▁great ▁efforts ▁in ▁studying ▁r ites , ▁to ▁understanding ▁and ▁bringing ▁recognition ▁to ▁traditional ▁culture . ▁I ▁believe ▁that ▁Das an ’ s ▁study ▁of ▁r ites ▁is ▁highly ▁unique . ▁He ▁studied ▁all ▁the ▁three ▁fields ▁in ▁the ▁study ▁of ▁rit ual ▁and ▁this ▁was ▁not ▁common ▁even ▁among ▁Chinese ▁sch ol ars . ▁Many ▁can ▁achieve ▁only ▁partial ▁understanding ▁even ▁after ▁a ▁lifetime ▁study , ▁but ▁Das an ▁studied ▁all ▁the ▁rit ual ▁fields ▁and ▁his ▁research ▁is ▁truly ▁ast ounding . ▁He ▁wanted ▁to ▁create ▁an ▁ideal ▁society ▁by ▁starting ▁with ▁what ▁already ▁existed . ▁This ▁shows ▁Das an ’ s ▁human istic ▁interest ▁and ▁that ▁intr ig ues ▁me .” ▁ ▁Professor ▁Don ▁Baker ▁at ▁the ▁Asia ▁Center ▁of ▁the ▁University ▁of ▁British ▁Columbia , ▁Canada , ▁is ▁interested ▁in ▁Das an ▁for ▁his ▁role ▁as ▁an ▁intellectual ▁in ▁a ▁period ▁of ▁transition : ▁ ▁“ I ▁think ▁that ▁in ▁the ▁twenty - first ▁century ▁we ▁still ▁need ▁to ▁adopt ▁Das an ’ s ▁spirit , ▁what ▁I ▁call ▁moral ▁p rag mat ism . ▁He ▁was ▁a ▁very ▁p rag m atic ▁man . ▁He ▁looked ▁at ▁problems ▁and ▁said ▁‘ how ▁can ▁we ▁solve ▁them ’ . ▁But ▁also ▁he ▁always ▁kept ▁his ▁moral ▁values ▁at ▁the ▁front . ▁We ▁often ▁have ▁in ▁society ▁a ▁material ▁progress ▁for ▁the ▁sake ▁of ▁material ▁progress . ▁Das an ▁wanted ▁a ▁material ▁progress ▁but ▁a ▁progress ▁that ▁creates ▁a ▁more ▁moral ▁society , ▁therefore ▁I ▁call ▁it ▁moral ▁p rag