记得1980年的初夏,我和陈荣捷老先生在意大利的科莫湖(Lake Como)畅谈。他劝我放弃英文写作,减少开会、讲学和国际交流,投入三年时间,用中文写一本以考据为基础的学术专书。然后每年发表两篇论文,五年出版一本专著。他说,如此奋斗二十年,必然成为学问大家。使我感到惊讶的是他的自况:如果他重回四十不惑之年来选择学术路线的话,他不会为数以千计的美国学生用英文写A Source Book in Chinese Philosophy,而会用中文写一本只有三五位哲学同道才会欣赏的讨论朱熹思想的专著,因为这才是学术。
此次报告会由方太集团董事长茅忠群先生和苏州固锝电子股份有限公司副总经理古媚君女士围绕他们两家公司以儒家文化建设企业的经验做了主题演讲。会议由著名电视文化节目主持人今波先生主持。北京大学人文讲席教授,高等人文研究院院长杜维明教授、全球价值联盟基金会创始人克劳斯 M 莱辛格教授、高等人文研究院执行副院长倪培民教授、世界伦理中心副主任,江苏省社科院副院长樊和平教授等四十余位学者和企业界的代表出席了活动。
Hosted by the Institute for Advanced Humanistic Studies (IAHS) and the World Ethics Institute Beijing (WEIB), a Lecture & Workshop on “Learning to be Human and Corporate Culture Construction” took place on April 5, 2017 at m. 108, Bldg. 1 Lee Shau-kee Humanities, Peking University. This lecture & workshop aims at bringing together China’s most culturally conscientious business elites and top university academics, and thereby on the one hand allowing theoretical study of Confucianism to be more in touch with social practice, while on the other hand helping practical implementation of Confucian culture to receive more theoretical reflection and global attention. It is our hope that this meeting can play a leading role in deepening collaborations between the academia and businesses. Presided by the well-known TV host Jin Bo, the meeting featured key speeches by Board Chairman and President of the FOTILE Group Mr. Mao Zhongqun and Vice General Manager of Suzhou Good-Ark Electronics Ms. Gu Meijun. More than 40 distinguished scholars and business leaders attended the meeting, including Prof. Tu Weiming (the Director of IAHS), Klaus M. Leisinger (Founder and President of the Foundation Global Values Alliance), Prof. Ni Peimin (Executive Vice Director of IAHS), and Prof. Fan Heping (Adjunct Vice Director of WEIB and Vice Director of Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Social Sciences). Under the title of “FOTILE Confucian Way,” Mr. Mao introduced in detail how his company implemented Confucian values and ideas systematically in corporate operation and management. He points out that what differentiates a great company from big company is compassionate love, and how the idea may translate into very concrete actions and generate great success. Ms. Gu in her speech introduced her company’s experiences of building a “happy enterprise” through learning the culture of the sages. She shared many touching examples of how their employees were transformed by the learning programs and activities they organized, including environmental protection and supporting rural area primary education. After their speech, Professor Fan Heping offered commenting remarks, in which he highly praised these two companies. He pointed out that culture construction must be the mission of our entrepreneurs and not merely used as strategies. What businesses create are not just their products, but cultures as well. The afternoon session began with Prof. TU Weiming awarding Mr. Mao and Mr. Wu Nianbo, the Board Chairman of Good-Ark Electronics (Ms. Gu received it on behalf of Wu), certificates of Honorary Advisor of WEIB. After which a panel of eight scholars and business leaders, including Prof. Leisinger, Prof. Ni, Mr. Mao, Ms. Gu, Prof. Fan, Mr. Qin Yunong (President of the Chinese Culture Society at CEIBS, Board Chairman and Managing Partner of the Huili Foundation), Prof. Matthias Niedenfuhr (Vice Director of the China Center Tubingen at the University of Tubingen, Germany), and Dr. Jonathan Keir (Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Global Ethic Institute, the University of Tubingen, Germany), had a conversation about business ethics and responded to the comments and questions from the audience. An emerging consensus at the meeting was that parallel to “learning to be human,” business enterprises, as a major force that influences the direction of the contemporary world, need to transform from “profit-making social entities” to be carriers of great cultures and major pillars for social development. The meeting ended with Professor Tu Weiming’s excellent concluding remarks. Professor Tu pointed out that the rise of China must be accompanied by the rise of Chinese culture, and the rise of Chinese culture must not be taken as the rise of nationalism. The way of China must be viewed in association with the destiny of human civilizations, and it must be a way the benefits of which can be shared by the entire human race.
我第一次和冈田先生晤面是1966年6月。那时他初度访美,在哥伦比亚大学副校长狄百瑞(William Theodore de Bary)所召开的“明代思想会议”中发表了一篇以存在主义的思维途径解析泰州王学的论文。这篇论文在狄百瑞主编的《明代思想中的自我与社会》一专书中发表后,曾引起美国汉学界广泛的讨论。斯坦福大学哲学教授尼文森(David Nivison)在1973年为纪念阳明诞辰500周年的《东西哲学报》专号中所刊载的专文,即是针对冈田先生这篇论文的观点而发。当时我也提出一篇有关阳明思想的文字,现在看来只是习作而已,但10年前刚刚修完研究院的课程并通过博士口试很有些“气魄承担”的狂傲,不把教授名流放在眼里。除了向哲学界的长者陈荣捷先生及在中学时代就已私淑的唐君毅先生讨教外,其他师友之间的人物只是问难而已。冈田先生又因为还有语言的隔阂,请教的意愿就更淡了。
World Philosophy Day is annually observed on the third Thursday of November to honor philosophical reflections around the world. It is a day for people to share thoughts, openly explore and discuss new ideas and inspire public debate or discussion on society’s challenges.