After the First Sino-Japanese War, Li Hongzhang went to Japan to sign a treaty with Prime Minister Ito Hirobumi. Li Hongzhang asked Ito Hirobumi, "I don't understand how such a small place like Japan could defeat our Qing Dynasty. Our population is many times larger than yours, our territory is vast, and our resources are abundant." Ito Hirobumi replied, "What we rely on is the large number of talents we cultivate." Li Hongzhang sighed deeply and said, "Our Qing Dynasty is also cultivating talents, but why don't we have as many?" Ito Hirobumi smiled and said, "Your country does not lack talent; rather, when these geniuses, local talents, and skilled individuals encounter despotism, they all become subservient."
Confucius and Aristotle were roughly contemporaneous figures. Confucius said: "The ruler is the guide for the minister, the father for the son, the husband for the wife," and also said to fear the words of great men and the words of sages. Status determines right and wrong; there is no need to discuss reason, present facts, or speak logically. In contrast, Aristotle's famous saying is: "I love my teacher, but I love truth even more!" You are my teacher, and I respect you, no problem. However, if what you say is incorrect or illogical, I cannot go against my conscience to agree with you.
Thus, you will see that in Chinese history, with three thousand years of recorded history, there has been no substantial progress. The changes of each dynasty resemble a cycle. Mr. Lu Xun said that the "Twenty-Four Histories" are the genealogies of emperors and ministers. We have also been glorious and had the Four Great Inventions, but our common people have never been happy. The rise and fall are all about the suffering of the common people; the prosperous times are merely a carnival for the emperors. Whether it is the Zhenguan reign or the Kangxi and Qianlong eras, if you look at the hundreds of millions of common people, they are either taken to work on projects or conscripted as laborers. Being able to scrape a living from the land to barely support a family is considered a virtue passed down from ancestors.
In Europe, because it was not unified, each country had different management methods. This left space for philosophers and thinkers to survive and develop. From Plato to Aristotle, from Socrates to Rousseau, and then to Wittgenstein, there has been almost no interruption. The Analects record that Confucius "did not speak of strange powers or chaotic spirits." When Fan Chi asked Confucius how to farm, and Ji Lu asked Confucius about ghosts and spirits, Confucius was very displeased. Confucius believed in "do not speak of what is not proper"; he placed the Zhou rites first, using "rituals" to constrain people's thoughts and behaviors, prohibiting transgressions of rituals and disorder.
Confucius taught many students, but his goal was not to enhance their wisdom, or rather, enhancing students' wisdom was not the primary goal; he was not dedicated to expanding students' knowledge, but solely focused on "self-restraint and returning to rituals," allowing students to learn "rituals," respect "rituals," and promote "rituals." As for how the sun rises, how the moon sets, and when wheat should be sown, these matters, in Confucius's view, had nothing to do with the Zhou rites and were all considered "improper." Confucius did not support his disciples asking these questions and was unwilling to discuss them. I recall an ancient text recording "Two Young Boys Debate the Sun," and Confucius did not provide a clear explanation. He required students to think and discuss topics only within the scope of "Zhou rites," which is quite limiting.
Fortunately, at that time, Confucianism was just one of the many schools of thought, and other schools like Legalism and Mohism could also appear in various social strata, bringing a flourishing of ideas and technologies during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. Unfortunately, Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, in order to stabilize his rule, favored Confucianism exclusively, causing the land of Huaxia to lose its brilliance. In the subsequent history, it became difficult to see the emergence of independent thinkers who valued logic.
In contrast, figures like Aristotle and Socrates discussed a very wide range of topics, covering various disciplines and fields, from agriculture to child-rearing, from ghosts and spirits to extraordinary skills, with no taboos. Almost all topics had no restrictions, with no rigid frameworks; anything conceivable could be explored. Thus, Aristotle earned the nickname "the encyclopedic thinker."
Aristotle proposed the "syllogism" of logic: major premise, minor premise, and conclusion. The major premise is a general principle, and the minor premise is a specific statement. Logically, the conclusion is derived from applying the major premise to the minor premise. For example, metals are conductors, iron is a metal, therefore iron is a conductor.
In fact, both Confucius and Aristotle, as the most famous thinkers of the ancient East and West, are crystallizations of human wisdom. However, in the pursuit of truth, Confucius is clearly not as good as Aristotle. Truth itself is not limited by time; no era can fully articulate the truth, but truth is the profound meaning that humanity needs to explore and seek in every era.
For example, Tang Bohu from China's Ming Dynasty and Leonardo da Vinci from Europe were both figures of the 15th century and renowned artists. Influenced by Confucian thought, Tang Bohu's ultimate goal was to achieve success in the imperial examinations, gain official favor, and bring glory to his ancestors. Later, he fell into the rebellion of Prince Ning and lived a life of unfulfilled aspirations. Da Vinci's lifelong pursuit, however, was to explore the unknown; he wanted to understand why birds could fly in the sky and whether humans could as well; he sought to understand the origins of human birth and the space for development. Both had their merits in art, but in terms of benefiting the future of humanity, Tang Bohu is clearly only a beginner.
Imagine, before the Industrial Revolution. We were all at the same starting line, while talents in countries like Britain and other European nations were inventing and creating, improving machines, and offering suggestions to the government, constantly optimizing products. Meanwhile, in the Qing Dynasty, a scholar wrote: "The clear wind does not recognize characters; why does it randomly flip through books?" This reached the emperor, and snap! His whole family was executed! The remaining two hundred million compatriots, upon seeing this, could only obediently scrape a living from the land. A group of numb individuals with queue hairstyles, how could you expect them to compete with the great powers for resources? Not providing a ladder for the invaders is already considered good.
So, where lies the difference between Confucius and Aristotle? Or rather, where lies the difference between the East and the West? I believe it lies in independent thinking and logical reasoning! A culture and civilization that restricts thought is like a pair of broken wings; it cannot fly, let alone fly high!
Following the path of independent thinking and the pursuit of truth, Aristotle is Aristotle, Newton is Newton, and Einstein is Einstein. The ability to think independently determines how far a person can go and also determines the direction of a nation's rise and fall. When there are more and more people in a society who can think independently and reason logically, ignorance and barbarism will naturally recede, and civilization and freedom will arrive. A person with independent thought will not care about others' misunderstandings or societal prejudices. They will not blindly follow, nor will they be superstitious about authority, and they will not become a soulless replica or a mere megaphone.