In the daily thinking activities that are not known in daily use, the word "no pole Tai Lai", which is rich in dialectical thinking characteristics, is well known to people together with words such as "bitter and sweet". But many people's understanding of what is "no" and what is "Tai" is far less clear than that of "bitterness" and "sweetness", and only knows that this is an inspiration for people in difficult situations. In the author's opinion, only after reading "Zhou Yi" can we truly understand the original meaning of "no" and "Tai", and know that "No Pole Tai Lai" originates from "Tai Ji No Lai", which is a derivative of the sense of distress in "Zhou Yi".
01
The thought of distress runs through the entire book of Zhou Yi
The Zhou Yi was a governing outline rewritten on the basis of Gu Yi's Guizang when King Wen of Zhou was still the leader of the Zhou tribe in the western region, and was imprisoned by the King of Shangyi in Qili because of his "degao gai lord". When the author of the Warring States Period's "Yi Chuan Zhi Ci" speculated on the cause of "Zhou Yi", he said: "Those who make "Yi" are worried? This means that the thoughts of distress in Zhou Yi originate from the author's distressed situation of being imprisoned in The Book of Zhou.
In fact, the thought of distress runs through the entire book of Zhou Yi. The six heavy gua in "Zhou Yi" are divided into three levels from bottom to top: earth, people, and heaven. The first and second two are earthly, embodying the "authentic"; the fifth and upper two are heavenly, embodying the "Heavenly Dao"; the third and fourth two in the middle are humane and embody "humanity". And the sense of distress is an important part of "humanity".
Distress is a state of being, and the sense of distress is a precautionary warning of this possible state of being. Take "Qian" as an example: the first and second two are the period of power accumulation, of which the first is the stage of self-accumulation, and the ninth two is the stage of accumulation with the help of external forces. Ninety-three and ninety-four are the period of career development, of which ninety-three is the initial stage of career development, and 94 is the peak stage of career development. The sense of distress, which exists in the career development period, is a necessary condition for the healthy development of the cause.
The Ninety-Three Words of the "Qian" Gua: "A gentleman is dry all day long, and if he is strong, there is no blame." This means that if you work diligently during the day and think about it at night, there will be no disaster. It is clearly pointed out here that in addition to the work attitude of "working hard all day long," it is also necessary to have a sense of distress that "the sunset is as strong as it is." This sense of distress can effectively avoid mistakes. With the development of the cause and the elevation of status, the Ninth Fourth Master is close to the "Ninth Five-Year Plan" and is like climbing to the top of a mountain, and the sense of distress at this time is bound to be stronger, far more than "sunset and fierceness". "Or jump in the abyss, no blame." This is a further expression on the basis of "sunset and strength". "Or jumping in the abyss", that is, like approaching the abyss, such as walking on thin ice, is a sense of distress that must be possessed by a very popular minister and a career at its peak, which is an effective guarantee for those in high positions to avoid mistakes. If you are overwhelmed and dim-witted at this time, it is inevitable that you will fall into the abyss and will never recover.
The Sixty-Four Gua of zhou yi is a revelation of the law of the occurrence and development of the sixty-four kinds of things, and the sense of distress displayed by different types of things also has different ways of expression. For example, "Eating Bread" is about "using prison", and the six third and ninety-four words in it are respectively used as metaphors for "eating bacon meets poison" and "eating dry elbows to get golden arrows", expounding the difficulty in the process of trying cases, judges not only need fortitude and selflessness, but also need more sense of distress. This is a necessary condition to ensure that no mistakes (no blame) are made during the trial and that difficult cases are completed perfectly. "Gradual" gua is a metaphor for the growth of hong geese, expounding the general law of life step by step. Among them, the 93 and 94 words tell the story of the growing Hongyan after landing on land, facing a new living environment and needing to maintain a sense of distress. "Hong gradually becomes wood", that is, choosing wood to live in, is the inevitable choice of Hongyan with a sense of distress. Because of the sense of distress, the third and fourth words of "many fierceness" and "many fears" are mostly "blameless".
The thought of distress exists in the process of human growth and the development of career. In order to grow healthier, in order to develop faster, we need to think about trouble. As far as the sixty-four gua of the Zhou Yi as a whole are concerned, the clearest expression of the thought of distress is in the order of the two gua of "Tai" and "No": the "Tai" gua is ranked eleventh, and the "No" gua is ranked twelfth. From this, we can not only clearly touch the true meaning of "Tai" and "No" from the two trigrams of "Tai" and "No", but also the order of the arrangement of "Tai" after "No" also has a profound meaning. In the following, I will analyze the two trigrams of "Thai" and "No" respectively.
02
"Heaven and earth" is for "Tai"
In traditional Chinese culture, "he" carries the heaviest weight. Not only is the path of harmony, but also the creatures are inseparable from the harmony. And the greatest sum is the sum of heaven and earth. How is heaven and earth and? The "Tai" Gua Gua Xiang made an image expression: Lower Qian ShangKun. Dry for heaven, Kun for earth. In the upper heaven descends below, the lower land rises above, and the heavens and the earth merge, yin and yang merge. This kind of heaven and earth and the image of all things that are combined into life are called "Tai".
The reason why heaven and earth can incarnate all things is because the nature of heaven is yang, the nature of earth is yin, one yin and one yang, blending and stirring, and incarnating all things.
The four words "small to large" are used in the "Tai" gua gua word to reveal this gua xiang on Qianxia Kunshang that seems to be inverted with natural phenomena. Xiao Xiang refers to the passage of "Kun", which symbolizes "earth", from the lower position to the upper position; Da Lai, refers to the "Qian" of the sutra that symbolizes "heaven" from the upper position to the lower position. The heavens in the upper position descend condescendingly, the earth in the lower position steps in the clouds, and the yin and yang of heaven and earth sympathize and incarnate all things, so that all things can bear the yin and embrace the yang, and the breath is harmonious. This situation of the fusion of heaven and earth is called "Tai". Tai means unobstructed, and not generally unobstructed, but the greatest unobstructed. Therefore, the ancients often used "Tai" and "Tai" universally.
From the "Tai" of nature to the "Tai" of the society, the Son of Heaven and the Corporal of the Monarch, the people-oriented, the desires of the people as their responsibility; the elite gathered in the temple, strategizing politics, planning the economy, the monarch and the people, this situation is the "Guotai" that the common people have been looking forward to for thousands of years. Mencius advocated that "the people are the most important, the society is secondary, and the king is light", and he also hopes to create a "Guotai" situation. However, in feudal society, the situation in which the heavens are above the earth and the king is above the people can only be the ideal of a few intellectuals. King Wen of Zhou was a politician, not a dreamer, and the ideal society of the "small to the big" style he conceived was only a conceptual and political idea, hoping that the later rulers would not be arrogant and lonely, but should pay attention to communicating ideas with subordinates and the people, examining the people's feelings more, and governing the country with the right medicine, so as to make society harmonious.
03
"Heaven and earth do not give up" is for "no"
"No" gua gua is like the lower Kun Shangqian. The earth is below and the heavens are above, which does not conform to the natural law of "harmonious living things" of heaven and earth and heaven. Therefore, "No" gua expresses how to deal with the environment of disharmony, how to dissolve discord, step by step towards harmony, and complete the transformation of Noji Tailai.
"No" gua gua is like not intermingling and communicating: "The heavens and the earth do not intersect, and all things do not communicate; the upper and lower levels do not communicate, and the world has no state." Inner yin and outer yang, inner soft and outer rigid, inner villain and outer gentleman. "Without contact between heaven and earth, all things cannot produce and grow; without communication between kings and people, society will not be in order." This is like a feminine appearance masculine inside, obviously a villain's heart but pretending to be a gentleman, which is an extremely abnormal state. This is undoubtedly a situation in which the virtuous road is closed and the "little people are long, and the gentleman's way is eliminated" is not the right way in the world. In such a social state, the upright behavior of gentlemen will inevitably be suppressed, and the whole society will show a situation in which the virtuous people have left one after another, and the young people with dark hearts will flock to it. This kind of situation is called "no". In political society, it is manifested in the fact that the relationship between the superior and the subordinate is not smooth, the access of talent is not smooth, the public opinion is not smooth, and so on.
Ji Chang, who wrote "Zhou Yi", is in such a society. When he was trapped in the book of "No", his unforgettable personal feelings were extraordinary. How to reverse this unobstructed situation and restore it to a situation where the road is smooth, up and down, and smooth? King Wen of Zhou analyzed the transformation process of Negoti Tailai in three stages.
In the first stage, discord has just taken shape. The upper and lower barriers are not passable, the virtuous road is blocked, and the people's feelings are difficult to reach. Although it is also used as an analogy of "pulling up Maoru and gathering together", the mutual support and mutual assistance at this time is not a close relationship between the top and the bottom, but the gathering of the strength of the grass-roots people, including the elite who are still in the people, and the mutual watch and help. This metaphor focuses on the admonition to those who are still at the bottom, so the sentence for this metaphor is "Zhenji, Heng". Chastity is a pure motive for close reunion with the people, not for their own future and selfish interests, but for the purpose of accumulating contacts and accumulating positive energy for the transformation of the situation of discord between the upper and lower levels into a situation of harmony between the upper and lower levels.
