There is another story, which is also a typical "Qu Quan", which is called "Gong Lu Irony" in history.

Jian Zheng said: "Whoever sends troops to attack Qi and dares to remonstrate in the army is extremely guilty. The man in armor is called Gong Lu. He saw Jane laughing. What is Jane laughing at? Yes:' I have a long laugh.' Jianzi said:' If you have a solution, you will do it, and if you don't have a solution, you will die. Yes:' When Sang was born, the neighbor husband and wife owned the land. When I saw the girl in Sang, she couldn't get it because of her pursuit, but she turned back and her wife left angrily. I laughed at it. "Jianzi said," Today, I conquered this country, but I lost it. That's because I am broad-minded. So I went home. "It means to send troops to attack Qi, and it is very determined. Anyone who dares to dissuade him will be killed. Although everyone thinks Qi is stronger and doesn't want to fight with Qi, no one dares to remonstrate. Later, a soldier named Gong Lu thought of a way-when Zhao Jianzi passed by, he deliberately looked at Zhao Jianzi and smiled. Zhao Jianzi was very angry and asked him, What are you laughing at? Gong Lu said, I met a very funny thing. Zhao Jianzi said, what's so funny? You tell me now, or I'll kill you if you don't tell me. Gong Wei said to Zhao Jianzi, "My neighbor has a beautiful wife. Later, he took a fancy to a beautiful woman that Sang Lin knew, and he chased her. As a result, he not only failed to catch up with her, but even his wife ran away. " Hearing this, Zhao Jianzi knew that if he attacked Qi heavily, neighboring countries would take the opportunity to occupy their own country, so that he might not attack Qi and lose his land. So he immediately changed his mind and stopped fighting with Qi. Therefore, "Song Quan" is not necessarily a compromise-since the straight road is blocked and you can't go straight, then go around a few times, as long as you can reach your destination.

The wisdom of Qu Zi Quan is too important. In history, many people who were too unyielding, too honest and too strong were finally killed. Those who survive are often those who can compromise. Moreover, many very successful people, especially politicians, are very good at dealing with grievances. Some people finally achieved many great things because of the wisdom of "enjoying it". Feng Dao and Lu Gong are good examples, and there are many similar examples, such as the revenge of Gou Jian, the king of Yue, and so on. However, it was not the King of Yue himself who had the wisdom of "Qu Quan", but his important minister at that time. The King of Yue did not listen to Fan Li's dissuasion. After the failure to send troops to attack Wu, he put forward a plan to let the king of Yue surrender and wait for an opportunity to make a comeback. Later, another etiquette style of the King of Yue proposed seven strategies-some people say nine-and the King of Yue defeated the King of Wu Fu Cha with only three. After the King of Yue won, Fan Li quietly wrote a letter to Wen Zi, telling Wen Zi that the King of Yue could only * * * suffer, but not * * * get rich. Although Wen Zi believed in Fan Li, he didn't resign and retire because he didn't have the wisdom of "Song Weiquan" and didn't understand the reason of retiring after success. As a result, he was executed soon.

There are many examples of killing heroes in the history of China. Since Qin Shihuang, heroes have been killed in almost all dynasties. Why? Because it is too powerful and prestigious, the king is afraid that they will help others as they help themselves, and even more afraid that they will rise up and rebel, so they always strike first. The human heart is a mirror, which always reflects your own heart. It is difficult for a monarch who seeks to usurp the throne to have people who do not covet state power. So is modern society. In every unit, leaders are not the most capable people, but the most mediocre and obedient people. Why? Because people who are too capable will pose a threat to him. The emperor is even more so as a ruler. So many emperors will kill heroes when they are alive, so that their children can't clean up. For example, after Liu Bang proclaimed himself emperor, he killed a number of heroes such as Han Xin, and several half-recruited kings, all of whom were afraid that others would rob his country. Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Yuanzhang are the most typical monarchs who kill heroes. He killed almost all the heroes. Because he wants to pass on the throne to his grandson, he is afraid that his grandson can't clean up these officials who have turned around. If you are gone, help your grandson solve everything. In case they rebel, the weak grandson will be unprepared.

