Chapter 30 Chinese historical figures-1

Talking about culture must talk about history, and history is the most concrete fact of cultural accumulation.History talks about personnel affairs, and personnel affairs should put people first and affairs second.If there is no life, how can there be personnel?The Chinese have always seen this clearly.Westerners' views are different from ours. It seems that things are the main thing and people are the second, and it's the other way around.Therefore, Western history is mostly a chronicle, and although China has this style, it is not the main one.Chinese history is mainly in the form of biographies, and the Twenty-Four Histories are called official histories, which are the most difficult to read.Once you open it, you can only see one person, not one thing.For example, reading "Historical Records", the founding of the Han Dynasty, I saw Han Gaozu, Xiang Wang, Zhang Liang, Han Xin, Xiao He, many people, and divided things among each of them. "Shangshu" is an ancient chronicle, the original and the last, and it is not until Yuan Shu of the Song Dynasty that there is "Tongjian Chronicle", which is only for beginners, and then read the chronicles such as "Tongjian", and then start to read the official history biographies.Today we learn from the West in all our academic education, so when we talk about history in schools, we focus on events rather than people.For example, when talking about the war between Chu and Han, how did Han Gaozu fight Xiang Yu?Of course we have to talk about people, but we only focus on things.One year, I personally discussed this issue with one of their historians in the United States. He said: "History should be dominated by people, but if this person has nothing to show, how can he get into history?" It’s hard to say, because it involves the entire cultural system of China and the West. Let me give you an obvious example. In China, there are many people who have nothing to show but are written into history, and there are definitely not a few of them.” Today we don’t care about universities, Even in the research institute, when teaching history, although it is divided into categories, the attention is always on the matter.When it comes to political systems, there is no absolute system that is good.Systems are always subject to change, and no system remains unchanged through the ages, nor is there a perfect system.For example, when it comes to social economy, all the theoretical thoughts and facts related to the economy are also changing from time to time.In a bad system, it is better to have good people.In a good system, it is not good to have bad people.Ideas must be expressed in facts, and there must be someone behind the scenes to preside over them.Without people, systems, ideas, and theories are empty and unreliable.As for the so-called good or bad of a person, this standard is relatively fixed and difficult to change.At this moment, we classify history into categories, political history, social history, economic history, diplomatic history, military history, etc., everything is complete, but we don’t pay attention to the people in history.The system comes from people, and only when some people get up, can the system come into being.Thought also comes from people, that is, thinkers.So today I especially want to talk about people in history. My greatest hope is that we can all become historical figures.In order to maintain history, revive history, and create history, there must be people.

When it comes to historical figures, of course we have to talk about history.Fortune and characters always follow each other.The times are different, and the characters are also different.The Chinese have always seen that history is always subject to change, so they talk about the fate of the world.History is changing all the time, and the fate of the world cannot always stay in one state.We generally divide all eras in history, but there are two types, not only in China and foreign countries, but also in ancient and modern times, and in the future.A certain era, which we call the ruling world, was peaceful and peaceful, and slowly turned into a prosperous age.A certain era turns from prosperity to decline, from decline to chaos, into a declining world and a chaotic world.History is ever-changing, but this one has its ups and downs.When I was a child, the school teacher told me that in Chinese history, there was chaos, but in Western history, chaos will not come after order.Although I was very young at the time, after hearing what the gentleman said, I felt that this was a big problem.How to make Chinese history can also be cured and no longer chaotic.But after I read history, I came to believe that in the West, if there is governance, there will be chaos, and if it is prosperous, it will also decline.In my short life of more than 70 years today, I have personally witnessed the transition from prosperity to decline, and from governance to chaos in Western society.Everything in Europe has changed since World War I and World War II.Especially exciting to me, such as the United Kingdom.At that time, when I was studying world geography, the maps I used were made by the United Kingdom. As long as this place was ruled by it, it would be painted in red.For example, a red line is drawn on the island of Hong Kong, and a map of the world has red everywhere.Britain is known as a country where the sun never sets. There are British flags all over the world, and the sun will always shine on their flags.But what about today?

