07 Humanities Scholars and Humanities Writings

Published

2026-07-16

What position do humanists and humanistic writings occupy in the humanities?

Humanities scholars and humanities

The research subject of humanities is humanities scholars
Humanities have strong and distinct individual characteristics

The journey of humanities is the inner journey of humanities scholars

“One’s writing reflects one’s personality.”

e.g. Nanjing

Liu Yuxi’s “Wu Yi Lane”
- During the mid-Tang Dynasty, a reformist whose reform failed and was subsequently exiled
- Historical development will not be interrupted by those in power
“Mooring at Qinhuai River” by Du Mu
- Late Tang Dynasty, the end of the golden age
- Concern over those in power being unaware of the crisis
Li Yu’s “Yu Meiren”
- A dethroned monarch
Mao Zedong’s “Seven-Line Verse · The People’s Liberation Army Occupies Nanjing”
- Determination to win the revolution

Internal and external perception, resonance, two-way communication; subjective and objective

e.g. Bai Juyi’s “Song of the Pipa”

Strong feelings towards the nation and ethnicity
“Journey of the Heart”

Humanistic writings and humanities

Achievements in natural science: transformation of the natural world
Social science achievements: policy reform
Humanities achievements: humanities writings, “texts”
- Physical carrier
- Symbol notation
- Content that explores and contemplates human cultural life

-> Interpretation of humanistic writings - Uncover the insights of predecessors, the evolution and traditions of humanities, and the inspiration they provide for the reader’s own creativity; - Reinterpretation and reconstruction of the original text’s meaning, “creation”

- For example, Han Fei's "Jie Lao" and "Yu Lao"
- For example, Marx's "Historical Notes", Lenin's "Philosophical Notes", Mao Zedong's "Collection of Philosophical Annotations" and "Commentary on the Twenty-Four Histories"

An example of interpreting humanistic writings

“Xiaokang”

“The people are also weary; it is time to achieve a comfortable life.”

——“Poetry · Odes · The People Are Weary”

No special significance

In the ideal society, the world is a public place. The virtuous and capable are chosen, and trust and harmony are fostered. Therefore, people do not merely love their own relatives or cherish their own children. They ensure that the elderly are provided for in their twilight years, the young are given opportunities to grow, the orphaned, widowed, and lonely are taken care of, and the disabled are given support. Men have their proper roles, and women have their proper places. Goods are not discarded on the ground, but are not necessarily hoarded by individuals; strength is not withheld from the body, but is not necessarily for personal gain. Therefore, plans are not blocked and not abandoned, theft and chaos do not occur, and doors are not closed. This is called “Great Harmony”.

Now that the Great Way has been obscured, the world has become a family. Everyone cherishes their own relatives and children, and regards goods and strength as their own. The great and the world regard this as a ritual. Cities, walls, moats, and pools are used for defense, and ritual and righteousness are used as standards. To rectify the relationship between the ruler and the subject, to strengthen the relationship between father and son, to harmonize the relationship between brothers, to reconcile the relationship between husband and wife, to establish systems, to set up fields, to recognize virtue, courage, and knowledge, and to regard merit as one’s own. Therefore, strategies are formulated and wars arise from this. Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, King Cheng, and Duke of Zhou are chosen from these six virtuous men. None of these six did not adhere to propriety. To manifest their righteousness, to test their trustworthiness, to reveal their faults, to punish those who are benevolent and promote generosity, and to show the people that there are norms. If someone does not follow this, those in power will be removed, and the public will consider it a calamity; this is called ‘moderate prosperity’.

——“Rituals · Rituals” in the Book of Rites

Ideal society, moderate prosperity - Great Harmony
Kang Youwei’s “The Great Harmony”: history is a process of evolution
- Shengping (moderate prosperity) -> Taiping (great harmony)
- Achieve moderate prosperity through reform, and then realize great harmony

The current trajectory of world evolution is following a specific path, which is the thoroughfare leading to the realization of “great harmony in the world” and the common spiritual connection among humanity. …

The origin of this line lies in individual liberation. Individual liberation is not merely about seeking a division and leaving it at that; rather, it is about fulfilling all individualities, breaking free from old constraints, and reshaping a new, vast and inclusive organization. On one hand is individual liberation, and on the other is universal solidarity. This movement for individual liberation is accompanied by a movement for universal solidarity. These two movements may seem opposite, but they are actually complementary.

