Thoughts on Moral Reconstruction
For a society without stable and recognized values，there will be no standards of right and wrong，and thus no stable order of the spiritual world，and ultimately it will be difficult to maintain a stable order of social life.Today，in the process of modernization of China ’s legitimate society，the differentiation and reorganization of interests are involved.In particular，it is necessary to unify and coordinate the people ’s hearts in social changes with stable and recognized values so as to maintain mutual trust among people，and to foster individual ’s self-reliance and self-discipline.Therefore，the central and decision-making levels have continuously attached great importance to moral reconstruction for many years.At the Sixth Plenary Session of the Seventeenth Central Committee，it was pointed out that “moral anomie and lack of honesty in some fields and distorted outlook on life and values of some members of society make it more urgent to use the socialist core value system to lead the social trend of thought，and the task of consolidating the common ideological and moral foundation for the unity and struggle of the whole Party and the people of all nationalities is arduous.”[6] Later，the Party Central Committee，with Xi Jinping as its general secretary，put forward 24 words of socialist core values，which for the first time clearly pointed out the origin of values and morality in today ’s China.Only in this way can we be able to converge up and down to the principle of “no country without virtue，no man without virtue”；and in the convergence of history and reality，we can be convinced that “moral power will not be weakened with the changes of the times and will not fade with the changes of the environment”.“Virtue in Tao，etiquette in Qi”，“shameful and qualified”；“Virtue is far-reaching.” Therefore，today and in the future，“strengthening moral construction is related to national cohesion，centripetal force，national development，social harmony，and people ’s happiness.”[7] Between today and the future，the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation comes with the social transformation.Although these voices originated from the central government，the core values of socialism have integrated the nation，country，society and people.After many years of bottom-up and top-down，they represent the voices of thousands of Chinese people.
After experiencing the imbalance of morality，it rebuilds moral consciousness.As far as reform and opening up is concerned，it is a kind of perseverance and deepening in twists and turns.However，to change the imbalance of morality consciously，we are actually facing many obstacles that can not be avoided and can not be bypassed.Although these obstacles are realized as perceptible concepts and phenomena due to the panmarketization，there are deeper social and historical reasons behind these concepts and phenomena.In a nutshell，the predicament of the two lies mainly in:
On the one hand，a nation ’s morality will certainly contain historical inheritance，but the social organizational structure that Chinese traditional morality relies on has changed a lot in more than a hundred years of historical changes.Chinese traditional morality and values are based on Confucian culture，while the foundation of Confucian culture is patriarchal clan concept with obvious collectivism characteristics，which is obviously different from western individualism.The reason why Confucianism emphasizes “filial piety，loyalty，courtesy，righteousness and shame” is essentially to regulate how to treat parents，brothers and sisters，countries and friends，and how to deal with the corresponding interpersonal relationships in an acquaintance society.Such norms are based on the social structure of “family-country-world”.In such an organizational structure，the family is the basic unit，from which the branches extend.The descendants of each family member form a huge family，and then form a social cohesion by mutual help and association between families.Such ideas continue from generation to generation and become the source of oriental culture.But in today ’s China，the family foundation on which collectivism and mutualism depend is being destroyed.Since the implementation of the family planning policy，most families have only one child，so that within the family，“421” composed of three generations is becoming the most common intergenerational structure，which also melts the social organizational structure of Chinese Confucian culture.Because the only child is the main body，the family will tilt more resources to the children.As a result，it is easy to form self-centered mentality in the process of children ’s growth，which takes caring for themselves as a matter of course.Thus，it is easy to generate excessive awareness of rights and lack of adequate understanding of the responsibilities they should undertake.It is difficult to achieve the unity of knowledge and practice for etiquette，modesty and tolerance.More broadly，the unwillingness to compromise and concede caused by the individual standard will make these only children hardly bear great pressure and blow once they enter the society，and thus more likely to generate resentment and exclusion against others.Although the only-child generation in the growing stage has not caused much social destruction compared with the powerful groups that control the right of system design in today ’s society，resentment and exclusion are undoubtedly immoral.
