專訪“中國文化大講堂”首期嘉賓馮學成先生： “年輕人學習生活，應遵循‘立志、煉性、開眼、緻用’八字箴...

《春華秋實》：當前，社會環境複雜，各種誘惑和幹擾不少，馮先生能否為處于求知階段的年輕人提供一些學習、生活方面的建議？

馮學成: 我想用八個字概括這個問題的答案：“立志、煉性、開眼、緻用。”具體說來，我們每個人都是有追求的個體，在追求目标的過程中，我們要時常反問自己，這個追求是否高尚？是否存在私心?我把“立志”中的“志”字做個說文解字：就可以诠釋為“士”之心。從中國古代以來“士”階層就有非常重要的地位和作用，翻開古代典籍，從詩經一直到宋明理學，都由“士”完成。我們今天能從這些文化估計中感受到“士階層”給我們留下的優秀曆史文化，好比火燒阿房宮，但這麼多年後我們反觀古籍還是能有身臨其境的感悟，這是物質文明所不能比的。所以士之心,其實就是聖賢之道，也要求我們有聖賢的胸襟。這也是要求“立志”，要的是“士”階層的道德有“仁義禮智信”感化的心。

其次，“煉性”所指的是修煉心性。畢竟身為芸芸衆生，我們天性結構并不算優秀，且每個人都有陰暗面，如果不及時調整，就會占用我們智慧的空間幹擾理性的運行。所以要通過真心誠意的修煉，把精神的垃圾排除掉。一個優秀的人格修成必須通過“煉性，美化道德，優化智慧，強化力量。

同時，我們也應該打開智慧之眼。中大(深圳)的同學正年輕，性格品質也非常優秀。在面對未來時，我們要努力使自己越來越優秀，在這個過程中，我們要把理性放在最佳位置。給大家舉個例子：如果一個燈泡在這裡，用它隻可以照亮一間屋子，但到處都是模模糊糊的，假設現在給你一個電筒、一個燈罩，雖然從表面上它放棄不少空間，但集中在一個範圍裡，它所能及的空間都清楚明了。這樣的取舍就是智慧，選擇确定了，應該排除其它誘惑和幹擾，堅定地走下去。

《春華秋實》：人生中要做的選擇很多，怎樣的選擇才是明智而不至于後悔的選擇？

馮學成：我總跟學生說，選擇分大小，小到選擇包括買個車，買家具，挑選顔色樣式；大到選擇事關事業，婚姻等。我給他們的建議是“小事用腦，大事用心”。通常，成功與失敗的人，在聰明程度上是差不多的，犯錯誤也差不多。那成功的人和失敗者相比，最重要的差别就在于各自的選擇。所以，選擇很重要。小的選擇上用“腦”做判斷，大的選擇上聽從自己的心，有助于做出正确選擇。

《春華秋實》：學校初辦,有同學希望組建國學社，弘揚中國文化中的“溫良恭儉讓”，您能給一些建議嗎？

馮學成：我就建議參加這個社的同學多讀經典，在學校課程之外多讀國學。這部分經典包括：孔孟老莊談、唐詩宋詞、《史記》等等。其次，學習國學首先要了解中國古代思想的特性、思維方式。儒家、道家、佛家的思維方式各具特色，我們應考慮把他們融會貫通為當代人所用。辦國學社切忌封閉，學生對先進的優秀的西方文化要保持敏感性。人類文明隻有一個，是不分東方西方的。第三，除了讀經典，還鼓勵大家多寫文章，四言八句，律詩絕句也建議試着寫，還可以寫寫古文。遊玩的時候像柳宗元、歐陽修一樣寫一寫遊記，畢竟寫作對美化情感，培養思維都很重要。因為古文很精短，很經濟，惜字如金。幾十上百個字，他們就可以組成優美的，讓人浮想聯翩的，回味無窮的文字。國學社沒有創作是不完整的，現在的很多國學社隻停留在讀的階段是不夠的，要有創作出來才是一個優秀國學社的表現。

“To Learn How to Live a Life, Young People Should Follow the Four Steps:‘Set Goals, Train Your Mind, Open Your Eyes and MakeUse of What You Learn.’”---Feng Xuecheng

Q: In this complicated world, youngpeople are facing temptations every day, and sometimes they feel confused.Would you like to give them some advice on study and life?

