plain book

Chapter 18 Interpretation of Plain Books (16)
King Xuan of Qi once said: "I have a problem, I love money very much." Mencius said: "The former lord Liu of the Zhou Dynasty was a man of good goods. It is recorded in the Book of Songs: He taught the people to work hard, increase production, and fill the warehouse with grain. Make dry food and put it in the bag so that the people can carry it. He also reorganized the army and trained the military, and gathered the common people to train. After these are almost done, he brought bows and arrows, equipped with weapons such as spears, and revived his ancestors. The people who stayed behind There are plenty of granaries, and those who set off have packed dry food, so they set off after being prepared. If the king can follow the example of his ancestors and be proactive and keep wealth for the people, isn't it a good thing?"

[Original] The roots are dead and the branches are rotten, and the people are trapped and the country is disabled.

The note said: "The battle of the Great Wall flourished, but the state of Qin collapsed! The battle of Bianqu flourished, but the state of Sui collapsed!"

Wang said: "If a tree is flourishing, its roots must be deep. If the people have a stable family business, the country must be upright. If the soil is shallow and the roots are rotten, the branches and leaves will wither. Civil labor is frequent, and the people complain. Planting and breeding are lost, and management fails. Don't worry about it." Harvesting or not harvesting, the momentum will force the conquest; if it seems to be done like this, the people will be damaged, and there will be dangers of being disabled."

【Interpretation】If the root of a big tree dies, the branches and leaves above will also die; if the people of a country are in dire straits and are precarious, the big tree of the country will also die with branches and leaves.

It is not difficult to be a ruler. The greatest wisdom is actually one sentence: the people live well, and the country will naturally prosper and be strong.If you exhaust the water to fish, you will end up with the fate of ruining your family and ruining your country.The Sui Dynasty was one of the shortest-lived dynasties in China. During the reign of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, people from all over the world were recruited to build the Grand Canal and other projects. There were as many as 200 million people who were employed every month.When there are not enough men, women are recruited, which is rare in history.Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty drained the power of the people in the world, and he himself died.

[Original] Those who are on the same track as the overturned car fall, those who work with the subjugated country will perish.

The note said: "Han Wu wanted to be the Qin Emperor's business, almost to the point of indifference; but those who could have an end, mourned and regretted themselves at the end of the year. Jie and Zhou died with female sex, but King You's praise and concubine were the same. Han died with eunuchs, And Lieutenant Tang is the same."

Wang said: "The front car overturns, and the rear car changes course. If you don't choose the road, you will also be in danger of overturning. For example, the husband of the king of Wu favored Xi Shi, and Zixu refused to listen, so he committed suicide under the Gusu platform. Zixu died Afterwards, the King of Yue Xingbing was defeated. Since the Ping Wu, the State of Yue was obsessed with sensuality and did not manage state affairs; Colleagues who are subjugated will be in danger of being overthrown."

【Interpretation】Follow the overturned rut, and you will overturn in the end; learn from those who have failed, and you will only fail in the end.Later generations summed up the historical experience in order to seek good luck and avoid bad luck, and to avoid failures.

In history, the abolition of the elders and the establishment of the young have caused countless court coups. The defeat of Yuan Shao and Liu Biao in the Three Kingdoms period was all related to the abolition of the elders and the establishment of the young.Cao Zhi, Cao Cao's youngest son, has been clever and intelligent since he was a child. When he was 10 years old, he recited hundreds of thousands of words of poems, essays, and Fu, and he was deeply loved by Cao Cao.Cao Cao once thought that Cao Zhi was "the most capable of deciding big things" among the princes, and he once wanted to make him the prince.One day, Cao Cao told Jia Xu about the matter and wanted to ask his opinion.But Jia Xu just didn't open his mouth, and finally he was forced to say: "Just now I thought of some other people and things, such as Yuan Shao and Liu Biao." Destruction, today's event is "falling on the same track as the overturned car".Cao Cao is a smart man, he understood it as soon as he heard it, he laughed, and never mentioned the matter of setting up Cao Zhi again.

【Original】Whoever sees his own loss, be careful about losing it; whoever hates its traces must avoid it.

The note said: "Those who have lost it, see it and go away; those who are about to lose it, be cautious and eliminate it. Those who hate its traces, act in a hurry and hate it. It is not like throwing away shoes and doing nothing. Acting rashly and hating knowledge is not like being ignorant. Move without doing anything."

Wang said: "The sage and wise ruler, the virtuous and capable minister, governs the country with the right way, and the world is peaceful. The lord of confusion, if he does not practice the kingly way, he can think about what he does in daily life. Good and evil, sincerity may defeat the family and the country, and it is time to go first. Avoid."

