Chapter 27 fate

One day, I was sitting in the Neishan Bookstore [2] chatting—I often go to the Neishan Bookstore to chat, my poor hostile "literateur", and tried to use this to give me the title of "traitor" [ 3] Unfortunately, now they don’t insist on it anymore—I just realized that the 29-year-old women born in Bingwu in Japan this year are a group of very unfortunate people.Everyone believes that a woman born in the Bingwu year needs to be restrained, even if she remarries, she must be restrained, and it can be as many as five or six, so it is very difficult to get married.This is naturally a superstition, but there are still many superstitions in Japanese society.I asked: Is there a way to get rid of this fate?The answer is: no.

Then I thought of China. Many foreign Chinese researchers say that the Chinese are fatalists, doomed, and helpless; even Chinese theorists, some people now say the same.But as far as I know, Chinese women do not have such an inescapable fate. There are "fierce" or "hard" fates, but there is always a way to think about it, which is the so-called "relief"; or marry a man who is not afraid of a fate that is not afraid of restraint, so as to restrain her "fierce" or "hard".If there is a kind of fate, it is said that it is to win five or six husbands in a row, then there have been Taoist priests who have appeared on the scene, claiming to know the magic method, carved five or six men out of peach wood, painted charms, and walked with the woman of this fate After the "marriage ceremony", burn or bury it, so the husband who is really engaged, even if he is the seventh, is not in danger.

The Chinese do believe in fate, but there is a way to transfer this fate.The so-called "no way" is sometimes just a way to think of another way-to transfer fate.When you are convinced that this is "fate" and really "there is no other way", that is in fact completely hit a wall, or is about to perish.Destiny is not an ex-ante guide for the Chinese, but a careless interpretation afterwards.Chinese people naturally have superstitions and "beliefs", but they seem to seldom "believe".We used to respect the emperor the most, but on the one hand we wanted to tease him, but on the other hand we also respected the concubine, but on the other hand we wanted to hang her shoulders; we feared the gods, but burned paper money as bribes, admired heroes, but refused to make sacrifices for him.A famous Confucian who worships Confucius, worships Buddha on the one hand, and a warrior who believes in Jia will believe in Ding tomorrow.There has never been a religious war. From the Northern Wei Dynasty to the end of the Tang Dynasty, the two religions of Buddhism and Taoism rose one after the other, relying only on the sweet words of a few people in the ear of the emperor.Fengshui, spells, prayers... the huge "destiny", as long as you spend a lot of money or kowtow a few times, it will be completely different from the destined sum-it is not destined.

Our sage also knew that "destiny" is so uncertain that it is not enough to fix people's hearts, so he said that the result obtained after using various methods is the real "destiny", and even if various methods must be used, it is also a destiny. destined.But it seems that ordinary people don't seem to think so. It may not be a good thing for people to have no "firm belief" and be suspicious, because this is the so-called "no special practice".But I think that the Chinese who believe in fate and believe that fate can be transferred are worthy of optimism.But so far, superstition is being used to divert other superstitions, so in the final analysis, there is no difference. If this superstition can be replaced with proper principles and practices—science in the future, then the idea of ​​determinism will also be replaced by science. and the Chinese left.

If there is such a day, the thrones of monks, Taoists, wizards, astrologers, Fengshui masters... will all be given to scientists, and we don't have to see gods and ghosts all year long. October 23rd. CC [1] This article was originally published in the fifth issue of the first volume of the semi-monthly "Taibai" magazine on November 20, 1934, signed by Gong Khan. 〔2〕Uchiyama Bookstore The bookstore opened by Japanese Uchiyama Kanzo (1885-1959) in Shanghai mainly sells Japanese books. 〔3〕Give me the title of "traitor". Japanese spies (see "Pseudo Liberty Book · Postscript").Also in May 1934, the twelfth issue of the seventh volume of "Social News" published a draft of "Lu Xun Willing to Be a Traitor" signed by Si, slandering Lu Xun for "making a secret agreement with a Japanese bookstore... he is happy to be a traitor."