自  序

對于人類而言，再沒有比文化更豐富多彩、更復雜多變、更難以捉摸、更令人深思和更令人煩亂的了。人作為一種社會的存在物，是文化使其成為人，是文化使其從宇宙演化的自然歷程中走出來。文化賦予人以意義、智慧和靈魂，賦予人以認知自然、改造自然，認知世界、改造世界，認知社會、改造社會以及認知自身、改造自身的超凡能力。

人既是文化的產物和結晶，同時又推動文化不斷地發展和進步。人的最高本質——創造智慧、創造能力、創造精神的形成，既是文化演進的核心，又決定了文化演進的方向和路徑。

人類真正的歷史是文化史，是文明史。文化作為人的一種特殊創造物，其豐富的構成和演變自有其內在邏輯。它從低級到高級，從簡單到復雜，從單一到多樣，是一個不斷發展進步的過程。人的發展無止境，文化的發展便無止境；文化的發展無止境，人的發展也便無止境。

人類文化歷經狩獵采集文化、畜牧文化、農耕文化、工業文化，到今天已進入一個全新的發展時期。文化從來沒有像今天這樣借助于信息、科技、市場經濟和民主政治而存在發展，以至于進入了一個文化空前交流、空前繁榮、空前激蕩、空前碰撞的時代。文化越來越接近每一個人，文化在本質上作為人類的認知方式、思維方式、生活樣式和行為樣式，作為自然生命的內在支撐和外在衣飾，從來沒有像今天這樣如此豐富多彩，從來沒有像今天這樣如此變化多端，從來沒有像今天這樣如此平民化、大眾化。文化進入共享時代，與此同時，文化所帶來的迷茫、迷亂，也從來沒有像今天這樣令人如此擔憂。文化與政治，文化與經濟，文化與科學，文化與教育……一切的界線似乎都已消失。文化就是一切，一切又都變成文化。文化正處在一個“泛濫”的時代。文化似乎過剩了，越來越碎片化了，并且充滿了垃圾、污染。然而我們不可否認，一種更新的、更先進的、更美好的、更智慧的、更充滿創造力的文化又孕育其中。我們究竟從哪里來？我們究竟身在何處？我們究竟又去往何方？人類文化空前的繁榮背后隱藏著同樣空前的憂慮。

中華文化作為人類文化的重要組成部分，自產生的那一刻始，就一直在開放中變異，在撕裂中整合，在迷茫失落中探索前進，在經歷無數次與外來文化的碰撞、融合中走到今天。這其中，既有近現代的文化斷割，又有改革開放的時代洗禮。實現中華民族偉大復興的中國夢，根本在于中華民族優秀文化的復興與創新。這將是與世界先進文化融合的過程，在融合中揚棄與升華的過程，這個過程將產生一種新的文化發展形態。

對于每一個個體、每一個國家、每一個民族來講，文化是什么不是什么，能干什么不能干什么，這個問題仁者見仁，智者見智。作為人類的認知方式、思維方式、生活樣式和行為樣式，文化根本上是為人的，人為的。怎樣更好地認識文化、把握文化、發展文化、完善文化以取得文化的可持續發展，怎樣讓人變得更美好，讓社會變得更美好，讓世界變得更美好，應是每一位文化研究者的神圣使命。對于以上問題，本書以檢閱的方式，力求給關心文化的人提供些參考。

《文化是什么》一書從文化的發生、分類、界定、與人的關系、使用限定、屬性、構成、功能、傳播演進、未來展望十個方面，試圖對文化做出全方位、動態的展示和論述。它運用人類學、社會學、民俗學等多學科交叉的綜合研究方法，提出了一些關于文化的個人見解。本書寫作前后歷經兩年，相關的思考卻長達若干年。在這里，要非常感謝耿振東博士，沒有他的辛勤幫助和勞作，這本書不可能這么快與讀者見面。

“觀乎天文，以察時變；觀乎人文，以化成天下。”希望本書能得到同行專家的批評指正。

李中元

2014年元旦

For human beings, nothing could be more colorful, more complicated, more elusive, more challenging and more confusing than culture. It is culture that makes human beings human as a social existence in the natural process of cosmic evolution. It gives meaning, wisdom and spirit to human beings. It also gives human superpowers to recognize and rebuild nature, world, society and themselves.

Human beings are the creations and outcomes of culture, at the same time, they also promote the cultural development and progress. Human nature, that is, wisdom, ability and spirit of creation, is at the very core of cultural development, which also decides the direction and route of cultural development.

The real human history is cultural history and civilization history. Culture, as a special human creation, has its own logic of construction and development. It is a continuous developing and progressive process from lower level to higher level, from simple to complex, from single to multiple. If human development were endless, cultural development would be endless, and vice versa.

After hunting-gathering culture, animal husbandry culture, farming culture and industry culture, human culture enters a new period in which cultures communicate, flourish, surge and clash unprecedentedly. The existence and development of human culture become dependent on information, technology, market economy, democracy as never before. Culture is closer and closer to everyone. As human cognitive style, ways of thinking, life style and behavior style, as intrinsic maintenance and extrinsic fashion of natural life, culture has never been so colorful, diversified and popular as it is. Culture history has enters a common-sharing age. Nevertheless, Culture has never been so confusing and worrying. It seems that the boundaries between culture and politics, culture and sciences, culture and educations, etc. have faded away and disappeared. Culture is everything and vice versa. It is a “culture-flooding” era in which culture seems to be superfluous, fragmental and full of waste and pollution. However, what we could not deny is, a newer and better, a more advanced and more intelligent, more creative culture is also implicit in it. Where are we from? Where are we being? Where are we going? Behind the unprecedented flourish of human culture, is the same unprecedented worry.

As an important component of human culture, Chinese culture, from the very beginning of its origination, has been in a process of opening-up and ever changing, a process of being torn and integrated, and a process of getting lost and confused while still forging ahead. After numerous clashes with foreign cultures, it comes here. There are castration of culture of modern times, baptism of reforming and opening times during this process. The foundation of realizing China dream, a great national rejuvenation, lies in the innovation and renaissance of national fine culture. It would be a process of integration with advanced cultures worldwide, a process of sublation and sublimation, which would originate a new type of cultural development.

What is culture? What culture could do? Different individuals, different countries, different nations have their own views. Ultimately, as human cognitive style, ways of thinking, life style and behavior style, culture is “for-human” and “by-human”. How to understand culture, acquire culture, develop culture and improve culture in order to realize a sustainable cultural development? How to make a better human, a better society and a better world? These are questions for every researcher studying culture, which is their holy mission. By examining the above questions, this book attempts to propose some references for those who are interested in cultural studies.

The book What is Culture aims to provide a comprehensive and dynamic demonstration and discussion on cultural issues from the following ten aspects: culture's origination, classification, definition, relationship with human being, use limitation, properties, construction, function, popularity and revision, future perspectives. It proposes some individual opinions on culture issues with a comprehensive research methodology which includes anthropology, sociology, folklore, etc. It took me two years to write, but number of years to think over. The author wishes to express his sincere thanks to Dr. Geng zhendong. Without his help and effort, this book could not have met with the readers so early.

“Observing the law of nature in order to know the time variation, observing the law of human culture in order to moralizing people in the world.” Comments and criticisms from colleagues and experts will be highly appreciated.

Li zhongyuan

New Year's Day, 2014