Excerpt from Sun Jiagan's "Three Habits and One Drawback":

When things are exuberant to the extreme, it must be the time when the opposite side begins to appear.

This sign is so faint that people usually cannot detect it, but by the time it is obvious, it has accumulated a lot of habits and is difficult to change.

There are three habits in this, and you can't be carelessly vigilant.

The monarch's benevolence and integrity will be sincerely admired and praised by the courtiers; when the benevolent administrative measures are implemented, the common people will be grateful for the personal benefit.

In a single sentence, the holy ming is praised inside and outside the court, and when a government decree is issued, the whole country praises and praises it.

The courtiers and the common people did not subjectively intend to flatter the aggrandizement, but the monarch's ears were accustomed to hearing these good words. The ear is conditioned by these praises for a long time, so that whatever is not praise is not pleasing to the ear.

So at first, I was dissatisfied with the people who raised the objections, and then I hated those who were simple and introverted and not good at rhetoric, and over time, even the praise was not subtle and decent.

This is how the ear is used to listening to good words, likes flattery and hates to speak bluntly.

The wiser the Lord is, the more stupid the lower is; the more capable the master is, the more cringe the lower.

Trotting forward and whispering, a look of relief will come; those who have taken off their official hats and bowed their heads and bow their heads will come as soon as they open their mouths and shout. For the courtiers this was a strict observance of the rites, but the Eyes of the Lord were used to seeing it.

The eyes are long-tempered by these flattering scenes, so that those who do not offer flattery are disgusted.

So at first, it was only to reject those who were rude, and then to alienate those who were disciplined and revered, and over time, even those who were not flexible and light enough felt very disrespectful.

This is how the eyes are used to pleasing behavior, preferring softness and obedience and thus hating to be upright.

Sincerely and dedicatedly learning to govern the world, the world has seen more and more people think that these things are not remarkable, so they think that they are very smart and others are very bad.

Carefully handle the affairs of the world, after a long time, I feel that there is no difficulty, so I think that my talent is extraordinary, and everything in the world is very easy.

Asking others about their shortcomings and not finding any faults in their own eyes.

In this way, what you want in your heart in the future is that you really don't go beyond the norm, and after the order is issued, you always expect to carry it out.

This is when the mind is accustomed to a good sense of self, and therefore likes obedience and hates disobedience.

After these three habits are formed, a drawback will be formed. What are the drawbacks? It is to like villains and hate gentlemen.

To promote gentlemen and abandon villains, was this truth only known during the ancient Xia, Shang, and Zhou Dynasties? Even if it is the monarch of the last days, who does not know to appoint a gentleman?

Moreover, a monarch who thinks he is wise thinks that his ministers are very virtuous, and which one who does not think that he uses must be a gentleman and must not be a villain?

In the end, the phenomenon of villain promotion and gentleman alienation is formed, and there is no other reason, that is, the monarch can only look at people without looking at the character.

Virtue is a characteristic unique to gentlemen; talent is something that gentlemen and villains have, and tend to be stronger in villains.

In terms of eloquence, gentlemen are often reserved and unpretentious, while villains are sharp-toothed and flattering, which is related to the habits of the ear.

In terms of doing things, gentlemen often appear clumsy and sluggish, slow and rational, while villains are sharp and flexible, which is related to the habits of the eyes.

Even if it is to check the work assessment and evaluation, the gentleman is also dedicated to doing things and is ashamed of the merit, and the villain ponders the preferences of the Lord and puts his mind on how to show diligence and ability, which is related to the habit of psychological feelings.

The villain relies on his own talents to ponder how to join the monarch, and the monarch is indulging in his own eyes and ears and habits, and cannot detect their intentions, so when the villain gathers and the gentleman is scattered, can its aftermath be simply explained?

Now I want to get rid of these three habits as soon as possible, and put an end to this drawback forever, not in the external force, but only in the heart.

The key to ruling the world or the chaotic world is contained in the advance or retreat of the gentleman and the villain, and the key to the advance and retreat lies in the monarch's heartbeat.

If you can distinguish what is wrong, then the mind does not need to deliberately pursue "respect" and can do everything.

If you can't find mistakes, then the mind doesn't realize that the "indulgence" is already forgetting.

Respectful and serious, this is the strategy of a gentleman, the foundation of stability; indulging the body and mind, this is the plan of the villain, is the starting point of chaos.

I just hope that if I often guard this heart that does not dare to think that it is right, then the benevolence of heaven and the avenue of the king's world will not deviate.