"The sniper is endowed with a snide, saying: 'Toward three and twilight at four.'" The crowd was furious. He said, 'Then it will be four and three.' 'Everyone is pleased. The name is not lost and the mood is used, and it is also because it is also. It is a saint and a right and a wrong, and it is two lines. "--Zhuangzi-Qiwu Theory"
This is an allusion to the idiom "three twilights and four nights", and for a long time people have ridiculed "snipers (monkeys)" for "laughing generously" because of "a leaf obscuring Tarzan", and are often used as a metaphor for people who are often changeable and capricious. Putting aside the current understanding, if you understand Zhuangzi's original meaning, I am afraid that the column will not be able to laugh.
Why does the "sniper" feed the monkeys? If it is free, why are the monkeys not satisfied? If so, what price should the monkey pay? It's not that the author thinks too much, but I can't avoid it.
Zhuangzi metaphor: We are actually all on the Tao
The monkeys in the story are undoubtedly stupid, but three plus four or four plus three and how much should be the category they can calculate, the so-called benefits, is nothing more than the first step to enjoy the benefits of "four", but they accept it willingly, and this is no difference for the "sniper". Perhaps the monkeys are not happy not by the benefits of the twilight, but by a sense of superiority after the struggle for power, and they are nothing more than a bunch of poor insects who are easily satisfied.
The author believes that the fable uses an anti-language: in addition to the role of "sniper", other roles and behaviors can be looked at in reverse, "snipe" becomes "crowd", "芧" becomes "tax", "endowment" becomes "collection", three and four exchange positions, and then read it:
The "sniper" asked for taxes and asked, "Can you go to the fourth and third of the three?" The crowd was furious and spoke too heavily. "Sniper Gong" laughed: Even so, can it be three or four? Everyone was pleased and praised. --Author, ed
In this way, everyone will feel afraid after laughing, because we are the fools who are in the twilight, and they are still comfortable in it, and the boss or boss has become the "sniper" in zhizhu's hands. Are their empty promises, our desperate overtime still vivid? I thought that this trick could only deceive my four-year-old girlfriend, but in fact, I was also recruited.
Maybe we're all monkeys who are happy
Zhuangzi lived in an era without a company, and the mystery of the sniper and the sniper was a metaphor for the relationship between the king and his subjects, or between the ruling class and the common people: when people were accustomed to exploitation and tyranny, the occasional tolerance could be exchanged for the joy of gratitude, just as we rejoiced when we were declared "no overtime this weekend."
Whether what the author said has any basis, please continue to read on.
Confucian Wisdom: See through but don't say broken
In later generations, there were many people who studied Zhuangzi, but very few people understood this fable, and a small number of them pretended to be confused with understanding, and what was broken was nearly two thousand years later.
Song has snipers, loves snipers, raises them in groups, can solve the meaning of sniping, and snipes also have the heart of justice. Damage to his family's mouth, full of snipe desires. Russia and the poor will limit their food, afraid that the snipers will not be tamed by themselves, and the first curse is said: "With ruoqi, three and four, is it enough?" "All the snipers rose up in anger. Ru Er: "With Ruo, four and three, is it enough?" All the snipers rejoiced. --"Liezi"
This is the Zhuangzi puzzle that Zhang Zhan of the Jin Dynasty revised in his forged ancient book "Liezi", first of all, the motive for feeding the monkeys is defined as the acquaintance and love between the sniper and the snipers, which is a gratuitous act; the second is to adjust the background of the story to a short period of food shortage (Russian and poor), so that the sniper gong even does not hesitate to let his family live a hard life, but also to satisfy the appetite of the sniper; third, the reason why the motive of "playing the monkey" has become a kind of expedient strategy, the sniper is always treating the sniper well.
▲ In the children's books, it really became what "Liezi" said
The metaphor of the story is self-evident, the ruling class represented by the emperor is the sniper who saves himself and treats others, and the people have become the monkeys who do not know what to do. This was undoubtedly "politically correct" at the time, coupled with the identity of "Liezi" as a forgery, this fabrication looked really familiar, but it also proved that although Zhang Zhan's character was worrying, he still understood the original text of Zhuangzi.
Raising a sniper for a living: Liu Bowen's last resort
Chu has a sniper who thinks that he is a living, and the Chu people call it a sniper. On the day of the day, some of them will snipe in the court, so that the old sniper will lead to the mountain, seek the truth of the grass and trees, and give tithes to serve himself. Or if you don't give it, you will whip it. All the snipers are afraid of suffering, and they dare to disobey it.
One day, a little sniper said to the crowd: "The fruit of the mountain, the common house tree and the tree?" "No, I was born too." "What is not to be taken from the public?" "No, you can take it." "But why should I pretend to be a servant of the other?" "Before the word is spoken, all the snipers are embarrassed."