Correspondingly，the deconstruction of Chinese culture has become a lasting trend.Since the mid-nineteenth century，the Chinese have been repeatedly defeated by the Western gunboats，and under the heavy pressure of repeated defeats，the traditional Chinese culture （including traditional morality and value） has been investigated and attributed to the strength of the West as a contrast.At the same time，the process of pursuing prosperity begins with learning from the West.However，over the centuries，the contradiction is that the western culture comes from the history of the western society itself，and the Chinese society does not have the history on which the western culture depends，so China can not form a copy of the western culture.This makes China show the lack of main culture in a long period of time.The result is that it is difficult for Chinese historical and cultural soil to transplant the products of Western culture.After the impact of the Western tide has lost the integrity of tradition，it is difficult for the reconstruction of Chinese culture to form a consensus in the whole society.As far as morality can ’t be without cultural orientation，the differentiation between China and the West and the reconstruction after the deconstruction have become another difficulty in the current situation of moral reconstruction in China.In the process of reform and opening-up overlapping with economic transformation and social transformation，the present and the past，which are left behind by historical changes，constitute interpersonal relationships，social psychology and ethical environment different from those of the past two thousand years，and also bring about various contents different from those of the past in terms of moral dilemma and moral reconstruction we are facing.
However，as a link and order to maintain the existence，continuation and development of human society，the basic problems of morality and the general cultivation of morality are the same in ancient and modern times.In this sense，today ’s moral reconstruction is not a start from scratch，but a continuation of history.Therefore，moral reconstruction often needs to refer to history to take care of reality and read new meanings from history.Compared with Western culture，which sees more evil and dark sides of human nature，Chinese culture reveals more good and bright sides of human mind.And the possibility and continuation of morality，its starting point is for the people ’s hearts of this kind of good trust.So Pan Guangdan said，“One of the most encouraging things about human nature is that he can be touched by good examples”.[8] The process of “moving” is the process of moral internalization and moral generation.The dissemination of morality needs reasoning，but the ancients called the dissemination of morality “enlightenment”，and more importantly，this kind of influence that can be internalized.And Confucianism says “I want benevolence，so benevolence is enough”.[9] “Everyone can be Yao and Shun”.[10] It means that everyone is touched，and at the same time everyone can be touched.Its inherent logic arouses everyone ’s consciousness of moral subject，and shows that social morality and individual morality are formed in mutual influence and mutual infection.This is where the meaning of“enlightenment” is.Society needs management and governance，so society needs the rule of law，but today，while enforcing the rule of law，we vigorously advocate the “rule of virtue” left by Chinese culture.[11] It shows that besides management and governance，society also needs to be created and maintained by the touchability of human nature.Compared with the rule of law，the rule of virtue is guided by rules and regulations.The rule of virtue relies not on rules and regulations，but on self-discipline and moralization of people from top to bottom，and on self-reliance and respect of morality from bottom to top.Therefore，Jiao Yulu，Secretary of the county Party committee，can set an example to make people moved，and Lei Feng，an ordinary soldier，can also set an example to make people moved.Thousands of people ’s touching，and the deposit of such touching in people ’s hearts，actually contributed to the rule of education.After experiencing the moral dilemma in the transitional period，we have a deeper understanding of the rule of virtue itself and its far-reaching impact.So today ’s advocacy of “rule of virtue” is endowing the old concept of rule of virtue with the internalization of socialist core values into people ’s hearts.This process will be long，but it will bring us out of the throes of moral dilemma.
【注释】
[1]Huang Xiaojun，“On the Principles of Moral Imbalance and Moral Reconstruction in Market Economy”，Yunnan Social Sciences，No.4，1994，p.16.
[2]Chen Jie et al，“Re-discussion on the Relation between Socialist Market Economy and Moral Construction”，Journal of Zhejiang University of Technology （Social Science Edition），No.5，2006，p.78.
[3]Chernishevsky，Selected Chernishevsky，Business Press，1959，pp.281-284.
[4]Adam Smith，Theory of Moral Sentiments，Commercial Press，1998，p.5.
[5]Ezra Feivel Vogeli，Deng Xiaoping Times，SDX Joint Publishing Company，2013，p.454.
[6]Compilation of Documents of the Sixth Plenary Session of the 17th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China，People ’s Publishing House，2011，pp.15-16.
[7]General Secretary Xi Jinping ’s Spiritual Reading Series of Speeches，Party School Press of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China，2013，p.75.
[8]Pan Guangdan，Selected Works of Pan Guangdan Volume 3，Guangming Daily Press，1999，p.365.
[9]Confucius，A Collection of Four Chapters and Sentences，Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House，2006，p.128.
[10]Mencius，A Collection of Four Chapters and Sentences，Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House，2006，p.425.
[11]Comrade Xi Jinping ’s speech at the second plenary meeting of the Fourth Plenary Session of the Eighteenth Central Committee of the CPC on October 23，2014.