Chinese virtue

Chapter 30 Responsibility and law-abiding (2)
Each issue of the Beijing News publishes the details of some officials fulfilling their responsibilities.A few years ago, it was revealed that a soldier on duty stole more than 30 boxes of bullets and sold them to a blacksmith.Later, when the case happened, the soldier who sold the bullets was beaten with [-] boards and exiled to the frontier to do hard labor; the buyer was given a lighter sentence because he didn’t know about it, and received [-] boards; the only lucky one was the company commander of this company , was dismissed for "indulging" soldiers in committing crimes, and fled before trial.

In the end, even the supreme commander of the army was implicated.From this we can see that in China, everyone in a certain area is part of the chain, and it is impossible to escape punishment with the excuse of "not knowing" and "unable to prevent this type of crime".

The "Beijing News" publishes some memorials about the flooding of the river every year, and these memorials can better reflect the characteristic of the Chinese people's strong sense of responsibility. In the summer of 1888, the Yongding River flooded, and the rushing water poured down from the top of the mountain was so strong that it could completely push a waterwheel, and the water flow was very fast.The officials were not afraid of the ferocious flood and fought the flood desperately.They are like ants standing in the storm one by one, struggling to support.However, Li Hongzhang was indifferent to the desperate performance of these ministers in fighting the flood, and still asked the emperor to punish the officials for their dereliction of duty.The governor who was in charge of writing the memorial also wrote his name on the memorial for the same punishment.In the end, the emperor ordered the Ministry of Criminal Justice to make a "record" on the matter, but no punishment was given.There is another incident that is very similar to this incident. A few years ago, Henan Province failed to repair the Yellow River embankment, but this time there was no "record". Instead, a large number of officials were dismissed or exiled from the governor down.

The Chinese are very responsible, and so is the emperor.Chinese emperors often issued edicts to reflect on their own mistakes, took the disasters of the people on themselves, and prayed for God's forgiveness.

The emperor is responsible to the sky, and the ministers are responsible to the emperor.The reason why the emperor lost his throne was because the heaven wanted to pass on the throne to the person who "belongs to the destiny", and he lost the favor of the heaven.

With regard to social responsibility, the most unacceptable thing in Western countries is China's "offenders, killing nine ethnic groups".A lot of things like this happened during the Taiping Rebellion.Recently, the leader of the Muslim uprising in Turkestan, Yagub, was also wiped out.The extermination of the nine clans was not just aimed at the rebels. In 1873, a Chinese was suspected of stealing the burial vessel of the royal family. As a result, all four generations of the family, ranging from a 90-year-old man to a full-month baby, were killed.Although it could not be proved that these killed were all accomplices, these people were executed for the same crime.

The reason why China's various systems have maintained the status quo is precisely because of China's sense of responsibility.This kind of responsibility binds every Chinese like shackles. Even officials cannot avoid being implicated by others' dereliction of duty, so these officials began to falsify, and in order to avoid being punished, they began to stop reporting the real situation. This unbreakable "principle of justice" is reversed and distorted, and it completely violates human nature.Whenever an official finds out that he has committed a crime, he will find a way to escape instead of taking the responsibility he should bear.The fundamental reason why there are always cases of favoritism and fraud in China lies in the abuse of the "principle of justice".We have been silently watching this phenomenon.

Everyone who is keen on studying China issues will have a common discovery that China's bureaucratic system has another drawback.The disadvantage is that the officials' lives are completely maintained by the court's salary, and the allowances they receive are pitifully small, not even enough for the yamen's daily expenses.These officials also had to pay all kinds of fines, and in the end their own salaries were returned to the government with nothing left.The final result is that the officials oppress and exploit the people, because otherwise they cannot live.

Although the Chinese people's "sense of responsibility" is opposite to the "principle of fairness", we cannot only look at the shortcomings and ignore the strengths when we look at problems.In the West, if a person has not been found guilty, then he is innocent and there is no responsibility for him.The train broke the bridge with too many people on it, and we couldn't punish anyone.Buildings collapse and people are killed, and we cannot punish construction workers.When a military armored vehicle overturns a civilian vehicle, or a military operation is affected by being unprepared, people blame the system, not the individual.Although the thinking of the Chinese is slightly backward compared to ours, they also have something for us to learn from. The ancient Chinese experience can make us stricter with ourselves, more responsible for our actions, and better maintain national security. .

In fact, foreigners living in China also have an important relationship with Chinese people's sense of responsibility.

Once again we must mention our friend - "The Servant".He holds everything in his hands so that he can take out to help you at any time. He will carry a series of things you need, such as spoons and forks; the housekeeper takes care of everything, is responsible for the big and small things in the house, and manages many A servant, he will not let anyone deceive his master but himself.The owners of Chinese inns have a bad reputation, especially when dealing with foreigners.But I have heard of an innkeeper who chased a foreigner half a mile to return a tin of sardines, which he didn't know was empty, thinking it was some kind of valuable.He felt that the lost property should be returned to the owner, instead of saying badly like the American innkeeper: "If any item is lost, the store is not responsible."

