The Northern Song Dynasty once had two prime ministers, one named Sima Guang and the other named Wang Anshi. One is conservative and the other is reformist.
Sima Guang was very clever when he was young, when he was a child, his companion accidentally fell into the water tank, and he saw that he was going to drown, Sima Guangren was small and weak, unable to rescue him, in a hurry, he moved a stone to break the cylinder, the water flowed out, and the companion was saved. "Sima Guang smashing the cylinder" has become a beautiful talk that has been passed down through the ages.
He was gentle in temperament, generous in his treatment of others, and even became a prime minister, and also followed the old law, adhered to the ancestral system, advocated "ruling without doing anything", had a measured speech, was well-dressed, and was a humble gentleman.
Wang Anshi read very well from a small book, "Famous Chuanli Lane", he was old and heavy, and he did not smile at a young age. Young people have won the ambition, and the official fortunes are prosperous. He held the power of the imperial court and "strictly disciplined himself". In addition to not loving to take a bath and dressing quite unrefinedly, he often went on a pilgrimage to see Tianzi and ordered Wen Wu.
By the standards of the time, he was basically a psychopath. However, the emperor admired him very much, although Wang Anshi was a typical "dirty mess", he was still "very generous to the emperor", became the prime minister of the dynasty, keen on reform, implemented the "one whip" law, and tried to collect taxes for the Great Song and replenish the national treasury.
Sima Guang and Wang Anshi, with very different personalities and political enemies, sang and appeared on the stage, taking turns to be prime ministers, quite untreated. The political views of the two of them were one hundred and eighteen thousand miles apart.
Above the temple, Sima Guang and Wang Anshi were sworn enemies, and both considered each other's governing policies to be ridiculous. Each of them feels that they are smarter than each other, more correct than each other, and more aware of the national conditions than each other. Therefore, in the process of competing for power, the two were not polite at all, using various means to kill each other. The result of the struggle was that Wang Anshi won and Sima Guang was ousted from the throne of prime minister.
Wang Anshi was in power, and the emperor asked him what he thought of Sima Guang, and Wang Anshi praised him, calling Sima Guang "the pillar of the country" and giving him a high evaluation of his character, ability, and literary achievements.
Because of this, although Sima Guang lost the trust of the emperor, he did not fall into a tragic situation because of the fall of power, and was able to calmly "retreat from the rivers and lakes", chant poems, and eat gold.
A dog has his day. The so-called thirty years of Hedong, thirty years of Hexi. The cynical Wang Anshi vigorously carried out reforms, which not only touched the interests of the emperor and nobles, but also caused strong dissatisfaction from local officials, and the government and the opposition were full of scolding, and there would be impeachment in every dynasty. "Zeng Sanjie is a murderer, and he is shocked by his mother three times a day." The emperor originally trusted Wang Anshi very much, and the three of them became tigers, and every day he heard someone say that Wang Anshi was not, and finally lost patience, dismissed him from his post on the spot, and reappointed Sima Guang as the prime minister.
The wall fell and everyone pushed, and the drum was broken. Since Wang Anshi had already been deposed, many officials jumped out and complained to the emperor about his blackness. For a time, the complaint was like snow, full of Danxi. The emperor listened to rumors and wanted to cure Wang Anshi of his sins and seek Sima Guang's advice.
Many people thought that Wang Anshi had harmed Sima Guang and lost his official position, and now that the emperor wanted to punish him, it was a good time to fall into the well. However, Sima Guang did not intend to be the last straw to crush the camel. He earnestly told the emperor that Wang Anshi was jealous and hateful, open-minded and loyal, and had the style of an ancient gentleman. Your Majesty must not listen to rumors.
After listening to Sima Guang's evaluation of Wang Anshi, the emperor said a word: Qing and other gentlemen are also gentlemen!
Gentlemen are harmonious and different. I have a good relationship with you and respect your character, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with your political views. My opposition to your ideas, methods, and means of governing does not mean a denial of your personal moral character. Treat people and do things with principles, measures and bottom lines, this is a gentleman.
As a young man, Churchill was a member of the British House of Commons for a long time, and he had a female colleague named Margaret whose appearance could almost be called ugly, and the political views of the two were very different.
What Churchill agreed to, Margaret often objected to, and likewise, Churchill generally voted against what Margaret proposed. The two men quarreled in the house at every turn, accusing and insulting each other, and finally dispersed unhappily.
One day, Churchill drank too much wine at lunch, drunkenly smoked and burped, and staggered to the House of Commons for a meeting, and happened to meet Margaret in the corridor. Margaret yelled at him angrily: Winston, you're drunk again! Your look is disgusting!
