How to use the book: (1) Change your thinking pattern of history, social science, economics, etc. Apart from high-level theories, we should curate the low-level understanding of the local culture, micro-view from each person in society. Analogously, when doing data science, we should dive deep into the data itself, e.g., what does the data present, where is it from, what obvious features are there, what are some typical positive and negative examples, etc.
Mathematical interpretation: If the averaged trend does not show clear causation, then we can divide into meaningful subgroups so that for each subgroup the causation is obvious. Possibly relevant concept: Mixed Effect Models (incl. random effect, fixed effect, mixed effect).
(2) Treat it as historical evidence for (a) 1980s: County Gentlemen ("乡绅") culture and high schools in the city WenZhou (b) 1980s: Undergraduate and PhD life in Peking University
(3) Key points in education: When talking about a topic (e.g., an abstract historical concept), we have to make the concept "live" again. There are several ways: (a) Talk about concrete events, actual mentality of agents in this event, etc. (b) Build connections with current life, or other subjects. What problem can it solve in the current world?
Exercises: 1) How we just morality, with an example of stealing: 偷窃为什么被认为不道德。首先,偷窃成为一种不道德的行为,前提是私有财产,如果没有私有财产就没有这个问题。后来马克思分析,在森林里面你捡掉下的树枝和把树枝砍掉,同样被认为是偷窃,如果土地是庄园所有,可以讲树木是你所有,但树叶、树枝都从树上掉下来,还归你所有,等于无限扩大了,大家都认为你拿这个东西是不道德的。所谓的偷窃,(a) 在什么时候、(b) 什么条件下成为一种不道德,有(c) 历史的演变。再比如,家庭和腐败的关系也让我们要对道德作实证分析。为什么因为照顾子女而腐败,大家就觉得好像可以宽容一点?
2) How we report about corruption: 同时我们对腐败官员的揭露,却把大量篇幅放在男女关系上,而对这个人(a) 究竟怎么贪污、(b) 制度设计哪里有问题、(c) 贪污造成的具体后果又讲得很虚幻?道德是多维度的,为什么在这个维度给予那么大的权重,其他的事情给予小的权重?
Other excerpts: 1) Don't use one abstract thing to explain another abstract thing. Instead, use concrete samples: a) Old-fashioned report literature: 所以我非常欣赏中国老式的报告文学的写法,那种直接性,没有什么外在的理论化、隐喻、类比。 b) Songs: 琼·贝兹(Joan Baez)我喜欢她是因为她的歌没有reference(引经据典),她讲的东西就是东西本身,不会背后还有东西需要你有额外的知识准备去理解。我就是在这个直接性中得到一种力量。她唱得非常直接,“我的妈妈是个裁缝,是她缝制好我的新牛仔裤;我的爸爸是个赌徒……噢,妈妈,告诉你的孩子们,我的姐妹们啊,可千万不要再做我做过的事……在这个太阳升起的房子里面……”那么直接,但那么感人。 c) My professors: 我的导师王汉生还有孙立平,他们不讲理论,只讲故事讲经历,讲见地,很直接,一刀插进去再提出来。他们讲事情,都要讲到“点”上去,也就是导致某个现象的最重要的原因,而这个原因又往往是以前没有被意识到的。他们真正的乐趣都在这个“点”上。
2) You might be curious about the broken chain of culture values in China (i.e., less continuity in the culture values in the past four thousand years). => More concisely, culture circles is not the direct "cause", but the actual reward in a historical period with a certain network and context.
a) Observation of the broken chain of culture values in China: 英国没有很好的历史叙述, 但这个国家在实践中积淀了很多原则,连贯性比较强。中国有一点倒过来,中国在事实上的连贯性很弱,也有很多的断裂,但每一个朝代都修前朝的历史,在历史书写上连贯性很强,所以就造成了很强的意识上的连贯性— 我们是“中国人”,有“中国”这么一个单位。但在实际的生活逻辑上,其实有极大的断裂。
b) 是要进入历史的话,一定要从现在跳进去,抓住现在的矛盾,从这个矛盾出发,追溯到以前的矛盾,才能进入历史,形成历史观。如果我这样进入历史,就不太需要一种连贯的、稳定的、以中国为单位的历史,它可能是断裂的。海南的问题可能跟马来西亚、泰国更相通,因为它们本身在历史上的关系更紧密,尽管它们现在显然不是一个社会,历史上也不是,但是社会空间的延展也就跟我们现在所定义的行政空间完全是两码事。所以我不太关心有没有一个稳定的“中国叙述”,我觉得没有一个稳定叙述会活得比较有趣,能看到更多的东西。
c) “中国”就是人的实践。人的实践是发散的,会引向各个方向,这些不同的实践发生在一个土地上,发生在一群有血缘连贯性的人群当中,当然客观上有必然、实在的联系,但是不是有某种分析意义上的联系?
Surprisingly, I read the original Chinese text first and couldn’t grasp the topics well. This may be because I read too quickly and am not familiar with the semi-academic style and terminologies of sociology and anthropology.
The translated version is available for free on Amazon, and translator David Ownby, a professor of Chinese history, had an interesting interview with the book's author.
In general, the book provides great insights into why Chinese youth struggle to express themselves and develop social consciousness. It also offers various ideas and reflections on the methods one can adopt when approaching societal issues. While it focuses on China's problems, I believe the methods discussed are applicable beyond borders.
It’s a rewarding read, but I feel deep sadness reading about the constraints and lack of support the youth face when addressing societal issues. But the author also talks about the role of intellectuals in China, although difficult and under the pressure of government, they should use influence to mobilize people, albeit starting from a small scale. And intellectuals' distinctive capacity lies in reflecting and questioning the basic orders of the world.
The book introduced a tons of new ideas to me, such as how materialism is developed and rooted in the public—a product born from government policy and class structure. And having a longue durée of historical view can help offset the excessive influence of nationalism, since we shouldn’t essentialize nation, when considering the history of nation-state.
And some more highlights I found interesting to read:
1. “Increasingly homogenous (academic) language is increasing unable to present a fragmented world”. The writer invites us to question the use of "global neoliberalism" as an explanation for societal issues; neither the definition of global nor neoliberalism is clear or accurately represents a local problem being discussed.
2. So the writer encourages us to observe what's actually happening around us, at a local level.
3. "Having a globalized perspective doesn't mean having ready-made answers to all questions. But it means focusing on diversity and staying informed about what's happening at a global scale." Love it ✔️.
4. Be conscious of the difference between "honesty" and "truth" in the face of rising populism. People may express what they feel straight from their experiences (honest), but the feeling shouldn't be mistakenly seen as "truth." Truth is principles that an individual cannot feel directly but needs to defend and pursue.
5. Keep a distance and see the contradictions in an issue.
A relatively engaging book with some interesting ideas. The interview structure allows this book to be more accessible and easy to understand than many other "ideas" style books. It also gives a more casual, informal tone to the novel that I also like. The quality of chapters and questions vary with some being more engaging then others. The host in general though does a really good job of asking interesting, deep, thought provoking questions, allowing for an in-depth and thoughtful conversation.
It was an okay book. But I cannot say I learned much from it. At places, the ideas of self as method and study your vicinity felt inspiring. But I also find it a way to escaping the large issues. In the presence of global monopoly, environmental problems, and AI taking over, what Xiang is saying feels more like a stubborn dream of rewinding time and staying behind.