Of course, there are emperors in China who don't kill heroes, such as Zhao Kuangyin in Song Taizu.

I have a good impression of Zhao Kuangyin. In my opinion, he is the greatest emperor in the history of China. Today's historians don't think highly of the Song Dynasty, and it is wrong to think that the Song Dynasty was poor and weak. Song Dynasty is one of the greatest dynasties in the history of China. Although the land area is small, it has created many excellent systems and traditions, which still affect the world today. For example, in the Song Dynasty, the system of two houses and three divisions was implemented, and the emperor's will was "not carried out without the two houses". Therefore, the phenomenon that the hostess, consorts and eunuchs stole their handles and were manipulated by people around them was basically eliminated in the Song Dynasty, and civil strife rarely occurred. It is said that the separation of powers, the separation of military and political orders and the nationalization of the army in the United States also borrowed from the Song Dynasty. Ma Duanlin, a historian of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, recorded in A General Examination of Documents: "Taizu and Taizong were in the same sea, punishing the arrogance of the dynasty, and gathering soldiers from all over the world ... The soldiers were unpredictable and handsome, the handsome teachers were inconsistent, the internal and external dimensions were integrated, and the achievements were rolling ..." So the system of the Song Dynasty was very advanced, reaching a modern level, especially motionless. Moreover, the Song Dynasty is the second dynasty in China's history with academic freedom since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. It has a special official system, which does not kill or humiliate civil servants and encourages remonstrance. In addition, there are many outstanding points in the Song Dynasty, which are worth learning from later generations. Therefore, it is really biased to define it as "poor and weak". In fact, in Europe, America and Japan, scholars spoke highly of the Song Dynasty. For example, Fei Zhengqing, a tenured professor at Harvard University, thinks that the Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty are the most glorious periods in China's history. Needham, a British scholar, also said in the History of Science and Technology in China: "Whenever people look up any specific scientific and technological historical materials in China's literature, they often find that its main focus is in the Song Dynasty."

It is remarkable that Zhao Kuangyin was able to open and lay such a great dynasty, create an environment suitable for the development of China's traditional culture, and make philosophy, ethics, education, science, literature, art, medicine, and technology blossom to unprecedented heights. However, what impressed me most was not these "big things", but those "small things". For example, "a glass of wine releases the rights of soldiers." The story is simple: one day in court, Zhao Kuangyin was sad, and ministers asked him, "Your Majesty, why are you so worried?" ? He said that he wanted to be an emperor when he was not an emperor, and he couldn't sleep after he became an emperor. Ministers asked him again, why can't you sleep? He said, think about it, if one day, your subordinates dress you in yellow robes, can you not be an emperor? Zhao Kuangyin is very clever. He didn't say that his subordinates might rebel, but what would you do if you were the protagonist of the yellow robe? Although it was not clear, the subordinates understood it as soon as they heard it. One by one, they got scared and thought that disaster was coming, so they replied to Zhao Kuangyin, Your Majesty, we are all rough people and we don't know what to do. Please give your majesty a clear way! Zhao Kuangyin said, it doesn't matter, you have worked hard all your life. Why don't you hand over the relieving and I'll give you some money. You can go back to your hometown to be an idle official and enjoy yourself, or you can leave some possessions for your children and grandchildren. If it is fate, we can be in-laws and not be suspicious of each other. Why not? Hearing this, the ministers surrendered their military power and went to have fun. This method is very good. Do not directly conflict with the ministers in power, and do not harm their lives. But tactful and clever handling, circuitous saved some heroes. This is also a typical "Qu Ze Boxing", which, in modern terms, is also in line with the current humanitarianism. In the history of China, this is very rare.

It is said that Zhao Kuangyin also left three teachings for his descendants, which were written on the stone tablets of the ancestral temple. When each new emperor ascended the throne, he would worship the tablet and say the oath silently. The main ideas of the first two are as follows: First, save the descendants of firewood, except for the crime of rebellion, no additional punishment shall be imposed; Second, you can't kill literati and writers.

Zhao Kuangyin wanted to save Chai's descendants because he robbed Zhou Shizong in Chai Rong. He thinks Chai Rong is very kind to him. It is unkind of him to do so. He doesn't want to bully Chai's orphans and widows anymore, and he also hopes that future generations will not bully Chai's descendants. Therefore, he not only left a legacy, but also gave Chai a "Dan Shu Iron Voucher". Unless the Chai family's descendants rebel, they can't be beheaded-even if the Chai family's descendants rebel, they can only be sentenced to death, and they can't be publicly executed, and they can't implicate their own people. There are related details in The Water Margin: Chai Jin, a small whirlwind, hid many criminals in Chai's home, and the government did not dare to ask, which is a true portrayal of that period of history. Later, in the history of China, there was no emperor like Zhao Kuangyin. For the sake of the throne, brothers can kill each other without feeling guilty. They will not be kind to the descendants of the dead, and even copy their doors, so as not to leave future trouble-Zhao Kuangyin doesn't want to leave future trouble, so he can't leave those ministers around. He was also afraid that those who betrayed Zhou Shizong would betray themselves, but he chose to serve people with good deeds instead of rooting out the root causes. This is the difference between Zhao Kuangyin and other authorities. However, he seems to have killed one or two heroes when necessary. Therefore, if you want to be a saint, you can't be a politician. As long as you become a politician, you must abide by the rules of politicians, otherwise you will be excluded.

As for the second legacy, it finally became the biggest feature of the Northern Song Dynasty. The ups and downs of official career are always when you sing and I come on stage. Especially during Wang Anshi's political reform, many officials, including Su Shi, were demoted and dismissed from office, but no matter how they were demoted or dismissed from office, the emperor would not kill the head of a civilian. This is the influence of Zhao Kuangyin's legacy on the Song Dynasty, which became one of the freest dynasties in China. In the history of China, no second emperor left such a legacy like Zhao Kuangyin, and asked every new emperor to take an oath when he acceded to the throne. Zhao Kuangyin really achieved what Lao Zi said: compromise and mutual tolerance.

This chapter talks about Laozi's philosophy of unity of opposites. While expressing this philosophy, it tells you how enlightened people and saints face the world and provides a code of conduct for those who want to become saints. There are many similar expressions in Tao Te Ching. I will always tell you how saints do, how saints think and how saints choose. Its purpose is to set an example and hope others will do the same. Of course, the sage I am talking about is not necessarily an enlightened person, but mainly an influential person with good virtue.

You can also think of these expressions as strategies to treat people, which is also correct. In that case, "happiness" is a very important strategy of Taoism. It does not advocate rigidity, rigidity and confrontation, and Taoism never advocates it. Look at Tai Ji Chuan's movements. They look extremely soft, but they can make four or two movements. That's the best part. It represents the characteristic of Taoist wisdom-harmony. Taoism believes that many seemingly unsolvable problems can be solved from another angle and can be done in a comprehensive way.

Therefore, if you want to know whether a person can do great things, it depends on whether he has a sharp edge. If he has a sharp edge, he can't do great things. All people who achieve great things are virtuous and can compromise. In other words, if you want to achieve great things and achieve greater value, you must be a virtuous and considerate person, which is very important Taoist wisdom.

end

About the author: Xue Mo, formerly known as Chen Kaihong, is from Liangzhou, Gansu. National first-class writer, famous cultural scholar, vice chairman of Gansu Writers Association, president of Guangzhou Xiangba Culture Research Institute, and "humanistic tutor" of Fudan University and Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Cancer Institute.

Selected from Laozi's Mind Theory —— The Second Series of Xuecai's Tao Te Ching

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