丁韪良，一位在中国生活逾六十载的美国传教士（1850—1916，其间有四年时间不在中国），将他的原名William Alexander Parsons Martin改成了中国名字，并取字“冠西”。在查询学校和地方图书馆馆藏史料无果的情况下，我大胆地猜测这位清末在华外国学者中首屈一指的“中国通”定怀揣着一种希望或者说是一种信念，作为一名传教士，他希望将中国、中国的文明、中国的文化介绍到西方，成为一个融贯西中的西方人。

       认识丁韪良，是在沈弘教授的课上。沈教授对在华传教士的研究仅以丁韪良的研究为例，我在谷歌搜索中输入关键字“丁韪良”，搜索结果为 17,800，而输入“丁韪良 沈弘”，搜索结果为 54,900，足以证明沈教授的研究成果之丰硕。在沈教授的讲授中，丁韪良曾任北京同文馆和京师大学堂的总教习。他精通中国语言和文学，对晚清中国社会有微细的观察和独到的见解。著有《花甲记忆》、《中国觉醒》和《汉学菁华》等。而且丁韪良这三本著作均由沈弘教授亲自参与翻译，并定稿。

        由此，开始了我对这位清末著名汉学家的著作《汉学菁华》与《中国觉醒》的阅读之旅。丁氏在他的字里行间引领我们穿越了中国的历史、经济、社会、文化的各个层面，他的文字的意思不仅仅是对他六十二年中国生活的总结，而是他向西方世界介绍中华帝国的文明，纠正西方人对中国的偏见与歧视的历史佐证，对我而言，更为主观的意义是他唤起了我的爱国之情。

        清政府迂腐、落后的思想导致中国的国门的敞开不是自由贸易的结果，而是西方的船坚利炮轰鸣之下的彻底催跨。蓝眼睛、卷头发的西方人多以传教士的身份来到中国。六十二年与中国的联系，丁韪良谙熟中国各阶层的社会经济生活、宗教信仰、行为风俗、语言文化、政治制度等。1901年问世的《汉学菁华》，纪录了丁氏观察、分析中国人内在精神生活、中华文化的核心与内涵及包括科举考试、国子监、翰林院与京师大学堂的等问题的中国教育定位的心路历程。而于1907年首版的《中国觉醒》一书介绍清末的地理、人文以及中华几千年文明史的同时，着重描述了作者所亲身经历的1902—1907年间清政府所推行的新政和改革，并试图解释推动中国社会变革的潜在力量，书名取自《汉学菁华》的序篇“中国的觉醒”，可视为前一书的赓续及补充。两书均表达了丁氏对于中国光明未来的极大期盼。

        在一百多年以前的这位西方人的内心深处，“中国是当今世界正在发生的最伟大运动的舞台。……它所承诺要做到的事情是让这个最古老、人口最多和最保守的帝国得以彻底的振兴。”

       “中国是一个具有无穷精力之民族的故乡，它如今之伟大和未来之繁荣都足以令人仰慕不已。……用蒸汽和电力将这个庞大国家的所有成员都凝聚在一起时，我们很难想象它未来将会变得多么强盛。”

       “假如能去掉对中国人民心智的禁锢，并鼓励他们去自由地发明和想象，谁又能怀疑这个曾经发明过罗盘的国度也许哪天就会产生一个牛顿或爱迪生呢？”

       “所有的改革都归结于新式的教育，而中国已经义无反顾地开展了教育改革。……只需要几代人的努力，中国人民就将在世界民族之林中占据一个主要的位置。”

