Harmony but Not Uniformity: The Spirit of Syncretism in Chinese Culture, Entailing Learning from All Schools of Thought

The Chinese humanistic spirit represents a form of cultural integration. Visionary thinkers and scholars advocated the cultural outlook ofHarmony but not uniformity (he er butong) 和而不同 “harmony but not uniformity” (he er butong) which favored unity in diversity and opposed formalistic uniformity. Under the influence of this spirit, the splendid culture of ancient China embodied not only the synthesis and integration of various national cultures of China, but was also the result of the absorption and digestion of foreign cultures. One fine tradition of the Chinese humanistic spirit is how it has learned from all the achievements of schools of thought in cultural and academic fields.