【Interpretation】Knowing that there have been misfortunes or mistakes in the past, once you find similar signs appearing, you should be careful to prevent it from happening again, so that it can be wiped out in the bud; hate what happened before If you have made a bad deed, you should try your best to avoid repeating the same mistakes.

There are innovations in the system in every era, but more is learning, learning from the successful experience of the predecessors and summing up the lessons of failure.For example, the rule that eunuchs are not allowed to interfere in politics was first established by Zhu Yuanzhang in the Ming Dynasty. He stipulated that "officials must not interfere in political affairs, and offenders will be executed." He placed this rule in the palace gate.why?Eunuchs are a heterogeneous type in ancient Chinese courts. They are neither men nor women, and they are slaves who directly serve the royal family.The princes grew up in the palace and were served by eunuchs every day. Over time, they will develop a sense of intimacy and trust unconsciously.The eunuchs around the emperor were all well versed in the emperor's likes and dislikes.They have access to a lot of secrets and know everything about palace affairs.Therefore, the result of eunuchs intervening in the court is actually quite dangerous.

The Tang Dynasty was a dynasty with more eunuchs intervening in politics. In the Xuanzong Dynasty, there were more than a thousand eunuchs above the fifth rank. Among them, Yang Sixu became the Duke of Guo from the first rank.Gao Lishi accompanied Tang Xuanzong, and his actual status was astonishingly high.The kings and princesses called him "A Weng", and even Prince Li Heng called him "Second Brother".As a result, there was the Anshi Rebellion, and the Tang Dynasty turned from prosperity to decline.

It was based on historical experience that Zhu Yuanzhang ordered his ministers not to interfere in political affairs.

[Original] Those who fear danger will be safe, and those who fear death will survive.

Wang said: "If you are favored and think about humiliation, there will be no harm to your body; if you live in peace and worry about danger, there will be no disasters. If you fear the danger of your family and country, you will use loyal and good people; stay away from evil people, and the law will rule chaos. live."

【Interpretation】Those who know that they are afraid of danger can properly restrain themselves, keep vigilance at all times to ensure that they do not take risks; in the same way, those who know that they are afraid of death can live longer.

If one wants to achieve something, one must fear its opposite; if one wants to gain health, one must fear death; if one wants to achieve success, one must fear failure.The heart of awe is the greatest wisdom to protect yourself and achieve your career.Because the first priority in life is not to get more things, but to put yourself in a safe and healthy situation first, "When you die, you know everything is empty."The first priority of war is not to destroy the enemy, but to protect oneself.

"Century-year enterprise" is the dream of every entrepreneur. The life and death of countless enterprises tells people a simple truth: survival is the last word!Momentary success can be achieved by many people. It is like cherry blossoms in full bloom, which will disperse with the wind. Only a century-old foundation is the great wisdom!But how can we build a "hundred-year enterprise"?Huang Shigong told us a simple truth on the basis of summarizing the experience of the predecessors: "Those who fear danger will be safe, and those who fear death will survive."

[Original Code] Madam's deeds, if there is a way, it will be auspicious, and if there is no way, it will be bad.The auspicious ones will return with all blessings, and the evil ones will be attacked by all kinds of disasters. It is not sacred, and it is naturally loved.

The note said: "Those who have the way do not seek blessings themselves, and the blessings return themselves; those who do not have the way, fear disasters more, and disasters attack them more. Is there a god to rule over them? It is the principle of nature."

Wang said: "Those who do good will not do good things; those who do evil will certainly hurt their bodies. If you cultivate your mind and body, and cultivate your virtues with integrity, it is said that if you have the right way, everything will prosper. If you do not have good governance in your heart, you will do evil in your body; you will not be close to it." Loyalty, slanderers and sycophants, who call it immoral, must be in danger.

Doing good in politics is naturally auspicious; doing wrong and doing evil is bound to be perilous.There is no way for misfortune or good fortune, people call it themselves; if it is not from the gods, it is all due to people's good and evil. "

【Interpretation】As long as a person's behavior is in line with morality and the laws of nature, it will be auspicious and festive, otherwise it will be dangerous and unpredictable.A moral person seeks blessings unintentionally, and the rewards will come; a person who does many unrighteous acts intentionally avoids disasters, and disasters will come from heaven.What a person gets is bad or good, neither god nor holy, but a natural causal relationship.Therefore, success or failure depends on strategy, and safety depends on virtue.