        丁氏语言中蕴含的文化信息以及渗透的精神力量无不让我由衷敬佩这位包涵学识而又富有政治远见的西方人。他对中国这头“沉睡的雄狮”在百年前就做出了自己的预测。21世纪的今天，作为一位中国人，我心中除了油然而生的敬佩之情外，对自己国家爱、民族的责任感也不禁而生。丁氏对中国人的了解与同情，对晚清社会细致入微的观察、特立独行的思辨，以及对中国国家地理、历史与炮火硝烟中的变革的审视。正是这种对汉文化的热爱与对中国独特地洞察，丁氏当初笃信的传教信念已被更为崇高、更为远大的信念而替代，那就是全然融入中国文化，又将中国文化带回西方的强大社会责任感和历史良知心。

        中国正处在走向富强的变革时期，责任感与良知心是关系国家转型是否成功的内聚力，而历史观与文化素质是决定国家竞争力的关键。

         所有现象只是浮夸在表面的泡沫，真实的数据与事实的真相永远沉在深不见底的渊谷。当经济危机来临，几乎所有的国外媒体都指责中国的人民币汇率政策的时刻，丁氏又在百年前以他比其他西方汉学家更为深刻的中国文化了解，比绝大部分西方人更为深厚的中华民族的感情和同情心，用他富含历史的眼光和充满哲学思辨的语言传达着他对中国、中国人民的信心，“这种思想互动的一个基本条件就是相互间的思想理解。假如中国要成为文明国家中的一员，西方人就必须理解作为中国历史和生活基础原则的中国思想。作者将《汉学菁华》一书奉献给英语世界的公众，也正是希望推进这种理解。”

        汉学家、教育家丁韪良在这两本书中的语言早已超出了语言本身，字里行间是他对于不是自己祖国，但确实是他的故乡——中国的热爱。他传播一种百年思想，那就是，爱国家并不是一种空谈，而是对于国家文明的骄傲，对于国家变革的信念以及对于国家富强的贡献。1868年10月，丁韪良曾在美国远东学会上作过一个著名的演讲，题目就叫做《中国的文艺复兴》，之后，他对这篇演讲稿的内容进行了更新，并将经过改写的文章以《中国的觉醒》（The Awakening of China）为题，作为《汉学菁华》（1901）这部书的序篇。我将以他其中一段话作为我的结尾， “中国人并不像人们一般所认为的那样，在其漫长的民族生活中是停滞不前的。中国人的民族心态随着时代的变更也在不断地前进，尽管并不总是直线前进，但我们认为每一个朝代都记录了确凿无疑的进步，就像北极的黎明那样，东方天际的第一抹曙光会消失好几个小时，但随之而来的是更为明亮的曙光，就这样周而复始，在经过几个黑暗的轮回之后，日出的时刻终于来临了。” 　　

(simplified Chinese: 庄子; traditional Chinese: 莊子; pinyin: Zhuāng Zǐ) was an influential Chinese philosopher who lived around the 4th century BC during the Warring States Period, corresponding to the Hundred Schools of Thought philosophical summit of Chinese thought. His name is sometimes spelled Chuang Tsu, Chuang Tzu, Zhuang Tze, Chouang-Dsi, Chuang Tse, Chuangtze or – in English – Master Chuang.

