Chapter 31 Chinese historical figures-2

As mentioned above, the Chinese value people more than things, and Westerners value things more than people.As Westerners say, this person is a politician, or a philosopher, or a scientist, or a religious man, or an artist.Things are always added to people, and things are used to define this person.The Chinese never say that.If you talk about a saint, is this saint a politician?What about military strategists?What about diplomats?What about economists?But there is no hard and fast rule.Another example is that a wise man, a gentleman, and a good man are all talking about a naked person, without any conditional color on it.But the Chinese classify people into different classes. Good people, gentlemen, sages, and sages all have classes.Westerners use things to classify, so they don't have the concept of human hierarchy.Do Westerners see people as equal?Or do the Chinese see people as equals?The Chinese believe that everyone can be Yao and Shun, that is, everyone can be a saint with an ideal standard.However, the responsibility for why a person cannot be a saint lies with the individual himself.But Westerners need external conditions, opportunities, and environment to be human.This is the obvious difference between the two sides.

How can a person be called a saint?It seems that Confucius is very modest. His students asked him: "Is the Master holy?" A sage." When it came to Mencius, he proposed the three ancient Chinese sages.But what he mentioned was not Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, and Duke Zhou.These three sages are Yi Yin, Boyi, and Liu Xiahui.Mencius said: "A sage is the teacher of a hundred generations." One life is thirty years, and one hundred lives is three thousand years.Confucius has only been around for more than 2,500 years, and sages can be our role models for at least 3,000 years.Mencius cited three people, but they had different personalities and behaviors.Mencius used the words "Ren", "Qing" and "Harmony" to describe it.Mencius said: "Yiyin is the one who is a saint." Yiyin is ambitious and willing to take responsibility and move forward positively.The era he was born in was also a troubled time. At the end of Xia and the beginning of Shang, Mencius said in his book that "the fifth is Jie, and the fifth is soup." How could Xia Jie use Yi Yin? Yi Yin wanted to make this society a decent one. In the age of Yao and Shun, if you go once, you will not be satisfied, and you will go again.No matter how unhappy, go three, four, five.He came back from Jie and went to Tang again.Shang Tang couldn't know him either, he was just a farmer plowing in Youxin's field.Been to soup five times and finally a chef.Tang was very satisfied with his cooking, and talked with him slowly, thinking that he was amazing, and later helped Shang Tang to make the world better.Tang died, and the next generation, Taijia, succeeded. No, Yiyin said, "How can you be emperor like this?" He shut him up and said, "I will replace you." Taijia later repented, and Yiyin said: "Come back." He returned the throne to him.

Mencius said: "Bo Yi is the one who is holy and pure." All filth can't touch him.King Wu defeated Zhou, and he opposed it.After the whole of China is unified, he would rather starve to death in Shouyang Mountain.Liu Xiahui is a straightforward person, but very peaceful.Yi Yin has great performance and great success.Bo Yi is a maverick, showing a non-performance.Mencius said: "Liu Xiahui, the one who is holy and harmonious." He is the most harmonious with others.He was a native of Lu State, and he was an official in Lu State. He was dismissed and appointed again, and then dismissed again. The third case.This is different from Yi Yin, if Yi Yin is dismissed, he has to climb up by himself.It is also different from Boyi, Boyi cannot be invited, and he will never come if some conditions are not met.At that time, Liu Xiahui was already in the Spring and Autumn Period, and the countries communicated with each other. Someone advised him, you can't make your mark in Lu State, why don't you go to other countries?But Liu Xiahui replied: "If you serve people straight, how can you go there without dismissing them three times? Why go to the country of your parents if you serve people in vain?"If I can change my ways and serve others in vain, I can be proud in the country of Lu.It can be seen that Liu Xiahui is outwardly and internally straight.So Mencius praised him, saying: "Liu Xiahui does not exchange the position of Sangong for his honesty and honesty. He is also able to stand alone.But what Liu Xiahui showed on the outside was completely harmonious.

Mencius said that all three were saints.Needless to say, Yiyin made great contributions and established the world for seven hundred years in the Shang Dynasty.Another article by Mencius does not talk about Yi Yin, but only Boyi and Liu Xiahui.He said: "The sage is also the teacher of the ages, Boyi and Liuxiahui are also. Therefore, those who hear the wind of Boyi are stubborn and honest, and cowards have determination. Those who hear the wind of Liuxiahui are humble and lenient.", A obtuse person who has no sharp edge and knows no pain or pain, can have edges, corners, and boundaries when he hears Boyi's wind, and he will not pass when he reaches the end.A coward, a weak man, can stand up by himself.When three people are together and two oppose you, you have no courage.If there are two or three hundred people opposing you in a large meeting place, you will not be able to take a firm stand.Boyi at that time, it can be said that the whole world was against him.Later, Han Yu said that Boyi was opposed by thousands of people in the world.Because Boyi died, and when Han Yu arrived, no one said that King Wen of Zhou and King Wu of Zhou were saints, but Boyi wanted to object.No one said Shang Zhou was a bad emperor, but Boyi did not approve of King Wu of Zhou's crusade against Shang.Confucius did not oppose King Wu of Zhou, nor did Han Yu oppose King Wu of Zhou, but Confucius and Han Yu also had to admire Boyi's maverick spirit.I use the word "unique" here to quote Han Yu's "Ode to Boyi".A blunt and shameless coward who can't stand on his own will stand on his own feet and stand up when he hears the wind of Boyi.Whether it is a thousand years or two thousand years, if this kind of story is told three thousand years later, even though the person is gone, the wind can still move people and make them rise up, so he is said to be the teacher of a hundred generations.There are some narrow-minded scumbags who can't tolerate little things.Some people have shallow feelings, they are thin husbands, and they are forgotten when they look back.The State of Lu punished and exempted Liu Xiahui three times, but Liu Xiahui didn't care, and was still unwilling to leave the country of his parents.So if you hear his style, you can be thick for a thin man, and lenient for a humble man.What Mencius called stubbornness, cowardice, thinness, and contempt, these four kinds of people exist all the time and everywhere.Mencius didn't talk about Boyi and Liu Xiahui's knowledge, culture, status, career, etc., he just talked about the two naked people.