I'm getting older, and I've heard people say that it's a pity that we were born in this era, which is a time of decline and chaos.That is to say, since the Anti-Japanese War to this day, people have been running around in exile. Today, it can be said that they only live in the country's partial security situation.Wouldn't it be nice if we were born in a peaceful and prosperous age?But when we read history, it seems that there should be many and good historical figures who govern the world, otherwise how can there be governance and prosperity?In a world of decline and chaos, it should be that the characters are few and bad, otherwise how can there be decline and chaos?But it is not.But you can only look at Chinese history.Western history focuses on events and ignores people. The victory and defeat of wars are different, and the strength of countries is different. They only see the events and don't see the people behind the events.The general intellectuals in our society today are gradually accepting the influence of the West, and they only talk about the strength of governance and chaos, but they also ignore the general central figures.If we take the Twenty-Five Histories as a statistics, I can tell you a conclusion first.Most of the first-class figures in Chinese history were in troubled times and declining times.The so-called great person, he is not only in the current world, but also behind him, who has influence and effect on history, this is a great person.The greater the influence, the greater the character.But the so-called characters, who originated in the declining and chaotic times, are more and bigger.On the contrary, there are fewer and worse ones that started from the prosperity and governance of the world.Isn't that strange?It is not surprising.If there are no characters in the declining and chaotic world, or if the characters are not great enough, how can it become a prosperous and prosperous world now?The reason why Chinese history was able to prosper and decline, and to rule and chaos, is precisely because there are characters in the declining and chaotic times, and the new history is created below.From chaos to governance, from decline to prosperity.If we don't pay attention to people and place more importance on things than people, then the world will be in decline and chaos, let alone people, and there will be no way out.This is where Greece and Rome fell.At this moment, when Britain and France will recover again is also a question.Today it is the turn of the United States and Soviet Russia to become the world's two largest powers.However, from the perspective of historical process, there will still be chaos under the rule, and there will be decline after prosperity.It is like the United States, but in terms of figures, such as Washington and Lincoln, it seems that it is not easy to come by today.

In China, it can be said that the most troubled times are like the Spring and Autumn Period, and Confucius was born at this time.Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, and Duke Zhou were all governing the world, but Confucius was in decline and chaos.But Confucius students said: "The master is better than Yao and Shun".This is about people, not things.It is about death, regardless of life.The influence and effect of Confucius on history is far greater than that of Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, and Duke Zhou, and this is proof at this moment. After the Spring and Autumn Period, there was the Warring States Period, which was more declining and chaotic, but when we talk about Chinese historical figures, the Warring States Period should occupy the first place.I can't talk about the characters of the Warring States from the beginning, but many people like Meng, Xun, Lao, and Zhuang only talk about their thinking, and their influence on future generations of China is really great.The unification of China in the Han Dynasty, of course, was a prosperous and prosperous age, which can be called the golden age in Chinese history, but the characters in the Han Dynasty are obviously not as good as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States.The prosperity of the Han Dynasty was still influenced by the characters of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.

Looking at the Han Dynasty as a whole, the Eastern Han Dynasty is not as good as the Western Han Dynasty, but there are more people than the Western Han Dynasty, and there are big people.Just to give an example of academic figures: Zheng Xuan, the greatest Confucian scholar in the Eastern Han Dynasty, is incomparable in the Western Han Dynasty.Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty commended the Six Classics and dismissed hundreds of schools. In the Western Han Dynasty, Confucian classics flourished, and it cannot be said that they did not contribute.However, among the Confucian scholars of the Han Dynasty, the greatest figure and the most influential person in the future were Zheng Xuan.Zheng Xuan died at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty.The Yellow Turban Rebellion, Dong Zhuo went to Luoyang, and the Eastern Han Dynasty was about to perish.Zheng Xuan lived in the declining and chaotic times of the Eastern Han Dynasty, but he became one of the greatest Confucian scholars.If we admit that Confucian classics have had a great influence on Chinese culture and Chinese history, then Zheng Xuan should be the one who has the greatest influence.

