Due to historical and political factors, there have been two misunderstandings in China people's understanding of nobility: first, it is expensive to be rich; The second is to become a derogatory term. Confucius said: "being rich and expensive is what people want;" If you don't get it according to its way, there is nowhere (The Analects of Confucius, Establishing People). It can be seen that there is no absolute relationship between being rich and being expensive, that is, those who are rich but not expensive are called "rich and heartless". As for how to be rich or expensive? Chen Duxiu said, "Those who are independent and brave are called noble morality" (Tell Youth).

Therefore, "aristocrats" can be the "hereditary ruling class" as explained in China's dictionaries, but "aristocratic spirit" is not necessarily monopolized by "aristocrats". Can you at least not be charming, charming, begging or pitying? Maybe you can be a gentleman, humanistic care, independent spirit and equal consciousness? The opposition of aristocratic spirit is not civilian literature, not national literature, but slave spirit, rogue spirit and rogue spirit, not civilian spirit, which is a great conceptual dislocation. Many of us civilians have aristocratic spirit. Like Qingwen in A Dream of Red Mansions.

Without a foundation, how can there be an aristocratic tradition?

As the saying goes, "A gentleman's kindness will be cut in five dynasties", and China is a country lacking aristocratic tradition in history. Throughout the history of China, since the unification of Qin Dynasty, dynasties and families have changed frequently, so it is difficult to form a relatively stable aristocratic group. In contrast, the European aristocratic lineage with a shorter history is more obvious. The change of European kingship basically belongs to the change within the royal family. Therefore, although there are many branches, coups and revolutions, every royal surname has a very solid foundation in its own country, and its nobles can easily trace back to the upper reaches of historical rivers according to the characteristics of their family emblems.

The cut-off of aristocratic blood leads to the loss of aristocratic tradition, which promotes the germination of hierarchical consciousness of "being rich is expensive" and the inheritance of luxury Hengtai of "eating, drinking and having fun". Even the children of the Eight Banners in the last dynasty in the late Qing Dynasty, the so-called "aristocratic habits" they have accumulated and passed down for more than 200 years, are just playing with snuff bottles and bugs. These old people have lost the dignity and pride of their ancestors.

Just as Americans can't go to Indian tribes in exile to seek the inheritance of American civilization and nobility, China people who have been baptized by years of war can't claim to be noble descendants because of a vague family pedigree or memorial tablet. Interestingly, many Americans like to say that their ancestors came from Mayflower. Many people in China are also very close to the old people of the former dynasty, and even dig out their relationship with capitalism before liberation.

Without nobility, how can there be aristocratic spirit?

There is also a saying that as early as the end of the Warring States period, the nobility had already declined in the historical stage of China, and the aristocratic spirit was forgotten at that time, replaced by self-restraint and art. The most powerful evidence is that Qu Yuan, a great poet who threw himself into the river, committed suicide because of the decline of the aristocratic rights and status he represented.

In fact, the vertical and horizontal cooperation between governors during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period was mostly an activity between nobles. The reason why they can have such a strong influence is not only strength, but also moral appeal. This is a moral debate among nobles, and it is also a defense of courage, wisdom, dignity and mission in the aristocratic spirit. Their forceful words and unswerving actions make people admire them for life. Quyuan's investment in the river is a portrayal of the decline of aristocratic influence, and the lonely aristocratic class finally has a high attitude and is unwilling to go along with the secular. Until the rise of folk intellectuals, competing with the nobility for the dominance of the country, the monarchy benefited from it and gained high power. At this point, China culture became a secular culture under centralization, which lasted for nearly a thousand years.

The acquiescence of aristocrats makes culture lack of norms and role models. During Qin and Han dynasties, the influence of monarchical power was strengthened, and civilian literati became vassals of monarchical power, while aristocratic power lost its influence on the country because of the lack of institutional guarantee. More importantly, the lack of aristocratic spirit. The rise of any dynasty comes from the peasant class that "princes will have seeds", and it is difficult to reach a suitable height in both thought and behavior. Artiness is also an inevitable common practice, and the palace has become a breeding ground for arrogance and extravagance. The royal family lacks restraint, but the intellectual class can never influence the national culture, or can't reflect deeply on it independently. All thoughts are closely monitored, and such a culture is deeply rooted in ignorance and lack of self-reflection ability. How can such a national culture, which lacks aristocratic foundation and introspection, inherit the aristocratic spirit?

So I think, if you want to have aristocratic spirit, you must practice the following three aspects of kung fu!

1, the spirit of self-esteem

The most important spirit of nobility is the spirit of self-esteem, which was revealed by Nietzsche. This Nietzsche is a genius. He died in the last year of the19th century. He seems to have a premonition that this noble will perish in the 20th century, that is, the aristocratic spirit will perish. He is a genius, foresaw this, so he held high the banner of nobility at that time, so he wrote very well in the books "The Other Side of Good and Evil" and "Moral Pedigree". He defined nobility, so in the definition, it is a kind of free will and a full affirmation of human dignity. Nietzsche has a point. He thinks that the upper class is different from the lower class, and his moral standards, aristocratic spirit and spiritual standards are also different, so his moral standards and spiritual standards are also different. What he preached was a gentleman, that is, the so-called nobility had to fight against the inferior. He is noble and extreme, but what he said about this spirit of self-esteem is correct. Nobles attach great importance to self-esteem. We know that aristocrats have a basic behavior pattern, which is duel. Pushkin and lermontov, these noble poets, died in a duel. So, what does this duel language mean, that is? So this is very important and the most basic aristocratic spirit.

2. Spiritual principle

That is to say, on the one hand, we should emphasize self-esteem, personal free will and personal dignity, but the nobility knows that we live in a society with people and respect ourselves and others, so we should emphasize rules, principles and rules of the game in our relationship with others, which is a very important spirit of the nobility. So when fighting, for example, within 20 meters of us, you hold the pistol and I hold the pistol until one person falls and one person dies, but you can't foul. Once you break the rules, you are a loser first, so you must strictly abide by the rules.

3, low-key spirit

Any nobleman should keep a low profile in spirit. What is this low profile? It is self-esteem, self-reliance, and it is self-evident. Although the aristocrat has wealth, land and money, he is self-evident, because he has a relatively high level of education and accomplishment, and knows how big the world is, how long the history is, where our own position, personal position and limitations are, and he knows them all, so he dare not sing high-sounding.