Once a Chinese recommends a talent to others, he will be responsible for the person's quality, behavior, and even the debt.The Chinese believe that these are obligations that must be fulfilled.One must keep this in mind if one wants to work with the Chinese.The contractor is responsible for the work and omissions of his subordinates, no matter where he is or what he is doing.After a long period of communication and understanding, the excellent quality of Chinese people's responsibility has been appreciated by all foreigners.It is said that once a chief comprador in a bank was called in to give him a reprimand because a manservant accidentally let a mosquito get into the bank manager's mosquito net.If a foreigner is not responsible for his subordinates, or does not pay attention to these responsibilities, the Chinese among these subordinates will gradually indulge themselves and do things in a very inappropriate way.

Chinese people are inherently law-abiding, which is a very good quality.I don't know whether it is because of this quality that the social system has been regulated, or whether the social system has contributed to the formation of this quality.But what is known is that China is a country composed of a law-abiding nation, which can be seen from the nature and education of its citizens.The quality of Chinese law-abiding and the quality of being responsible are interrelated, and these two qualities are equally important. We have already mentioned the characteristic of Chinese people's "law-abiding" when we talked about the "patience" nature.As we said before, family members in China are responsible for each other, and if one person makes a mistake, the whole family should be held accountable.

There is an old Chinese saying, "If you can run away, the monk can't run away from the temple", which means that although a person can escape, the family cannot escape.Although this does not make a person better, it does not make a person corrupt.

The law is the criterion for Chinese people's actions. No matter what they do, Chinese people will never break the law.

Some well-known scholars in China are very afraid of the local magistrates. Even if they have not committed a crime, they are also very afraid of entering the government.I once heard that a scholar who heard that he was going to be arrested by the government for questioning fainted on the spot, as if having an epileptic seizure, and died shortly after being sent home.

Most Western countries practice a "republican system", and the spirit of this "republican system" is obviously different from the Chinese people's respect for the law. The spirit of the "republican system" was created by those who advocate the republican regime, which is very desirable.This spirit resists all laws and regulations, whether municipal ordinances or state regulations.They will not take risks, and insist on personal liberation and spiritual freedom.To not stop dishonest behaviors and think that it is right to ignore them is undoubtedly challenging the Chinese way of dealing with public affairs - the law.

In countries where Christianity prevails in the West, people regardless of whether they are educated or not will ignore the laws of the country intentionally or unconsciously, as if it is a very honorable thing to disobey the law.There are many laws that have become dispensable in Western countries, because no one abides by them, and no one proposes to abolish them. They are completely ignored.As a result of the law being disregarded, there has been a marked increase in crime in the West over the past 30 years.There is nothing we can do about it, and the sanctity of the law has faded in people's minds.In contrast, living in China is much safer than living in the United States, and traveling in China is much more secure than traveling in the United States.

In fact, there have been incidents of mob riots in China, but these incidents did not threaten foreigners, which surprised us very much.

The Chinese believe that the will of heaven is influenced by the thoughts and actions of man.When discussing the character of "filial piety" in Chinese, we mentioned that there was an example of a man who cut his own flesh to heal his parents.This example can also reflect this concept of the Chinese.Although this concept is not necessarily correct, it is still worth saying.China's geographical environment is very similar to the area east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States.America's climate changes as often as Marjorie Fleming said of his multiplication formula: "It's unbearable." Various weather samples."

Comparing the climates of Boston, New York, and Chicago in the United States with those of China at the same latitude, we can see that the climates of China and the United States are roughly the same, and there are also severe cold and hot summer. Different temperatures will naturally occur.

The temperature changes in China are not as irregular as in other countries, and the alternation of cold and hot is as smooth and regular as an ancient social system.The Chinese almanac combines the law of changes in heaven, earth, and people, and harmoniously unifies the changes of the three.We don't know whether this kind of almanac is applicable in such a large country, but in all the regions I know, the solar term information is still very accurate. "Lichun" is a sign of spring, and the hot summer will end in "Liqiu".In western countries, there will always be irregular frosts, causing great harm to people, and people can't catch the law at all.In order to avoid being harmed by frost, China has designated December 23 as the "Frost's Descent" in the "24 Solar Terms".There is no frost to be seen until the frost falls, and from this day on, the earth will be covered by a vast expanse of hoarfrost.After our long-term observation, we found that the "Frost's Descent" time set in the almanac has an error of no more than three days.

In China, everything has rules to follow.Not just inanimate dead things, but also living insects and animals.During the "Awakening of Insects", we will find that the flies that have been missing for several months will appear in everyone's sight again.

English-speaking peoples are said to be so uninhibited, so liberty-loving, that they disregard the laws.Because the blood in these people's veins is boiling.Blackstone once said: "The great British ancestor believed that free activities would only be allowed at a specific time." It is because of this great ancestor that the doctrine of human rights and the concept of freedom can be implemented in such a short period of time and promotion.

Although the system of "human rights" and "freedom and democracy" has been accepted by the world, when emphasizing these, we should obey the interests of the public and maintain the dignity of the law.

This point, the Chinese are very worthy of our study.

(End of this chapter)