On the eve of the day, they slept with the snipers, broke the fence and destroyed the trees, took their accumulation, and carried them into the forest without return. The sniper died of starvation. --"Sincere Bo Anthology. Yu Ion》
This is the story of "Chu people raising snipers" left by Liu Bowen, to the effect that the snipers exploited the snipers too badly, and the snipers fled to the mountains and forests, and the snipers were starved to death. Combined with the background of the era in which he assisted Zhu Yuanzhang in his rebellion, it is not difficult for future generations to read his extraneous voice: If the ruler who is "unconscious" does not leave a single way to live, the people have the right to take certain countermeasures. The reason why he escaped instead of killing was that he did not want to encourage the people to rebel, because he and Zhu Yuanzhang were about to become a new generation of "benevolent" snipers.
▲ Monkeys are not stupid, but there is no way
Liu Bowen also said: "It is not the sniper who feeds the snipers, but the snipers who 'raise the snipers to live'", which can be seen thoroughly, but he was born in that era to solve the mystery, but he could not break this Zhenlong chess game, and could only choose the lesser of two evils, pushing Zhu Yuanzhang, the sniper, to the temple and reminding him to pay attention to the means of rule (once it is opened, its skills are exhausted), so as to create a prosperous world in his mind.
However, it is ridiculous that the Zhu Ming Dynasty has bred nearly one million descendants who rely on the state's financial resources in the past three hundred years, which perfectly interprets the definition of the sniper duke "raising a sniper for a living".
In short, Zhuangzi's fables began to think that it was a joke, and when I read it, it was actually a ghost story.
In the long period of human social changes, whether it is the ancient tribal alliance chieftain, the medieval king, or the ancient emperor, or the dispute over the superiority and inferiority of the Eastern and Western cultures, the society has been changing and progressing, and the identity and title of the sniper and the sniper have also been changing, what remains unchanged is that the opposition between the two has always existed, and the meaning of the existence of the state is to maintain the interests of the sniper and the relative balance of the two.
In the present and any past era, the survival of mankind, the progress of society and the development of science and technology can only be realized by the state as a guarantee, and it is always ethereal to talk about ideals out of reality.
Origins of nations: different understandings of the sages
In the same era as Zhuangzi, the sages of the Chinese nation had many wonderful expositions and even practical activities on the idealized form of the state.
Confucius's persistent "self-denial and retribution" lies in returning to Xia Shang Zhou, where each performs his duties and does not exceed it, and after repeatedly hitting a wall in reality, he hopes that the "Spring and Autumn" of "small words and great righteousness" can make the chaotic courtiers and thieves afraid, and finally helplessly "write to the end of the book".
Lao Tzu proposed "small countries and widows", but never made any effort to do so, perhaps he knows that the "ideal country" that lacks the means and feasibility of realization is only the legendary "utopia" after all.
▲Reliefs of the Hundred Houses of the Sons of the Pre-Qin Dynasty
Mozi's plan was ten major propositions such as "simultaneous love", "non-attack", "Shangxian", "Shangtong", "Zun Tian", and "Ghost", but it was never favored by the monarchs, and at best it was used as an international peacekeeping force to help defend the city, and their semi-militarized organization similar to the ascetics disappeared directly with the end of the Warring States.
The place can be king for a hundred miles. Wang Rushi is benevolent to the people, the province is punished, the tax is thin, and the deep ploughing is easy to lift. The strong man cultivates his filial piety and faithfulness in his spare time, enters into his father and brother, and goes out of his way to do things, so that he can make the strong armor and soldiers of Qin Chu... Therefore, it is said: 'The benevolent are invincible.' 'Don't doubt the king!' - "Mencius Meets King Hui of Liang"
Mencius no longer clings to three generations, but instead takes "benevolent government" as a mantra, and creatively proposes that "the people are precious, the society is secondary, and the king is light." The new concept was therefore disliked by the rulers of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
The above-mentioned big names in the pre-Qin ideological circles eventually became theoreticians who lacked practical experience, and although they were respected by later generations, only Wang Mang dared to copy the teachings of Confucius to carry out reforms. The reason is simple: Confucius and Zhuangzi think of retro, and the act of driving a historical reversal naturally does not work, so Wang Mang's street scene is also tragic; Mencius and Mozi stay in doctrine, completely out of touch with the needs of reality.
Also say change: the different levels of the Dharma
The real practitioners came from the Dharma, and "changing the law" later became synonymous with reform, and there were many positive or negative misunderstandings about them in later generations.
"Qi Zhi's skill cannot be Wei's martial pawn, and Wei's martial pawn must not meet Qin's sharp soldiers" - Xun Zi
The soldiers of the three countries were all elite at that time, and the quality of soldiers was almost the same, leaving aside the equipment and training level, why did the three have a gap in combat effectiveness?
The reason is very simple, the return is different, the State of Qi gives a reward, the State of Wei is exempt from taxes and land, the State of Qin is to give land and titles, and the way the army is mobilized and rewarded not only reflects the aspects that the people value most, but also reflects the depth of the state's change of law.
