Harvard Emotional Intelligence Class

Chapter 12 The Infinite Magic Power of Emotional Intelligence (2)
It seems that Su Shi's life should be prosperous, but unfortunately, his road is hard, and his IQ and EQ cannot be regarded as low. From him, we can learn some attitudes towards life. The reason why great people are great is because They behave differently than we normally imagine.From the perspective of modern emotional intelligence theory, Li Bai's mistake lies in his lack of interpersonal communication skills. The most important thing is that he doesn't know how to handle the relationship with the leader well and has many friends, but he has a choice and a purpose, and finally fails. People feel sorry for him; Su Shi is different, his personality is approachable, and he has no temper for leaders. However, he has a free and easy personality and doesn't like to be restrained, so it is impossible for him to rise in the officialdom.However, compared with Li Bai, Su Shi should be very proud of his life. The fundamental difference between the two lies in their mentality.

Modern and contemporary writers have a wealth of experience. China is in an era of ups and downs. The fierce fission and aggregation are capricious, which has given these talented people passion, and many masters who have dominated the literary world have emerged.There is no doubt that Lao She and Ba Jin are great people. They have both studied abroad and accepted the progressive ideas of foreign countries but have different outlooks on life.Where is the value of human life and what is the meaning of death?This is all worth pondering, and the examples of Ba Jin and Lao She can let us know.

The Cultural Revolution was an extraordinary experience for everyone at that time. For intellectuals like Lao Sheba Jin, their emotions were sharp and their characters were upright. Whether they could survive this precarious era was determined by willpower.Superior in endurance, after going through that nightmare life, Ba Jin wrote "Capricious Thoughts". "Caprice Records" ended in 1986, which was the 20th anniversary of the outbreak of the "Cultural Revolution".

On the night of August 1966, 8, Lao She committed suicide by drowning himself in Taiping Lake in Xicheng, Beijing.The reason is simple. The day before, he was escorted by the Red Guards to the Confucian Temple in Beijing for "criticism" and beaten for several hours.This is an unbearable humiliation for an intellectual who is determined to improve his own understanding and hope to always be in line with the times.More than a month before Lao She died, he met with Ba Jin during a meeting in Beijing. Lao She told him, "Please tell all your friends that I have no problem."So Ba Jin later said: Lao She's death made us living people ashamed... We can't protect Lao She, how can we explain to future generations?If Lao She's death is not clarified, how can we explain it to future generations?

The choice of life has different personality requirements. There are people who "would rather be broken than whole", and there are also those who bear the burden of humiliation; people should not be too hard, easy to break, but if we are too soft, we will not be healthy people.We are all influenced by the traditional Confucian ideas of "integrity" and "loyalty", especially those who read books. Therefore, during the Cultural Revolution, many literati's rights to be human were deprived of various reasons, so many people chose to die, because we all think that "Sacrificing one's life for righteousness" is the principle of life, and martyrdom seems to be the awe-inspiring righteousness between heaven and earth. On the morning of August 1966, 8, Ye Yiqun jumped to his death from a building, "exterminating himself from the people". On the morning of September 2, 1966, Fu Lei and his wife both hanged themselves in their Shanghai apartment. On the night of September 9, they wrote a suicide note: "...the entrusted matters are as follows:
55. Pay the September rent of 29 yuan (with cash). ...

[-]. An old wall watch (steel) and an old girl's watch, as a gift to the nanny Zhou Judi.

600. A deposit slip of [-] yuan was given to Zhou Judi for living expenses during the transitional period.She is a working people, lonely all her life, we don't want her to suffer for no reason. ...

370. The ornaments that my aunt Fu Yi deposited in our house were taken and confiscated by the Red Guards at the same time as our own. We could only use three deposit slips ([-] yuan in total) and three small deposits as compensation. ...

[-]. An old Omega automatic men's watch for personal use, and another old men's watch. It was intended to be given to Min'er and ×××, but it may hinder their political stance, so please handle it freely.

