反思·对话·文化自觉

Reflections, Dialogues and the Consciousness of Culture

作者反思自己六十多年来的学术思路，展示了一位中国知识分子在长期的学术生涯中所曾面对过的文化问题。作者认为，在即将过去的２０世纪，文化边界的划分对人类群体之间的相互理解设置了严重障碍，使人们在如何看待本土文化与异域文化之间关系的问题上出现过失误，这同时造成过对人类共同生存的威胁。面对２１世纪，人们该用何种态度来看文化？作者认为，只有通过文化间的对话，在了解自己文化的基础上进行人类学的跨文化比较，才能获得一种高度的文化自觉，消除文化之间的误解和偏见，达到“美美与共”的文化宽容境界。

This essay was presented at the Second Advanced Workshop on Social and Cultural Anthropology held in Peking University in January 1997. By reflecting on 60 Years of personal involvement in anthropological research, the author points out that 'culture' has been a critical issue in the 20th century. In the 20th century, too many 'borderlines' have been drawn between cultures. Such cultural 'borderlines' have often induced conflicts between races, nation states, ethnic groups and regions. In the eyes of the author, they are in fact obstacles to mutual understanding between peoples. As the world is evolving toward the 20st century, how will human beings be treating their different cultures? If cultural borderlines continue to exert their influence on human life, it will be impossible for people to live together peacefully in this small planet. Thus, the author calls on social scientists concerned with cultural issues to reevaluate human diversity and to facilitate the growth of a new sense of cultural consciousness.