ANCIENT WISDOM HELPS IN PANDEMIC FIGHT （从中国传统文化汲取抗疫智慧）
Ancient wisdom helps in pandemic fight
By WANG QIAN in Beijing and XING YI in Shanghai | China Daily |
Traditional culture playing a vital role
The COVID-19 pandemic has largely been brought under control in China, with many scholars believing that traditional culture has played an important role in shaping people's response to it.
In February, after a field investigation to Wuhan, Hubei province, by the World Health Organization, assistant director-general Bruce Aylward said China had demonstrated phenomenal collective action and a cooperative spirit in fighting the virus.
"Behind every window in every skyscraper, there are people cooperating with this response," the Canadian epidemiologist said.
Speaking at a recent edition of Vision China organized by China Daily and Tsinghua University, Aylward said Chinese people's sense of social responsibility, which is embedded in the nation's culture, and their experiences in fighting the severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, outbreak in 2003 are key elements of the country's efforts to tackle the virus.
David Gosset, founder of the Europe-China Forum, said "the cultural element is of the greatest importance" in such a unified and rapid response.
"In the Chinese context, it can be said that traditional values inspired by Confucianism... helped China in its battle against COVID-19," Gosset said.
"Culture has been underestimated by commentators, while it has arguably played the most important role in shaping global reactions to events.
"Less visible than economic dynamics or even political structures or processes, culture is nevertheless what determines the behavior of individuals."
Four factors in traditional philosophy－dayitong (great unification), jiaguo tonggou (family and state are the same), filial piety and tianxia (all under the heaven)－have influenced the country's response to the pandemic, according to scholars.
Mario Cavolo, a non-resident senior fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, said,"In a further examination of the values at the root of achievements (made in the fight against the pandemic), we find a historical source driving values, attitudes, and ultimately, our behavior.
"In Europe, for example, we find Judeo-Christian ethics and religions, while some countries prefer a more post-Modern Era neoliberal set of values," he said.
Gosset said,"As a major global crisis, this pandemic has revealed many aspects of our modernity, and certainly that the world is not culturally uniform. It has indeed to be understood as the juxtaposition of several different cultural contexts."
Great unification
The Confucian concept of dayitong means a common pursuit or respect for unity. Traceable to Confucius, Mencius and other philosophers, it was elaborated on by the philosopher Dong Zhongshu (179-104 BC).
From the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220) onward, ancient China saw its most prosperous period, in which the benefits of Confucian civilization were spread to the rest of the world.
Yu Zhiping, philosophy professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said, "This influence can still be felt in China today, which is helping the Chinese people win the coronavirus war.
"The dayitong concept, which still influences Chinese political culture, has made such an unprecedented mobilization of nationwide resources possible."
Since a lockdown was enforced in Wuhan on Jan 23, unparalleled nationwide mobilization efforts have been made to combat the pandemic.
Two days later, under President Xi Jinping's command, a central leading group on epidemic response, headed by Premier Li Keqiang, was established. On Jan 27, a central working group led by Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan was sent to oversee work in Hubei.
On Feb 10, the National Health Commission launched an assistance plan, with 19 provinces providing support to cities in Hubei.
According to official data, some 43,000 medical workers risked their lives to help the province.
Two makeshift hospitals－Huoshenshan and Leishenshan, with a total capacity of 2,600 beds－were quickly built and started treating COVID-19 patients in early February.
Following the efforts made in Wuhan, most cities nationwide adopted strict measures to minimize the movement of people.
Canadian political science professor Daniel A. Bell said that with the experience gained in fighting SARS, Chinese people know that when social order faces a severe threat, a strong, collective and efficient government is needed to take decisive action.
Bell, dean of the School of Political Science and Public Administration at Shandong University and professor at Tsinghua University, made the comments in a recent interview with the website of the Communist Party of China's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.
A global crisis perception index released last month by social research agency Blackbox Research and consumer intelligence platform Toluna supports Bell's assessment. It found that China had the highest-rated leadership among 23 nations, with the country scoring 85 points out of 100.
Conducted over 16 days from April 3, respondents were asked to rate their countries through four key indicators: national political leadership, corporate leadership, community and media.
Families and nation
In addition to the whole-nation system, Bell highlighted the spirit of cooperation among Chinese people fighting the virus.
He said that in traditional Chinese culture, citizens feel obligated to serve their families and the nation.
