus de intellectus emendatione gelesen hat. He admired most Die Wandlung by Ernst Toller and Die Bürger von Calais by Georg Kaiser and he states that in reading Spinoza and Goethe he discoverd for himelf 'pantheist' traditions in ancient Chinese philosophy of Zhuangzi. |
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Cited by (1)
| # | Year | Bibliographical Data | Type / Abbreviation | Linked Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2000- | Asien-Orient-Institut Universität Zürich | Organisation / AOI |
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