▲ The cruelty of the Fa's means, even Shang Jun himself was not spared
Wealth and national strength cannot be made out of nothing, either to develop slowly, or to win the battle to grab, the latter is obviously a shortcut. The reformers of all the countries have taken measures to strengthen the centralization of power by the monarch and improve the ability to allocate resources, but only Shang Martin has delegated the exclusive medal of the title to the bottom of the nobles, which is the reason why the countries have not been able to surpass the Qin state. The Fa family is very cruel to the oppression of the people's strength, just like Han Feizi said, "Cultivate the warriors, except for the people of the five beetles", the title of the Qin State is not easy to take, and even like money, life does not bring death or take it, but in the end it still adds some dreams to the soldiers.
The State of Qin eventually formed a new class of landlords who could not be shaken by the monarch, they were vested interest groups, but also firm supporters of the new law, they gradually overshadowed the aristocratic group of Shi qing Shilu, which gradually entered the textbook "feudal society", to be precise, called the era of imperial power, an era that tied the rise and fall of the world into one.
Unwilling to play with monkeys: The Escaped Zhuangzi
Zhuangzi, who was a contemporary of the pre-Qin Dynasty, did not seem to have any interest in building meritorious deeds and pointing out the country and mountains, but left nearly 100,000 words of dumb and riddled articles for posterity to ponder.
He was only a few years of "Lacquer Garden Pride" in his lifetime, and then decided not to die for the rest of his life, and even the King of Chu Wei did not accept his invitation to serve as LingYi.
▲ Rotten Rat: You are your official, I will be my sage
Zhuang Zhou replied to the Chu emissaries: "Thousands of gold, heavy profits; Qing Xiang, honorable position also." Zi Du did not see the sacrifice of the suburban sacrifice? He was several years old, and his clothes were embroidered in color to enter the Taimiao Temple. When it is, although you want to be a lone dolphin, how can you get it? The Son is gone, and I am not defiled. I would rather trail my tail in the sewage canal and be happy, not to be bound by the country, not to be a lifelong soldier, to be quick and ambitious. ——"King Wenzhuang Zhouxian of Chuwei"
Comparing the prime minister of a great power to a sacrifice (sacrifice) in a sacrificial activity, no second person who resigned from the government in five thousand years could be so beautiful. The book says that he does not want to be in league with the ruling class, but where does this put the famous generals of five thousand years? In the author's opinion, with Zhuangzi's open-mindedness and wisdom, he just didn't care to accompany the monarch to play monkeys.
When all the sons and hundreds of families are discussing how to appease the people and govern the world, in Zhuangzi's view, they are discussing the essentials of playing monkeys, and it is no wonder that they can't play together.
The wife is dead, Zhuangzi "drums and pots and sings", others say something that is not good, but he does not care, dead is to go, what is the use of sadness? Since you have gone, why not simply "forget each other in the rivers and lakes"?
Zhuangzi in the "Debate of Haoliang" and Huishi left behind "Zi non fish, Anzhi fish happy? And "Son is not me, do you know that I do not know the joy of fish?" The ridicule between friends seems to contain many unspoken truths.
In the past, Zhuang Zhou dreamed of butterflies, vivid butterflies also, self-metaphorically suitable for Zhi and, do not know Zhou also. If you are aware, then you will be aware of it. I don't know if Zhou's dream is a butterfly and butterfly's dream is Zhou And? The week and the butterfly, there will be a difference. This is called materialization. --"Zhuangzi Qiwu Theory"
In the allusion of "Zhuang Zhou Mengdi", he will also struggle with whether it is Zhuang Zhou's dream to become a butterfly, or whether the butterfly dreams of becoming Zhuang Zhou, if it is the latter, then what is the meaning of Zhuang Zhou's words and deeds in the world?
In the history of China, there are only a few people who are as open-minded as Zhuangzi, and those who are as open-minded as him are also rare, and those who have both are almost impossible to find, only the Dongpo bachelor can look at his back, this happy old man has a calm temperament of "a smoke and rain in his life", but he is not Zhuangzi after all, when he is drunk, he will "fear Qionglou Yuyu, the height is not cold", and there will be a sad feeling of "a thousand miles of lonely graves, nowhere to say desolate" when mourning his deceased wife, it seems that there is still a gap.
Su Dongpo is also a person who likes to worry, a life of integrity and repeatedly excluded, and even been relegated to the end of the world (Hainan Island), but always remember to benefit one side, birth and entry into the world is only different choices, there is no distinction between high and low, when he accidentally realized one day that "between heaven and earth, things have their own masters, Gou is not my own, although there is nothing to take", Zhuangzi may have to sigh that there will be a successor!
Returning to the allusion of "three and four nights", in fact, Zhuangzi is only exposing a fact, not irony, the development of society also has its own inevitable development law, and the wheel of history is always rolling forward. Zhuangzi often pointed out the loopholes in the doctrine of the sons to the point, but never laughed at their courage to cross the river; the Dongpo residents laughed at the tribulations of the human world, but never complained that the darkness of politics made him dusty and dusty, and could not be reused.
While we are self-pitying or shaking the earth, the true wise people are thinking about the future and the way out; we can understand Zhuangzi's views, but we may not be able to understand the state of mind of our predecessors.
This is also the author's real experience of reading the pre-Qin classics!