Yu, from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said this is the ideal of jiaguo tonggou, which means that family is a reduction of the state, and the state is an amplification of the family.
"In Chinese families, parents have the authority to make decisions and children should follow them," he said.
"In cultural terms, we take the country as our family, and when the government declared a war on the deadly pneumonia, millions of people from all walks of life, including civil servants, medics, community workers and volunteers, risked their lives to fight on the frontline."
By inheriting ancient wisdom, Chinese have a hardwired willingness to sacrifice individual freedom and undergo hardships for the sake of common well-being, Yu said.
"To lock down a huge city like Wuhan, with a population of over 11 million people, is unprecedented. With the support of the public and its willingness to comply with government orders, China succeeded."
Bell said that by sacrificing part of their freedom and privacy temporarily, people－with Confucian culture deep in their hearts－were willing to comply with the government's quarantine measures, because they trusted the authorities to make the best decisions.
When the Wuhan lockdown was imposed, all public transportation and business halted, with residents ordered to stay indoors to reduce transmission of the virus. The lockdown was lifted last month, with business in the city gradually returning to normal.
The concerted response to the measures taken in Wuhan bear testimony to a Chinese proverb that states, "When people are of one mind and heart, they can move Mount Tai." (The mountain is a landmark of cultural and historical significance north of Tai'an, Shandong province.)
Bell said that in times of crisis, "the collectivist orientation perspective has its benefits, compared with individual orientation".
As China fought the virus, non-governmental organizations and overseas Chinese donated urgently needed protective equipment, including face masks, surgical gowns and goggles, to support epidemic prevention and control measures.
Tens of thousands of manufacturers nationwide quickly reconfigured production lines to make medical masks to meet surging demand at home and overseas. The country's daily output of masks rose from 8 million on Jan 25 to 116 million on Feb 29.
Meanwhile, technology companies, including Alibaba and Tencent, have created apps to help the public cope with confinement.
Gosset, from the Europe-China Forum, said, "The effectiveness of Chinese governance, combined with a culture in which individuals put collective responsibility above all, can explain why China has been able to manage a highly dangerous situation."
Filial piety
As the outbreak in China developed into a global pandemic, many countries encouraged the elderly and those with severe medical conditions to stay at home, as they faced a higher risk of contracting COVID-19.
With hospitals around the world unable to cope with a surge in the number of patients needing treatment for the disease, debate arose over whether medics should give priority to younger patients.
However, Bell said that in China－a country deeply influenced by Confucianism, with filial piety its core virtue－strong measures have been taken to protect seniors from the disease.
Filial piety, or xiao, means to respect, obey and care for the elderly, highlighted in ancient and authoritative classics such as The Analects of Confucius and The Classic of Filial Piety (Xiaojing), along with works by Mencius.
According to a frequently quoted saying by Mencius,"Treat all elders as you would respect your own; love all children as you would love your own."
Tang Bei, a professor specializing in global health governance at Shanghai International Studies University, said, "This virtue has been a constant theme in China's COVID-19 response, which includes all-out efforts to provide testing and treatment for all those in need, no matter whether they are young or old."
In the fight against the contagion, the Chinese leadership has continued to emphasize that people's lives, safety and health are the top priorities.
Tang said, "This is people-orientation, an important ethical requirement in the public health field, especially in making epidemic prevention and control policy."
China's response to the pandemic is largely shaped by its ancient philosophy of ethics, which has greatly increased people's trust in the government, the professor said.
Tang quoted from the Confucian classic The Book of Documents, or Shangshu, which states, "The people are the root of a country; when the root is firm, the country is tranquil."
As of April 6, the average total cost of treating a hospital patient with COVID-19 was 21,500 yuan ($3,038).
For severe cases, the average minimum cost was 150,000 yuan, with the overall charges for treating some critical cases reaching more than 1 million yuan, according to the National Health Commission. All such expenses are covered by the country's healthcare insurance system and government budget.
Official data show that as of last month, Wuhan had registered more than 50,000 patients with the virus－about 2,500 of them age 80 or older. The oldest patient who recovered is 108.
Global community
While taking good care of its citizens at home, China has offered help to nations severely affected by the pandemic.
The sudden emergence of the virus has served to remind the world that, in the era of globalization, all countries' interests are closely interconnected and society has a shared future.
