The 128 most classic philosophical essays in the world

Chapter 22 Fashion for the Leisurely Life

[China] Lin Yutang

To enjoy a leisurely life, the cost is not much.

There are many intertwined reasons for the Chinese people's love of leisure.The temperament of the Chinese people has been nurtured by literature and recognized by philosophy.This leisurely disposition, born of a love of life, stirred up by the undercurrents of romantic literature of all ages, was finally recognized by a philosophy of life - which may be roughly called Taoist philosophy - as an attitude of reasonable sympathy. .

The fact that Chinese people can accept this Taoist outlook on life wholeheartedly shows that they have the seeds of Taoist philosophy in their blood.

One thing we must first clarify is that this romantic admiration of leisure (we have said that it is the product of leisure) is by no means enjoyed by the bourgeoisie as we generally imagine.That notion is absolutely wrong.We must understand that this kind of leisure was admired by poor and down-to-earth scribes, some of whom were naturally fond of it, and some of whom had to.When I read the masterpieces of Chinese literature, or when I think of those poor teachers who teach their poor students poems and proses praising the leisurely life, I cannot help but think that they must find great satisfaction and spiritual satisfaction in these works. Consolation, the so-called "reputation is more tiring, seclusion is more comfortable", these words are very audible to those who fail in the exam; there are other sayings such as "snack can be meat", people who can't afford to support their families people can ridicule.Some young Chinese writers slandered Su Dongpo and Tao Yuanming as criminal leisure-class intellectuals. This can be said to be the biggest mistake in the history of literary criticism.Su Dongpo's poems only wrote about "the breeze on the river" and "the bright moon in the mountains", and Tao Yuanming's poems only said some "the evening dew touches my clothes" and "the rooster crows on the top of the mulberry tree". Is the cock crowing with Sang Shu Dian only the bourgeoisie can possess?These ancient celebrities did not just talk about the situation in the countryside. They lived a poor peasant life and gained peace and harmony in the rural life.

In this way, I think this kind of romantic admiration for leisure is basically civilian.We only need to imagine the great British novelist Lawrence Sterne on his emotional journey, or imagine the great British poets Wordsworth and Coleridge who traveled Europe on foot with great ideas of beauty in their hearts, And there is nothing in the bag.When I think of this, I have a better understanding of these romanticisms.One does not have to be rich to travel, and even today, travel does not have to be a luxury of the rich.In short, it is certainly much cheaper to enjoy a leisurely life than to enjoy a luxurious life.To enjoy a life of leisure it is only necessary to have an artist's disposition, and to spend a leisurely afternoon in a mood of complete leisure.As Thoreau said in "Walden", to enjoy a life of leisure does not cost much.

Generally speaking, Chinese romantics have keen senses and a wandering nature. Although they appear to be poor in material life, they are rich in emotion.They love life deeply, so they would rather resign from office and salary than serve their hearts as slaves.Leisure life in China is not the exclusive prerogative of the rich, powerful, and successful (the successful in the United States are even more in a hurry), but the product of a noble and conceited mood very much like that The idea of ​​the dignity of a Western vagabond who is too conceited to ask for advice, too self-reliant to work, and too smart to take the world around him too seriously.This kind of mood is produced by a consciousness that transcends the world, and is naturally connected with this consciousness; it can also be said to be produced by the ambition, stupidity, and temptation of fame and fortune that see through life.That noble and conceited scholar who puts his personality more important than his career achievements and his soul more important than his fame and fortune is considered by everyone to be the most lofty ideal in Chinese literature.He is obviously a person who lives a very simple life and despises worldly fame.

Great writers of this type—Tao Yuanming, Su Dongpo, Bai Juyi, Yuan Zhonglang, Yuan Zicai—all had a short period of official life, and their political achievements were very good, but they were willing to do so because they were tired of the kowtow to see them off. Abandoned his official position and resigned from his salary, and returned to his hometown to live a retired life.When Yuan Zhonglang was the magistrate of Suzhou, he sent seven resignation letters to his superiors in a row, expressing that he did not want to do this kind of kowtow, and asked to resign so that he could go home and live a free life.

Another poet, Bai Yuchan, who titled his study "Lan'an", praised the ability of a leisurely life:
Read the Danjing lazily, the way is not in the book;
Lazy view of Tibetan religion, the skin of the Tao.

The essentials of the Tao are more precious than purity and emptiness,
What is Qingxu?Be stupid all day long.

There are poems that are lazily chanted, but the intestines are dry outside the sentence;
Playing the qin lazily, the rhyme outside the string is lonely;
Drinking lazily with wine, drunk out of the rivers and lakes;
There is a chess game, and an accidental fight.

Lazily watching the streams and mountains, there are pictures inside;
Lazy to the wind and moon, there is a pot inside;
Lazy with the world, there are fields and cottages inside;
Ask about the cold and heat, there is a god inside.

The pines and cypresses are rotten, and I am always like this.

Isn't it okay to call it a careless nunnery?
From the above praises, it can be seen that this kind of leisurely life can only be enjoyed with a peaceful heart, open-minded concept, and a mind that can enjoy nature to the fullest.Poets and scholars often inscribe some weird nicknames, such as Jianghu Ke (Du Fu), Dongpo Layman (Su Dongpo), Yanhu Sanren, Jinxiage Old Man, etc.

Enjoy a leisurely life without money.Rich people may not really appreciate the fun of a leisurely life, but those who despise money really understand the fun.He must have a rich heart, have a hobby of simple life, and don't care much about the way of making money. Only such a person is eligible to enjoy a leisurely life.If a person really wants to enjoy life, life is enough for him to enjoy.Ordinary people cannot appreciate the joys of this earthly life because they do not love life deeply and make life ordinary, rigid and boring.Some people say that Lao Tzu hates life. This is absolutely wrong. I think the reason why Lao Tzu despises worldly life is because he loves life too much and does not want life to become "living for life".

Where there is love, there is jealousy. A person who loves life must cherish the happy time he should enjoy, but at the same time he must maintain the dignity and arrogance unique to the tramp. Even his fishing time is not the same as his. The office hours are as sacred and inviolable as a canon, just as the British regard games as a canon.He must have felt as much disgusted by someone talking to him about the stock market at a golf club as a scientist was harassed in a laboratory.He must have often counted how many days the spring will be gone, and felt sad and frustrated that he hadn't made a few invitations, like a philistine who regrets that he didn't sell some goods today.

Heart mark notes
Leisurely is a state of freedom to come and go like idle clouds and wild cranes, it is the free and easy and detachment of "sit and watch the clouds rise", it is the simplicity of temperament after being refined, and it is a natural state of life itself.This is a kind of entertainment, a kind of joy, and a kind of great freedom for the life itself after cleaning up all the worldly dust.At the entrance of leisure, reject all worldly worldly thoughts such as fame, greed, impetuosity, fear, jealousy, ambition, etc., and only when the state of mind is clear and clear as nothing can you achieve the state of leisure.Leisure cannot be created intentionally, but felt with the heart.

Therefore, leisure cannot be artificial.Leisure is not idleness, nor is it doing nothing.One cannot live a leisurely life, nor can one live without leisure.

(End of this chapter)