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TERMBASES

Renwen (Human Culture)

Renwen (人文) encompasses the cultural and ethical progress created by rites, music, education, codes, and systems as well as a social order which is hierarchical but harmonious. Renwen is in contrast to tianwen (天文), the study of celestial bodies including the sun, moon, and stars. Renwen also refers to human affairs in general, that is, behaviors, customs, and the human state. Under the influence of Western culture in the modern period, renwen came to mean cultural phenomena in human society as well as the humanities, which are academic disciplines that study human culture.

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1
By observing the movement of constellations, we can learn about the change of seasons; by observing development of human culture, we can enlighten the people and build a civilized society.
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2
When the movement of celestial bodies is manifest, we can infer from it changes of the times, which is about the distribution and movement of celestial bodies as well as climate change. When sages disseminate their vision in writing to educate the people and build a thriving, prosperous, and refined society, that is about human culture. To learn about the actual changes of the visible and the invisible and the subtle relations between heaven and humans, it is essential to study both natural phenomena and human culture.
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