Speaking of the Tang Dynasty, it was also a prosperous and prosperous age.But when it comes to the characters of the Tang Dynasty, they are not as good as the later Song Dynasty.Even though the Song Dynasty was not a chaotic world, it was always a declining one.When I say Tang is not as good as Song, I am not talking about their founding era.We will not talk about the group of people under Tang Gaozu and Tang Taizong, this group for the time being.The characters before the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty were not as numerous as those after the Tianbao Rebellion, they were bigger, and they behaved more decently.In terms of the Song Dynasty, the Northern Song Dynasty was of course more peaceful, but the greatest figures came from the Southern Song Dynasty.From an academic point of view, like Zhu Zi, his status in the academic history should still be higher than that of Zheng Xuan.The Ming Dynasty was prosperous again, but the characters declined even more.The Qing Dynasty was also considered to be a prosperous age, the most prosperous in Qianjia, but the figures in the Qianjia era were relatively inferior.In terms of Confucian classics, just writing a doctoral dissertation in the library at this moment can't compare with some big figures in the early Qing Dynasty.It was the Ming Dynasty that was about to fall, and the chaos had come, but the characters were competing with each other.

Let's try to talk about the decline of the world again.After the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, the Three Kingdoms fell apart. It can be said that it was a troubled time, but there were many characters in the Three Kingdoms.Another example is the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongols came to China, and the Yuan Dynasty also produced many people from various fields.The Yuan Dynasty was only 80 years old. When Taizu of the Ming Dynasty rose up, a large number of people under him, such as Liu Ji and Song Lian, fought against him, but they were all cultivated in the Yuan Dynasty.The Tang Dynasty was also the same. Those who fought against the world with Emperor Taizong were all figures from the Sui Dynasty, who were cultivated far from the Southern and Northern Dynasties.In the rejuvenation of the country in the Tang Dynasty, all scale systems were established from the Northern Zhou Dynasty to the Sui Dynasty.Pushing forward further, from Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, and the characters in the early Western Han Dynasty, everything was brewed and matured in the minds of people in the Warring States Period, and it was not manifested until the early Han Dynasty.Therefore, we can draw a conclusion, but this is only according to Chinese history, and Western history does not seem to be the case.This conclusion is the most special feature of Chinese culture, that is, in times of decline and chaos, there are more and greater characters than those who govern and flourish.

Generally speaking, history has an upper layer and a lower layer.We should know that history is not flat.Like a body of water, it has its surface and its bottom.The floating surface is easy to see, but the bottom layer is not easy to see.If it is said that politics is on track, at the same time society must also be on track.If the society is not on track, it is not easy to get on the political track alone.The politicians at the top all rise to society from the bottom. We can say that the bottom is more important than the superficial.When we talk about historical figures, we can also divide them into one part of the upper class and the other part of the lower class.People who have gone to the upper echelons of politics are people who have shown themselves, such as Liu Bang and Xiang Yu.There is also a group of people who have sunk into the lower class. They are non-expressive figures, but they were equally influential and effective at that time and in the history below.Perhaps their influence is greater than those of performance.For example, reading "Zuo Zhuan", it is a very detailed history of 240 years in the Spring and Autumn Period.But Confucius does not occupy a place in "Zuo Zhuan". The mention of Confucius in "Zuo Zhuan" can be said to be insignificant, how can it be compared with other characters?Among the Spring and Autumn figures praised by Confucius in the book, there was Guan Zhong in the front and Zichan in the back, all of which were manifested at that time.When we read "Zuo Zhuan", we pay attention to Guan Zhong in the first half and Zichan in the second half.There are figures in a big country, such as Guan Zhongzhi in Qi.There are also people in small countries, such as Zichan in Zheng.In terms of character value, Zichan is not necessarily inferior to Guan Zhong.People from big countries have performances, and people from small countries have performances as well.Confucius, on the other hand, is like a character with no performance, even if he has performance, it is insignificant.But Confucius can be found in "Zuo Zhuan", but Yan Yuan cannot be found.Although Yan Yuan does not appear in "Zuo Zhuan", he still has a great influence and role in the future Chinese history.The influence of Confucius and Yan Yuan surpassed that of Guan Zhong and Zichan.So we can put it another way, Guan Zhong and Zichan are figures of the times.There have been constant changes in history, Qin changed to Han, Sui changed to Tang.But times have changed, and history remains the same, at least one piece of Chinese history.So when we talk about history, we should not pay too much attention to the superficial, but we should pay more attention to the lower.When we talk about "Zuo Zhuan", don't just know that there are Guan Zhong and Zichan, but also be careful. At that time, there was Confucius and even Yan Yuan.It's just that Confucius and Yan Yuan didn't participate in major events at the top of the floating surface at that time, so they didn't enter the historical records.If one looks at the entire history of China, the status of Confucius is far above that of Yao and Shun.Although Yan Yuan did not show anything, he had an influence and effect on later China, and he was not weaker than Guan Zhong and Zichan.So the so-called performance and non-performance are only in a narrow sense.If there is no performance, how can it be passed down to today in history?He is who he is, not what he does.This so-called matter is also in a narrow sense, and it is only a superficial matter in history.