The concept of a shared future is similar to the notion of tianxia (all under the heaven), which embodies a worldwide public perspective rooted in Confucian moral and political thinking.
In Liji (The Book of Rites), translated by the Scottish Sinologist James Legge, Confucius states, "When the grand course was pursued, a public common spirit ruled all under the heaven."
Cavolo, from the Center for China and Globalization, has lived in China for two decades and witnessed the country's fight against the pandemic in Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province.
The Italian-American, who remains deeply concerned for his family and relatives in the United States, said: "In essence, we are all connected. We are all part of the same glorious community, and each individually responsible for what we do to shape that community."
This community transcends ethnicity or sovereign borders, and in this sense, people are experiencing a unifying challenge as they face the pandemic," he said.
The Confucian vision of an ideal society envisioned a world characterized by harmony and cooperation, which President Xi has mentioned several times.
In 2015, Xi took the podium at the UN to speak of "a community with a shared future for mankind". He elaborated on this later, saying that an ideal world would be one that is safe, prosperous, open, orderly and inclusive.
On May 18, Xi announced at the virtual opening of the 73rd session of the World Health Assembly that China would provide $2 billion over two years to help with the COVID-19 response and with economic and social development in countries affected by the virus, especially developing nations.
Xi also said China is ready to work with the international community to bolster support for the hardest-hit countries.
Igor Shatrov, deputy director of Russia's National Institute for the Development of Modern Ideology, told Xinhua News Agency the pandemic is a serious test in which "humanity must realize that we live in a single world and have a common destiny, so it should unite in the face of a global threat".
