Lecture on “Home-Country Mentality, Chinese Christianity, and Its Research” was delivered virtually by Professor Li Xiangping of East China Normal University on the evening of October 15th.
“In the field of Christian studies in China, there have always been modes of modernization, cultural exchange, cultural aggression, civilized dialogue, localization, situation, and current Chinese. However, in such various research models, there is no doubt that the variation of the interaction mechanism between home-country mentality, emotional order, and power order running through,” said Professor Li at the beginning of the lecture sponsored by the China Christian Research Journal and the Center for Religious and Chinese Social Studies of Shanghai University.
Professor Li cited the example of the Chinese Rites Controversy in the late Ming Dynasty. The conflict between the three saints (emperor, ancestor, and Confucius) was the conflict between home and country. In this dispute, one was the family relationship and the other was the state relationship. There was a long-standing traditional saying in China, “If a Chinese becomes a Christian, he is unfaithful and unfilial.” This was the issue of Chinese Christianity or Christian Chinese in the mentality of "home-country".
The mentality of "home-country" refers to that the foundation of the world was in the country, the foundation of the country was in the family, and the foundation of the family lied in the moral character. Chinese people’s lives and properties of the whole family, homes, and country were sacred archetypes. The mentality was a socially recognized personality type and related emotional structure, which was a condensed history of family-country relations. The sociological problem of national mentality was to try to find the externality in the “immanence” of personality spirit and inner world, and the action ethics and emotional order “generated according to it”.
Professor Li said, “The mentality of home and country can actually be described as the ultimate mentality with the Chinese sacred archetype in the ‘social mentality’, which has always been structured, strengthened, and confined to people’s inner world, ideals, and beliefs, and created an overall order integrating heaven, earth, people, home, and country.” It originated from the Chinese sacred archetype, contained the characteristics of individual personality tendency and group mentality, and could link individuals with heaven, ancestors and country, bureaucrats and institutions, production and sacredness, actions and structures.
The family mentality was composed of father-son relationships, which was also very important in the Christian faith. The comparison between Confucianism and Christianity was the formation and expression of personality sacredness and personality authority. There were two kinds of father-son relations. One was derived from the concept of God’s ultimate position of sacredness, and the other was based on the blood clan authoritative personality of “non-family, whose heart must be different”. Confucianism used to make the family the field of individual sanctification because of individuals’ seeking of the way.
“The most important relationship in Christianity is the God-man relationship between father and son, and God and believers have a relationship which is between the creator and the created. When believers firmly believe that they are saved by God, free from heavy burdens and sins, the relationship of redemption and redemption between God and people is also established.”
The “father-son relationship” in Christianity was like the “relationship between God and man”. According to Augustine, “The son is born of the father.” In this kind of sacred position, there was only noumenon and relationship, and God was the same in noumenon, which was distinguished from each other by the relationship between father and son, and the position established by the difference of relationship was sacred.
As for the relationship between father and son in Confucianism, Confucianists emphasized the hierarchical relationship of “intimacy-respect”, and through “the way of being a family”, and how “the father is the child’s guide”. The philosophy especially emphasized the authority of the father and constructed his authoritative personality. In the symbolic relationship between father and son, the authority of personality, as the core link, promoted the absolutizing and sanctification of filial piety. “All that the fathers did was acknowledge and continued by all their sons. They dared not fail to follow their fathers’ wishes and did their best.” For this reason, the symbolic relationship between father and son in Confucianism affected almost all Chinese people’s family feelings and moral behaviors, and took ancestor worship as the carrier, which restricted the sacred spirit of turning back to the original and keeping ethics in order.
Among these two kinds of father-son relationships, one was a persona which was the holy father, and the other was a personality which was an authoritative grandfather.
Professor Li concluded, “Chinese culture can be described as the study of mental-nature. Therefore, Christianity studies may be structured as a Chinese-style study of mental-nature.”
- Translated by Charlie Li
10月15日晚上，由华东师范大学李向平教授主讲的“家国心态与中国基督教及其研究”讲座在网上进行，本次讲座由中国基督教研究杂志和上海大学宗教与中国社会研究中心主办。
讲座一开始，李向平教授分享：“在中国基督教研究领域中一直存在着现代化模式、文化交流模式、文化侵略模式、文明对话模式以及本土化、在地化、处境化及当下的中国化模式。然而，在如此各种研究模式之中贯穿始终的无疑是家国心态、情感秩序与权力秩序的互动机制的变异。”
李向平教授举出明末时候天主教礼仪之争的例子，三圣（皇帝，祖宗，孔子）的冲突即家——国的冲突，在这场礼仪之争中，一个是家庭关系，一个是国家关系。在中国有一种流传已久的传统说法：“一个中国人如果成为基督教徒，便是不忠不孝。”这就是家国心态中的中国基督教或基督教中国话论题。
什么是家国心态？
天下之本在国，国之本在家，家之本在身。中国人的身家性命，家国即为神圣原型。心态就是社会认可的人格类型以及相关情感结构，一部浓缩的家国关系历史。家国心态的社会学问题就是力求在人格精神、内心世界等“内在性中发现外在性”及“据以生成”的行动伦理和情感秩序。
李向平教授说：“家国心态实可谓‘社会心态’中具有中华神圣原型的终极心态，始终架构、强化、局限于人们的内心世界、理想信念，打造了天、地、人、家、国浑然一体的总体秩序。”它源自于中华神圣原型，包含有个体人格倾向和群体心态特征，能够链接个体与天道、家祖与国家、官僚与制度、制作与神圣、行动与结构。
儒耶两种父子关系的比较
