The wisdom of I Ching

Chapter 95 Keeping a Sober Mind at All Times—Kanglong Has Regrets

【Original Code】

Last nine, Kang Long had regrets.

"Xiang" says: Kanglong has regrets, and it will not last long.

——"Book of Changes Dry"

【Interpretation】

The nine lines on the hexagram of "Qian" say: The dragon flies to the sky, and when it reaches a very high place, it will have repentance.

"Xiang Zhuan" said: Long Fei will regret it if he reaches a high place.Because things must be reversed at extremes, and when things develop to the end, they will definitely develop towards the original opposite.

The ancients said: "Things must be reversed when they are extreme", and "When they are prosperous, they must decline." The appearance of "Hanglong" refers to the phenomenon of changes in things.Kang means extreme and high-pitched.Because "the flying dragon is in the sky", flying too high, suddenly exceeded the limit, showing a situation of overwhelming load.When things reach their peak of strength, they will gradually weaken, and then perish very quickly. "When the moon is full, it loses, and when the water is full, it overflows." Water and the moon are two of the most righteous things in nature, and even they cannot be too "full", let alone human beings?

Some people only know how to fight but can't retire in time, only know the principle of growth but don't know how to decline, only know how to gain but don't know how to lose, this is the "excessiveness" mentioned in the last nine lines.The text of the scriptures warns us not to pursue success and fame without limit, but to seek truth from facts, be prepared for danger in times of peace, and be vigilant about ourselves.Although it is possible for our talents to be supernormal, they are not unconditionally supernormal. If we ignore the existence of objective reality and only rely on subjective blindness, it will only lead to consequences beyond regret.

【Category】

Story [-]: Deng Tong did not know restraint and suffered bad luck
"Historical Records Ning Xing Biography" records a story named Deng Tong. He was the favorite of Emperor Wenwen of the Han Dynasty.Emperor Wen rewarded him with a lot of money, and also granted him the official position of a doctor.

In fact, Deng Tong is just a sailor and has no practical talents.His strength is that he is very cautious in dealing with things, he is submissive to the emperor, he can neither advise the emperor, nor recommend wise men, he just blindly flatters him.

Emperor Wen gave Deng Tong a copper mountain and allowed him to mint money himself.From then on, Deng Tong made a fortune by casting money. The copper coins he cast were all over the world, and everyone knew that there was "Deng's money".He is known as "the copper mountain that produces horses, and the gold cave that is hidden at home", which shows its economic strength.

One day, a sore developed on Emperor Wen's back, and pus and blood flowed continuously.Deng Tong felt that this was an opportunity to show his loyalty. If he behaved well, he would not only get more rewards, but he might even make himself a prince.After making up his mind, Deng Tong went to the palace every day to suck pus and blood for Emperor Wen with his mouth.

One day, Emperor Wen suddenly asked Deng Tong: "Who in the world loves me the most?" Deng Tong replied obediently: "Of course it is the prince."Seeing the sore pus and blood blurred, the prince couldn't help feeling sick, but he didn't dare to disobey his father's order, so he had to bite the bullet and suck, but his face was ugly.Later, he heard that Deng usually sucked pus and blood for Emperor Wen, which was impossible for his own son, so he felt very ashamed.But the prince felt that Deng Tong's actions were hypocritical and suspected of asking for credit.More importantly, Deng Tong made it difficult for him as the prince to do so, and he hated Deng Tong because of it.

After the death of Emperor Wen, the prince Liu Qi came to the throne, which was Emperor Han Jing.Emperor Jing was so worried about what happened back then, so he found an opportunity to remove Deng Tong from his official position.The throne has changed hands, and the new master doesn't like him. It stands to reason that he should be vigilant and restrain his words and deeds.However, in order to divert his frustration in the power field, Deng Tong took the risk and engaged in coin speculation.He thought that by doing so, he would be able to make himself wealthy, and even if he could no longer be a high-ranking official, he would be able to reach a considerable level of financial resources.

Soon, Deng Tong was accused of casting money for huge profits.When Emperor Jing heard the news, he took advantage of the problem and sent people to investigate the matter, and confiscated all Deng Tong's money.Deng Tong ended up in poverty and died in the end.

People like Deng Tong are to blame for their greed and misfortune.Throughout the ages, there have been many people who were prominent for a time and climbed to the top of power or wealth, but they ended up badly and fell from the top, giving their lives an imperfect ending.

Story [-]: Zeng Guofan voluntarily surrendered power

After defeating the Taiping Army, the prestige of the Zeng Guofan brothers can be said to have reached its peak.Not only did Zeng Guofan have a lot of titles, but he also commanded the Hunan Army of more than 30 people, restraining the Huai Army led by Li Hongzhang and the Chu Army under Zuo Zongtang's command.In addition to the areas directly under the jurisdiction of Liangjiang, namely the three provinces of Jiangsu, Anhui, and Jiangxi, even Zhejiang, Henan, Hubei, Fujian, and even Guangdong, Guangxi, and Sichuan provinces are also under the control of the generals of the Hunan Army.Half of the Qing government is under his control.

In order to control Zeng Guofan, the Qing government took two measures: on the one hand, it quickly promoted and actively supported the generals of the Hunan Army under Zeng Guofan, making them equal in status to Zeng Guofan, but their feelings gradually became alienated, breaking their subordinate relationship; Zeng Guofan's generals and staff, such as Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang, Shen Baozhen, Yang Zaifu, Liu Changyou, etc. who were in power at the time, implemented a policy of wooing and supporting them, so that they could gradually fight against Zeng Guofan, or even quarrel with each other, so as to facilitate the control of the Qing government and exploit.