Why did King Wen of Zhou, in a situation of discord between the upper and lower levels, emphasize to those elites that they should correct their motives when uniting with the grass-roots people? Because in real life, it is not uncommon for "virtuous" people to take advantage of fire and robbery and seek private interests. These "virtuous" people with bad motives, who deceive the people and create chaos, not only cannot provide positive energy for the situation of discord between the upper and lower levels into a situation of harmony between the upper and lower levels, but will accelerate the situation of discord between the upper and lower levels to the abyss.
When the elite and the people are closely linked, and the initial results are achieved in trying to reverse the discord between the upper and lower levels, how can we lay a more solid and solid foundation for the "No" of the "No" of the upper and lower discord to become the "Tai" of the upper and lower harmony? "Little people are lucky, adults are not", the virtuous people in the lower position in this period should draw nourishment from the people and seek help on the basis of close contact with the people, and must not leave the people and go to the dream of "seeing the adults".
The second stage is the serious state of social discord, which is also the beginning of the transformation to harmony. When the state of discord is serious, even if considerable strength has been accumulated and a certain social status has been accumulated, the virtuous must still be cautious and mentally prepared to bear the burden of humiliation.
In a situation where the "no" situation is serious, "shame" (tolerance of shame) is a serious consideration for those who can achieve great things. Ji Chang was highly regarded by Emperor Yi of the Shang Dynasty for his outstanding moral character, and he married his daughter to him. When Yin Shang entered the era of the King of Sui, a situation of discord between the upper and lower levels and the "no" formed, and the King of Yin, fearing that Ji Chang would rebel, imprisoned him in Qiuli. Because the time was not yet ripe to twist "no" into "Tai", he was willing to bear the shame of imprisonment; he knew that the "no" bureau created by the King of Shangyi would definitely be reversed, so he calmed down in the prison of Qiangli and wrote a governing outline for future generations after the no pole Tai lai, so there was the birth of "Zhou Yi".
During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Yue King's practice of "lying down and tasting courage" in the State of Wu was also a successful example of "wrapping shame". "Xi Bo" Ji Chang went to the Son of Heaven to be imprisoned as a prince, and Yue Wang Gou Jian automatically served as the monarch of another princely state, and his shame and humiliation were far greater than Ji Chang's.
"Shyness" is only a stopgap measure, because after the darkest hour of the night, the dawn is coming. The joint point of this transformation is at the darkest end; when the time comes, we must seize it in time, and we must not waste the opportunity in vain and prolong the painful "shame".
"There is no blame for life, and the domain is out of the line", which means that the time to change from "no" to "Thai" is appropriately grasped. There is nothing wrong with conforming to nature, rising up in a timely manner, abolishing the regime of discord between the upper and lower levels, and establishing a new society of harmony between the upper and lower levels. When King Wen of Zhou wrote this remark, he was not only an exposition of the general law, but also full of confidence in the upcoming action of overthrowing the seriously discordant Power of the King of Lu and establishing a new Zhou Dynasty. When taking this action that conforms to the laws of nature, we should join hands with the people of good will and benevolence in the tribulations, and unite from top to bottom in order to ensure the realization of the new situation of the negation of the pole.
The third stage is the end of the "no" situation, "no", the trend of discord has been curbed, and after a long period of "no", it is difficult to usher in Aetna. As the monarch who presided over the antai situation, it is necessary to let the talented and virtuous people occupy various important posts and assist politics, which will be auspicious. In such a period of renewal of vientiane, we must maintain a sober mind and a sense of distress in times of peace: "Its death depends on the buds." ”
At the beginning of the new dynasty that has just "replaced the old peach with the old charm", we must be compassionate and think of danger in peace. If we have the sad thought of "I will die, I will die", the situation of harmony that has just been transformed from unmistakable harmony and enlightenment can be as unshakable as a mulberry tree with deep roots. This worry of King Wen of Zhou has always played the role of a motto in the historical development of thousands of years and has achieved many heroes. However, there were also some people who had just entered Thailand, forgot or did not know king Wen of Zhou's advice that "his death depends on Baosang", and became a loser who lost his career, such as Li Zicheng at the end of the Ming Dynasty, after a long and arduous war, it was difficult to directly pound the capital of the Ming Dynasty, forcing the Chongzhen Emperor to hang himself.
