Chapter 18 With the inspiration record 35

From the end of the Qing Dynasty to the present, people often hear the phrase "preserve the quintessence of the country". There are roughly two types of people who said this in the late Qing Dynasty: one is a patriot, and the other is a senior official who traveled abroad.Behind this title, they each have other meanings hidden.When a person of lofty ideals says to preserve the national quintessence, he means to restore old things; when a senior official says to preserve the national quintessence, he means to teach overseas students not to cut their braids. Now it's a nation.The two problems mentioned above have been completely eliminated.So I don't know what kind of person is saying this now, and what is the meaning behind it.

But I don't understand the positive meaning of preserving the national quintessence. What is "national quintessence"?Literally, it must be unique to one country and not available in other countries.In other words, something special.But special is not necessarily good, why should it be preserved? For example, a person has a tumor on his face and a sore on his forehead, which is indeed different and shows his special appearance, which can be regarded as his "excellence".However, in my opinion, it is better to cut off this "purity" and be as good as others. If you say: China's national quintessence is special and good; why is the situation so bad now, the new school shakes its head, and the old school sighs.

If you say: This is the reason why the quintessence of the country cannot be preserved, and the reason for the opening of the sea ban[2], so it must be preserved.But before the sea ban was lifted, the whole country was "the quintessence of the country", so it should be fine; why the five Hu and sixteen countries in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States were so noisy, the ancients also sighed. If you say: This is the reason why you did not learn Tang Wenwu and Zhou Gong[3]; why did Tang Wenwu and Zhou Gong really become Tang Wenwu? The country was in constant trouble, and the ancients also sighed.

A friend of mine said it well: "If we want to preserve the national quintessence, the national quintessence must be able to preserve us." Preserving us is indeed the first righteousness.Just ask him whether he has the strength to preserve us, whether he is the quintessence of China or not. [1] This article was originally published on November 15, 1918, No. 5, Volume 5, of "New Youth", signed by Tang Qi. [2] Please refer to note [4] on page 57 of this volume for maritime prohibition. 〔3〕Chengtang Wenwu Zhougong Chengtang, the first monarch of the Shang Dynasty.Wen, that is, King Wen of Zhou, the leader of the Zhou clan in the late Shang Dynasty, was honored as King Wen in the Zhou Dynasty.Wu, that is, King Wu of Zhou, the son of King Wen, was the first monarch of the Zhou Dynasty.Duke Zhou, younger brother of King Wu, served as regent when he became king.Jie below is the last monarch of the Xia Dynasty.Zhou, the last monarch of the Shang Dynasty.

〔4〕Yin caused rebellion. After King Wu of Zhou destroyed Yin, he divided the old land of Yin into three parts, which were managed by his brothers Guan Shu, Cai Shu and Huo Shu respectively.Wu Geng, the son of Zhou, was also made a prince and was supervised by his third uncle.After the death of King Wu, King Cheng succeeded to the throne, the Duke of Zhou supervised the country, and the third uncle and Duke Zhou were at odds. Wu Geng then united with the eastern states of Yan and Pugu to rebel against Zhou.The Duke of Zhou led his troops to the east and killed Wu Geng, limited company〗