On the Differences Between Knowledge and Culture

也谈知识和文化之差异

LotusWisdom

摘自《莲花智慧1》
Excerpted from "Lotus Wisdom" 1

More than ten years ago, I overheard someone evaluated that most Chinese people these days knowledgeable but uneducated. After hearing of that, I have some thoughts to share with you:

十几年前，无意间听到某人这样评价当今的多数中国人：有知识，没文化。笔者听后有点感想和大家分享：

The so-called culture (Wen Hua in Chinese): Wen means language and words; Hua means transformation and change.

所谓文化：文者，语言、文字也。化者，转化、变化也。

Culture is the language or words used to edify and transform people's minds.

文化是用来熏陶和转化人们心灵的语言或文字。

Culture is considered in relation to the ideas, customs, thoughts, arts, religions, etc. That have been continuously handed down in a nation.

文化是在一个民族中绵延流传下来的观念、习俗、思想、艺术、宗教等。

It is more specifically reflected in people's lifestyles, customs, psychological characteristics, aesthetic taste and values.

更具体地体现在人们的生活方式、风俗习惯、心理特性、审美情趣、价值观念中。

Culture can be divided into traditional culture and modern culture, or main culture and subculture.

文化有传统文化和现代文化，或主文化与亚文化之别。

Culture has an ethnic dimension.

文化具有民族性。

Every social form has a culture that corresponds to it, and every culture develops with the development of society.

每一种社会形态都有与其相适应的文化，每一种文化都随着社会的发展而发展。

The continuity of social development determines that the development of culture also has continuity and historical inheritance.

社会发展的连续性，决定文化的发展也具有连续性和历史继承性。

The so-called knowledge (Zhi Shi in Chinese): Zhi means to know, to understand; Shi means to be aware，to recognize.

所谓知识：知者，了知、了解也。识者，认知、认识、识别也。

Knowledge is the result of human understanding drawn from social practice.

知识是人类从社会实践中总结的认识成果。

This includes scientific knowledge, technical knowledge, cultural knowledge, historical knowledge and other major categories, and scientific knowledge also includes natural science knowledge and social science knowledge.

包括科学知识、技术知识、文化知识、历史知识等几大类，科学知识又包括自然科学知识、社会科学知识。

Knowledge has no nationality and is shared by human beings.

知识没有民族性，是人类共享的。

Where cultural knowledge refers to the understanding of a culture that has not yet been accepted or identified with, once accepted or identified with, it has the effect of transforming its mind, at which point knowledge can be transformed into culture.

其中文化知识指的是对文化的了解和认识，但还没有接受或认同，一旦接受或认同，便有转化其心灵的作用，此时知识便可转变成文化。

For example, Buddhist cultural knowledge is the understanding of Buddhist culture, but it has not yet been accepted or identified with it; once accepted or identified with it, it has the effect of transforming people's minds, at which point Buddhist knowledge is transformed into Buddhist culture.

例如，佛教文化知识是对佛教文化的了解和认识，但还没有接受或认同，一旦接受或认同，便有转化人们心灵的作用，此时佛教知识便转变成佛教文化了。

The distinction between knowledge (Zhi Shi in Chinese) and culture (Wen Hua in Chinese) focuses on " Shi" and " Hua", one is identification, the other is transformation.

知识和文化区别的重点在“识”和“化”，一者是识别，一者是转化。

Knowledge update speed is getting faster and faster, but culture is not easy to update. Although the three traditional cultures of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism have been thoroughly looted over the past few decades and the oasis of national culture accumulated and passed down over thousands of years has almost turned into a desert, now they are slowly recovering again, which really respond to the saying "No prairie fire can destroy the grass, it shoots up again with the spring breeze blows!"

知识更新速度越来越快，目不暇接，但文化却是不容易更新的，释道儒三大传统文化，虽然经过了几十年的彻底的洗劫，几千年累积和传承下来的民族文化绿洲几乎变成了一片沙漠，但是现在它们又慢慢复苏了，真是应了“野火烧不尽，春风吹又生”这句话了！

翻译人：安度 2022/4/15
译校： koala 2022/4/17