陈凯博客： www.kaichenblog.blogspot.com

“老”并不是价值
Old Age and Tradition Is No Value at All

价值一语： Words of Value:

"Old age is wise for itself, but not for the community. -- It is wise in declining new enterprises, for it has not the power or the time to execute them; wise in shrinking from difficultiy, for it has not the strength to overcome it; wise in avoiding danger, for it lacks the faculty of ready and swift action by which dangers are parried and converted into advantages. -- But this is not wisdom for mankind at large. by whom new enterprises must be undertaken, dangers met, and difficulties surmounted." -- William Cullen Bryant

长寿只对自身是一种价值，对社会并不是一种价值。 -- 人老了就不会开拓，因为开拓需要力量与时间； 人老了就会避免困难，因为克服困难需要健壮与精力； 人老了就会避免冒风险，因为冒风险需要人的反应速度，敏捷，与充分的准备，才能化险为夷。 -- 但这些都不是人类应有的精神与智慧。 人类需要开拓，需要承担风险，需要克服万难。 --- William Cullen Bryant

Earth worms existed long before humans ever came into being. That does not mean earth worms are more valuable than human being. Existence does not imply history. And ancient civilizations often imply backwardness. --- Kai Chen

蚯蚓的存在比人的历史长得多。 这并不意味蚯蚓比人更有价值。 存在并不意味着历史。 古老的文明往往是腐败、僵化与落后的。 --- 陈凯

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By Kai Chen 陈凯 (Reprint 9/29/2011)

Many in China harbor illusions that since China as a culture lasts for so long, it must be more advanced than others with shorter cultural tradition.

They could not be more wrong. Rainworms as a spiecies has lasted much longer than humans on earth, should we say rainworms are more advanced than humans? Surely a rainworm is more resilient in that if you cut it in half each will grow into a full worm, for its organs are less specified. But if a human is harmed in vital parts of his organs such as brain or heart, he will certainly die. Does that mean humans are less advanced and should regenerate back into worms simply for the sake of prolong the existence of the spiecies?

China is an "Old Men's Society". It judges whether people have wisdom, not by the fact of virtue, but by age and social status. "名正言顺“ has long been propagated with Confucianism, with its poisonous effect, into the blood stream of the Chinese mindset. With the help of the Chinese pictorial language, the illusion becomes reality, the superficial becomes substantial, the flesh becomes the spirit...

A country governed by old people is a country of stagnation without initialtive, a country of suppression without freedom, a country of fear without exploration....

I invite your opinions on this topic.