Let's talk about the Three Kingdoms again, it's a mess, it can be said to be a chaotic world, and it's extremely chaotic.But in Chinese history, apart from the Warring States period, the Chinese people's favorite reading should be the history of the Three Kingdoms.Any Chinese today knows something about the history of the Three Kingdoms.Perhaps it was because Luo Guanzhong did it, but why did Luo Guanzhong do it?Why can it spread like this?It is precisely because there are many characters in the Three Kingdoms era, and they are really considered characters.Just like Cao Cao, who was a villain in history, he also had influence and effect, but it was just a counter-influence and counter-effect.Like Yuan Shikai in modern times, he is also a villain, and he can be known by comparing him with Mr. Sun Yat-sen.At that time, everyone performed well, but Mr. Sun Yat-sen was a historical figure, and Yuan Shikai was only a figure of the times, and he was a villain.Now let’s talk about the positive figures in the Three Kingdoms era, Zhuge Liang is great, with a Zhuge Liang, the entire history of the Three Kingdoms will be bright, and everything will become colorful and meaningful.However, when Chinese later commented on the characters of the Three Kingdoms, they pushed Guan Ning as the first person.Guan Ning showed nothing at that time, and the world was in chaos. He ran away and went into exile in Liaodong.Cao Cao is also amazing. He heard that there is Guan Ning, and he wants him back no matter what.Guan Ning had no choice but to come back, but he would never perform under Cao Cao's regime.He said he was sick and couldn't come out to do things.Cao Cao sent someone to check on his house, and when he came back, he made a report on Guan Ning's daily life, but this report was recorded in history.Cao Cao said: "Since this is the case, we don't have to force him." When Guan Ning was young, he studied with a friend Hua Xin. There was the sound of cars and horses outside the door. Hua Xin said, "Someone is passing by."When they came back, Guan Ning sat down with him and said, "You are not my friend." Later, Hua Xin became a senior official in the state of Wei.It can be seen from this that a great character does not necessarily have to perform.Performance, perhaps not as good as no performance.Let's talk about it slowly.

The so-called performance, there are performances and success, and there are performances and failures.Ordinarily we say that Chinese people like to praise failed heroes, but what is there to praise when they fail?We should realize that failures are nothing to praise, nor should we praise.If the nation is to be successful, history must also be successful. However, there are indeed people who failed in history. Some people may call such people characters or heroes.For example, in Western history, there was Alexander in ancient times and Napoleon in modern times, but none of them succeeded.More like Hitler in modern Germany, even more terrifying.Not only his personal failure, but also the damage to the nation and the people around him is not small.How should such people learn.Therefore, failed heroes should not be commended.However, in Paris, the capital of France, all city constructions centered on Napoleon, surrounded by eight avenues around the Arc de Triomphe, and distributed in all directions, forming the urban area of ​​Paris.The other part, with Napoleon's tomb as the center, shows a Napoleon in the cityscape of Paris.It's as if the French thought Napoleon was still their number one.Today's de Gaulle wants to learn from Napoleon, and failure is obviously in front of him.Today everyone hopes that the Germans will stop learning from Hitler, and even the West Germans are afraid of the revival of Hitler's spirit.All the city buildings in Washington, the capital of the United States, imitate Paris, from the avenue of the Congressional Court to the bronze statue of Washington. This is the center of the entire urban area, and the White House is just a small building next to it.Washington is a successful figure, but the cityscape of Washington is dominated by the Congress, which is a proof that Westerners place more emphasis on career performance than character completion.But the United States has a more promising future than France.Just take the construction of the capitals of the two countries as an example to illustrate.London, England is another story. Westminster Abbey represents the age of theocracy, Buckingham Palace represents the age of kingship, and Parliament represents the era of civil rights. The coexistence of these three buildings is the spirit of Britain, and it is clear that it is more important than people.Although there are many famous people buried in Westminster Abbey, they are second-class.The ones that get the most attention are of course Westminster Abbey, the Royal Palace and Parliament, and some material constructions.