译文：
从中国传统文化汲取抗疫智慧
中华优秀传统文化在抗疫中发挥重要作用
记者：王茜、邢奕
当前，中国大部分地区新冠肺炎疫情得到了有效控制。海内外学者认为中国抗疫经验背后是中国传统文化的力量。这样的文化传承使中国高效快速的抗疫行动得以实施。
中国-世界卫生组织新冠肺炎联合专家组外方组长、世界卫生组织助理总干事布鲁斯·艾尔沃德在2月对武汉进行实地考察后，感叹于中国在疫情阻击战中表现出的惊人的集体行动力与合作精神。
在这位加拿大籍流行病学专家眼里，“武汉街道空无一人，但是每个窗户后面都有配合应对疫情的市民。”
在随后，艾尔沃德应邀在中国日报社与清华大学举办的线上“新时代大讲堂”上，分享自己对中国抗疫成果的印象，他说深深植根于中国文化中的社会责任感和2003年战胜“非典”的经验，是中国抗击新冠肺炎疫情的重要依托。
中欧论坛创始人高大伟表示认同，他认为中国社会各界的快速积极反应和全力抗疫与其背后的“文化因素”息息相关。
高大伟解释道：“在中国语境下，我们可以把这样的传统文化因素理解为儒家思想的精髓，而正是这样的精神力量帮助中国取得今天的抗疫成绩。”
“在疫情面前，人们往往低估了文化的作用，而恰恰是这种精神内核很大程度上左右着各国应对公共危机时采取的行动路线。与经济发展和政治结构相比，文化的影响有其不可见性，但对个体的行为模式却起到决定性作用。”
中外学者认为从中华传统文化中的“大一统”的社会治理思想、“家国同构”的传统观念、孝道和“天下”的理念中，我们可以反观文化是如何影响中国抗疫政策的。
全球化智库高级研究员马意骏表示：“在应对这场疫情中，我们应该进一步探究各国文化差异造成的政策不同，因为只有这样，我们才能明白历史的过往是如何影响我们的价值观、态度，最终影响到我们的行为。”
他介绍：“例如，在欧洲国家，人们多相信 ‘犹太教和基督教的价值’，而另一些国家则倾向后现代时代的新自由主义价值观。”
高大伟认为：“新冠疫情作为一场全球性的公共危机暴露出现代社会的诸多问题，也让我们看到背后各国文化的差异性以及这种差异性存在的原因。”
大一统
儒家的“大一统”理论本意是说以统一为纲，可以追溯到孔子、孟子及其他哲学家。西汉哲学家董仲舒（公元前179年－前104年）将儒家思想发扬光大。
在儒家思想的指导下，汉朝时期（公元前206年－公元220年）的中国经济繁荣，让世界目睹了汉代中国的昌盛。
上海交通大学哲学系教授余治平指出，这种治国观念，在今天，依然有指导意义，正是这样的管理理念帮助我们赢得这场和病毒的战斗。
“在这样的‘大一统’理念的影响下，中国才能实现在如此短时间之内调动起全国资源抗疫的应对方案。”
从1月23日武汉封城，短短几天内全国各地纷纷启动应急响应援驰武汉。
两天后，习近平总书记紧急召开中央政治局常委会。会议决定，党中央向湖北等疫情严重地区派出中央应对新型冠状病毒感染肺炎疫情工作领导小组，国务院总理李克强作为组长。1月27日,国务院副总理孙春兰率中央指导组抵达湖北省武汉市,全面加强一线疫情防控工作。
2月10日国家卫健委公布了19省份对口支援湖北新冠肺炎医疗救治的具体工作方案。
官方数据显示， 4.3万余名医护人员不顾生命危险坚守在湖北抗疫一线。
2月初，两家为抗击新冠肺炎兴建的临时医院——火神山和雷神山——在武汉拔地而起并迅速投入使用。两家医院可提供2600张床位。
继武汉封城后，全国大多数城市纷纷采取严格疫情防控措施，最大限度地减少人员流动。
加拿大政治理论家贝淡宁说，，通过对抗SARS的经历，中国人民认可并遵守中央政府的要求，因为他们意识到：当社会秩序遭受重大而直接的威胁时，需要强大的、集中的、有效的政府提供秩序。
贝淡宁在接受中央纪委国家监委网站的采访时如此表示，他是山东大学政治学与公共管理学院院长，清华大学教授。
贝淡宁引用了新加坡独立民调机构Blackbox Research与国际消费者调查机构Toluna联合发布的一项各个国家和地区的民众对政府抗疫满意度的调查报告中的数据佐证自己的观点。报告显示，在全球23个经济体中，中国大陆民众对政府抗疫的满意度最高，百分制以综合得分85分高居榜首。
民意调查从4月3日持续16天。该调查采用四个主要指标来评估各经济体的政府抗疫举措，分别为政治领导力、企业的领导力、当地社区抗疫表现，以及国家媒体在危机中的责任感。
家国情怀
除了举国体制，贝淡宁强调了中国人携手抗疫、共克时艰的态度与精神。
他说基于中国传统文化，中国老百姓认为自己有义务服务于家庭和社会。
余治平说，这样的精神来源于“家国同构”的传统观念，这一理念就是家与国休戚与共,在这种格局下,家是小国,国是大家。
他解释道：“我们传统的家庭是家长制。”
“从文化上来讲，我们是把国家当成我们自己的家，所以当我们的政府打响新冠疫情阻击战的时候，会有几千万来自各行各业的人积极响应投入战斗，包括公务员、医护工作者、社区工作者和志愿者们，他们冒着生命危险坚守在抗疫一线。”