逍遥游

北冥有鱼①，其名曰鲲②。鲲之大，不知其几千里也；化而为鸟，其名为鹏③。鹏之背，不知其几千里也；怒而飞④，其翼若垂天之云⑤。是鸟也，海运则将徙于南冥⑥。南冥者，天池也⑦。齐谐者⑧，志怪者也⑨。谐之言曰：“鹏之徙于南冥也，水击三千里⑩，抟扶摇而上者九万里(11)，去以六月息者也(12)。”野马也(13)，尘埃也(14)，生物之以息相吹也(15)。天之苍苍，其正色邪？其远而无所至极邪(16)？其视下也，亦若是则已矣。且夫水之积也不厚，则其负大舟也无力。覆杯水于坳堂之上(17)，则芥为之舟(18)；置杯焉则胶，水浅而舟大也。风之积也不厚，则其负大翼也无力，故九万里则风斯在下矣(19)。而后乃今培风(20)，背负青天而莫之夭阏者(21)，而后乃今将图南。蜩与学鸠笑之曰(22)：“我决起而飞(23)，抢榆枋(24)，时则不至，而控于地而已矣(25)；奚以之九万里而南为(26)？”适莽苍者(27)，三飡而反(28)，腹犹果然(29)；适百里者，宿舂粮(30)；适千里者，三月聚粮。之二虫又何知(31)？小知不及大知(32)，小年不及大年。奚以知其然也？朝菌不知晦朔(33)，蟪蛄不知春秋(34)，此小年也。楚之南有冥灵者(35)，以五百岁为春，五百岁为秋；上古有大椿者(36)，以八千岁为春，八千岁为秋(37)。而彭祖乃今以久特闻(38)，众人匹之(39)，不亦悲乎？
汤之问棘也是已(40)：“穷发之北有冥海者(41)，天池也。有鱼焉，其广数千里，未有知其修者(42)，其名曰鲲。有鸟焉，其名为鹏，背若太山(43)，翼若垂天之云；抟扶摇、羊角而上者九万里(44)，绝云气(45)，负青天，然后图南，且适南冥也。斥鴳笑之曰(46)：‘彼且奚适也？我腾跃而上，不过数仞而下(47)，翱翔蓬蒿之间，此亦飞之至也(48)。而彼且奚适也？’”此小大之辩也(49)。
故夫知效一官(50)、行比一乡(51)、德合一君、而徵一国者(52)，其自视也亦若此矣。而宋荣子犹然笑之(53)。且举世而誉之而不加劝(54)，举世而非之而不加沮(55)，定乎内外之分(56)，辩乎荣辱之境(57)，斯已矣。彼其于世，未数数然也(58)。虽然，犹有未树也。夫列子御风而行(59)，泠然善也(60)，旬有五日而后反(61)。彼于致福者(62)，未数数然也。此虽免乎行，犹有所待者也(63)。若夫乘天地之正(64)，而御六气之辩(65)，以游无穷者，彼且恶乎待哉(66)？故曰：至人无己(67)，神人无功(68)，圣人无名(69)。

This is the gate of Da Shun temple, not a huge one,  which do not match up with the big name of Shun. Shun, is one of the latest five emperors in China.

The Five Emperors in the legendary period are Shaohao (少昊) , Zhuanxu (颛顼) , Gaoxin (高辛) , Yao (尧) and Shun (舜) . Shaohao was the renowned leader among the Yi (夷) people in East China. The Yi people had officials for both industry and agriculture. In my opinion, these five emperors were not from legend, they existed around 5000 years ago.

Zhuanxu was a very wise and intelligent person. He respected the gods and taught his people. He appointed one official responsible for offering sacrifices for the gods in the heaven and one official in charge of the civil affairs.

Gaoxin was said to be a descendant of Huangdi. He enjoyed a high reputation among his tribal people and they were obedient to his administration.

Yao made great contributions to the lunar calendar.

Shun was physically and mentally gifted and he was a man with great virtues. He was selected by Yao as his successor.

The portecting of this temple was a historical story. Someone might take it as superstition, but actually, it was a beautiful Chinese legend.

The two dragon pillars, the spirit of the temple, have been pretecting the Da Shun Temple from the Xianfeng Emperor of Qing Dynasty till now.

The Xianfeng Emperor (Chinese: 咸豐帝);  pinyin: Xiánfēngdì; July 17, 1831 – August 22, 1861), born Yizhu, was the eighth Emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1850 to 1861.

 —–FROM Wiki

The temple was rebulit at the period of Xianfeng Emperor, and later in the time of Dongzhi Emperor. What remains now was from the Xianfeng Time. 

The Tongzhi Emperor (Chinese: 同治帝; pinyin: Tóngzhìdì, April 27, 1856–January 12, 1875), born Zaichun, was the ninth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1861 to 1875. His reign, which effectively lasted through his adolescence, was largely overshadowed by the rule of his mother, the Empress Dowager Cixi. Although he had little influence over court affairs, the time of his reign gave rise to what historians call the “Tongzhi Restoration” (Chinese: 同治中兴), an unsuccessful attempt to stabilize and modernize China.