Let's talk about the so-called failed figures in Chinese history, but they have not actually failed.That is to say, like Yue Fei in the Southern Song Dynasty, if he succeeded, the Southern Song Dynasty could be revived, but Yue Fei failed.But Yue Fei only failed at that time, and he succeeded in later generations.Another example is Wen Tianxiang, if there is no Wen Tianxiang, it will be a big failure in Chinese history.The Mongols came into China, and Wen Tianxiang came out. Although he could not help the Southern Song Dynasty survive, Wen Tianxiang was able to maintain the Chinese national spirit to this day, so he has not failed.In other words, as far as he was concerned, he had failed.From the perspective of the entire history, he was successful.Therefore, we say that among historical figures, there should be a distinction between era figures and historical figures. What is the key to success or failure?I can say that the failure is due to his external conditions, not his own internal conditions.The failure of Yue Fei's career is not due to Yue Fei's own internal conditions, not because of his own failure.Song Gaozong, Qin Hui, and all external conditions made Yue Fei fail.And Yue Fei's personal internal conditions made Yue Fei successful.The one who succeeded was Yue Fei.Wen Tianxiang's external conditions can't be said at all, they are even worse than Yue Fei's, so of course he will fail.When the Mongolian army came, the Southern Song Dynasty at that time could not resist.However, Wen Tianxiang still had to resist, and Wen Tianxiang himself succeeded.His internal conditions are not lacking, leaving him alone in history will make great contributions, great influence and great effect to China in the future.If there is only one thing, the thing cannot stay.Because history must change.If Confucius had become the prime minister of the Lu State, he might have achieved greater achievements than Guan Zhong, and perhaps Confucius could be compared with the Duke of Zhou.However, even the great achievements of Duke Zhou are only manifested in matters.Everything had to change, the Western Zhou still changed the Eastern Zhou.If one thing is done, it can remain forever and remain unchanged forever, then there is no history.Where the careers of the previous people have been done well, we will have nothing to show, and there is nothing to do.But people just want to do things, if there is nothing to do, what is the use of these people?People are useless, and history is naturally broken.So we don't hope that everything can be passed down forever, we just hope that there will be new people to do new things and have new successes.The existence of history depends on people and not things, but people can exist forever.Westerners can exist forever in history, compared with China, there are too few.Jesus was crucified, he was a failed person, but Jesus exists forever, and so does the so-called spirit of the cross.To this day, whether you believe in Jesus or not, you cannot deny the greatness and success of Jesus.The most successful one is himself.He said that he was going to be resurrected after death, and he has been handed down forever to this day, and he still exists. Isn't he resurrected?We can also say that Yue Fei's Fengboting spirit is resurrected.To this day, Yue Fei is still alive, at least we Chinese understand Yue Fei, and Yue Fei is still in our hearts. The Chinese people's ideal of life has one of the highest requirements, which is "only success is allowed, and failure is not allowed."But success has many external conditions.And we have a way to make all external conditions not enough to yield to me, as long as I have internal conditions.If you say that you don't need internal conditions, it doesn't matter whether you succeed or fail.God also has conditions for the birth of man. If he says that he can succeed without all the conditions, he will not be a man.One cannot be unconditional. What we hope is that we only talk about internal conditions, not external conditions, and we can be successful.God gave us only one possibility, everyone can be Confucius and Jesus.Confucius said: "In a city of ten houses, there must be someone who is as loyal and trustworthy as Qiu, and he is not as good as Qiu who is eager to learn." Ease of learning is his inner condition.Faithfulness is given to him by God and is his external condition.But only this basic condition is external and at the same time internal.Is it true that Cao Cao and even Yuan Shikai are inherently disloyal and untrustworthy?The Chinese do not recognize this sentence.It is possible to be born the same.In addition to all internal conditions, other external ones can be ignored.Today we all feel that the external conditions are not enough. We are born in a world of decline and chaos, so of course the external conditions are