Churchill countered harshly: Yes, you're right. I was really disgusting when I was drunk. Tomorrow I'll wake up drunk and I won't be disgusted. But what about you Margaret? You were born ugly, yesterday ugly, ugly today, and ugly tomorrow!
This is simply too much. Margaret did not expect Churchill to be so vicious that she cried bitterly on the spot.
To be fair, Churchill's approach was very unforgiving, presumably because he drank too much wine. This unpleasant affair was widely circulated in the House of Commons, and everyone thought that Margaret must have hated Churchill to the bone.
In 1939, Nazi Germany invaded Poland, and the British Prime Minister at the time was Chamberlain, because he blindly implemented a policy of tranquility against Hitler, which was strongly opposed by the people and was forced to resign as prime minister. King George nominated Churchill to succeed Chamberlain as Prime Minister, but only with the approval of more than two-thirds of the members of Parliament. Some people opposed Churchill's appointment as prime minister, and some parliamentarians were contacted to vote against it.
They went to Margaret and wanted her to join the camp against Churchill's appointment as prime minister. Margaret flatly refused. She said: "I fully support Churchill, and at this critical juncture I cannot think of anyone better suited to lead England than him, and among those I have met, his courage and wisdom and his patriotism are beyond his right.
This is another form of harmony and is different. Margaret disapproved of Churchill's political ideas or even his way of life, yet, deep down, she respected Churchill's talent and patriotism. Therefore, as a political opponent, when the opportunity to fight against political opponents came, she chose to give up.
In this sense, Margaret is a true gentleman.
George Washington was a hero of the American Revolutionary War and a founding father, known as the "Father of America". His personal prestige reached its peak after he led militias in the North American colonies to defeat the British army and win independence.
Many of his subordinates supported him and wanted him to be king. Faced with the temptation of the crown, Washington refused without the slightest hesitation. He said, "If I accede to your request to become king, then the blood shed by the people of the thirteen states in their struggle for freedom is worthless."
His subordinates were touched by his noble personality and unanimously elected him President of the United States of America.
Jefferson, a good friend of Washington and one of the drafters of the Continental Declaration, agreed to Washington's presidency, but he insisted that the president must have a term of office and could not hold the country's supreme power indefinitely or indefinitely. At the same time, he vigorously advocated the establishment of the Senate and the House of Representatives, and strongly recommended the establishment of three powers, with Congress and the Senate and the House of Representatives to limit the power of the president and restrain the president's behavior.
Jefferson said: "We all know that Mr. Washington is a man of high moral character. But we don't know what kind of person he will become after a few years as president — because human nature has weaknesses and will change. We have no way of knowing, a hundred years from now, what kind of guy will be the elected president of the United States? That's why we're going to legislate today to limit the president's powers and guarantee that the fundamental rights of the American people are not violated at all times.
Jefferson was a close comrade-in-arms of Washington, and in the struggle of the people of the Thirteen States against British rule, he fought alongside Washington and supported him unreservedly, and they admired and respected each other. However, Jefferson did not change his political position because of this intimate relationship, did not worship Washington because of his great achievements, and did not abandon his principles because of the deep affection between friends.
Gentlemen are different from each other, and are different because they identify with character, and differ in order to uphold justice.
During Washington's presidency of the United States of America, Jefferson, as the leader of Congress, often opposed the president's policies, and many times they would be angry at the other party's actions and remarks, and they would quarrel and disperse.
However, after the calm, each other will explain to each other in letters, apologize and reaffirm their political positions. They cannot be called united in leading the country forward, but in a sense they are enemies.
Four years later, Washington returned to his hometown of Mount Vernon Plantation to spend his old age as a farmer. Before leaving office, he nominated Jefferson as his presidential candidate, enthusiastically praising Jefferson's character and talents, calling Mr. Jefferson a "gentleman to be trusted."
Mr. Washington is equally a respectable gentleman.
God cares for America. The American people are very fortunate, because at the beginning of the founding of the country, there were gentlemen like Washington and Jefferson, who created today's prosperity, which can be described as the foundation of the world.
The sage Voltaire (I hope I remember correctly) once said: "I do not agree with you at all, but I am willing to defend your right to speak with my life".
This is the gentleman's principle of being a man. I don't agree with you, it doesn't mean I don't respect your character, and it doesn't mean I can take away your rights. Mutual respect is not only reflected in the close relationship between each other, but more importantly, respect and allow each other to make different voices. Only in this way can thought be free and society can progress.
I hope there are more gentlemen in this world.
Source: Shenyang Evening News, graphic and text integrated from the network
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