Behind the Discussion

I do not wish to comment too much on whether this discussion is disgraceful or not. I wonder, Would this discussion have occurred if Zhang Hua had been a peasant instead of a college student? I hardly think so. This makes everything clear. The person who first raised the issue and triggered the discussion must be someone who believes in "rank" and "high- or low-social position." His point of departure, to put it plainly, is that college students are of "high value" while peasants are of "low value." The truth is, however, that life is equally precious to all people, and the true manifestation of human nature (ren xing) lies in placing equal value on one's own and on other people's lives. Placing too much value on some people and ignoring the value of others has long been a feudalist thing. Making a college student work as a peasant may be a sort of disregard for a person's value, but for a college student to save the life of a peasant is the sublimation of the spirit of our times

Aesthetics · Peasant · Political science · Sociology · Value (mathematics) · Wonder · Chinese history and philosophy · Law · Mathematics · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology