[Cultural Rambling] is not a pejorative meaning, do you know the true meaning of "conformism"?

The term "conformist" encompasses both "conformism" and "conformity", which refers to the wisdom, inventions and systems of Mozi and Zhuge Liang.

The idiom of "sticking to the rules" is very common, referring to the fact that people or things focus on the old, do not seek innovation, have the meaning of not seeking progress, and imply that they will be eliminated by the times and replaced by new things. Let's pause a little about the mentality of seeking progress and the hurried pace, and go back to the origin of "sticking to the rules", and we will find that its corresponding people and things are very powerful, saying that the wisdom, invention and system of Mozi and Zhuge Liang are very powerful. In the process of the evolution of the times, "conformism" has been given more negative meanings.

The term "conformism" contains the words "conformity" and "conformity", corresponding to two allusions, rich in connotation, and their formation is also very old, let's talk about them separately.

"Mo Shou" is "Mo Zhai's Shou"

The allusion of "Mo Shou" occurred to Mozi in the Warring States period. Mozi's knowledge and reputation were very prominent at that time. Mozi was a thinker and a military expert, he advocated "both love and non-attack", and personally studied the method of defending the city against the enemy's attack, and publicized and promoted it everywhere. In the book "Mozi", it is recorded that once Mozi heard that the Great Chu State was planning to attack the Little Song State. Gong Wan pan (also known as Gong Lose Ban, Gong Lou Ban, because he was born in the State of Lu, also known as Lu Ban) built a ladder for the Chu State, which was to be used to attack the Song When it was done. Mozi hurriedly set out from the State of Qi day and night for ten days and ten nights to the Capital of Chu to see gong lose, trying to persuade him to abandon the fortifications of the attack. Mozi then asked Gong Wanpan to introduce him to the King of Chu, and the two of them engaged in an offensive and defensive simulation battle in front of the King of Chu; Mozi intended to block the attack of Yunti with the defensive strategy he had invented, so that the King of Chu could dispel the idea of attacking Song.

At that time, Mozi used his clothes belt to circle the city, and used wood chips and bamboo as weapons to defend the city. Nine times the public lost the cleverly furnished siege ladder, and Mozi resisted his attack nine times in a row. When the equipment for the public loss attack battle was exhausted, and Mozi still had a lot of defensive tactics to defend the city! The King of Chu was thus persuaded to abandon the attack on the Song Dynasty, which is known as the "Mo Zhai Shou"; because of Mozi's "Mo Shou", a crisis in the Song Kingdom was lifted.

Therefore, in the Warring States era, to talk about the "defense of Mo Zhai", that is a real work, people who fight with soldiers are afraid of encountering the "defense of Mo Zhai", and the side that guards the city pool hopes to get the "defense of Mo Zhai"! Later generations referred to it as "mo shou". However, with the deduction of time, most people have forgotten the connotation of "sticking to it".

Zhuge Liang's formal protection of Shu

The allusive story of "Chengzhi" takes place in the Shu Kingdom during the three kingdoms. During the Three Kingdoms period, before his death, the Shu lord Liu Bei paid Zhuge Liang (Kong Ming) for important state affairs and asked him to assist the later lord Liu Chan. Zhuge Liang lived up to his promise and bowed to the best of his ability.

The Shu lord Liu Bei died, and he lost his wisdom and was like a god, and zhuge Liang, a military master, saw that Shu Han was about to fall into crisis immediately. Fortunately, the ministers Jiang Wan (Zi Gongyan) and Fei Yuan (Zi Wenwei) followed the old system of governing the state left by Zhuge Liang, and governed properly, stabilizing the state situation of the Shu Han Dynasty.

Zhuge Liang had the wisdom of a man of knowledge, and he valued Jiang Huan's talents very much, and when he was alive, he recommended this pillar of the country to Liu Bei, saying: "Jiang Huan, the instrument of the society, is not a talent of a hundred miles." Its government is based on the security of the people, not on the decoration of the people, may the Lord and the Prince re-examine it. Zhuge Liang also secretly expressed the Lord's words: "If the subject is unfortunate, the matter will be paid for later." After Zhuge Liang's death, Jiang Huan kept Zhuge Liang's rules and served as Shang Shu Ling, a great general, a prime minister, and a military and state affair, assisting the Hou Lord for nine years until his death.

The other person who relayed with Jiang Huan to "defend" the Shu state was Fei Yi. Fei Yi was well-informed and modest, and Zhuge Liang treated him differently. The Biography of Fei Yi describes Yi as "elegant and humble, and the family does not accumulate wealth." The sons are all vegetarian, do not ride from the car, no mortal. After Zhuge Liang's death, Fei Yi succeeded him as the main military division of the Hou Dynasty, and then took over the posts of Jiang Huan Shangshu Ling and General.

Fei Yi once sent an envoy to the State of Wu, and the ministers of the State of Wu spoke sharply as sharp arrows, aiming at him to cross-examine and argue with him, Fei Yi was not in a hurry, and replied according to reason, and none of the ministers of the Wu Dynasty could humiliate him. Sun Quan looked at it and admired him very much, but he was a Shu chen, and Sun Quan regretted to Fei Yi and said, "Shu De, the emperor of the world, will be the Shu Dynasty, I am afraid I can't count it." ”

Chen Shou's Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms praised the two men: "Jiang Huanfang has a whole of prestige, Fei Yi is generous and fraternal, Xian inherits zhuge zhuge rules, follows the rules without revolution, is to have no worries about the border, the state and the one." It can be seen that because the two men adhered to the rules and did not change, shu Han was able to maintain the situation of "no border, no worries on the border, and peace between the state and one" for more than ten years after the death of Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang.

Later, "sticky" and "conformed" were synthesized into the idiom "conformism".

Modern people mostly think that "sticking to the rules" is to stick to the old rules and refuse to change, describing acting conservatively. In fact, the wisdom of the ancients and the achievements of the old rules and laws above are not surpassed by the generalists, and under the "sticking to the rules", people can also stand in an invincible position. Time has passed, and the connotation of the idiom has also changed dramatically. Find the source of the idiom, recognize the hole in it, and don't be meaningful!

Resources

"Mozi Volume XIII Gong Lose"

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Shu, Biography of Jiang Wan

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Shu, Biography of Fei Yi

Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Book XIV of Shu

"History of Liechuan Lu Zhonglian Zouyang Liechuan"