53. A cash note of 30 yuan will be used as our cremation fee. ...It makes you suffer for us, I am really disturbed, but there is no one else to trust, forgive me! "Reading Fu Lei's suicide note today, we still feel a righteousness that shows human dignity. In Fu Lei, we see the integrity and kindness of Chinese intellectuals, and we have found our true cultural tradition.

Death is not terrible, the principle of our life is to be worthy of ourselves; it is easy not to do things that are wrong to others in our life, but it is not easy not to do things that are wrong to ourselves.

Everyone knows Ba Jin's "Capricious Thoughts".In his thick memoir, we see a real heart.Morally, one should "remain what one is."People say that Ba Jin is "excessively kind", and does not deny his "weakness" or "cowardice" in character.The sad thing about being weak is that when you first defeat others, you then defeat yourself.Ba Jin recalled with the regret of a person who had experienced it: On August 1966, 8, he participated in a meeting at the Shanghai Writers Association to criticize Ye Yiqun, the leader of the Writers Association. "I sat in the hall and didn't dare to think about anything. I just followed the people raising their hands and shouting 'Down with Ye Yiqun!' I was careful not to let people see my nervousness and remind people that Yiqun was mine. friend."

Ba Jin himself also said that during the "Cultural Revolution", he first got used to taking the words of the chief as the truth, and later he sincerely followed the ancient motto of "being wise and protecting one's life".In retrospect, Ba Jin said four words: "Ashamed of my deceased friend".He said repeatedly: "Debts cannot be repaid!" This is not only awe of morality, but also awe of history.The strength of history lies in its tenacious tendency to always reveal itself as it is.In the Chinese cultural system, there has always been this kind of reverence for history.The admirable historian can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period: Qi Zhuanggong was killed by Cui Zhu, the minister of Qi State, and Taishi wrote straightly: "Cui Zhu killed his king." Cui Zhu killed Taishi in a rage.Taishi's two younger brothers took over successively, and they still wrote directly: "Cui Zhu killed his king." They were also killed.Taishi's youngest brother took over, and it was still recorded in the history slips: "Cui Zhu killed his king." Cui Zhu finally did not dare to kill again.Ba Jin's continuous confession is generally believed to be derived from the Western humanistic tradition, but in a sense, it may be regarded as a continuation of the "history" of Chinese culture and Chinese literati.Ba Jin hoped to restore the historical narrative, historical awareness and historical feelings of Chinese intellectuals and even the entire nation, and to establish a view of history tempered by the "Cultural Revolution".His confession has more strength of his personality, and because of this, he is revered by most people.

People who experienced the "Cultural Revolution" later recalled that Ba Jin "contained grief and indignation in silence, and never said a good word about the 'Gang of Four'".But Ba Jin said: In fact, I was still a lonely "ghost" at that time. Others were afraid of contacting me, and I was also afraid of seeing others.Several years of criticism made me used to "silence".I did have grief, but even then I said good things about the Gang of Four, but not as the truth.As for the cult of personality in the early days of the "Cultural Revolution", I even bowed down at the feet of the "Gang of Four" wholeheartedly.Even though this was a common phenomenon at the time, I still can't hide my taint when talking about the experience of "ten years" to people today.History will record the true face of a person.So Ba Jin said: "The past cannot be changed." This is a simple but not superficial sense of history, although he admits that he is "not deep" and has been repeatedly criticized for "not deep".He said: "The blame of conscience is more painful than anything else." This is moral repentance.Ba Jin believed that for a literati or intellectual, the black words printed on white paper could never be erased, and future generations were the real judges.But he had to fight against such exhortations from time to time: Isn't there someone who is always right?How can you turn a blind eye?Take advice, don't publish any collections, don't leave any words printed on paper, then you won't be wrong.

Regarding the historical record, Ba Jin is optimistic on the one hand. "Let the next generation of historians settle the account of the 'ten-year bullpen'. There are so many historical records about the dark period of the European Middle Ages, not to mention our ten-year 'Cultural Revolution' with loud slogans and slogans everywhere!" But on the other hand he is pessimistic. "Forgetful people are used to looking forward, thinking that all past events can be shelved as long as a conclusion is drawn. No matter the eight years of the Anti-Japanese War or the ten-year 'Cultural Revolution', it is best not to mention or mention less." We saw a The warning of a wise man is enough to warn our forgetful generation.