他认为这样优秀的传统文化基因让中国人在面临疫情大考的时为了国家公众的更大利益，愿意牺牲个人的自由；让他们不畏艰难险阻无私奉献。
余治平说：“封锁一座1100万人口的大城市，绝非易事，可以说是史无前例。如果没有公众的支持与配合，这将是不可能完成的任务。”
贝淡宁认为中国老百姓愿意牺牲他们的自由与隐私，除了根植于他们内心的儒家思想，他们对政府的信任也是原因之一。武汉封城令颁布之日起，全市城市公交系统停运，城市按下了暂停键，市民居家隔离以防病毒传播。上个月武汉解封，城市正在逐渐重新回归正常秩序和生活。
在武汉这样通力合作的抗疫行动正印证了中国的一句俗话“人心齐，泰山移。”（泰山位于山东省泰安市，被誉为五岳之首，具有极高的历史文化底蕴。）
贝淡宁认为：“这样的成效是面对未知病毒的突然袭击、在没有任何先例可以遵循的情况下，迅速行动起来取得的。”
为了缓解国内医疗防护物资急缺，非政府组织和海外侨胞积极捐赠口罩、防护镜、防护服等防疫抗疫物资。
自疫情发生以来,很多制造企业纷纷跨界转产，转向口罩、护目镜、防护服等防疫物品的生产。我国口罩日产量从1月25日的800万只迅速增长，到2月29日已达1.16亿只。
与此同时，阿里巴巴和腾讯等科技公司也在通过技术手段，例如研发通行应用等，助力防疫事业。
中欧论坛创始人高大伟认为，“中国政府高效快速的抗疫措施，以及集中力量办大事的文化氛围，可以解释为什么中国可以有效应对这场危机。”
孝道
在中国疫情防控形势持续向好，全球疫情持续蔓延的时候，一些国家鼓励老年人和患有严重疾病的人尽可能待在家中，因为他们是新冠肺炎的高危人群。
一些国家的医院正因对新冠疫情准备不足而陷入混乱，有些医护人员提出优先治疗年轻人的救治建议，引发巨大争论。
贝淡宁说这样的想法在重视孝道的中国是行不通的，因为中国人尊敬老人，所以人们普遍认为需要控制这种疾病。
孝在中国社会关系中占有及其重要的地位，从字面上理解是尊老爱老。孝道的内涵在《论语》《孝经》和孟子思想中都进行过探讨阐释。
孟子的“老吾老，以及人之老;幼吾幼,以及人之幼”常被用来定义孝文化。
上海外国语大学副教授、全球公共卫生治理专家汤蓓说：“这样的传统道德准则从始至终贯穿在中国政府疫情政策的制订中——全力免费救治每一位患者，不放弃每一个生命。”
在这场没有硝烟的战争中，中国政府一直坚持人民至上、生命至上的原则。
汤蓓说：“而这正是以人为本执政理念的体现。从公共卫生的角度看，以人为本是一项重要道德伦理基础，应该影响政府在重要疫情防控中的决策走向。”
她认为中国之所以能在抗疫攻坚战中取得成果很大程度上与几千年来的优秀传统文化内核有关，这些文化基因增加了民众对政府的信任。
在她看来，以人为本的执政理念恰恰是儒家经典《尚书》中提到的“民惟邦本 ,本固邦宁”的新时代外化体现。
国家医保局数据显示截止到4月6日,确诊住院患者人均医疗费用已经达到2.15万元（3038美元）。
目前重症患者人均治疗费用超过15万元，少数危重症患者治疗费用甚至超过百万元。所有救治费用医保均按规定予以报销。
官方数据显示截至4月中旬，武汉确诊病例达到5万多名，其中80岁以上高龄患者约2500多名。治愈出院患者中,最大年龄108岁。
全球社区
在做好自身防疫工作的同时，中国也在向那些疫情肆虐的国家施以援手。
突如其来的新冠疫情让世界认识到在全球化发展的今天，各国的利益是紧密联系在一起的，各国应该携手合作共享未来。
共享未来这一理念与儒家的天下观异曲同工。
《礼记》有云“大道之行也，天下为公。”这本书也被英国苏格兰汉学家理雅各翻译成英文。这句话阐释了儒家学派的政治理想及其对未来社会的憧憬。
在中国生活了20多年的全球化智库高级研究员马意骏在辽宁省沈阳市见证了中国是如何抗击新冠肺炎的。
这位美籍意大利人时刻关注着在美国亲人的安危。他说：“本质上看，我们每一个人命运都是息息相关的。我们都是这个美丽世界社区的一部分，每一个个体都应该为我们居住的社区负责。
这个社区跨越种族，跨越国界，从某种意义来说，在疫情面前，全人类都面临着同一个挑战。”
儒家的天下大同的理想蕴含着推动构建人类命运共同体的哲学智慧，这一理念曾多次被习近平主席引用。
2015年，习近平主席在纽约联合国总部发表题为《携手构建合作共赢新伙伴，同心打造人类命运共同体》的重要讲话。他强调，和平、发展、公平、正义、民主、自由，是全人类的共同价值。
今年5月18日，习近平主席在第七十三届世界卫生大会视频会议开幕式上致辞时宣布：中国将在两年内提供20亿美元的国际援助，用于支持受疫情影响的国家，特别是发展中国家抗疫斗争以及经济社会恢复发展。
他也提到中国愿同国际社会一道，加大对疫情特别重、压力特别大的国家的支持力度，帮助其克服当前困难。
俄罗斯独立智库当代国家发展研究所副所长伊戈尔·夏特洛夫在接受新华社采访时表示疫情是对全人类的一场严峻的考验，“人类必须认识到，因为我们生活在同一个世界，有着共同的命运，所以我们必须团结起来，一起面对这场全球性危机”。