The three sages cited by Mencius have three different personalities.One is "responsibility", which is similar to "the madman makes progress".One is "clear", which is similar to "the evil one does not do something".These two personalities are opposites.Mencius gave another one, which is neither madness nor profanity, but a "harmony".Liu Xiahui's harmony is like a middle way, but it still has its own uniqueness.These three personalities are like a triangle, each at the tip of a corner.If we classify people from all over the world, we can probably say that there are only three types: Ren, Qing, and He.Mencius also said: "The most important thing is Erli. Among them, it is not Erli." "Their greatness lies in their thoroughness. They all run on a sharp corner and have very distinct personalities. Human personalities are ever-changing. But it’s nothing more than the three major types mentioned above. Either Boyi type, Liuxiahui type, or Yiyin type. These three postures and three patterns are thorough, and Mencius called them holy. Some people Out of shape, like this in some places, like that in some places, not at home in one place, not thorough. If you are a coward, a coward, a coward, or a stubborn man, it is not because you are born like this, because you are limited by external conditions and cannot Discover your individuality. Mencius and "The Doctrine of the Mean" both said that we should do our best to be 100% of our own nature. I should be able to do this with my own strength. It doesn't count if you don't use effort. If you use a machine to make something Manpower must be added to things. If we want to be a first-class person, a saint, how can we not use force? Where is the strength? It is only within ourselves. This is an internal condition. But we still have to Further, not only do you want to be a person with sharp corners, but also a person who is complete and thoughtful. You must be in the middle of the way and reasonable. It is like shooting an arrow that hits the target, but it does not hit the red heart. Your strength is on the target. To hit the red heart requires not only strength but also your skill. Boyi, Liu Xiahui, and Yi Yin, these are the three principles of our life, and we must use strength. Only Confucius, above strength There are also skills. Confucius has everything he can do, but he can get home. This is the so-called perfect person in "The Doctrine of the Mean". Sometimes he is like Boyi, sometimes like Liu Xiahui, and sometimes like Yi Yin. When he shoots an arrow, he always hits the heart If you have power, you don’t see its power. If you have norms, you don’t see its norms. It’s like Yi Yin shoots to the top, Boyi shoots to the bottom right, and Liu Xiahui shoots to the bottom left. Yi Yin is a sage on the top side, and Boyi is on the bottom right side. He is a sage, and Liu Xiahui is a sage at the lower left. However, he is not perfect, so he is not a great sage.

Sometimes Confucius can be Yi Yin, sometimes Boyi, and sometimes Liu Xiahui, so Mencius said: "Confucius, the one who is holy, Confucius said that he has gathered great achievements." Today we only say that Confucius gathered Yao, Shun, and Yu , Tang, Wen, Wu, Zhou Gong's great achievements.Mencius said that Confucius gathered the achievements of Yi Yin, Boyi, and Liu Xiahui.Therefore, not only Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, and Duke Zhou are saints.If we must be like Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, and Zhou Gong, we will not ascend to high political positions, and we can hand over our own responsibilities.I don't want to be an emperor, nor a prime minister. If I don't have enough external conditions, how can I be a saint.Fortunately, Mencius also cited three saints, all of whom became saints due to their internal conditions, so that no one can escape their own responsibilities.Human beings have these three personalities and these three standards.And Confucius combined these three and melted them into a complete personality.He is aggressive and forward, sometimes like Yi Yin.He is spotless, sometimes like Boyi.He is in harmony with the outside, sometimes like Liu Xiahui.That's why Mencius called Confucius the sage who collected great achievements.Mencius himself said, "If I wish, I should learn from Confucius." As for saints, Yi Yin, Boyi, and Liu Xiahui are all, but in the end they were limited to one, and Mencius didn't want to learn.After what Mencius said, later generations in China only respected Confucius as a sage, and also called him the most holy.However, Yi Yin, Boyi, and Liu Xiahui seem to be only called Xian by later generations.Mencius is only a great sage, and he is also called the sub-sage.So China left behind a system of sages, from Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, Zhou Gong, Confucius to Mencius, which was proposed by Han Yu in the Tang Dynasty in "The Original Dao".But we can see from the words of Mencius that Yi Yin, Boyi, and Liu Xiahui are actually saints and heroes at the same time.Look at Yiyin locked up Taijia and said: "You can't do it, I will replace you." Isn't this kind of courage a typical example of a hero?Later generations said: "If you have the ambition of Yiyin, you can do it, but if you don't have the ambition of Yiyin, you can't." It must be the sincerity of the public world, and some selfish intentions will not succeed.Boyi can also be considered a hero, starving Shouyang Mountain to death, that is such a strong moral.Liu Xiahui is like Taijiquan. He has advanced skills and good luck. In fact, he is full of strength and is also a hero.Mencius said that he "does not use the three publics to change his name", isn't this a hero?