——-FROM Wiki

The stories telling from the around 50 year-old door keeper there are amazing. With his high and low pitches of narrating, I could feel his deep love of this place, even with his heavy Shaoxing accent(Shaoxing is a city located in Zhejiang Province, China). Then I knew that his childhood was spent in this temple, his studying time was also there,  and how his teachers pretected the siprit, the two dragon pillars,  during the Chinese Culture Revolution, why the uneven ground at the right side of the main building cloudn’t grow anything, why the local people there admire Da Shun so much.  Unbelievable! You should go there, then each piece of wood, stone or brick there are vivid to you, and all the stories are not lengends any more.

The Tiramisu meeting on that Sunday is a wonderful time in my life, even though the dessert tasted a little bit weird at the moment I put into my mouth. But when I stepped out to the balcony, the scenery I saw in my camera made that Sunday afternoon a forgettable time in my life. And it was  at that minute I decided the topic for my C2 speech.

Here are some pictures I took in that afternoon. You can have a look.

The old bulidings do not match up with the current envirnment and catch up with the modernzational pace, the only result is removing and replacing with the new bulidings. It might be a pity, if remove the typical traditional ones and rebuild with untypical modern ones. But actually, protecting old chinese architecture is easier said than done.

There are three points I would like to put forward to show why I say so. No comparison, no power of persuasion. Here, I will illustrate and present my viewpoint in comparing with old chinsese architecture and old western architecture.

First, the materials. Wood was mostly used in old Chinese architecture, whereas stone was the main material in old western architecture. These two different materials have the different characteristics. Stone will prevent the fire from burning down the whole building, but wood is easier to burn down if there is a fire. In the old chinese architecture, there are 80% or more buildings were built by wood. Do you know how many of them were ruined because of the fire? The figure is also around 80%. After hundrends and thousands years of exposing to wind and rain, the pine, fir and nanmu used in old traditional buildings might be eroded, weakedned or earier to burn. In Jan, 2003, the main building  of Wudang Shan mountain, Yuzhen Gong was destroyed in a fire. I cloudn’t believe when I heart the news from TV, so did the chinese people and the whole world. The pictures here I show you are like they were taken yesterday. The gorgeous taoist temple for memorizing Zhang Sanfeng built by Emperor Zhuli in Ming Dynasty disppeared in the history river.

Second, structure and layout. The structures of the old chinese architecture are not the same as the old western architecture. Oweing to “dougong”, the unique chinese interlinking wooden structure, the walls do not bear the weight. Normally, the hall of the old chinese buildings are very tall and huge. And to refurniture or reconstruct the building is not as easy as what does in the old western architecture. The layout of the old chinese architecture is influenced a lot from chinese painting, being in harmony with the enviroment and againt in full view. So not like western architecture, chinese architecture is always in a group of buildings, which makes the experts or government difficult to protect.

Third, and the most important point is people’s awareness on preservation of buildings of architectureal and historic interest. Without the awareness, the tragedies will happen again and again. The cause of the fire on Wudang shan Yuzhen Gong was not the natural factor, but man-made. The removing of some typical buildings, like Beijing Hutong, was not for the ordinary people’s better lives, but for few people’s the profits and interests. One day, I accompanied one of my students to Huqin Yutang Herbal Medicine Museum. When I explained the beautiful wall window to him, he couldn’t help asking me that why you Chinese don’t keep the origial out-looking of the buildings. In Italy, there is a law that the exterior of all the old buildings should be remained as what it was before. I kept silence, not because in china we don’t have this law, but because I don’t know how to answer the question.

Those are my viewpiont of protecting old chinese architecture is easier said than done.   

Thanks for your time, everybody. And thanks Mr. Toastmaster!