Yu Dan, Modern Meenger of Traditional Chinese Culture
Introduction: The “Chinese Dream” column shares inspiring stories of Chinese women, particularly those from ordinary backgrounds whose extraordinary deeds make China and the world better a better place.Abstract: Yu Dan is a profeor of media studies at Beijing Normal University.She shot to fame after giving lectures about her insights into the Analects of Confucius on China Central Television’s (CCTV) popular series Lecture Room in 2006.Despite receiving wide acclaim for her modern and simplified interpretations of the Analects, many scholars accused Yu of straying too far from the original text and misleading the public through her unfaithful interpretation.
Text: I have three wishes.As a mother and a daughter, I wish my mother good health and a long life, and for my daughter to continue growing to be healthy, strong and smart.These are the top concerns my husband and I have.We find it rewarding to work hard to guarantee their well-being.
I also wish my graduated students over the past 20 years can be safe and happy forever, and have fulfilling careers.I hope my current students can excel academically.As a Chinese, I wish my motherland to be strong and prosperous, and for all Chinese people to lead a happy life.
China now has a bigger say in the international community.The country’s rising power has instilled confidence among its people toward future development.
Dreams inspire people and encourage them pursue succe through their paions, but idealistic youths should draw clear distinctions between dreams and fantasies.If a dream is realistic and gives a person strong desire to work hard to achieve what they want, it is worth pursuing.But if one indulges in their imagination and doesn’t take action to achieve goals set in their mind, their “dream” is merely a fantasy.People should have more tangible dreams and fewer fantasies to realize true happine.
Realization of the “Chinese Dream” is closely linked to realization of individual dreams.Individuals are the key to making the “Chinese Dream” a reality.Down-to-earth efforts of everyone are required to jointly build the ladder to national rejuvenation.
Chinese culture differs from Western culture in that it favors collectivism over individualism, allowing for extra latitude to dream as one for the country.Traditional Chinese culture is based on the “family state” principle whereby the state and ethnic relations are an extension of “family.” The eence of the “Chinese Dream” is the dream of the “family state.”
The “Chinese Dream, My Dream” slogan encapsulates the ambitions of the country and its people.Rural migrant workers dream of gaining permanent urban residence permits.Seniors dream of being covered by old-age insurance.Students dream of equal opportunities to be enrolled at universities.All these aspirations represent the “Chinese Dream.” When everyone’s dream comes true, the “Chinese Dream” can be realized.
As for my personal “Chinese Dream,” I hope to carry forward the eence of traditional Chinese culture and let it be known by more foreigners.Not all principles of traditional Chinese culture can be applied to modern-day China.In order to make Chinese culture compatible with political and economic reforms, we should reject negative and outdated elements and critically retain rational components instead of universally shunning or embracing traditional Chinese culture.
To spread the eence of traditional Chinese culture abroad, people should respect different cultures worldwide.Using Chinese culture to “save the world” or placing it on a pedestal above other cultures should be avoided.
The “five constant virtues” of traditional Chinese culture – benevolence, righteousne, propriety, wisdom and fidelity – still have significant relevance to morality in this day and age.
Dreams are great, but they stay dreams unle you wake up and act on them.The journey to succe can be a rocky road, which means it is important to savor every step of the pilgrimage and ensure you don’t put a foot wrong.
When I was 21 and preparing to pursue postgraduate studies in claical Chinese literature, many of my friends tried to persuade me to study law instead because of the profeion’s prestige and high income.Some even told me literature was “usele” in today’s society, but I persisted with my paion for claical Chinese literature and studied for my master’s degree.
When I later wanted to study in ma communications, lots of people again tried to discourage me by telling me that such a major had nothing to do with my previous studies.I should continue as literary researcher, they told me.
But that wasn’t my dream.I knew that the public needed more opportunity to voice their opinions and development of ma-communications in China would help the country and its people keep up with the pace of the world.I also considered knowledge about communication as helpful to my goal of spreading traditional Chinese culture, so I pursued my doctorate in ma-communications.
When I was invited to give lectures on my insights into the Analects on CCTV’s Lecture Room program, many friends praised my contribution as “unique and useful.”
Looking back, I never predicted that trans-disciplinary studies would help me rise to fame.Money is not the only yardstick to measure the succe of dreams, which people must always keep in their heart and work hard to bring to fruition.
