Chapter 37 Chapter 37 Officialdom Trap Five: The Temptation of Vulgar Taste

The theory of human nature evil tells us that human beings are extremely fragile animals, they can never restrain the evil impulse in their hearts, and they cannot resist the dark call in the depths of their hearts.As long as the spiritual vigilance is slightly relaxed, people will slip into the abyss of seeking pleasure and doing evil. The one who understands this truth better is probably Sima Yan, Emperor Wu of the Eastern Jin Dynasty.Although he was the emperor, he promulgated a strange decree: if state officials and others killed people and robbed property, as long as they handed over a certain percentage of gold and silver, they would be fine.Obviously he is an emperor, but he insists on taking himself as the leader of the bandits, just because Emperor Wu of Jin has no intention of restraining the evil in his heart, nor does he have any intention of controlling the evil in the officials' hearts.

Relatively speaking, there are not many different emperors like Emperor Wu of Jin, but there are many emperors and officials who tend to call out the kindness in people's hearts.In history, no matter how stupid the emperor was, no matter how evil the person was, he was unwilling to let others regard him as a villain.Therefore, above the officialdom, the mainstream is always positive, upward, positive and sunny. But under the cover of this positive, upward, positive, and sunny, what is hidden is the painful heart of all living beings. Even the saints cannot escape the torture of the soul.

A descendant of Confucius once said: "I examine myself three times a day. Are you not loyal to others? Are you not trusting your friends? Are you not accustomed to passing on?" This passage reveals the vigilance and helplessness of Confucian scholars for the dark and evil deep in their hearts.Look at Zeng Shen, he knows that the three mistakes he makes most often are: betrayal, deceiving others and deceiving himself.Once a person is controlled by these three kinds of mistakes, he will be completely decadent, and will slip into the muddy pit of vulgar interests from then on, from which he cannot extricate himself.

The so-called low-grade taste refers to those entertainment methods that can delight the senses and produce strong shock and pleasure in the body, and these entertainment methods are too close to instinct, so the taste is naturally not high. In the Ming Dynasty, there was a man named Chen Hao, who worshiped the admiral of Shandong as Xuezheng.Because this person was addicted to drinking and drinking, his father wrote a special letter, telling him not to make mistakes by drinking too much.After receiving the letter from his father, Chen Hao ordered the craftsman to cast a huge wine bowl after careful consideration, which could hold more than two catties of wine.There are also eight eye-catching big characters engraved on the bowl: Father ordered to abstain from alcohol and drink only three cups.

Chen Hao is undoubtedly a smart person. He didn't want to disobey his father's advice, but he couldn't resist the temptation of fine wine. It was thanks to his thoughtfulness that he came up with such a clever idea. Relatively speaking, the stimulation of human sensitivity by fine wine is far less than that of gambling.You must know that gambling is a matter of great suspense, and the barrier to entry is extremely low.People with thousands of volumes of poetry and books are completely equal to illiterate old men at the gambling table. In addition, gambling is far easier to see results than hard work, and it stimulates people's brain nerves. Therefore, throughout the ages, wherever there are people , there must be a game, but it is divided into two types: secret and public.

Gambling is not only regardless of occasion, but also regardless of age, gender.In the last years of Guangxu, there was a women's association in Shanghai, which was a place for female gamblers to have a good time, and all the players who participated in the gambling were famous ladies.During the day, these girls stayed behind closed doors at home, and at night, they would come quietly in a carriage, throwing dice and shouting five and six, the noise was more lively than the men's quarrel. Both wine and gambling have the characteristic of gathering crowds, so they often meet together.In the last years of the Qing Dynasty, Prince Gong was in charge of the security of the capital. Suddenly one night he led a police patrol into a secret casino, arrested more than forty important court officials on the spot, and brought these people before the emperor. The emperor could only pretend to be deaf and dumb.Although they have not been dealt with in any way, the future promotion path of these people will be completely blocked.

There is a more terrible temptation in human nature, which is more likely to ruin a person's future.During the Tongzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, the magistrate of a certain county in Jiangxi, in order to show meritorious service, ruled a county and strictly prohibited scholars from entering brothels without permission.Suddenly one day, I received a secret report from an informant, saying that a scholar had sneaked into the brothel.The county magistrate immediately issued an order to sign, ordering the servants to bring the criminals.Not long after, the yamen servants dragged and dragged a man with an unfamiliar face, and the clothes he was wearing were also extremely strange.The county magistrate asked his name, but the man faltered and spoke vaguely.This angered the county magistrate, and he couldn't help but beat him thirty times.

The next day, the county magistrate went to the state capital to meet the Beijing official Taishi who came from the capital, but he heard that Taishi was ill and returned depressed.After many days, the county magistrate suddenly met Taishi on one occasion, and was surprised to find that this person was the scholar who had been beaten by him that night.The county magistrate was stunned, and the Taishi, after seeing the county magistrate, covered his face in embarrassment and walked away.When this incident was reported, it caused a sensation and became a rare joke and topic in the officialdom, and this unlucky young Taishi has since faded out of the officialdom.

Compared with the veterans in the officialdom, the young people who are new to the officialdom need to beware of the deadly traps of drinking, gambling and sex.Because Lao Youzi has formed his own deep-rooted sphere of influence in the officialdom, and he has long since given up hope of promotion, even if he committed a crime, the people in charge above him will not be able to pursue it for the sake of sympathy.The young people are not the same. The officialdom is always afraid of young people, lest the young people will affect the mainstream value trend of the officialdom and make them at a loss. Therefore, once the young people make these mistakes, it will immediately spread. Human beings also punished extraordinarily severely, robbing young people of their chances of advancement forever.