– Li Dazhao, “Civilianism”

Integrating with Marxist ideals and inheriting Chinese traditional culture

The Four Modernizations we aim to achieve are Chinese-style modernizations. Our concept of the Four Modernizations is not the same as yours, but rather “a moderately prosperous society”. By the end of this century, even if China’s four modernizations achieve certain goals, our per capita gross domestic product (GDP) will still be very low. To reach the level of relatively wealthier countries in the third world, such as a per capita GDP of one thousand US dollars, we will have to make great efforts. Even if we reach that level, we will still be lagging behind compared to the West. Therefore, I can only say that China will still be in a moderately prosperous state at that time. Of course, it will be much better than now. By that time, our domestic market will be relatively larger, and correspondingly, our economic exchanges with foreign countries, including trade development, will have a broader prospect.

——Excerpts from a talk between Comrade Deng Xiaoping and Japanese Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira at their meeting

“The second step of the ‘three-step’ strategy” remains true to our original aspiration, keep our mission firmly in mind, hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, strive to win the decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, achieve the great success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, and work tirelessly to realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation

——Theme of the 19th CPC National Congress

The life experience of humanities scholars and the creation and interpretation of humanities works

The revised ending of Peng Yingyu in Wu Han’s “Biography of Zhu Yuanzhang”
The author’s suffering gave birth to excellent works

… For example, Wenwang was imprisoned and wrote the Book of Changes; Confucius was persecuted and wrote the Spring and Autumn Annals; Qu Yuan was exiled and composed the Ode of the South; Zuo Qiu lost his vision and wrote the Guoyu; Sun Tzu had his leg broken and compiled the Art of War; Bi Wei was exiled to Shu and passed down the Lv Lan; Han Fei was imprisoned in Qin and wrote the Difficult Sayings and Lonely Anger; the three hundred poems in the Book of Poetry were mostly composed by sages who were filled with frustration and could not achieve their goals, so they recounted past events and pondered the future. …

Before the project was even begun, it met with this calamity. Regretting its unfulfillment, I accepted the severest punishment without any resentment. I sincerely intend to write this book, hide it in a famous mountain, pass it on to the right people, and make it known to the major cities. Then I will have atoned for my previous humiliation. Even if I were to be killed a thousand times, how could I regret it! However, this can only be taught to the wise, not to the common people!

——Sima Qian, “Letter to Ren An”

