What is wrong with us Chinese, I wondered recently.

Many of us talk incessantly about uncivilized behavior by compatriots to justify the argument that fellow Chinese need to become more civil in their dealings with others. Yet, the same set will cut corners to achieve what they want, merely to safeguard vested interests.

On this topic, it is apt to talk further about Chu Yu's book, Criticism of Chinese People's Thinking, which was published recently.

Chu points out in the book that there is always a big gap between what most Chinese say and what they do. And, this lack of coherence between speech and action is fundamentally due to the fact that there is something wrong with the way we think, he says.

In this aspect, Chu is different from quite a few thinkers who have blamed the country's underdevelopment on its traditional culture, corrupt political system during ancient dynasties or on Confucianism.

Chu believes that we must reflect upon and change our traditional ways of thinking in order to catch up with the developed world.

True, there is much to be desired in our traditional culture characterized by Confucianism, which emphasizes much on personal relationships and on an individual's interactions with superiors and subordinates.

Yet, after the May Fourth Movement during the early 1920s, Confucianism was largely forgotten, and even the craze seen nowadays for imbibing Chinese classics is unlikely to restore it into the dominant school of thought that it once was in Chinese society.

Actually, we Chinese have shown much enthusiasm to learn from our developed counterparts in the West during the past century, particularly so in the three decades since 1978 when the opening up and reform policies were adopted.

Still, we are not as creative or innovative as our Western counterparts. In matters relating to science and technology, we have just been copying what others in developed countries invented. As far as basic manners are concerned, many of us Chinese still behave in an uncivilized way in public.

Among other things, I agree with Chu Yu that reflecting upon and changing our way of thinking will make a difference.

Chu gives an example: "Everybody accepts the conclusion that Chinese show little civility, and they tend to point fingers at their compatriots' lack of manners in many matters, but they will never accept the same criticism whenever the finger is pointed at themselves."

"This is where the problem lies," Chu says.

Chinese are often spoken of as a pragmatic people who view everything through a prism of expediency. It is quite easy to talk about the deficiencies of Chinese in a general manner, but it starts to become painful when one includes oneself as part of the problem.

This is exactly what Chinese scholar Lin Yutang described when he said that all Chinese share a fondness for moral platitudes and vague, abstract terms such as benevolence, kindliness, propriety and loyalty.

Such a lazy and self-detached way of thinking has saved them from the drudgery of getting personally involved in the study of a particular technique or theory.

At the same time, this kind of thinking shows that we Chinese have double standards - one for others and quite another for ourselves. That may perhaps explain why our society lacks great thinkers and scientists.

In this regard, I agree with Chu Yu when he says that it is quite a major task to reform this predominant national characteristic, since such thinking has been shaped over 2,000 years.

From the 1920s until the founding of New China, some reformists, such as James Yan (Yanyang Chu 1890-1990) and Liang Shuming (1893-1988) firmly believed that educating villagers was the best way to change traditional ways of thinking and usher in prosperity for all.

Our countrymen need to be reminded that this task is far from finished. They need to be made aware that the traditional way of looking at the world and themselves is an impediment to the country's progress. It is of utmost importance to remind them of the necessity of their own participation in this process of reform.

Chu has pointed out in his book that education is the way to achieve that. This means our educational system needs to be reformed in such a way as to enable our children to become qualified citizens before they start to exhibit their creative and innovative talents.

If the majority of Chinese citizens can improve themselves through self-reflection, carrying out visionary policies will become that much more easy.

This is, of course, easier said than done. But, it is the first and most important step toward identifying the root cause of the problem.

E-mail: zhuyuan@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/21/2010 page8)