Ms. Ruth Benedict, an American anthropologist and author of Chrysanthemum and Knife, teaches readers to peel off seemingly incredible appearances, throw away subjective ideas, and look at Japanese outlook on life through the external details and superficial phenomena of Japanese culture. We might as well regard this as a brand-new way to appreciate the Japanese cultural landscape-instead of treating the chrysanthemums and knives in culture differently, we should stand in the distance and combine them. Generally speaking, they complement each other, which is the real Japanese culture, and it looks so natural and excusable.

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It should be said that the reason why Japanese culture is so can be hinted vaguely or indirectly within the framework of the geographical environment of its island country. This is not a 100% scientific conclusion, but it provides clues for us to understand its cultural origin.

Japan is an island country with a single nation and a single culture. Limited land and poor materials make the living conditions there not plentiful. In order to survive, we must struggle. In such an environment, no one can live independently and break away from the group, and the cooperative division of labor is easier to survive than contradictions and conflicts.

Therefore, the collective cohesion of the Japanese nation appeared. This seems to be a gesture of resistance and self-control of a nation whose population and geographical position are not dominant, and there may be a sense of survival anxiety of the whole nation behind it. As a result, a universal belief has been constructed-a belief in hierarchy, that is, a belief in control, command and obedience. In the harsh external environment, this hierarchy has brought ultra-stable social structure and brought order and security: "The Japanese regard this strict hierarchy as security and stability. As long as people are within the known boundaries and as long as the Japanese fulfill their known obligations, they can still trust the world. " (Rose Benedict's Chrysanthemum and Knife Contemporary World Publishing House, 2008, p.11,the same below) This nation seems to be trying to grasp the uncertain fate like quicksand, fix it, settle it down, and turn this unpredictable world (especially full of unpredictable disasters) This is the will and strength of the Japanese nation.

Therefore, the Japanese concept of "taking your positions" is the "core" of Japanese culture in my eyes.

It should be said that the concept of hierarchy itself is a very important part of Japanese culture. In Japan, the emergence of hierarchy is largely the result of adapting to the objective external environment. Therefore, the existence of hierarchy is reasonable. Even in Japanese ethics, rank represents ethics, and rank equals righteousness. Hierarchy is no longer just an authoritarian tool of the ruling class, but also promises order and security, brings a set of "justice" logic, and obtains a legal explanation. Other branches of Japanese culture gave birth to this concept of "taking your places" and penetrated into specific aspects of daily life such as etiquette, seniority, age and gender.

Therefore, in Japanese values, society is higher than self. "The collective power is powerful" is like a belief. Under the radiant light of the collective society, the self is illuminated to be small, pale and insignificant, and the spiritual space of the self is also compressed. In such a group with a clear division of labor, everyone is a small part of the big machine of society, performing their duties and duties. "Collective consciousness" and "obedience consciousness" have been instilled since childhood. Only when it is accepted by the society will it be recognized by its own group. In other words, the self-worth of the Japanese is largely realized through the recognition of the outside world, and they look at themselves through the "mirror" of society. Because of this, the Japanese exercise too strict self-supervision, and pay special attention to the evaluation of others (especially the strong and superior).

Therefore, it is not difficult for us to understand the Japanese "shame culture" thinking. "Shame culture" has a premise, that is, it is widely recognized and even assimilated by the society, and shame comes from the moment when the social system is "deviant". If what you do violates the rules, it will be seen as "losing face", which is also in the context of social hierarchy, "a person cultivates self-esteem because of the existence of society" (p.349), and this external constraint is authoritative and absolute.

In addition, the Japanese attach so much importance to the collective that it seems that they were born to fulfill their social obligations. Attaching importance to "friendship" is a spiritual chain of the Japanese people-they have been trapped by this chain since childhood, which demarcates the boundaries between "what to do" and "what not to do" and instills it in them at the beginning of consciousness. Just like "foot-binding", even if you put your feet away when you grow up, you can't return to natural big feet; The Japanese acquiesced in the rationality of this chain and thought that they should be born with this chain and be bound and bound with peace of mind. This is the discipline of society to individuals, and the Japanese collective values, like branding a newborn, will not fade for life.

"Emotion" is an ethical concept nourished by the hierarchical system, which spreads in the heavy interpersonal relationship of the Japanese nation, just like the air they breathe. However, in subtle and imperceptible details, "friendship" sets a restrictive barrier to the Japanese outlook on life. In some conflicts between "friendship" and "justice" (for example, in the war, the Holocaust is regarded as loyalty to the emperor), people in it fight in a "moral dilemma".

