Kingdom of Heaven and Han

Chapter 859 Differences in Recognition

Having said that, Wang Xiaolie handed over Xu Cai's official document to Chen Yuyi and asked him to read it carefully.I sat there, quietly looking at the peony flowers in front of me.

In the 800 years of the Zhou Dynasty, there are too many stories to tell.But the most important one, Wang Xiaolie thinks is "Three Hundred Poems".

"Poetry" is the head of the Five Classics and the first among all the classics.Of course, ancient literature and classics do not think so. They rank "Zhouyi" first, and most of the descendants also rank "Zhouyi" first.When they interpret the Book of Songs, they mostly think that it is a collection of poems with high literary value.Especially after the May [-]th Movement, it was believed that the "Book of Songs" had only literary value, and its status was not high.

The status is not high, and "Poetry" will not become one of the Five Classics.

The sages of the May [-]th Movement naturally made great contributions to their pioneering work.But later generations often say that there were many masters in the Republic of China, and these masters were too watery.Especially in the field of humanities and social sciences, there is no real learning by learning from the West, and there is no establishment of a sect by internal creation.Decades later, the thinking of some people who still regard these masters as their standard is really pitiful.For decades, nothing has been learned.

In the Han Dynasty, "Poetry" was often used as admonishment.This purpose illustrates the true value of "Poetry", the value of politics.

The Book of Songs is divided into Feng, Ya, and Song, each of which has its own purpose.The parts of elegance and song are basically inherited by the royal family of later generations, although the taste becomes more and more wrong as it goes to the back.Only the wind, not inherited.

Wang Xiaolie believes that the wind is the style of the court to know the people, so as to better understand the world.But in fact, the rulers may not have thought this way when collecting folk songs.Regardless of what the rulers think, the wind does have such a role.

Later, in the Qin Dynasty, only the prime minister, Taiwei, and Yushi doctor were the only three princes, and the status of Yuefu was greatly reduced.In the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the status rose, but eventually became an accessory of music and dance.

What Wang Xiaolie asked Chen Yuyi to do was actually to inherit the tradition of the country and learn about the people in various ways.Only by understanding can we manage well.

From the heavenly granting of monarchy, the divine granting of monarchy to the establishment of parliamentary power, we can see that it was a process in which power was transferred from heaven or gods to the hands of the people.It's just that some countries are more thorough in this process, while others are far from complete.

It's just that the power of the state is transferred to the people. Is it a part of the people or the people with full power?Is it the people as a whole, or individual individuals?Everyone has their own understanding, and each country has its own approach.

Wang Xiaolie's point of view is not to smash the sky, but to turn the sky from nothingness into a whole of the people.On this basis, the emperor governs the world as a representative of heaven.So as a government, we must know the will of heaven, that is, the will of the people.

Chen Yuyi read the official document, put it on the table, and remained silent.

Wang Xiaolie said: "I don't think so, how should we deal with this matter?"

Chen Yuyi hesitated to speak, but seeing Wang Xiaolie's insistence, he said: "Although the chief secretary's actions are contrary to common sense, they are in line with the way of being an official. Between Tao and emotion, there is the principle of being an official, which is really difficult to grasp. Next Officials think that the chief bookkeeper should be encouraged and given convenience."

Wang Xiaolie smiled and nodded: "Yes, we should focus on encouraging the master, and everything else is secondary. Why? It depends on what kind of regime we want to establish and what kind of government we want to use. The officials said. I hope that under our rule, the people will live happily and be free from oppression. No matter whether they are officials or ordinary people, they don’t have to fight each other. They can live a simpler and purer life. I hope that all the people , You can get rich through hard work, and people are not classified into different classes. I hope this is a happy and simple society where everyone is happy and healthy."

Chen Yuyi said with a smile: "It's good to think about such a society, but it may be difficult to realize it."

Wang Xiaolie looked at the flowers in front of him quietly, and did not speak for a long time.Finally sighed: "Yes, it is difficult to achieve. But we should not stop doing it just because it is difficult. We should firmly believe that we can do well with hard work what others cannot do."

Chen Yuyi remained silent and shook his head slightly.

Ideals are always beautiful, but difficult to realize.Very few people, after taking power, don't want their own rule to be peaceful and happy, they just can't do it.When they couldn't think of a way, some people even advocated the policy of ignoring the people, advocating the enfeoffment of nobles, and advocating high-handed rule.Is it because they don't know it's bad?of course not.It's just that they couldn't think of a better way, so they had to pick and choose from the garbage dump of history.

Wang Xiaolie said: "Once the power is in the hands, the first thing is to restrain the power. The Taizu ordered a smoker cage to be built in the backyard, and it didn't arrive in a few days. I called people to ask, and it turned out that the emperor had to go through many departments to build a smoker cage, which was very cumbersome. Zhao Zhongxian, the prime minister, said to him, this is a self-made rule, not for your majesty, but for your majesty's descendants. Taizu was overjoyed and said, this method is very good. Why? Because Taizu was afraid that his descendants would be unworthy, and he would not restrain him Live in your own power."

Chen Yuyi said: "Yi Zu is really not an ordinary person."

Wang Xiaolie said with a smile: "If you are an emperor, how can you be an ordinary person? If you are just an ordinary person, it is not a blessing for the country. If you restrict your own power, you must also restrict the power of relatives and friends. It is difficult to restrain the power of relatives and friends Ah. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty and Empress Dugu loved each other, and they were inseparable, so that Empress Dugu and Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty were called two saints. My wife wanted power, not only did not have restraint, but invaded the imperial power. Until Yang Yong was abolished, Yang Guang was established, and Sui Li II died Death."

Chen Yuyi said: "Empress Dugu is gentle, respectful and filial. Although she invaded the imperial power, she is still a generation of virtuous queens."