Mr.Feng: My answer to the question is the four steps-- “Setyour goals, train your mind, open your eyes and make use of what you learn.”

To be more specific, each of us haspersonal goals to achieve. In the process of setting our goals, we should ask ourselvesif the goals are for a noble cause, or are they out of selfishness. Let me putthe word “goal” (志) in ancient Chinese terms, in which you find “heart”(心) with being a “scholar-official” (士). The scholar-official class were held in highregard in ancient Chinese society, and it played a very important rolethroughout Chinese history. When you open the ancient books, from the Book of Songs (詩經) to that of the Confucian school of idealistphilosophy of the Song-Ming dynasties, you find them all written, or compiled, by scholar-officials. These Chineseclassical works, thanks to the scholar-officials, have allowed us to savor therichness of Chinese history and culture. To take the story of the Razing of theE-pang Palace as an example, the historical scene is so vividly portrayed inthe ancient works that it makes you feel like you’ve been there. These are theexperiences that material civilization cannot offer us. To sum up, the thing at the heart of beingscholar-officials (士之心/志) is the way (Tao) of men of virtue, as in the ancient times . In otherwords, when we set our goals we must have the five virtues in mind, as they are at theheart of being a scholar-official, which are humanity, righteousness,propriety, wisdom and integrity.

The second step is mind-training. All in all, we are mortal beings, bornwith limits and defects. Everyone has a dark side. If we don’t adjust in time,our mind will be preoccupied with negative stuff which will do harm to ourrational thinking. A dedicated mind-training will enable us to clear up rubbishfrom our mind. To become a man of outstanding character, and to attain virtue,wisdom and strength, mind-training is necessary.

“Eye-opening”, the third step, means opening theEye of Wisdom. Looking towards the future, young people, like high qualitystudents of CUHK (SZ), should make great efforts to achieve excellence. In thisprocess, we need opening the Eye of Wisdom, by means of putting rationality inits place, and be wise in decision-making. For example, a light bulb may lightup a whole room, but the lighting can be weak. Yet with a lampshade, the light,though confined, allows you see clearly and get focused on things within aspace. In this case, accepting (a lampshade) is wise—and once you make achoice, stick to it, resist temptations and avoid interference.

Q: Thereare always moments in life when we have to make choices. How to make a choicewisely without any regrets in the future?

Mr. Feng: As I always tell my students, there are choicessmall and big, from choosing the color of a car or the furniture you buy, tochoosing a career or someone to marry, etc. My advice is: “For small things, useyour head; for big things, listen to your heart.”

Generally speaking, successful people andunsuccessful people are not quite different from each other in terms of IQ.They make similar mistakes— smart people make mistakes, too. What makes themdifferent is choices-making. By all means, choice-making is every important.Use your head when making small choices, and follow your heart when making agreat decision— it helps.

Q: CUHK(SZ) is newly established, and many students are organizing their ownsocieties. One among them is the Chinese Classics Study Group, which emphasizeson promoting the Confucian teaching of being “modest, kind, polite, restrainedand gentle”. Do you have any suggestions for the group?

Mr. Feng: Firstly, I would suggest that students of thegroup read Chinese classics as much as they can, as part of theirextracurricular studies. By Chinese classics I mean teachings ofConfucius-Mencius, Laozi-Zhuangzi, Poetry of the Tang and Song Dynasties, and the Records of the Grand Historian,etc.

Secondly, beforereading Chineseclassics, the reader needs to understand the characteristics of ancient Chinesethoughts, and their ways of thinking.Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism all have theirdistinctive ways of thinking, and we should study them from a syncreticapproach, and put to use in our modern life.Be careful to avoidbeing close-minded in running your study group, and always be sensitive to the advancementof Western culture. In a sense, there is just one civilization, that is, humancivilization, of both East and West.

Thirdly, I encourage the students to practicetheir writing skills besides reading. Be it eight lines, four-word verses,short poems, regular poems, or prose in the classical style. When travel, keepyour travel notes as Liu Zongyuan or Ouyang Xiu did. Writing is very importantin cultivating your passion and your thinking. Classical Chinese appearsextremely concise and compact in the use of words, and with fewer than ahundred characters it makes a beautiful piece, which can unleash yourimagination or let you ponder over it. Reading without writing practices isincomplete, and readingalone not enough especially for a classical Chinese study group.Creative writing is an essential practice for a qualified classical Chinesestudy group.