The term “tension” often appears in academic discussions, but as a concept it is by no means abstruse; it can be understood directly in its literal sense:
“Zhang” refers to a state of “tension.” Imagine a rubber band, or better yet a taut violin string—that is “tension.”
“Harmony” is the word best suited to describe music. Thus a very simple fact is this: only when a string is under an appropriate degree of tension can it produce harmonious tones. If the tension is too great and the string snaps, or if the tension is too slight and the string slackens, then it cannot be played.
Many paired categories, such as reason and faith, science and religion, conservatism and radicalism, and so on, should all be kept under a “necessary tension.” If the atmosphere of opposition becomes too tense, the consequences may be catastrophic; but if the tension is too slight, then although one may avoid a catastrophic rupture, the result will be a state of decadence or depression—both of which are unhealthy.
Take science and religion as an example: when the tension between the two goes too far, society and culture will face the danger of an imminent collapse; but one must also never overemphasize the atmosphere of harmony between them to the point of entirely dissolving the tension between them and bringing the two into full agreement, for the consequences of that would also be negative.
In science, too, there must be some kind of tension maintained between tradition and innovation, between adhering to norms and breaking dogma.
January 25, 2007, 10:43 p.m.
Translated from the Chinese original with AI assistance. The original text is authoritative.
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