We can even analyze Japan's seemingly "schizophrenic" national character through the prism of hierarchy. There is such a wonderful and vivid description in Chrysanthemum and Knife-

"The Japanese are both aggressive and peace-loving, and funny; Both militaristic and aesthetic; Both unruly and polite; Both stubborn and rigid, but also judge the situation; Obedience, hate being pushed around; Honest and treacherous; Fearless and timid; Conservative and receptive to new things. ..... "(page 5)

At first glance, Japanese people's personalities are indeed contradictory, but different attitudes depend on different situations-and whether the Japanese face the strong or the weak is the key to determine their attitude. Two diametrically opposite situations, however, under the projection of Japanese-style hierarchical concept, are excusable, justified and completely normal.

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Although it is reasonable for the Japanese to choose this strict hierarchy, the burden on them is too heavy, just like a thin piece of bread coated with a thick layer of cheese. This requires a buffer zone to loosely bind the over-tight social mechanisms at the right time.

In "Chrysanthemum and Knife", the author lists the segments of Japanese daily life, such as drinking good wine, taking a hot bath, making love, etc., to show that Japanese people are willing to satisfy their sensory desires and will not exercise too much restraint on their desires, and "take cultivating physical pleasure as an art" (page 283). However, this does not mean that Japanese culture is a self-indulgent philosophy. The author of this book points out that the premise of satisfying sensory desires is to assume more important obligations. This "lubricant" increases the flexibility of the strict system. At the same time, the pleasure of the body and the performance of obligations are "two worlds" that do not interfere with each other and are independent of each other. Just like the two ends of the balance, they maintain a delicate balance.

In addition to artistic physical enjoyment, the more important and spiritual way of liberation in Japanese culture is undoubtedly self-cultivation, which the author of this book compares to "grinding off one's rust." Perhaps, it is the lack of material conditions that makes this nation's survival wisdom turn to the spiritual field, and there is an anti-materialism tendency that emphasizes the spirit.

It is conceivable that the strong self-restraint ability of the Japanese nation inevitably requires the cultivation of will. For the Japanese, fulfilling social obligations is not a kind of "self-sacrifice" or "self-pity" (page 367); On the contrary, they attach great importance to "sincerity" and think that if a person actively and sincerely performs "friendship" with society, he is considered to be a person with high morality and high cultivation. This is the result of full recognition and assimilation by the social system. When people are in sync with society, the conflict between inner and outer world will cease to exist, and the mood will be peaceful. At this point, the original intention of self-cultivation has been achieved.

We can imagine that at the beginning of self-cultivation, there is some kind of "dislocation" between inner thoughts and external positioning, and people's spirit lingers in a dilemma and suffers from the pain of being torn. Therefore, based on Zen, they advocate the elimination of desire and the elimination of me, and the key lies in "determination", that is, "keeping a little mind". When people concentrate on one point, their body and mind are completely absorbed in it, and they can't feel the existence of "I", and "I" disappears, forgetting myself and having both things and me, and reaching the realm of "no me"-this is the realm that monks desire. "There is no gap between human will and action, so it is difficult to make a hair" (P373), which is more like a huge rebound of external forces from the inside. Monks hope to achieve "inner peace" and "no waves" through meditation, completely free from external interference and "live like a dead man"; They can at least temporarily unload the burden of self-monitoring, stop being intimidated by "shame" and return to inner peace.

However, we can also see that this method of self-cultivation is also adhered to in a strict social hierarchy network to a great extent. It acquiesced in the external social compulsion and remolded itself instead. Whether it is the sincerity of full devotion or the state of mind of the "living dead", it aims at seeking a "better life" and "peace of mind without suffering" within an institutional framework, and strives to "follow one's inclinations without overstepping the bounds", rather than breaking and tearing the impenetrable hierarchical network. As a result, it becomes a part of the system itself.

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The hierarchical concept of Japanese traditional culture not only brings stability and order to Japan, but also hides fatal dangers. Among them, it includes not only the strong logic of hierarchy, but also the excessive suppression of individuals and the weakening of ethics.

The Japanese pay too much attention to the eyes cast by society on individuals. Individuals depend on society, and at the same time they are bound by their complex and intertwined networks, so they can't escape. What is more sad is that the Japanese are living under great mental pressure, which is inseparable from the whole social machine and surrounded and swallowed up by the established, mature and rigid social system. Let's give an example of "keeping birds": "People who like keeping birds find an interesting phenomenon. Even if the bird is released from the cage, it often flies back to the cage. " (Sassu commentary on page 352) In the Japanese concept, obeying the rules brings a sense of security. Once you leave your post, the individual is a useless screw, loses the ability of self-positioning, and is easily crushed by the wheel of fate.