However, after entering Beijing, his leadership group immediately put its energy into the enjoyment of life, without the slightest sense of worry about danger in times of peace, so that it was soon defeated and withdrew from the capital, and once again became a rogue, and under the joint attack of the remnants of the Ming Dynasty and foreign forces, it suffered a catastrophe. And the Chinese Communists, represented by Mao Zedong, when they were about to end the "no" bureau and enter Beijing to establish the "Thai" bureau, sober-mindedly held a meeting of core leaders outside Beijing: Don't be Li Zicheng's second! The theme of this temporary meeting before entering the city was exactly what King Wen of Zhou said, "Its death depends on Baosang." This ensured that after the Communist Party of China entered the city and established the People's Republic of China, the antai situation of harmony between the upper and lower levels could be maintained for a long time.
King Wen of Zhou concluded with "first deny and then rejoice", which is a profound meaning and is a further development of the idea of "tied to the buds". The joy after the change from no to the joy is the joy that comes from the heart, but it is not the joy of carefree, but the joy of maintaining the sense of distress, the joy of sorrow and joy. Mencius in the pre-Qin period once said such a remark, which can be seen as an interpretation of King Wen of Zhou's "first no and then happy": "The heavens will descend on the Si people, and they will first suffer their hearts, work their bones, starve their bodies, empty their bodies, and act in a disorderly manner, so they are moved to endure and gain what they cannot do." In his eyes, experiencing a "no" situation in life is not a bad thing, but a necessary condition for creating a great cause and achieving great things.
"Its death depends on the bud mulberry." The founder of any dynasty has this strong sense of distress, and the New Deal, who has just seized power from the corrupt rulers of the previous dynasty, has personally experienced the process of turning a society from no to thai, and the string of the sense of distress in his mind has always been very tight. However, with the transfer of power from generation to generation, the sense of distress "tied to the buds" has gradually faded. The immediate consequence of the dilution of the sense of distress is unbridled corruption. Corruption has gone to extremes, and it has once again "poured no" and repeated regime change.
04
First "Tai" and then "No", the alarm bells rang for a long time
The sense of distress contained in "Zhou Yi" first "Tai" and then "No" not only affected the rulers of the Zhou Dynasty from generation to generation, but also affected the rulers of the dynasties for the next three thousand years, and even more affected those successful people who continued to improve themselves on the road of career economy. "Whether Taiji will come or not" is a natural law, and the change of dynasties in history, the merchant family "rich but not more than three generations", etc., are the true portrayal of this law. It can be seen how important the sense of distress that Tai Ji denied was to the stability and development of society in The history of China, especially in the history of more than 1,300 years after the examination of the imperial examination.
The principle of harmony and integration into Thainess contained in the "small to large" on the "Tai" GuaQianxia Kun is still of great practical significance to today's Chinese society. The Communist Party of China regards "serving the people" as its purpose and "seeking happiness for the Chinese people, and seeking rejuvenation for the Chinese nation" as its "original intention." The cadres of the Communist Party have placed themselves in the position of "public servants." This is precisely the concrete expression of Qianxia Kunshang as "Tai." At the same time, it also tells us that the superior should not only lower his posture, but also take deep root in his thoughts and hearts among the grass-roots people in society, and should be tightly intertwined like the roots of thatch to form a true state of harmony, which is the social foundation of "Cathay". The loyalty of governments at all levels to their duties and the uncompromising implementation of various policies of the central authorities are an important guarantee for "Cathay Pacific."
Of course, the contemporary "Thai" potential that presents the harmony of the upper and lower levels as a whole does not exclude the existence of local areas or individual "no" potentials. It is precisely the existence of these "noes" and the efforts of these "no poles" to promote the stability and development of the overall "Thai" trend. Now those who are familiar with the star enterprises and successful people, most of them have experienced a test of no pole Tai Lai, rebirth in the fire, but also better understand the hard-won "Tai" and produce a sense of worry about "Tai Ji no come".
The arrangement of "Tai" and then "No" in "Zhou Yi" is undoubtedly a long-sounding alarm bell in Chinese history, which not only has irreplaceable historical value, but also has important practical significance. Unfortunately, in contemporary dictionaries, we only see the term "no pole Tai Lai", but we do not see the more modern meaning of the "Tai Ji No Lai" entry. Today, we still need the sense of distress of "whether Thailand will come or not", and only in this way can we achieve long-term national peace and security.
◎ This article was originally published in "Liberation Daily" (author Zhou Shan), the source network, the copyright of the picture and text belongs to the original author, if there is infringement, please contact to delete.