Wang Xiaolie said: "Whether it is a merit or a demerit, the world will comment on it, so we will not comment too much. It is just to explain how difficult it is to restrain relatives and friends. It is already difficult for those in power to understand power and restrain power. Yes. That being said, most people can’t do it.”

Chen Yuyi nodded slightly.

Yes, how many people can recognize their own rights and take the initiative to restrain them?Not even talking about restraint, but recognizing one's own power. How many people in history can do it?Many emperors only know that they have power, but it is not clear where this power comes from.

It is often said that one can win the world immediately, but one cannot rule the world immediately.In fact, the source of power when you immediately win the world is different from the source of power when you immediately rule the world, and the methods of using power are of course also different.If it is necessary to rule the world immediately, it is okay, like the Mongols in the Yuan Dynasty.It's just that such a rule is not normal no matter how you look at it.

Only by recognizing power clearly can we use power correctly.

Seeing Chen Yuyi pondering, obviously disagreeing with his own opinion, Wang Xiaolie smiled.

Once, Wang Xiaolie believed that everyone is equal and that people should be the same.If you understand something, others should understand it too.If you can think of one thing yourself, it is best to do so, and others should be able to think of it too.Different people think differently, it should be because of the difference in education, more education would be good.

Now, Wang Xiaolie finally understands that people are different, and the sameness is just accidental.People's understanding of a thing is based on probability distribution and conforms to statistical laws.A person's hard work can make him move on this probability curve, and the probability curve is difficult to change.

This realization changed many things.It also fundamentally changed Wang Xiaolie's thinking on governing the country.

Regarding the understanding of human nature, there is a kind of thought that is widely spread in China.It is believed that people are inherently unequal, and there are distinctions between high and low.Later generations hated this kind of thinking and criticized it greatly, thinking it was a means to anesthetize the lower class people.

Now Wang Xiaolie realizes that since people's thoughts are distributed according to probability and conform to statistical laws, it is inevitable that regardless of high or low, the inequality of the rich and the poor is inevitable.It's just that it's not something that people are born with, nor is it the result of hard work, but a comprehensive effect.

Social governance must face such a society and try to make the people happy.

After the Opium War, China was opened by the strong ships and guns of the West, and people of insight began to open their eyes to see the world.It’s just that in general, the level of intellectuals at that time was relatively low to see the world with open eyes under such circumstances.They are more of the forerunners, opening the way for future generations, and future generations need to move forward along the road.

At that time, China imported a lot of Western knowledge.It must be noted that a large number of Western-style terms, such as politics, economy, philosophy, etc., were imported from Japanese, which also shows that the level of intellectuals at that time was relatively low.Later generations, for various reasons, can say that this is the original vocabulary of Chinese, which was borrowed by the Japanese from Chinese.But it cannot be denied that the level of intellectuals at that time was relatively low.At most, it shows that our ancient literati are still relatively good.Therefore, intellectuals at that time criticized traditional Chinese culture, just like a scumbag criticizing a scholar, and they had to be soberly aware.

To study Western culture, we must clearly understand what is the difference between us and the West, and what we need to learn.Don’t be overwhelmed by fright when you look at all kinds of terms and definitions, and you can’t hold your head up anymore.

Especially in the field of humanities and social sciences, it is necessary to clarify the context of changes in Western thought, to understand why they have changed so much, and what they represent.Where did they go from backward to advanced?What things can be used for our reference, where we need to be spurned, what is irrelevant.

There is a kind of person who likes to wear gold-rimmed glasses and use a deep mid-bass voice. When he speaks, he is Socrates, and when he shuts up, he is Plato. He tells you all kinds of life principles.It is basically certain that this person is ignorant.Socrates and Plato were born more than two years ago, how can there be so much to say?The west is because they want to build their philosophical edifice. From these two people, there are many words.

There are also people who talk about Kant and shut up about Hegel, but they are also people who have not learned.Even if they read the works of these people thoroughly, it is only an introduction.However, Chinese people need to learn Western culture, and they need to enter it, and they must also be able to walk out of it.The so-called going through thousands of sails, you have to return to Chinese culture and be the same young man.Otherwise, according to the traditional understanding, you can only teach elementary school, not enter the university.

Hegel once said that Confucius was only a secular wise man, not a philosopher. The truths taught in The Analects of Confucius are also shared by other ethnic groups, and they may be better explained.In fact, it shows that Western philosophy and Chinese thought are not the same thing.Moreover, even in philosophy, Hegel is far from Confucius, and it is impossible to reason.This is the difference between Chinese civilization and Western civilization, and future generations should understand this difference.

How much does a nominal ten gram weight weigh?Ten grams is right, the weights are not standard?Or is the weight right, and the nominal ten grams is just an approximation?If you understand this question, you will also understand the difference between Chinese civilization and Western civilization.

Western civilization believes that ten grams is correct, and the error is only a technical limitation of weight production.Chinese civilization believes that the weight is of course correct, and ten grams is only an approximation of the nominal value.If you replace the nominal ten grams of the weight with the rational world, and think that the rational world is correct and truth exists, you are Western civilization.Chinese civilization does not have the understanding of the rational world, but only reality and emptiness, existence and non-existence. Of course, the weight is correct, and the nominal is only approximate.

Chinese people must understand this when learning Western culture.Of course, if it is not learning, but just taking refuge, it is another matter.

The nominal weight of ten grams is certainly not exactly ten grams.And how heavy it really is, humans may never know.Even if it is accurate to the quantum level, the weight is still uncertain according to quantum theory.

When this uncertainty is discussed in the rational world and the real world, things become complicated.This complexity is what makes thinking so fascinating.

(End of this chapter)