However, when the self is over-suppressed, the ability of self-reflection is correspondingly weakened and depends on the constraints of external values. In the eyes of the Japanese, "shame is the root of morality" (p.35 1), and "injustice" comes from shame rather than evil. Sir George Thornton Sem once said: "In the whole historical process, the Japanese seem to lack this ability to distinguish evil to some extent, or they are unwilling to solve these evil problems." (page 299), perhaps the Japanese think that society will think instead of them and help them solve the "evil problem" without the need for individuals to make unnecessary and difficult moral choices-but they didn't expect that the social system itself can create evil.

The evil consequences caused by Japan's hierarchical concept were shown in extreme ways in its foreign wars. In the 1930s when the world's "strong" believed in militarism and fascism, how could Japan miss this learning opportunity? The reason that Japanese people seek for their aggression is not "eternal justice for the purpose of war", but "Japan urgently needs the respect of the world" (page 275), that is, they are eager to find a suitable position in the "hierarchical pyramid" of the whole world and strive for the upper reaches with the logic of "winning or losing". The glory circle of "Greater East Asia" is a hierarchical framework carefully planned and tailored by the Japanese. In this system, the Japanese naturally condescend and became the top nation, and the nation invaded by them became the "little brothers" at the bottom of the pyramid, because the weak can be trampled on at will. This is in line with Japan's concept of hierarchical justice. At the same time, the brutal killing of prisoners of war and civilians by Japanese soldiers in the war can not only be found in the hierarchical concept of contempt for the weak, but also be instilled by the authoritative ideology of "absolute obedience", and the soldiers have completely lost the ability of self-reflection and awakening. Some scholars once said: "Under the evil totalitarian rule, the disaster caused by rashness can be far greater than the total harm of people's evil instinct" (hannah arendt's Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on Evil Mediocrity).

Finally, Japan went crazy along the track of war and entered a dead end of self-destruction. The result and cost are huge and painful, which runs counter to the desire of "winning the respect of the world". Japan, like the invaded nation, was ravaged by war and eventually lost both sides.

Today, it is not only war crimes and fascist militarism that deserve our reflection, but also the re-examination of the hierarchical concept that permeates the Japanese cultural texture. The last chapter of Chrysanthemum and Knife is called Japan after Surrender, and the author has outlined a possible future development picture of Japan. Under her interpretation, "Chrysanthemum" and "Knife" are infused with new concepts and vitality-"Chrysanthemum can maintain a beautiful posture without coil support and artificial pruning", symbolizing "a relatively free and relaxed ethical system"; The image of "knife" implies "be responsible for the rust on your body, clean it" ... be responsible for the consequences of your actions ",and it has become" a metaphor for an ideal and self-responsible person "(pages 457~459).

The author sees the two sides of culture and tries to find a new "balance point" on the basis of respecting cultural traditions, instead of tying all Japanese values and hierarchy together and sinking into the abyss of history. From here, we can also feel that as an anthropologist, the author sincerely believes in the power of "universal values": she tries to establish an equal cornerstone to replace the original social operation mechanism at the expense of inequality.

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Sassu, a critic of Chrysanthemum and Knife, once compared this book to a new edition of Romance of the Three Kingdoms of the United States, Japan and China. China people and Japanese people have tacit understanding and * * * in some cultural aspects, such as the relationship between "society" and "self" and "good face", and China people and Japanese people often get the message; As an American, the author of Chrysanthemum and Knife often spends a lot of time analyzing and studying this completely heterogeneous culture before he can catch some clues. However, in some cases, disadvantages will turn into advantages. This American writer can keenly capture the cultural phenomena or details that orientals are used to, and at the same time make a refreshing interpretation of the meaning from a fresh and objective perspective, resulting in a defamiliarization effect. So the significance of comparison is reflected.

The inspiration of Chrysanthemum and Knife goes far beyond this. The author of this book, Ms Ruth Benedict, is an anthropologist. She stipulated two conditions for investigating different cultures: "tough thinking" and "generosity": the former means abandoning prejudice as much as possible, getting close to different cultures, objectively acknowledging the differences between cultures and respecting the existence of differences; The latter requires accommodating these differences and building a safe world on this basis. "Encouraging cultural differences can create a vibrant world" (page 25). This voice, echoing in the devastated and horrible world after World War II, has its own shocking power. Even today, it still hits the floor. She showed us a possible gesture-that is, we can not understand or disagree with people or opinions different from ourselves, but we must first respect their value of existence.

As the book says: "Only people with firm beliefs can be extremely tolerant ... Knowing other lifestyles will enhance their love for their own culture, make themselves happy and have rich experiences." (P.27)

This is also the belief of Ms. Benedict when she wrote this book.