[Week 3: Sept 16] Introduction II: Culture and Civilization

1. The paradigm of "Culture-Civilization"

1.1. Culture=elite culture

1.2. Variation I: Rescuing civilization from cultural decline or the rise of popular culture

1.3. Variation II: The "essence" of civilization is found in all aspects of everyday life

2. Variation I: Matthew Arnold (England in the late 19th century)

2.1. Historical background:
-Industrial revolution and urbanization
-Class struggle
-Democratic development : the male workers were granted the right of voting

2.2. Arnold's feeling about the era
-Cultural decline or decadence
-The elite culture fails to maintain its authority

2.3. Arnold's social criticism
-Aristocrats-"barbarian": An old class failed to maintain cultural heritage
-Bourgeois-"Philistine": A new class pursued profit without cultural mission
-Working class-"Populace": An uncultured people gaining more power

2.4. Arnold's solution
-He called for a central state to replace the ruling class to lead, manage and civilize the mass
-His cultural project is an attempt to recover and maintain the deference and subordination of populace

2.5. Culture as a medium for policing the social crisis and upheaval

3. Leavis (see Storey, p. 22-28)

4. The cultural project of contemporary neo-Confucianism
4.1. Historical background
-The May-fourth movement and the breakdown of the legitimacy of Confucianism
-The failure of the first modern state of China
-The Chinese Communist Party came to power
-The non-Communist intellectuals lived in exile
-The continuity of colonialism in Hong Kong
-Example: Tang Junyi (唐君毅)

A missing paragraph
「... ... 於是在接 受西方文化時，常不免只去看西方文化之長，而全然忘了自己，以至鄙賤自己文化精神，而有五四時代以後之非孝非孔、全盤西化之文化改革之論調之產生，及今而有共黨之馬列主義，徹底改造或推翻中國文化之企圖。本 來依中國文化之固有精神，原是相信天下一家，相信道並行而不悖，而對於世界一切學術文化之長，都當虛懷加以學習的。如為了要學習他人之長，一時忘了自己或 看不起過去之文化，亦是可以原諒的。但是如對數千年之文化精神之價值，全不認識，而輕易加以鄙賤，則是對不住古先聖賢與祖宗，亦對不住自己的事。至於馬列主義者之欲徹底改造推翻中國文化，謂他人父，謂他人母，則更不是有良心之中國人之可忍。... ...」

4.2. Neo-Confucian understanding of contemporary Hong Kong culture: Cultural fragmentation (花果飄零) and not fully civilized by modern and traditonal Chinese culture

4.3. Enlightenment: education movement from below
Example: New Asia College

4.4. Re-establish an ideal form of national culture overriding, embracing and infiltrating every aspects of life.

4.5. The curriculum of "Chinese Culture": institutionalizing an intellectual project as "cultural apologetics" （文化護教學）
Please read : 「熟讀必合格的文化科筆記」 and 陳雲 2000

Example I:
試選擇下列其中一種食品，說明它能夠反映中國文化特色的理由。(佔全題分數33 1/3%) (1)豆腐(2)湯圓(3)盆菜

評分標準
考生須舉出一種能夠反映中國文化特色的食品，並指出能夠反映中國文化之處。評分宜從兩方面入手：一、考生所指出之中國文化內容，是否確乎為中國文化之特色；二、考生所列舉之食物，能否象徵或反映考生所指陳之中國文化特色，其間是否言之有理，抑或牽強附會。

可能答案

(1)豆腐—考生可從豆腐的大眾化的特點，以及其烹飪方式之多樣化，引申說明中國人的性格與民族性。
(2)湯圓—考生可從中國人吃湯圓的習俗，析述中國文化重視人情的取向。
(3)盆菜—考生可從盆菜的食制，析述中國人家族本位、倫理為本的文化。

Example II:

	中國	西方
人禽分別	人具仁義禮智	人是理性的動物，人最像神，人能造工具，人有語言文字，人能以符號表意。
宗教戰爭	沒有西方所謂之宗教戰爭	有宗教戰爭，最著名的是十字軍東征（1096-1270），乃基督教與回教之間的大戰
藝術特點	社會化、生活化，追求調和與節奏對稱美。沒有行吟詩人，亦缺乏史詩。例如《詩經》，大都是日常生活與廟堂中的歌詠，音樂跳舞，亦與禮儀分不開。	個人化，戲劇化。例如希臘多獨立的雕像，多喜劇悲劇。
知識分子	兼容化，例如史家與哲學家，大均兼是文學家。	專業化，例如西方史家只重紀事，哲學家只重說理。
哲學思想	主要內容即中國先哲對於人生意義、人倫道德、人格修養、人文化成之智慧。	重視邏輯知識論自然哲學之討論。

-A very problematic binary opposition
-The characteristics are about ideal or fact?

5. Critique of the paradigm of "culture and civilization"
5.1. Nostalgic view of tradition
5.2. Failure to understand the complexity of popular and contemporary culture
5.3. Failure to accomodate cultural plurality and democracy: reinstalling the dominance of state and intellectual authority
5.4. The paradigm of "culture and civilization": A major barrier to local development of cultural studies

6. Cultural studies and Paradigm of "culture and civilization"
6.1. Culture in particular contexts vs. Abstract culture
6.2. Cultures vs. culture
6.3. Culture is materialistic vs. Culture is purely intellectual
6.4. Cultures from below vs. Culture from above


Please listen to:
迪士尼直撃系列：主題化
＜迪士尼宗教化＞