Resist feudal autocracy

--- title: "07 Humanities Scholars and Humanities Writings" date: "2026-07-16" --- What position do humanists and humanistic writings occupy in the humanities? # Humanities scholars and humanities - The research subject of humanities is humanities scholars - Humanities have strong and distinct individual characteristics The journey of humanities is the inner journey of humanities scholars > "One's writing reflects one's personality." ## e.g. Nanjing - Liu Yuxi's "Wu Yi Lane" - During the mid-Tang Dynasty, a reformist whose reform failed and was subsequently exiled - Historical development will not be interrupted by those in power - "Mooring at Qinhuai River" by Du Mu - Late Tang Dynasty, the end of the golden age - Concern over those in power being unaware of the crisis - Li Yu's "Yu Meiren" - A dethroned monarch - Mao Zedong's "Seven-Line Verse · The People's Liberation Army Occupies Nanjing" - Determination to win the revolution Internal and external perception, resonance, two-way communication; subjective and objective ## e.g. Bai Juyi's "Song of the Pipa" - Strong feelings towards the nation and ethnicity - "Journey of the Heart" # Humanistic writings and humanities - Achievements in natural science: transformation of the natural world - Social science achievements: policy reform - Humanities achievements: humanities writings, "texts" - Physical carrier - Symbol notation - Content that explores and contemplates human cultural life -> Interpretation of humanistic writings - Uncover the insights of predecessors, the evolution and traditions of humanities, and the inspiration they provide for the reader's own creativity; - Reinterpretation and reconstruction of the original text's meaning, "creation" - For example, Han Fei's "Jie Lao" and "Yu Lao" - For example, Marx's "Historical Notes", Lenin's "Philosophical Notes", Mao Zedong's "Collection of Philosophical Annotations" and "Commentary on the Twenty-Four Histories" # An example of interpreting humanistic writings "Xiaokang" > "The people are also weary; it is time to achieve a comfortable life." > > ——"Poetry · Odes · The People Are Weary" - No special significance > In the ideal society, the world is a public place. The virtuous and capable are chosen, and trust and harmony are fostered. Therefore, people do not merely love their own relatives or cherish their own children. They ensure that the elderly are provided for in their twilight years, the young are given opportunities to grow, the orphaned, widowed, and lonely are taken care of, and the disabled are given support. Men have their proper roles, and women have their proper places. Goods are not discarded on the ground, but are not necessarily hoarded by individuals; strength is not withheld from the body, but is not necessarily for personal gain. Therefore, plans are not blocked and not abandoned, theft and chaos do not occur, and doors are not closed. This is called "Great Harmony". > > Now that the Great Way has been obscured, the world has become a family. Everyone cherishes their own relatives and children, and regards goods and strength as their own. The great and the world regard this as a ritual. Cities, walls, moats, and pools are used for defense, and ritual and righteousness are used as standards. To rectify the relationship between the ruler and the subject, to strengthen the relationship between father and son, to harmonize the relationship between brothers, to reconcile the relationship between husband and wife, to establish systems, to set up fields, to recognize virtue, courage, and knowledge, and to regard merit as one's own. Therefore, strategies are formulated and wars arise from this. Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, King Cheng, and Duke of Zhou are chosen from these six virtuous men. None of these six did not adhere to propriety. To manifest their righteousness, to test their trustworthiness, to reveal their faults, to punish those who are benevolent and promote generosity, and to show the people that there are norms. If someone does not follow this, those in power will be removed, and the public will consider it a calamity; this is called 'moderate prosperity'. > > ——"Rituals · Rituals" in the Book of Rites - Ideal society, moderate prosperity - Great Harmony - Kang Youwei's "The Great Harmony": history is a process of evolution - Shengping (moderate prosperity) -> Taiping (great harmony) - Achieve moderate prosperity through reform, and then realize great harmony > The current trajectory of world evolution is following a specific path, which is the thoroughfare leading to the realization of "great harmony in the world" and the common spiritual connection among humanity. ... > > The origin of this line lies in individual liberation. Individual liberation is not merely about seeking a division and leaving it at that; rather, it is about fulfilling all individualities, breaking free from old constraints, and reshaping a new, vast and inclusive organization. On one hand is individual liberation, and on the other is universal solidarity. This movement for individual liberation is accompanied by a movement for universal solidarity. These two movements may seem opposite, but they are actually complementary. > > -- Li Dazhao, "Civilianism" - Integrating with Marxist ideals and inheriting Chinese traditional culture > The Four Modernizations we aim to achieve are Chinese-style modernizations. Our concept of the Four Modernizations is not the same as yours, but rather "a moderately prosperous society". By the end of this century, even if China's four modernizations achieve certain goals, our per capita gross domestic product (GDP) will still be very low. To reach the level of relatively wealthier countries in the third world, such as a per capita GDP of one thousand US dollars, we will have to make great efforts. Even if we reach that level, we will still be lagging behind compared to the West. Therefore, I can only say that China will still be in a moderately prosperous state at that time. Of course, it will be much better than now. By that time, our domestic market will be relatively larger, and correspondingly, our economic exchanges with foreign countries, including trade development, will have a broader prospect. > > ——Excerpts from a talk between Comrade Deng Xiaoping and Japanese Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira at their meeting > "The second step of the 'three-step' strategy" remains true to our original aspiration, keep our mission firmly in mind, hold high the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, strive to win the decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, achieve the great success of socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, and work tirelessly to realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation > > ——Theme of the 19th CPC National Congress # The life experience of humanities scholars and the creation and interpretation of humanities works - The revised ending of Peng Yingyu in Wu Han's "Biography of Zhu Yuanzhang" - The author's suffering gave birth to excellent works > ... For example, Wenwang was imprisoned and wrote the Book of Changes; Confucius was persecuted and wrote the Spring and Autumn Annals; Qu Yuan was exiled and composed the Ode of the South; Zuo Qiu lost his vision and wrote the Guoyu; Sun Tzu had his leg broken and compiled the Art of War; Bi Wei was exiled to Shu and passed down the Lv Lan; Han Fei was imprisoned in Qin and wrote the Difficult Sayings and Lonely Anger; the three hundred poems in the Book of Poetry were mostly composed by sages who were filled with frustration and could not achieve their goals, so they recounted past events and pondered the future. ... > > Before the project was even begun, it met with this calamity. Regretting its unfulfillment, I accepted the severest punishment without any resentment. I sincerely intend to write this book, hide it in a famous mountain, pass it on to the right people, and make it known to the major cities. Then I will have atoned for my previous humiliation. Even if I were to be killed a thousand times, how could I regret it! However, this can only be taught to the wise, not to the common people! > > ——Sima Qian, "Letter to Ren An" - Resist feudal autocracy