Manypeopleposetraditionandmodernizationasdiametricallyopposite.Forinstance,asBeijingincreasinglybecomesamoderninternationalmetropolis,itstraditionallegacies,architectureandsocialmoresamongmanyotherthings,areshrinkingatanalarmingspeed.However,moreoftenthannot,traditionandmodernizationarewhollycompatibleandmayevenbemutuallyenriching.Themodernizationprocessonlyservestohighlighttheindispensablevalueoftradition.
Future-orientedasitis,modernizationcannotbecutawayfromthepast.Manisanemotionalanimalwhoseemotionalattachmenttothepastdefinesthemeaningofhisexistenceinthepresentandthefuture.Althoughmanyurbanplannersareinvolvedinarecklessdrivefordevelopinghigh-risebuildingstomaketheircitieslookmodern,truearchitectsarecommittedtopreservingtraditionalarchitecture.Thisisbecausedemolishingtraditionalarchitecturewouldrendermodernpeoplerootlessanddisoriented.Withoutthepastservingasaframeworkofreference,wewouldnotknowwhereweareheadingfor.
Beingtraditionaldoesnotmeanbeingold-fashionedoroutmoded.Manytraditionalvaluesareofpermanentsignificanceandshouldbeobservedinthemodernandpost-moderneras.Chinesetraditionalethicslikebenevolenceandmoralintegrityshouldgobeyondtimeandspacetoserveasuniversalvalues.Aswestrivetomodernizeourworld,weshouldupdateandenrichourtraditionsinsteadofdiscardingthemaltogether.Otherwise,wearebeingirresponsibletoourselvesortoourfuturegenerations.
Itistruemodernizationisanirresistibleglobaltrendtakingplacewithincreasingmomentum.However,thebestpatternofmodernizationistheonetakingfullaccountofthehistoricalpast.Modernizationshouldnotbeequatedwithbreakingupwiththepastbutratheranextensionandincorporationofthepast.Accordingly,humancivilizationretainsitscontinuityandhumanexistenceismademeaningfulbecauseofthiscontinuity.