Alex Fan｜Philanthropy, the Awakening of Aesthetics and Popularization of Knowledge
Date：2021-09-28
Source: China-Europe-America Wechat Official Account
(Click to Watch Video)
Board of Trustees of China-Europe-America Global Initiative, Co-founder of East Langkun, Alex Fan's Speech
As Zhuangzi, the Chinese philosopher famously said, “Life is finite while learning is infinite. If one tries to pursue the infinite with the finite, failure is doomed.” That is to say, our time in this world is limited, but knowledge is unlimited. One is destined to fail if he pursues the unlimited knowledge in his limited lifetime.
Yet Zhuangzi didn’t tell us how to evade this failure, and this question seems to be left unanswered.
In 1959, Italo Calvino penned Why Read the Classics, in which he told a very interesting story: while people were preparing the hemlock, Socrates was practicing a tune on the flute. Someone asked, “What for?” And Socrates answered, “At least I can learn how to play this melody.”
Our time in this world is limited, and life is as short as a fleeting show. This is the destiny that we have to embrace. However, if the torch can be carried from generation to generation, then life itself will become a part of a relay race, and the flame of human society can be everlasting. The awakening of aesthetics and the popularization of knowledge are the destinations of philanthropic efforts. Reading, art appreciation, youths’ ability to perceive happiness, and the experience of life, are all of great significance and will make our world a better place.
In 1835, French historian Tocqueville wrote in his masterpiece that “Supreme good can be achieved in our lives. The spreading of knowledge is beneficial whereas ignorance will lead to miserable, lethal consequences. Our society is an ever-evolving organism and life is an ever-changing picture, in which nothing is invariable or should be invariable. What we consider good today can be easily replaced by something better tomorrow.”
This is the beauty of the game between the limit and the limitless. Foreseeing tomorrow from the viewpoint of today, and contemplating the other side from where we stand can help us find the “road” in-between. What has been accumulated is our treasure, so is what has been circulating. The former can be the Great Wall or the Pyramid, and the letter can be canals, rivers, lakes, or the perspicuousness promoted by Chinese people.
Foundations should take the charge to be the firm and clear background music in this noisy world. All the knowledge and cultures should become the wheels to carry us forward, instead of the heavy burden we bear on the shoulders.
Life is full of uncertainties. But when we go through the pages of the classics and read the part where Zhuangzi sang while sailing through a quiet lake, we will be inspired by the wise man by exploring the track that he left us with.
A story from the Vedas came into my mind. Indra, the leader of gods, created a net at the beginning of the world. Each node of the net is set with a jewel. Each jewel is connected with another, and can reflect all the other jewels in the net within its many facets. Buddhism is known as “the law of all” in ancient times. In our era featured by the rapid development of technology and information, the wisdom of Buddhism still holds true. Civilizations are not islands isolated from each other, but are interconnected without oceans setting them apart.
Like the dialogue between Zhuangzi, Calvino and Socrates,our dialogue today, at this very moment, travels across time and space. I believe that this is just a beginning.
With the love of philanthropy, let us join our lifelong efforts to make tomorrow a better day. My dear friends, I extend to you my best wishes.