于丹（做2P，首选张平老师拍摄的图片）
人物名片
于丹：著名文化学者，北京师范大学教授、博士生导师、首都文化创新与文化传播工程研究院院长、北京师范大学艺术与传媒学院副院长。著名电视策划人，被誉为中国电视业的“军师”。国务院参事室特约研究员。同时她也是古典文化的普及传播者，著有《于丹心得》《于丹心得》《于丹•游园惊梦——昆曲艺术审美之旅》《于丹感悟》《于丹 趣品人生》及《于丹 重温最美古诗词》等。
“梦想许愿墙”
我有三个层次的愿望。这些愿望是平凡的，朴素的，但也是永恒的。第一个愿望是我作为母亲和女儿的愿望。祝愿我的妈妈健康长寿、我的女儿健康成长。这也是我和我先生最关心的事，老小平安，我们的操劳就特别值得。第二个愿望是我作为教师的愿望。孟子说，得天下英才而育之，是人生的至乐。我在老师这个岗位上已经有二十多年了，铁打的营盘流水的兵，无论是对我毕业多年的学生，还是对现在眼前的学生，我都有很多祝福——祝在校的学生学习进步，拥有梦想；祝走出校门的学生，顺利成家立业，一辈子快乐平安。第三个愿望是我作为一个中国人的梦想。尽管当前的中国社会还存在一些问题，但大家都有一个共识——我们赶上了一个好时代。近两年，我们看到，中国的话语权无论在经济上还是外交上都在上升。中国表现出的大国风范，让大家对这个时代有信心。愿祖国好，人民好，这是一种本能的情感，近乎良知，我们祝福祖国就像祝福自己的家人一样。
梦想问卷
1． 您如何理解“中国梦”？
中国自古是家国一体的，不同于西方文明，他们是“城邦文化”，而我们是“家国文化”。中国人过去的伦理关系，是从家庭中延展出来的，“家”和“国”从来都没有分开过。所以，我所理解的“中国梦”就是家国一体的梦。我们有个口号，“中国梦，我的梦”，也就是说，那些进城务工的小伙子，有了城市的户口，这是一个“中国梦”；那些老人，有了养老保险，这是一个“中国梦”；那些孩子，在考试中能有更多机会、体现更多公平，这也是一个“中国梦”„„我觉得，当每一个中国人把自己的梦想都汇集到一起的时候，家国一体，才是真正的“中国梦”。
2． 您心目中有一个怎样的“中国梦”？
我自己的“中国梦”，是要在文化领域做两件事：第一是中国传统文化当代的价值提炼，第二就是这种价值的国际传播。首先，中国文化流传下来的东西太多了，浩如烟海，其中有很多是过时的，不适用于现在，我们不能一提中国文化就全盘肯定或者全盘否定，必须要站在当下的坐标里，看看有哪些是良性基因，能够应用于现实，这一部分是需要我们去激活的。我们一定要有批判地去甄别，把核心
价值融合进现代的价值体系。其次，这样的价值要完成国际的对话、沟通和传播，而不是想着先用中国文化去拯救世界，或者去说服其他的文化。所以我们的文化先得走到一个心平气和的交流上。比如，中国传统文化中的“仁义礼智信”，在今天是否还能有效地制约人们的行为？我们中国人是否还能通过它完成道德的自律？前段时间我刚刚做了一系列讲座，总的题目是《中国传统文化价值的当代应用》。我希望通过这些工作实现自己的“中国梦”。
3． 对您来说，梦想是奢侈品，还是必需品？
对我来说梦想是必需品，因为我觉得梦想是人生的一种引领。我从小就喜欢一句诗：“无迹方知流光逝，有梦不觉人生寒。”梦想在前方，如何把它转化成理想？让我们把梦想区分一下——梦想如果能接地气，脚踏实地转化成了理想，它就能承诺给你一个实实在在的未来；梦想如果只是停留在天边，那最后它就变成了一个缥缈的幻想；还有一部分人老想着不劳而获，或者是伤害别人，那梦想就变成了妄想。所以，我所希望的梦想，是多一些理想、少一些幻想、彻底杜绝妄想，这样，梦想才能真正变成幸福的起点。一个人的梦想只是一个人的梦而已，但是所有中国人的梦想连接在一起，就是中国现实的起点。
追梦故事
当一个人在追求梦想时，不要急功近利。一路上享受着风景和生命的最好状态，一步一步走向你的梦想。在追求梦想的过程中，我的感悟是：在每一个阶段都要忠诚于自己的内心，忠诚于自己这个阶段的生命状态。
我大学本科读的是中文系，因为酷爱古典文学，在本科毕业时报考了古典文学硕士。那是上世纪80年代，很多人都说，你口才这么好，这个年头做律师很挣钱，为什么不考法律系？有人说，读古典诗词太不实用了，你学到的是“屠龙之技”。那时我才21岁，我自己内心对古典文学有一种强烈的热爱，所以我坚持自己的想法，读了古典文学硕士。等我读博士的时候，我已经工作了，在大学教书。当时，大众传媒发展迅速，民众需要话语权，我们的传媒需要与国际接轨，于是我报了大众传播的博士。然后又有很多人反对，他们说，你看你的古典文学已经学业有成了，你应该沿着这条路走下去，你读博士换了一个专业，不是前功尽弃吗？但我觉得，我以古典文学作为我内在生命的依托，以大众传播作为我外在生活里有激情的职业，这不矛盾，内在的生命与外在的生活是相辅相成的。所以，我又遵循自己的内心选择了大众传播专业。后来，我上《百家讲坛》节目时，很多人都跟我说，还是你有远见，你先学了古典文学，又学了大众传播，所以你的知识结构是独一无二的。其实，我想说，生活里很多事是水到渠成的，我并没有为上《百家讲坛》做过设计，就是因为我在每一步选择时都忠诚于自己生命的状态，有些事情顺理成章地就实现了。
可见，在追求梦想时，要去功利化，不要仅仅去看当下哪个职业更挣钱。有人会问，不考虑当下，那不是虚无缥缈吗？我觉得梦想就要有一些忠诚和大气的东西，就是让自己的生命呈现最好的状态，在一种忠诚的状态下，一步一步脚踏实地往前走。人的生命拼的是后劲儿，而不是眼前我在一个职业上就把自己交待了。这就叫一辈子。我觉得，在一个大时代里，一辈子都要跟着时代的变化，这才是一辈子跟随自己的梦想。