It is admirable to die of integrity, but it also requires courage and value to survive, and it is more meaningful and valuable than those who died in disasters, especially those who can reflect deeply and warn those who come later. Survivors.Therefore, we admire Lao She's integrity, but we even more admire those warriors who have gone through a difficult mental journey and finally nirvana.

Many people may be more familiar with Goethe than Hölderlin, but both of them have very important positions in German history.The two lived in the same era, and the difference in their artistic achievements mainly lies in: Goethe had a creative period of nearly 60 years, while Holderlin only had a creative period of 10 years, and nearly 40 years were spent in madness.Holderlin is a poet whose spiritual world is incomprehensible to us; he is also a warrior of the spiritual world. We can see admiration in him, but there are still many lessons to be learned.Less fantasy, expel emptiness, more reason and less passion, separate reality from ideal.That's what we can learn from Holderlin.In Goethe, there is more moderation and compromise, but the wisdom of genius is rarely confused.

Everyone is an ordinary person in essence, but excellent artists can face their inner world more directly and bravely, and have more spiritual struggles and inner storms.This storm can bring a man into danger and can strengthen his tendency to sink into the abyss and self-destruct in his life.But it was this dangerous experience that once again aroused his passion and strength to chase the light.

Holderlin said: "Where there is danger, there is salvation." Sometimes, the mystery and irresistibility of this power will be considered by the poet as the will from "divine revelation", such a secret from life The power of structure made Holderlin "the symbol of the Greek spirit in Germany", and he himself became the tragic young man in Greek mythology who stubbornly wanted to experience the extreme state of light and life.This beautiful young man shaped by the ancient Greeks flew to the gods in his burning singing chariot.The Austrian writer Zweig interprets Holderlin's tragic and great life; short but brilliant life; suffering but infinite fanaticism in detail and passionately from the aspects of heart, spirit, character and temperament.His madness, arrogance, sickness, and destruction are inconceivable. There is a kind of aggressive flame that shoots out from their bodies, so that we ordinary people can only see from a distance but not approach, because their heat will burn our satisfaction as ordinary people. sense and happiness.They are solitary walkers, proud pilgrims who will never find companionship.He is his own master, absolutely impossible to submit to other authority and will.He was born to play the role of an explorer for human beings, hitting and penetrating the darkness of human nature and the shackles and obstacles of human ignorance, and opening up a broad and bright road for the latecomers; A raging fire burned down the human architecture we depend on for survival, and people's indifference, isolation, curses, and attacks dug their graves for them.

This genius poet died young, but he burned himself with brilliant flames, and completed his creation with his immortal life personality practice.Death, or schizophrenia, are metaphors for this burning.This is the poet's price and reward.Humans are actually the same as gods, and they will eventually be subdued by such persistent braves.Because no matter how dull a person is, there will be such a moment of noble inspiration.We all hope that we can become brave men like Napoleon, but we just think about it, because the philistine spirit finally prevails in us...Holderlin, this pure spirit who lives with nature and is of the same quality as the earth Man, he wouldn't care, wouldn't even like the lavish memorials that were made of him.In the history of German art, perhaps Goethe will always be the king, but Holderlin will always be the embodiment of a wanderer and a tragic spirit.Although he loved God and the Father, he opposed any "deification" of himself.Compared with poets like Goethe, Holderlin's "talent" may be poor.His material is not rich, all he does is sing, he is weaker than others, and yet he has "endless lift" because of his purity.