家国心态是由父子关系为核心构成的，在基督教信仰中父子关系也非常重要。儒（儒教）耶（基督教）两种父子关系的比较，即是位格神圣与人格权威的形成及其表达。这两种父子关系，一种是源自上帝概念的终极性位格神圣，一种是基于“非我族类，其心必异”的血族型权威人格。儒教因个人求道，曾使家庭作为个体成圣的场域。
李向平教授讲到：“在基督教中最重要的关系即父子象征关系的神人关系，上帝与信徒是创造者与被创造者的关系。当信徒坚信自己被神拯救、脱离重担和罪恶的时候，神与人之间的救赎和被救赎的关系也建立起来。”基督教神圣位格上的“父子关系”如同“神人关系”，依奥古斯丁所说：“子由父所生。”在这种神圣位格中，只有本体与关系，上帝在本体方面相同，借着父子关系而区别彼此，因为关系区别而建立位格神圣。
而儒教中的父子关系，儒教强调的是“亲亲——尊尊”的等级关系，并通过“正家之道”、“父为子纲”，尤其强调父亲的权威、建构父亲的权威人格。在“父者，子之天也”的父子象征关系之中，人格权威作为其中的核心纽带，促使“孝”达到绝对化、神圣化的高度。“诸父所为，其子皆奉承而续行之，不敢不至如父之意，尽为人之道也。”为此，儒教父子象征关系几乎影响着所有中国人的家庭情感与道德行为，以祖宗崇拜为载体，制约着报本反始、伦常有序的神圣精神。
这两种父子关系当中，一种是位格神圣的圣父，一种是人格权威的祖父。
讲座最后，李向平教授总结说：“中华文化可谓心性之学，为此，基督教研究也许能够架构为中国式的心性之学。”
“家国心态与中国基督教及其研究”讲座举行 对中国基督教研究领域中不同模式的分析
Lecture on “Home-Country Mentality, Chinese Christianity, and Its Research” was delivered virtually by Professor Li Xiangping of East China Normal University on the evening of October 15th.
“In the field of Christian studies in China, there have always been modes of modernization, cultural exchange, cultural aggression, civilized dialogue, localization, situation, and current Chinese. However, in such various research models, there is no doubt that the variation of the interaction mechanism between home-country mentality, emotional order, and power order running through,” said Professor Li at the beginning of the lecture sponsored by the China Christian Research Journal and the Center for Religious and Chinese Social Studies of Shanghai University.
Professor Li cited the example of the Chinese Rites Controversy in the late Ming Dynasty. The conflict between the three saints (emperor, ancestor, and Confucius) was the conflict between home and country. In this dispute, one was the family relationship and the other was the state relationship. There was a long-standing traditional saying in China, “If a Chinese becomes a Christian, he is unfaithful and unfilial.” This was the issue of Chinese Christianity or Christian Chinese in the mentality of "home-country".
The mentality of "home-country" refers to that the foundation of the world was in the country, the foundation of the country was in the family, and the foundation of the family lied in the moral character. Chinese people’s lives and properties of the whole family, homes, and country were sacred archetypes. The mentality was a socially recognized personality type and related emotional structure, which was a condensed history of family-country relations. The sociological problem of national mentality was to try to find the externality in the “immanence” of personality spirit and inner world, and the action ethics and emotional order “generated according to it”.
Professor Li said, “The mentality of home and country can actually be described as the ultimate mentality with the Chinese sacred archetype in the ‘social mentality’, which has always been structured, strengthened, and confined to people’s inner world, ideals, and beliefs, and created an overall order integrating heaven, earth, people, home, and country.” It originated from the Chinese sacred archetype, contained the characteristics of individual personality tendency and group mentality, and could link individuals with heaven, ancestors and country, bureaucrats and institutions, production and sacredness, actions and structures.
The family mentality was composed of father-son relationships, which was also very important in the Christian faith. The comparison between Confucianism and Christianity was the formation and expression of personality sacredness and personality authority. There were two kinds of father-son relations. One was derived from the concept of God’s ultimate position of sacredness, and the other was based on the blood clan authoritative personality of “non-family, whose heart must be different”. Confucianism used to make the family the field of individual sanctification because of individuals’ seeking of the way.
“The most important relationship in Christianity is the God-man relationship between father and son, and God and believers have a relationship which is between the creator and the created. When believers firmly believe that they are saved by God, free from heavy burdens and sins, the relationship of redemption and redemption between God and people is also established.”
The “father-son relationship” in Christianity was like the “relationship between God and man”. According to Augustine, “The son is born of the father.” In this kind of sacred position, there was only noumenon and relationship, and God was the same in noumenon, which was distinguished from each other by the relationship between father and son, and the position established by the difference of relationship was sacred.
As for the relationship between father and son in Confucianism, Confucianists emphasized the hierarchical relationship of “intimacy-respect”, and through “the way of being a family”, and how “the father is the child’s guide”. The philosophy especially emphasized the authority of the father and constructed his authoritative personality. In the symbolic relationship between father and son, the authority of personality, as the core link, promoted the absolutizing and sanctification of filial piety. “All that the fathers did was acknowledge and continued by all their sons. They dared not fail to follow their fathers’ wishes and did their best.” For this reason, the symbolic relationship between father and son in Confucianism affected almost all Chinese people’s family feelings and moral behaviors, and took ancestor worship as the carrier, which restricted the sacred spirit of turning back to the original and keeping ethics in order.
Among these two kinds of father-son relationships, one was a persona which was the holy father, and the other was a personality which was an authoritative grandfather.
Professor Li concluded, “Chinese culture can be described as the study of mental-nature. Therefore, Christianity studies may be structured as a Chinese-style study of mental-nature.”
- Translated by Charlie Li
Professor: Christianity Studies May be Structered as Chinese-Style of Mental-Nature
