笔者曾经读过不少关于忏悔的文章。这些文章说,忏悔在西方被视为人的美德。西方深受基督教的影响,相信原罪的说法,好多思想家写过《忏悔录》或者写过不叫《忏悔录》而实际上是在自我忏悔的著作。最有名的,当然是卢梭的《忏悔录》和奥古斯汀的《忏悔录》。而中国则缺乏这样的传统,也没有出现这样的著作。这种说法,可能有正确的因素,但并不完全正确。我们有“学者为己(修养自己)”、“三省吾身”的古训,我们还有“严于律己”、“解剖自己严于解剖别人”的格言,还有包括自我批评在内的党的三大作风。这些其实也是忏悔的精神。起码,从愿望上,我们中国人还是赞成忏悔精神的。 I have read many articles about repentance. These articles state that repentance is regarded as a human virtue in the West. The West is deeply influenced by Christianity and believes in the original sin. Many thinkers have written “Confessions” or written works that are not called “Confessions” but are actually self-confessing. The most famous, of course, is Rousseau’s “Confessions” and Augustine’s “Confessions.” However, China lacks such a tradition and does not have such a book. This argument may have the correct elements, but not entirely correct. We have the old saying of “Scholarly Self (Self-cultivation)” and “Three Provinces of Our Country.” We also have the motto of “strict self-discipline” and “dissecting ourselves strictly to dissecting others”, as well as the party that includes self-criticism Three major style. These are actually the spirit of repentance. At least, from our wishes, we Chinese still agree with the spirit of confession.