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Lessons from Athens on well-balanced man
By Wang Yong |
June 14, 2010, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
THE exhibition "Athens: Living History" in Shanghai reinforces my belief that a better city and a better life begin only with better men.
At the exhibition underway through June 20 at the Library of Shanghai, one marvels at the Greek miracle of meshing its rich relics so well with modern amenities in the creation of a oasis-like Athens both new and old.
At the opening ceremony last Thursday, I could not help admiring Greek people who have built the Grand Promenade that links six key archaeological sites in a network of pedestrian routes that begins at the Panathenaiko Stadium and ends at Gazi.
I could not but admire the Greek people who have barely knocked down a single cultural relic in their construction of urban subways. Instead, they've deferred to every relic and detoured, while turning subway stations into platforms to exhibit those relics. Traveling in Athen's subways today is a bit like traveling with the ancients.
Why has Athens done such a good job of preserving its cultural relics while many other cities are bulldozing their own to make way for soulless shops and skyscrapers?
"Has it anything to do with education?" I asked Dr Lina Mendoni, secretary general for culture of the Hellenic Ministry for Culture and Tourism, who presided over the opening ceremony of the exhibition.
"Yes, we are educated to love history and our love has never changed since ancient times," she replied.
What kind of education have most Greek people received? The answer, which I never knew before, lies in an article posted at the entrance of the exhibition hall. The title is "Ancient Greek City, The Citizen and Classical Civilization." The author is Vassilis K. Lambrinoudakis, professor emeritus of archaeology of the University of Athens.
In that article, professor Lambrinoudakis wrote about "kalos kagathos" - a morally and physically perfect individual. In ancient Greece, education was all about nurturing such a well-rounded individual.
The professor wrote: "The main branches of education were the provision of knowledge, which was called 'the most important weapon for life'; music, which 'familiarized the souls of the youth with harmony and helped them become tamer'; and finally physical exercise so that the vessel of the soul becomes beautiful and adequate."
"This way," the professor continued, "the young men 'would become worthy continuers of their fatherland when they became adults'."
Worthy bearers
Indeed, "worthy continuers" of a country's culture should know more than just math and science. They need to become "tamer," tempered and moderated, their impulses regulated through the realm of music, and fitter in the world of exercise.
Confucius had similar teachings but modern China has somehow abandoned them in a skewed pursuit of Western "hardcore knowledge" such as the science of engineering and the science of economics, as if science defines men no more and no less.
Athens has been restoring the Acropolis since 1975. Technically, many other cities in the world could have done likewise with their own relics, but they have not done so. Therefore technology (a form of science, of course) cannot explain why Athens has succeeded while many others have failed. The answer lies somewhere beyond science. It's at the bottom of the hearts of men and women.
If men and women believe in the ultimate power of science, or rather in the power of the machine, to make and break everything, they won't even blink in their hasty but determined destruction of cultural relics because they think relics can be rebuilt anytime, anywhere with new bricks and mortar.
If men and women indeed were to become "tamer" in addressing history and nature, they would shudder at even the suggestion of wrecking cultural relics.
"What's the single most important power of a nation, culture or finance?" I asked Dr Mendoni. "Both," she replied. Indeed, culture itself can be a financial power and more.
Many economists worldwide are talking about the Greek (financial) crisis, but compared with Athens, are not many cities worldwide suffering a cultural crisis in their farewell to relics?
In both Greek and Chinese cultures, the spiritual is not separated from the material, noted Euthymios Athanasiadis, director of the press and communication office at the Consulate General of Greece in Shanghai. He couldn't be more correct. Destroying a city's cultural relics is more than damaging a few stones and bricks, it destroys the spirit of the city.
Some Chinese cities have done well in preserving their spirit, but many others haven't done so well. It's not that those city planners are short of technology, it's that they are not educated to be "tamer" before history and nature.
At the exhibition underway through June 20 at the Library of Shanghai, one marvels at the Greek miracle of meshing its rich relics so well with modern amenities in the creation of a oasis-like Athens both new and old.
At the opening ceremony last Thursday, I could not help admiring Greek people who have built the Grand Promenade that links six key archaeological sites in a network of pedestrian routes that begins at the Panathenaiko Stadium and ends at Gazi.
I could not but admire the Greek people who have barely knocked down a single cultural relic in their construction of urban subways. Instead, they've deferred to every relic and detoured, while turning subway stations into platforms to exhibit those relics. Traveling in Athen's subways today is a bit like traveling with the ancients.
Why has Athens done such a good job of preserving its cultural relics while many other cities are bulldozing their own to make way for soulless shops and skyscrapers?
"Has it anything to do with education?" I asked Dr Lina Mendoni, secretary general for culture of the Hellenic Ministry for Culture and Tourism, who presided over the opening ceremony of the exhibition.
"Yes, we are educated to love history and our love has never changed since ancient times," she replied.
What kind of education have most Greek people received? The answer, which I never knew before, lies in an article posted at the entrance of the exhibition hall. The title is "Ancient Greek City, The Citizen and Classical Civilization." The author is Vassilis K. Lambrinoudakis, professor emeritus of archaeology of the University of Athens.
In that article, professor Lambrinoudakis wrote about "kalos kagathos" - a morally and physically perfect individual. In ancient Greece, education was all about nurturing such a well-rounded individual.
The professor wrote: "The main branches of education were the provision of knowledge, which was called 'the most important weapon for life'; music, which 'familiarized the souls of the youth with harmony and helped them become tamer'; and finally physical exercise so that the vessel of the soul becomes beautiful and adequate."
"This way," the professor continued, "the young men 'would become worthy continuers of their fatherland when they became adults'."
Worthy bearers
Indeed, "worthy continuers" of a country's culture should know more than just math and science. They need to become "tamer," tempered and moderated, their impulses regulated through the realm of music, and fitter in the world of exercise.
Confucius had similar teachings but modern China has somehow abandoned them in a skewed pursuit of Western "hardcore knowledge" such as the science of engineering and the science of economics, as if science defines men no more and no less.
Athens has been restoring the Acropolis since 1975. Technically, many other cities in the world could have done likewise with their own relics, but they have not done so. Therefore technology (a form of science, of course) cannot explain why Athens has succeeded while many others have failed. The answer lies somewhere beyond science. It's at the bottom of the hearts of men and women.
If men and women believe in the ultimate power of science, or rather in the power of the machine, to make and break everything, they won't even blink in their hasty but determined destruction of cultural relics because they think relics can be rebuilt anytime, anywhere with new bricks and mortar.
If men and women indeed were to become "tamer" in addressing history and nature, they would shudder at even the suggestion of wrecking cultural relics.
"What's the single most important power of a nation, culture or finance?" I asked Dr Mendoni. "Both," she replied. Indeed, culture itself can be a financial power and more.
Many economists worldwide are talking about the Greek (financial) crisis, but compared with Athens, are not many cities worldwide suffering a cultural crisis in their farewell to relics?
In both Greek and Chinese cultures, the spiritual is not separated from the material, noted Euthymios Athanasiadis, director of the press and communication office at the Consulate General of Greece in Shanghai. He couldn't be more correct. Destroying a city's cultural relics is more than damaging a few stones and bricks, it destroys the spirit of the city.
Some Chinese cities have done well in preserving their spirit, but many others haven't done so well. It's not that those city planners are short of technology, it's that they are not educated to be "tamer" before history and nature.
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