First of all, customs have strong ethical characteristics. Customs can be divided into good and evil. "There is no beauty without a country, and there is no evil without a country." The enlightenment of customs is an important duty of cultural people. Generally speaking, traditional scholars believe that the spontaneous original ecological customs are rough, simple, messy and corrosive, while "good manners and beautiful customs" come from the advocacy and demonstration of the upper class, so "widely teaching beautiful customs" has become a political goal since ancient times. Modern scholars discuss customs from two aspects: obeying tradition and changing tradition, and put forward their own rescue schemes. But no matter how different their political views are, they all have one thing in common, that is, educating people, correcting people's hearts and customs. "The reason for the rise and fall of husband and custom lies in people's hearts, while the right and custom lies in enlightenment." "Therefore, to revitalize the country, we must first pull the wind and start from society."
Second, customs are characterized by fluidity and circulation, but they are also hard to change and move. Custom is the local people's choice of lifestyle under specific natural and historical conditions. It is limited by specific time and space, but it also has certain randomness. The formation of customs is a process of gradual accumulation, starting from subtle details, gradually spreading to the society, and finally forming the knowledge of millions of people, passed down from generation to generation. Once customs become people's second nature, even if it is not conducive to social progress, it is difficult to change. First of all, people are used to nature, and it is difficult for people to perceive the disadvantages of customs; Secondly, even if you know that customs are not suitable, you don't want to change because of nostalgia. Finally, even if I am aware of the disadvantages of customs, I want to change it, but the customary power of customs is very strong, and it needs unremitting hard work to achieve the goal of changing customs.
Third, although customs and habits are difficult to change, they can still be changed. Scholars at all times advocate "changing customs and customs" to meet the needs of social ethical order and cultural construction. Over time, customs are changeable, and "things are different, people are wrong" is an old saying. Han Fei's folk opinion is that customs change with time, "ancient and modern customs are different." Gu clearly pointed out during the Ming and Qing Dynasties: "There is no unchanging custom in the world." There is nothing constant in the world, only the degree and speed of change are different. Scholars in ancient and modern times have also discussed the transformation and change of customs and habits. The first is to seize the opportunity. At the beginning of the rise of customs, we should guide them according to the situation. For example, Huang Zunxian said, "Therefore, we should guide the good in our aspirations, prevent the bad, and try to save the corrupt." This can cultivate good social habits; Secondly, in the case of established customs, make use of the dominant position of politicians to carry out political education from top to bottom. The choice of enlightenment means should consider the habits accepted by the people, such as ancient folk songs, variations, modern novels, operas and examples of customs, so as to "turn the people into customs". "Changing customs, making the world peaceful" is the social and political goal pursued by social managers in ancient and modern times.
Customs reform is the forerunner of social change. Customs are related to the rise and fall of a country and a nation. Paying attention to the construction of customs and culture is the main content of dynasty politics, especially in the era of social changes. Maintaining cultural traditions and revitalizing social order require the participation of customs and culture.