1860 (the tenth year of Xianfeng)101On October 6th, the British and French allied forces invaded Yuanmingyuan. 10 year 10 month 18 day, the invading army set fire to Yuanmingyuan, and the fire did not go out for three days and three nights. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the theft of Yuanmingyuan/kloc-0. On June 16, a bronze bust of French writer victor hugo was unveiled on the east side of Dashuifa Site in Yuanmingyuan. On the book-like stone carving on the south side of Hugo's statue, Hugo's letter strongly condemning the atrocities committed by the British and French allied forces in looting Yuanmingyuan is engraved in Chinese and French.

In a corner of the world, there is a world miracle; This miracle is called Yuanmingyuan ... This miracle has disappeared. One day, two robbers entered the Yuanmingyuan, one robbed and the other set fire ... In the face of history, one of these two robbers will be called France and the other will be called Britain ... I hope that one day, the liberated and clean France will return the stolen goods to the plundered China.

Burning Yuanmingyuan is not only a disaster for the royal gardens in China, but also a disaster for the whole Chinese nation. After the Yuanmingyuan was burned down, the Sino-British, Sino-French and Sino-Russian Beijing Treaties were successively signed, which seriously damaged China's independence and sovereignty and further deepened the national crisis. Hugo and other people with a sense of justice angrily condemned the criminal acts of the two robbers, and at the same time, they deeply imprinted this "national humiliation" on the historical memory of the Chinese nation. Historical memory is a mobile, vivid, open and lasting national memory, a national memory that combines historical accumulation with the call of reality, and a spiritual wealth that guides the Chinese nation to understand reality and move towards the future. The survival and development of any nation cannot be separated from its own historical memory. When a nation loses its historical memory, it loses the foundation of standing on its own feet among the nations of the world. A nation that ignores historical memory is a nation with no future. We can't avoid or lose our memory just because it is a "national humiliation". On the contrary, the "national humiliation" in national memory often inspires people to think deeply about history. The disaster in Yuanmingyuan makes us think: Why 150 years ago, two robbers from Britain and France broke into our house? Why is the Qing Empire so vulnerable to thousands of British and French allied forces? Why didn't Kanggan see that it was "The Glory of the Sunset" in its heyday? At the same time, we will also think about why 150 years later, the descendants of the looters in Yuanmingyuan apologized in tears and donated cultural relics. Why did the Hugo statue made by the French sculptor Nasrallah Kenu finish in Yuanmingyuan? Why did Bernard Brissel, a French historian, write a work like 1860: The Disaster of Yuanmingyuan to reflect on the sins of compatriots in Yuanmingyuan? In connection with the historical environment of economic globalization in the 2 1 century, we can't help thinking that although the western powers can't occupy our territory with foreign guns, they are pursuing cultural imperialism policies under the lie of so-called "cultural globalization", trying their best to expand and infiltrate culture and even occupy our spiritual home. How can we be in an invincible position in this cultural battlefield without smoke?

The historical memory of the Chinese nation has a long history. From Oracle Bone Inscriptions's Oracle Bone Inscriptions content, we can clearly feel the consciousness of national memory, which is more incisively and vividly reflected in the record of "respecting the ancestors and recording the classics" in Shangshu at the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty. Hegel once said: "China's' historical writers' emerge in an endless stream, which is really unmatched by any nation." Moreover, China has accumulated so many ancient books that no nation can compare with them. Written historical materials are the long-term accumulation of historical memory. Since the pre-Qin period, China historiography has attached great importance to the recording, collection and arrangement of historical facts, which is a valuable resource to form the historical memory of the Chinese nation. Not only China, but also any country and nation in the world attaches great importance to the construction of its own historical memory. For example, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev 1996 wrote in the preface of his book Five Years of Independence: Five years ago in February, 199 165438, we solemnly declared Kazakhstan's national independence, and one of the "extraordinary tasks that must be solved immediately" was to restore * *. The road to desire must have history first. Whether to pay attention to the historical memory of the nation is directly related to the rise and fall of the country and the nation. Historical memory and its continuation have always been the strength of national cohesion.

I have heard a view that the younger generation in China should be downplayed, so as to finally eliminate historical memories such as "burning Yuanmingyuan" and learn from the modern history of China. There is no longer the content of imperialist powers invading and enslaving the people of China. The reason is that young people should not be allowed to grow up with heavy historical burdens and live in historical humiliation. This view is really unacceptable. Because in fact, forgetting the shame of history does not mean that there is no shame of history. Knowing shame is almost brave, and "national humiliation" is clearly preserved in the historical memory of the nation, with the purpose of inspiring people to forge ahead and make a difference, striving to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making humiliation never return; On the contrary, forgetting the "national humiliation", indulging in blind complacency, singing and dancing, and not having the minimum sense of hardship, may make the "national humiliation" repeat itself.

History is inseparable, and the connection between past history and contemporary historical process is the premise for historical memory to play an active role in historical understanding. It is impossible for people to know the value of historical facts through "direct" contact, but the value of history has not disappeared because it has become "past" history, but actually exists in the whole historical process. The trend of historical progress is irreversible, and the internal relationship between historical continuity and historical process is inseparable. The history of any era will not disappear without a trace, and the value of history will always exist. Under different historical conditions, the historical value preserved in historical memory often has different contents. The retention of historical memories, including "national humiliation", and the revival of historical memories under different historical conditions have enabled people to understand the reality and the future more clearly and play the creative spirit of history more actively in the fiery life of creating history. From everything that happened in Yuanmingyuan in 1860 and 20 10, we realized this simple truth more truly.