not enough.However, even if one is born in a prosperous and governing world, the external conditions will still be insufficient.We said today that if we want to transform the environment, we must satisfy our internal conditions. You must first become a character before you can transform the environment and satisfy some external conditions.If you have not become a character, the internal conditions are not enough, and all external conditions cannot be changed, even if you have external conditions.It seems that Westerners pay too much attention to external conditions, but when we look at Western history, it is still the same as Chinese history.The Jews at the time of Jesus were under the rule of the Roman Empire. When we read Jesus’ New Testament, he didn’t talk about Roman rule. It seems that the external conditions were not in his mind and were not considered by him.However, the external conditions are also mentioned in the book after all. For example, the tax collectors were sent by Rome, and Jesus had nothing to do with them.So Jesus said: "Let Caesar take care of Caesar's affairs." This was an external condition of the Jews at that time.Today, there are only people who believe in Jesus in the world, let alone Jesus, and Caesar can still be seen everywhere.If you say that Caesar must be overthrown in order to complete a Jesus, there is no such thing.We can also put it another way, is it because the Americans have won freedom and independence that there is only Washington, or is it Washington who won freedom and independence for the United States?According to the Chinese way of thinking, there are even more advanced ones.It should have taken away Washington's career, and there is a person like Washington, and he may be a great person. But this is not to say that the Chinese underestimate the cause.For example, Mr. Sun Yat-sen, the father of our country, if he had not been able to create the Republic of China, that is, as far as he is concerned, such as his thoughts and speeches, he is still Mr. Sun Yat-sen, perhaps he will be even greater.Because he put all the career fame on him, it seems that he is enclosed in his career fame and bound by his career fame, and what he behaves seems to be within this range.The Duke of Zhou is not as good as Confucius. He is not elsewhere, but only in the Duke of Zhou. He is limited by the career of the Duke of Zhou, and is limited to this career.Anyone who understands knows how Duke Zhou has his career, and there is a person behind his career.It was Confucius who really understood the Duke of Zhou in this way, and Confucius also hoped to do something in this world like Duke Zhou, but the external conditions were not enough.In politics, at the upper level of history, Confucius has nothing to show.However, when people look at Confucius later, they lack a constraint and a scope.But Confucius was a human being, but it was fully manifested because of this, and he was more clear than Zhou Gong.Today we are talking about Duke Zhou, so naturally we have to talk about Duke Zhou’s career.But if you talk about his career, it's over, and the person behind his career is ignored.Speaking of Confucius, Confucius had no career to talk about, so he had to talk about him.However, the influence of people is greater than the influence of events, so the role of Confucius in later history is higher than that of Duke Zhou.Therefore, when I talk about historical figures, I specifically hope that we will value people, use them as role models, and serve as a new lesson and new stimulus for us.It can inspire us and make us all be individuals.With characters, even if there is no history? A history of the Twenty-Four Years tries to classify many people into categories: there are those who govern the world, those who are in decline, those who have performance, those who have no performance, those who have succeeded, and those who have failed.But readers should not think that I only talk about one side and not the other.Now let’s talk about Chinese historical figures. The above divisions are all viewed from the outside, but now we should look from the inside of the characters.I think there are generally only two types of people in Chinese history, one is sages and the other is heroes.Until today, the Chinese have been talking about saints and sages all the time, but what exactly constitutes a sage and a sage has caused many debates, so I won’t talk about it now.Let’s talk about the second type, what the Chinese call heroes.When we look at historical figures, no matter whether they are in the political upper class or the lower social class, whether they have performance or non-performance, success or failure, or in times of peace and prosperity, or in times of decline and chaos, there are generally only two types of historical figures, namely, sages and sages. heroes.Heroes