In Chinese history, there is rarely a family that continues to be rich and honored for generations, so there is a saying that wealth does not last for three generations.But the Confucius family is an exception.Since the Han Dynasty "only respected Confucianism", this big family has been respected by future generations. In times of chaos, bandits and theft, almost no one endangered this family.why?The reason lies in the saying "If there is a way, it will be good, if there is no way, it will be bad".

[Original Code] Those who do good strategies will have no evil, and those who have no foresight will have immediate worries.

Wang said: "If you do good and govern, you will not be invaded by evil things; if you think long-term and plan deeply, there will be no worries. People who are good will do justice and will not pursue evil and danger. Think about hundreds of things, travel far, and never get close to evil. on the body.

If you agree with each other, you will conspire with each other; if you have the same ambition, you will be famous and successful.For example, Liu Xianzhu and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei have the same heart, reject Wu and enemy Wei, and have the heart to rule the world; after the Han Dynasty destroys three points, he will be the master of Shuchuan. "

【Interpretation】Confucius once said: "If you aspire to be benevolent, there is no evil." It means: if you aspire to be a benevolent person, you will not have any bad problems that people hate, and you will not become a wicked person who does evil.A person who has no bad habits can easily be recognized and accepted by others in society, and live a more comfortable life. Everyone will think of you when there are good things.Therefore, to be a person, one must start with "kindness", think kindly, do good deeds, and do good deeds.People who are praised in history always have some outstanding advantages, such as Tang Taizong, who has a broad mind and can tolerate different political opinions. This alone has been praised by future generations for thousands of years.

Confucius said: "If a person does not have long-term considerations, he must have near-term worries." If a person does not have long-term considerations, he will definitely have immediate worries.Many of people's current worries are actually caused by not having a good plan before that.An important reason for successful people is that they can take a long-term view of everything and prepare in advance.

Over the past 30 years of China's reforms, China's national strength has increased greatly, thanks to those far-sighted scholars in the 60s and 2003s of the last century.At that time, a group of scholars led by Ma Yinchu saw the trend of population growth in the future, and predicted that if family planning was not implemented, by 16, China's population would reach between 26 and 30 billion.With so many people, they will eat up all the national income, and there will be no accumulation at all, let alone development.The Chinese government finally adopted their suggestions and implemented the family planning policy, which has reduced the number of births by hundreds of millions of people in China for decades, reduced the pressure on economic development, and laid the foundation for the achievements of [-] years of reform and opening up.More recently, the United Nations has also promoted this policy around the world.

[Original] Comrades benefit from each other, colleagues worry from each other.

The note said: "Shun has eight yuan and eight Kai. Tang is Yi Yin. Confucius is Yan Hui. King Wen Zhihong and San, Weizi's father and teacher, Shaoshi, Zhou Dan's Zhaogong, Guan Zhongzhi Baoshu also. "

Wang said: "When a gentleman is not a virtuous person, he worries about each other. He is slanderous and flattering in power, and his loyal ministers die to advise him. For example, Duke Ling of Wei lost power, and his country was in chaos. He did not accept Yun Boyu's bitter advice, but listened to Mi Zixia's slander, and Boyu retired to live in seclusion. Xia was favored by the high-ranking officials. Shi Yu saw that Zixia was slanderous and could not retreat, but knew that Boyu was loyal and good but could not advance. The king did not follow his advice, and things did not work out of the government. When he returned home with an illness, his son said: "I die." Afterwards, you can put the corpse in the side house. If the linggong comes, you will ask him why, and you can listen to his words.' When the linggong arrives, ask why the corpse is buried here? His son said: 'The last words of the ancestors: see A virtuous person cannot advance, like a slanderer cannot retreat, what is a minister? Life cannot be a ruler, and death cannot be a funeral!' Duke Ling repented when he heard the words, retreated from his son's flaws, and used Boyu. This is the concern of colleagues. Good at recommending virtuous men, Kuang Jun is the way to uphold the country."

【Interpretation】As a part of a social group, people have the most complicated relationship between people. Sometimes they form gangs, and sometimes they hate each other. It seems chaotic and disorderly, but in fact, there are reasons for separation and aggregation. The "Su Shu" then discusses the cause and effect of interpersonal relationships, which is a valuable experience in understanding society.

Like-minded people always have the same pursuit, which makes them unite; kind-hearted people always have similar qualities, which makes them come together.