Almost forgotten for almost 100 years after his death, the poet was rediscovered in Germany and established a reputation in Europe until the middle of the 20th century.Born in Laufen, a small town in Swabia, her father died early and her mother was the daughter of a pastor.He studied in Denkeldorf and Maulbronn Abbey School successively, and obtained a master's degree in the Theological Seminary of the University of Tubingen from 1788 to 1793, and was qualified to serve as a priest.But he later became a priest because the Christian dogma he accepted was not compatible with the Greek mythology he had devoted himself to studying.He saw the Greek gods as real forces.For him, the job of the poet is to mediate between God and man. I met Schiller in 1793. Some of his poems, such as "Xu Fu Liong", were published in Schiller's publication "New Talia". These poems were inspired by the spirit of the French Revolution and praised freedom, humanity, harmony, friendship and nature. . After 1798, he was in a state of schizophrenia due to physical and mental exhaustion, and still completed the second volume of "Xu Fulione", "The Death of Empedocles", "Menon's Lamentation of Diotima", "Flour and Wine", etc. Masterpiece, translated Sophocles' Antigone and Oedipus.Holderlin's works expressed his ideal of freeing his country from absolutism, and his tireless pursuit of ancient Greece was a criticism of the status quo in Germany.He advocates educating a new generation of people so that their personalities can be fully and harmoniously developed.Most of his works have utopian classicism connotations, and at the same time pay attention to the expression of subjective feelings, revealing melancholy and lonely emotions, reflecting the irreconcilability between ideal and reality, and have the characteristics of romanticism.Holderlin used his works to build a bridge of communication between classicism and romanticism.With such a talent, but his whole life was spent buried, why?
Montaigne, a French thinker and prose writer during the Renaissance, said: "If I was allowed to live my life again, I would like to repeat my life. Because I have never regretted the past and am not afraid of the future." This is another attitude towards life.He sees no need for revisions and corrections; the fanatical genius is one of those steadfast and obstinate men who feel that their whole life is a pilgrimage, without complaint and with the determination and confidence of martyrdom.People have extracted a part of our fear, disgust, and rejection from Holderlin: morbidity.But the word "morbid" applies only to those who are not creative, to the lower world: for the sickness which creates the indelible is no longer a sickness, but a form beyond health, a The highest form of health.

Please bear in mind this common sense: lonely pilgrims have gone farther than us, until we can't see their backs, we will never be able to fully understand and accept them, and they will never accept worldly gifts!It is precisely because of this kind of thinking and personality that he is doomed to be lonely all his life, whether it is misfortune or nobility.

Goethe is the main representative of German classical literature and one of the most outstanding writers in the history of world literature.He has gone through three stages in the history of German literature: Cyclone, Classicism and Romanticism. He is a rare long-lived writer in German history.Needless to say, Goethe's prominent position in the history of world literature, Marx and Engels are particularly fond of his works, one of the only two literary works that Lenin carried in exile was "Faust".

Goethe was born in Frankfurt am Main in 1749.His father, Johann Kaspar Goethe, was a royal counselor and doctor of laws, and his mother was the daughter of the mayor of Frankfurt, Text Stall.Childhood Goethe has shown amazing understanding. At the age of 8, he translated the Latin exercises in the highest grade of liberal arts middle school into German, and began to learn French, English, Italian and Hebrew. At the age of 10, he widely read the works of Aesop, Homer and others, and at the age of 11, he read the masterpieces of Racine and Molière. In August 1765, at the insistence of his father, Goethe went to Leipzig to study law against his will to study the classics. In April 8, he went to Strasbourg to continue his studies.Goethe's writing career began at the age of 1770. In the autumn of 4, the publication of "The Sorrows of Young Werther" made him famous in one fell swoop. It showed the spiritual anguish of the awakened bourgeois intellectuals in the feudal social environment at that time.The novel's fierce resistance to feudal morality and hierarchical concepts, as well as its strong demand for the liberation of individuality and the development of "geniuses", called out the inner voice of the awakened generation of intellectuals at that time, so progressives applauded it.This epistolary novel has attracted many people so much that even Napoleon, who lived in the army all his life, carried it with him and read it seven times.Engels said that it was by no means "an ordinary and sentimental love novel", but "established one of the greatest critical achievements".

(End of this chapter)