The treatment of Zeng Guoquan, Zeng Guofan's younger brother, was just the opposite.After Zeng Guoquan was promoted to governor of Zhejiang in May of the second year of Tongzhi (1863), although he was still handling military affairs in Yuhuatai, he did not go to Hangzhou to take up his post.So Zeng Guofan asked Zeng Guoquan to play the military situation himself, so that he could be the first to report his merits after the capture of Tianjing.Unexpectedly, the Qing government did not allow him to report to Zeng Guofan because he had not yet taken the post of governor.Zeng Guofan was afraid that Zeng Guoquan's depression and bad words would cause trouble in the memorial, so he dispatched his knowledgeable confidant Zhao Liewen to Yuhuatai Camp to be responsible for drafting chapters and other matters.

After Zeng Guoquan captured Tianjing, he went up to report the victory that night, thinking that he would be greatly praised, but unexpectedly he was hit in the head.The imperial edict accused Zeng Guoquan of not returning to the camp at Yuhuatai on the night of the breach of the city, which allowed more than a thousand Taiping troops to break through. The tone was quite severe.Fortunately, someone sent Li Xiucheng to the camp in bundles, otherwise Zeng Guoquan would be even more ashamed.

However, the Qing government did not stop there, but approached it step by step, holding on to it.A few days later, the Qing government traced the whereabouts of the gold and silver in Tianjing, and Zeng Guofan quickly found out and reported it to the Ministry of Households for allocation.The imperial edict said: "Zeng Guofan joined the army as a Confucian official. He has the longest history in the army and the most military exploits. He can be cautious until the end. He is famous for his honor. However, all the generals under his command, from Zeng Guoquan and below, should be warned by the minister at any time. Make a sudden victory and be proud, and the common people can continue to cherish their loved ones." This is undoubtedly telling Zeng Guofan that if he does not know the taboos, it will be difficult to "keep his reputation forever" and "become a loved one forever".

Faced with this situation, Zeng Guofan adopted a positive response strategy, and took the initiative to ask the imperial court to reduce the Hunan Army, in order to show his loyalty to the emperor and the imperial court; Please stop from Lijin to Jinling Daying in Guangdong, Jiangxi, Hunan and other provinces.

Zeng Guofan's voluntary request was in line with the wishes of the rulers of the Qing Dynasty, so he followed suit and agreed to dismiss the Hunan Army.Because this issue was raised by Zeng Guofan on his own initiative, he was still appointed as the governor of Liangjiang, and this was exactly what Zeng Guofan himself wanted to achieve.Zeng Guofan's move of conceding power and reducing his post relieved the court's suspicion of him to a considerable extent, and Zeng Guofan finally kept his official position.Few people, including Zeng Guoquan, can deeply understand this kind of strategy in this political transaction between Zeng Guofan and the Qing court.

In ancient China, things like "a big tree attracts the wind, and a high merit shakes the master" often happened. Some people who hold a lot of power will inevitably be suspected and suppressed by the upper class.The method they adopted was to cut off their own arms, so as to eliminate hidden worries and protect themselves wisely.The above-mentioned historical experience has a strong feudal political color, reflecting the way the rulers dealt with internal contradictions at that time.The enlightenment to us is: there is a contradiction between the leader and the led, how to deal with this contradiction is a science.Subordinates have made achievements, and they cannot attribute all the credit to themselves, let alone be arrogant and defiant because of this.What's more important is that while succeeding, we must also see the future journey. In the days of victory, we should not be dazzled by the victory.

【The Heart of the Book of Changes】

After some people have made some achievements in their careers, they are often dazzled by the victory, so that they plant the seeds of disaster, and regret it in the end. "Be modest to benefit, full to suffer loss", you must not only have great ambitions, but also have the mentality of being willing to serve others. Only with this kind of mentality can people be auspicious and blessed.

But how many successful people can keep a clear head?The dragon is an animal in the sea. If the dragon forgets the sea after flying into the sky, the cloud formed by sea vapor will return to the sea, leaving the dragon alone in the sky.When a person stays in a high position for a long time, he will unconsciously become arrogant and his temper will become weird.He is in the supreme position, he can't see the real needs of the people at all, and he is unwilling to listen to the opinions of the people, so he becomes a "lonely man" who betrays his relatives.

Success is something to celebrate, but also be aware that taking credit for it can have dire consequences.If a person or a group is high above and separated from the people, it will be in a dangerous situation.How many people have fallen down in history, and there will be people who will continue to fall down in the future. This is called "Kanglong has regrets".

Not all people who stand on a high place will be thrown down. A wise high-ranking person will not have the "regret" of falling down, because he can know that he is already at the pinnacle of his life and career, and the height is too cold, so Step down consciously.You must not be greedy for power, pleasure and self-interest, and rely on a high position to do things in a stupid way, otherwise there will be danger at any time.

Therefore, when a person develops to the peak, he still needs to keep a clear mind, and he must be able to see both the successful side and the shortcomings or regrets.Only by facing the reality correctly and discovering the shortcomings in time can we not let the mistakes continue.When flaws and mistakes have not yet shown negative effects, it is wise to suppress them in time; on the contrary, if mistakes are allowed to catch the fast train, it will inevitably lead to regret.

(End of this chapter)