are different from heroes. For example, Napoleon and Hitler can be said to be heroes, but they are not very in line with what China thinks of heroes.Zhu Zi said, "There are heroes who are not saints, and there are saints who are not heroes."At the same time, Lu Xiangshan exaggerated his remarks.Now I would like to slightly modify Zhu Zi's words, because when we talk about sages, it is not like talking about saints.Talking about saints alone seems to be more strict, while talking about saints and sages is more broad.I want to say that a sage must be a hero at the same time, and a hero can also be said to be a sage at the same time.In fact, sages and heroes are just like us ordinary people. They are called sages in terms of their peace, righteousness and ability to understand the Tao and the world.In terms of his advocacy of energy saving and independent behavior, he is called a hero.We are now talking about Chinese historical figures. Readers, please don't pay too much attention to the word sages and sages. Let's re-read the word "heroes" first.Even if we cannot be saints, we should be able to be heroes.Especially in this troubled world, one must always have a heroic spirit, otherwise he will be unable to stand up and stand up.To be a hero is the only way to be a sage.If you don't follow the road of heroes, you can never reach the status of sages.A sage is a hero, only people don't think he is a hero.In the following, I will slowly explain how a hero is a sage, and how a sage is a hero. Now let me ask: Since there are two titles for sages and heroes, what is the difference between them?I think this difference, simply speaking, is only in its performance.A sage must be able to "clear the way" and "beautiful the world".The world is in his hands, and he can make it right. This is Shushi.If you want to be kind to the world, of course you must first be able to understand the way.Make this way known to the world.If we were born in the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty commended the Six Classics and dismissed hundreds of schools of thought. If you want to come to enlighten the world and be a Dong Zhongshu, of course it will save effort.If you were in the era of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, it would be easier to be a Wei Zheng, Fang Xuanling, and Du Ruhui.It is worthy of the external conditions.Even if these people cannot be said to be saints, at least they should be said to be sages.But in a certain environment, the external conditions are not suitable, and all kinds of unsatisfactory, then you must at least have the ability to "stand alone".Regardless of external conditions, I am still me, so he is a hero.Confucius and Mencius, why didn't they go on the road of independence, otherwise they wouldn't be Confucius and Mencius.To be able to stand alone, from the outside, it means "upholding spirit and establishing integrity".One has to have a breath.Mencius said: "I am good at cultivating my aura of awe-inspiringness." A hero is just because of him.The word qi cannot be described in terms of modern scientific physiology or physics.In ordinary Chinese speech, they often say that this person has aspirations, and the word qi is attached to the aspirations, but in fact qi is just his aspirations.It is not easy to aspire to. Some people say, I don’t have this ambition, but I only hate that the external conditions are not enough.Such a person has aspirations but has no energy, so if the aspirations are not established, there will be nothing.Another example is courage, courage must also have a breath.How can you be brave without anger? "The three armies can win a commander, but a man can't lose his ambition." The Chinese emphasize the three virtues of wisdom, benevolence, and courage. In addition to wisdom and benevolence, there must also be courage.Confucius said: "I have five out of ten ambitions to learn..." Until he was old, Confucius just wanted to have a breath, so this ambition will not regress, and it will not fade when he grows old.Only on the sage, there is no trace.A hero can obviously see his spirit, anytime, anywhere and anything, he can see his spirit, and he is more obvious, or biased, so he is a hero.There is ambition and courage, so you can set up festivals.Festival has a limit, a measure.Regardless of the ups and downs of the world, I must be a man with limits and proportions, and that is a hero.Therefore, a hero must talk about integrity, be able to act independently, and be a sage everywhere when he reaches perfection.The sages will be able to enlighten the world.But morality must also come from integrity, and integrity must also stand on morality.If we talk about the physiology of the human body, we have blood and bones, and we have courage from the blood and energy, and we can see ambition from the bones.People can't be a cold-blooded cartilage, and people's life and death are just for one breath.The world cannot have morality without blood, breath, and bones, nor can there be sages without blood, breath, and bones.We can also say that Chinese history is a history full of morality.The historical spirit of China can also be said to be a kind of moral spirit.Chinese historical figures are all moral and heroic. As long as he is a sage, don't ask about his achievements.As long as he is a hero, it does not matter his success or failure.China's greatest sage Confucius, his evaluation of characters, is also two-sided.Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, and Duke Zhou are one side, while Confucius talked about Wu Taibo on the other side. "Taibo can be said to be the most virtuous, and he is praised for giving up the world and the people have nothing to gain." Confucius praised Wu Taibo as the highest level of morality, and even the public could not praise him.Confucius said a total of two people who are known for their lack of success, one is Wu Taibo and the other is Yao. "Only the sky is great, and only Yao is great, and the people are incompetent." Yao's greatness has nothing to say and cannot be said.Shun has many things to do.But Yao and Shun are both great sages.Of course Confucius valued King Wen and Duke Zhou very much, and Confucius also valued Wu Taibo.Wu Taibo was the old uncle of King Wen.Of the three Wu Taibo brothers, the youngest is Wang Jili, whose son is King Wen.Tai Wang, the father of Wu Taibo's three brothers, liked this little grandson very much, saying that he would be useful when he grows up.When Tai Wang was ill, Wu Taibo said to his second brother Zhong Yong: "Let's run away, let's run away, father can pass the throne to the third brother, and in the future it can be passed to the young grandson, so that the father's will can be fulfilled." So they The two ran away.Confucius praised Wu Taibo very much.Father and son go their own way, but they are not filial if they talk about filial piety, and they don't give in when they say it.Dao was unknown and could not be praised, so Confucius sent Wu Taibo to Bi Yao. The second Confucius praised Boyi and Shuqi.Confucius said: "Bo Yi and Shu Qi are also benevolent people in ancient times." Confucius did not easily use the word benevolence to praise people, but he praised Guan Zhong, and also praised Boyi and Shu Qi.They are the second sons of Lord Gu Zhu. His father wanted to pass the throne to Shuqi. When his father died, Boyi said: "Father wants you to succeed, so you should succeed! I'm running away." Shuqi said: "You are the elder brother. It’s brother, if you don’t do it, I won’t do it either.” Also ran away.The throne was given to the one in the middle.When King Wu of Zhou defeated Feng, Boyi and Shuqi stood up from the army on the road, buckled their horses and remonstrated, saying: "You should not go to defeat Feng. You are a minister, and he is a king. This is one of them. Your father just died. You should keep your filial piety and not go to war, this is the second." King Wu of Zhou wanted to take them down, but Jiang Shang said: "These two are righteous men, let them go!" After they were released, the Zhou Dynasty won the world. But these two people said: "We don't agree." But the general trend has been set.They don't eat millet.Go to the mountains to pick weeds and eat, and finally starve to death in Shouyang Mountain.Confucius admired them greatly and said that they were "benevolent men of ancient times".Confucius did not oppose King Wen of Zhou and King Wu of Zhou, but he respected the Duke of Zhou very much. He wanted to revive Zhou Dao, saying: "I am the Eastern Zhou Dynasty." But Confucius talked about the other side, from Wu Taibo to Boyi.You should know that to be Wu Taibo and Boyi, you have to be ambitious, courageous, courageous, independent, and uncompromising.Such people are equally influential and effective in history.Ma Qian of the Taishi Company in the Han Dynasty worshiped Confucius and wrote the "Historical Records" based on the principle of Confucius' "Spring and Autumn". In "Historical Records", there are thirty families and seventy biographies.The first chapter of the family is not Lu, Wei, Qi, Jin, but Wu Taibo.The state of Wu did not see history until the Confucius era at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, and Tai Shigong specially established it as the first chapter of the Thirty Aristocratic Families.The first biography is Boyi.Chinese people's view of historical figures, below Confucius, is praised by Tai Shigong, on the one hand there are Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, and Duke Zhou, and on the other hand there are Wu Taibo and Boyi.In fact, Confucius himself has both of these aspects, so he became the great sage of China.