Gourd vessel: The gourd represents the philosophical idea of a gentleman's non-instrument
After the publication of "Illustration of Gourds", the China News Bookstore under Xinhua News Agency once filmed a series of video activities for the Gourd Workshop, and one of the interviews was about the connection between "Gourd Container and "Gentleman's Not Instrument".
Gentleman is not instrumental, from the "Analects for Government", Zi Yue: "Gentlemen do not instrument." The book means that a gentleman should not stick to a means without thinking about the purpose behind it. There is a sentence in the "I Ching And Dictionary": "The metaphysical one is the way, and the metaphysical one is called the instrument." Metaphysically is the formless Dao body, and metaphysical is the phase of all things. Bound by the respective images and uses of all things, it is impossible to comprehend and return to the formless Tao body. A gentleman has a heart for the world, unlike an instrument, whose role is limited to a certain aspect. Instrumental, shape also. Tangible is a degree, and a degree must be full. Therefore, the gentleman's thinking is not instrumental, the gentleman's deeds are not instrumental, and the gentleman's quantity is not instrumental.
The use of gourds as a container has always been "knowing its glory and keeping its humiliation". All things, if they can be humble like valleys, can become great instruments. As a plant, the gourd is formless and phaseless. Once the mouth is broken, when the square is square, the circle is round; it can be large, it can be small for small; it can be curved or straight, it can be tall or short, it can also be fat and thin, it is really "simple scattered as a device". The gourd vessel is used because of the way of heaven and the way of harmony, not because of small losses, not stuck to one shape and one instrument and rounded into the avenue, for the world to take what they need and develop and utilize, quite a "world artifact" style.
The inherent cultural attributes of the gentleman's vessel and the gourd vessel coincide. When I read the book "A Little Talk of Lao Tzu", I benefited a lot. The book talks about a lot of gourd culture and the content of the Tao Te Ching is similar. If the gourd is the wood where the grass and trees grow, all things are thriving and are the auspicious place of all things. Therefore, the gourd symbolizes the "blessed land", joy and peace, and the gentleman's brightness. In the beginning, the beginning is leisurely, the mixed elements are one, the innate is not broken, the eternal nature, the gourd generates all things, dominates all things, "with the heavens and the earth, with the sun and the moon with its brightness", a person only respects the Tao, respects the Tao, takes virtue as the precious, and is united with the heavens and the earth, and when the fate is shared, when the creation is created, when the birth is born, when the death is dead, life and death are the same. Although the form does not exist, its sexual body is too vain. This is one of the reasons why the world respects the gourd so much.
The properties and uses of gourds as utensils are very common. There are many practical cases in "Illustration of gourds" and in this book, so the attributes above the attributes of gourds should be the meaning of culture, such as the symbol of auspicious fortune and the beautiful meaning of many children and blessings on the gourd utensils, as well as the cultural spirit of "tolerance, openness, prosperity and kindness" contained in the gourd, which we should experience, inherit and carry forward. Therefore, when engaged in gourd creation, I will generally carry out the layout and design of the gourd industry chain in line with the principle of "fair trade", the people plant gourds, we will choose the best to acquire, and give a reasonable price, the craftsmen in our processing gourd, we are also as far as possible to provide creative design protection and finished product research and development cost guarantee and support, so that the people plant gourds have a stable craft, let the craftsmen do gourds have a dignified and decent life, we strive to open up domestic and foreign markets, Actively learn foreign advanced ideas and new processes and new materials, introduce foreign advanced gourd production methods and marketing activities to the domestic market, and at the same time introduce China's excellent gourd works through external exhibitions and sales platforms, and conduct good communication and transactions with foreign gourd artists. When I published the book "Illustration of The Gourd", I also announced in the book that the royalties of this book would be donated to the Beijing Chunmiao Charity Foundation to fund the medical treatment and rehabilitation of poor and orphaned patients. This may be an expression of the original attribute of the gourd as an artifact, "Hanging Pot Ji Shi".
The gentleman's instrument is actually a kind of philosophical wisdom, for example, engaging in the gourd industry is also a kind of Tao pursuit and practice, "Tao" is wisdom, knowledge is a tool, Tao is what gentlemen pursue, not clinging to the pursuit of knowledge, not clinging to terminology, in order to make the "Tao" clear. Ordinary people only see the grandeur of knowledge, but forget that knowledge itself is a tool rather than an end, and the purpose of seeking knowledge is to lead to the Tao. Therefore, we are engaged in the gourd industry, the goal is to develop and grow the gourd industry in depth, not only limited to a gourd handicraft, a gourd vegetable, etc., but with the help of the gourd culture, carrier, function, etc., to play the daily chemical application of the gourd, drug value, home decoration and other functions. Through the value of gourd artists at home and abroad, the cultural attributes and meanings of gourds are widely linked, and the culture contained in gourds is publicized to the world to achieve a high degree of awareness at the cultural level. Therefore, the gourd is the greatest common denominator of human cultural cognition.
In another sense, gentleman is to encourage us to use practical actions to practice our dreams, and not to just blow and say nothing. Do it first, you don't need to say it, after you're done, everyone will follow you and obey you. Ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, human psychology is the same, most of them love to brag, rarely seen in the facts; The ideal is very high, and it is difficult to make it in action. Therefore, Confucius said that a true gentleman is to say less empty words and do more practical things. Therefore, we are also rarely interviewed, more in a down-to-earth research on gourd culture, research and development of gourd products, expand gourd sales channels and promote Chinese gourd culture, and actively go to overseas markets to exchange gourd culture. (The above content is an excerpt from the upcoming gourd book "YouRong is a big gourd container")