Among many disciples, Confucius probably liked Yan Hui more.why?Because Yan Hui has many similarities with Confucius in terms of life experience and moral character.He was born in poverty and lived a poor life since he was a child, but he was able to live in poverty and live happily, without admiring wealth and honor; he has a quiet personality, is extremely intelligent, and is good at deep thinking.In his life, Confucius insisted on leading by example. Whatever he advocated, he must first do it himself.On this point, Yan Hui is the same.In terms of life, he strictly followed Confucius' requirements on "benevolence" and "propriety", and was "sensitive to things but cautious in words".In terms of study, he adhered to the spirit of "not ashamed to ask questions from subordinates" and spent his whole life "researching and strengthening", which is in line with Confucius' requirements for students.So Confucius praised Yan Hui for having the four virtues of a gentleman, that is, he is stronger than doing righteousness, weaker than receiving remonstrance, fearful of waiting for salary, and prudent in governing himself.

[Original] The same evil phase party.

Note: "Shang Zhou has hundreds of millions of ministers, and nine thousand robbers."

Wang said: "For example, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty was cowardly and cowardly. Ten constant attendants exercised power. He shut himself up and down. He regarded the evil as his confidant and the vicious as his party. He did not use good ministers and murdered good ministers. The world is fierce and desolate, and heroes rise together. Cao Cao's traitor Dong Zhuo plotted chaos, Afterwards, it will eventually be defeated. This is the same evil as a party, confusing the family and the country, and perishing the world."

【Interpretation】People form different groups, apart from having the same interests and pursuits, what is more important is the same disposition and quality.During the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty, a group of eunuchs formed a gang, known as the "Ten Standings" in history, and its leaders were Zhang Rang and Zhao Zhong.This group of people played the little emperor in the palm of their hands, and even Lingdi said, "Zhang Changshi is my father, and Zhao Changshi is my mother."Shi Changshi himself extorted violently, sold his officials to sell his nobles, and their fathers, brothers and children spread all over the world, ran amok in the villages, harmed the people, and no officials dared to control them.left a notoriety in history.

In the Three Kingdoms, people have some criticisms of Cao Cao. In Beijing opera facial makeup, he is always painted as a treacherous minister with a white face, which may be related to Cao Cao's family background.Cao Cao's grandfather was Cao Teng, who was one of the ten permanent servants of the eunuch group in the late Eastern Han Dynasty.Later generations hated the ten permanent servants, so they didn't have a good impression of Cao Cao himself.

【Original】Seek with love.

The note said: "If you love profit, you will seek it from those who gather; if you love martial arts, you will seek it from those who talk about soldiers. People who correct and slander seek it. Anyone who loves is biased by emotion and blinded by nature."

Wang said: "For example, the king of Yan is a good man, builds a golden platform, recruits heroes, and uses joy and perseverance to protect his country; Sui Yangdi loves sex, builds a star-picking tower to favor Concubine Xiao, and loses her body. What is good at the top, must be done at the bottom. Follow it; if you are loyal and good, the country will be governed; if you are close to slanderers, you will lose the country and perish.

[Interpretation] All people, due to their nature, must have something to love, and those who like to collect will naturally form a circle.Especially for a leader, his personal preferences will affect a group of people.Back then, Qin Shihuang was good at the art of immortality, and always wanted to live longer, so a group of alchemists surrounded him, asking for officials and money for money, hoping that they could come up with an immortal medicine.As a result, countless money was spent, and there was no medicine for immortality.In order to excuse themselves, these alchemists also spoke ill of Qin Shihuang everywhere.In a fit of anger, Qin Shihuang launched a "burning books and burying Confucianism" and killed them all.

[Original] The same beauty is jealous.

Note: "Women are Empress Wu, Wei Shuren, and Xiao Liangdi. Men are Zhao Gao and Li Si."

【Interpretation】When two beauties stand together, they are always in a bad mood for each other. This is the jealousy of human beings.Colleagues are enemies, and Tongmei is also an enemy.The fan battles in history are very brutal.After Empress Wu Zetian gained power, in order to keep her position, people cut off Concubine Xiao Shu and Queen Wang's hands and feet and soaked them in wine jars.

As with women, so with men.During the Three Kingdoms period, Zhou Yu was handsome and intelligent, and he didn't think of being second to others in Soochow.Unexpectedly, when Lianshu was fighting against Cao Cao, Zhuge Liang came, and his strategy and tactics overwhelmed him everywhere.Zhou Yu was terribly jealous, and sighed "Ji Shengyu, He Shengliang", tried to harm him several times, but failed, and finally was killed by Zhuge Liang in a fit of anger.

【Original】Conspire with wisdom.

Note: "Liu Bei, Cao Cao, Zhai Rang, Li Mi are also."

(End of this chapter)