Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by Hu Shih

Quote by Hu Shih

“The most outstanding characteristic of Eastern civilization is to know contentment, whereas that of Western civilization is not to know contentment. Contented Easterners are satisfied with their simple life and therefore do not seek to increase their material enjoyment... They are satisfied with their present lot and environment and therefore do not want to conquer nature but merely be at home with nature and at peace with their lot.”

Quote by Hu Shih

Create image

Author

Hu Shih
Hu Shih

Hu Shih (December 17, 1891 - February 24, 1962) was a prominent Chinese philosopher, litterateur, and educator. He was one of the key figures in the New Culture Movement and played a significant role in promoting the movement for vernacular Chinese, which had a profound impact on modern Chinese literature and thought. more

You May Also Like

“The possessions God allows us to have are intended for our use, not our enjoyment. Trying to squeeze something out of them that was never in them in the first place is a futile endeavor. A cow's udders, gently pressed, will yield sweet milk, nourishing and refreshing. Applying more and more pressure will not produce greater quantities of milk. We lose the good of material things by expecting too much from them. Those who try hardest to please themselves with earthly goods find the least satisfaction in them.”

TryingFirstsUseLosesGreaterToo MuchProduceSweetMaterialsPleasePressureSatisfactionPossessionHardestEnjoymentGoodsYieldEndeavorMilkCowsQuantityExpectingConsumerismOverconsumptionRefreshingMaterial ThingsExpecting Too Much
Book:Daily Readings from The Christian in Complete Armour: Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare
Create image

“The reality is that our economy now consists of driving 250 million vehicles around the suburbs and malls and eating fried chicken. We don't manufacture much. We just burn up ever scarcer petroleum in the ever-expanding suburbs built with mortgage money lent to people who haven't a clue.”

PeopleRealityMillionsEconomyHavensEatingBuiltDrivingChickensVehicleConsumerismClueExpandingMortgageSuburbsMallsOverconsumptionFried ChickenPetroleum
Book:Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War
Create image

“The writing has been on the wall for some years now, but we are a nation illiterate in the language of the wall. The writing just gets bigger. Something will eventually bring down the charming, infuriating naïveté of Americans that allows us our blithe consumption and cheerful ignorance of the secret ugliness that bring us whatever we want.”

WantWritingYearsHas BeensLanguageNationsSecretIgnoranceWallBiggerConsumptionConsumerismCharmingCheerfulUglinessOverconsumptionIlliterateVetsInfuriatingBlithe
Book:Small Wonder
Create image

“There is, indeed, a most dangerous passage in the history of a democratic people. When the taste for physical gratifications among them has grown more rapidly than their education and their experience of free institutions, the time will come when men are carried away and lose all self-restraint at the sight of new possessions they are about to obtain. In their intense and exclusive anxiety to make a fortune they lose sight of the close connection that exists between the private fortune of each and the prosperity of all.”

PeopleMenSelfLosesDangerousTasteAnxietyConnectionsSightInstitutionsFortuneDemocraticProsperityPossessionIntensePassagesConsumerismRestraintExclusiveGratificationOverconsumptionCarried AwaySelf Restraint
Author:Alexis de Tocqueville
Create image

“This drive to always want more is based on the misconceptions that having more will make me more happy, more important, and more secure, but all three ideas are untrue. Possessions only provide temporary happiness. Because things do not change, we eventually become bored with them and then want newer, bigger, better versions.”

WantImportantIdeasThreeBiggerPossessionVersionsSecureBoredTemporaryConsumerismMisconceptionUntrueOverconsumptionBigger Better
Book:The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth Am I Here For?
Create image