Let's look at Confucius again. He once accompanied Lu Jun and Qi Hui Jiagu.In this story, he is just like Lin Xiangru in the Mianchi meeting between Qin and Zhao.However, Confucius was a great sage, so when we talk about Confucius, we don’t have time to talk about it, so we don’t talk about it.After the meeting in Jiagu, the state of Qi came back to the land that invaded Lu, but at the same time sent a large group of female musicians to the state of Lu. The king of Lu was obsessed with singing and dancing, and did not go to court for three days.Confucius told his students: "Let's run!" Confucius breathed this out, but now we don't understand, it seems that he is not like a saint, he has no self-cultivation at all.In fact, this is why Confucius is holy.As soon as he ran to the state of Wei, Duke Ling of Wei heard that Confucius had come, and he said: "As the state of Lu treated Confucius, the state of Wei will do the same." Some of the sages in Wei were old friends of Confucius, and Confucius was delayed.Duke Ling of Wei knew that Confucius was omnipotent. One day, he asked Confucius how to fight.When Confucius heard this, he said: "I haven't learned it." The next day he said to his students: "Let's run." Confucius was so angry that he ran to Chen Guo.Later, between Chen and Cai, there was no food, no food to eat, and everyone was hungry.Zilu, a student of Confucius, got angry and said, "Sir, you always talk about a gentleman. Is a gentleman always poor? Will he be cornered?" At that time, Confucius stopped being angry, and said to Zilu, "A gentleman will be poor, and he will have no way out. But the villain runs around when there is no way ahead, and the gentleman has no way, so he still runs the way of a gentleman." Confucius was away for more than ten years, and the people of Lu State missed Confucius and wanted to invite him back, but they were afraid that Confucius would not, so they invited him A student, Ran You, returned first.Ran You was an expert in financial management among Confucius' students. He returned to the state of Lu and worked as a housekeeper in the family of the power minister Ji Sun, and then brought Confucius and a group of classmates back.Ran You did a good job in all kinds of economics for Jisun's family, but Confucius was angry.Ran You often came to the Confucius lecture hall, and one day he was late, and Confucius asked him, "Why so late?" Ran You said, "Because there are some official matters that are not finished." Confucius said, "What official business? What you are doing is just a private matter of Ji Sun's family. You have made Jisun’s family richer than the previous prime ministers of the Zhou Dynasty’s royal family.” Confucius said to his students: “He is not my student, so you can attack him with drums. You can oppose him, you can beat the drums Attack him openly." In fact, Confucius returned to Lu when he was an old man, because of the strength of this student.In this kind of place, we have to look at the tone of Confucius.Ordinary people lose their breath when they get old, but Confucius' breath became more prosperous as he got older.When people lose their spirit, how can they have morality and benevolence.If you only look at it from these points, isn't Confucius also a hero?

Talking about Mencius again, Mencius met King Liang Hui, who was a great king at that time. He respected Mencius very much and said, "Mr. ?” But Mencius rushed forward and said, “Why should the king talk about profit? There is also benevolence and righteousness.” Mencius was also a man who could get angry, and he was also a hero.Another student asked him, "Gongsun Yan and Zhang Yi, are they considered real husbands?" Mencius said, "People in this generation are dedicated to being concubines, so they don't deserve to be called real husbands." You can also take a long breath yourself.His whole personality is in his words, spit out in one breath.Today we want to talk about following the trend and obeying the majority. We ignore the benevolence, righteousness and morality that Confucius and Mencius talked about.We are not convinced of the sages, but we should also know how to appreciate the heroes.Heroes are neither new nor old.Dare to speak and act, unyielding and unyielding, this is a hero.Without heroes, that society will become lifeless.I can't lift my feet, and I say that there are new ones, so how can I follow them.

The worship of the old man by the lower classes of China seems to have started with Mozi.Below Mo Di, the elders of the Mohist school were known as Juzi at that time.The previous generation of giants died, and the second generation took over.After the death of Mozi, it was passed down for two or three generations. The old man at that time was Meng Sheng.There is a nobleman in Chu State, Lord Yangcheng, who himself is an official in the court of Chu State. He admires the name of the Mo family and asks Yu Sheng to guard the city for him.The state of Chu was in turmoil, Lord Yangcheng was killed, the court of Chu State sent people to ask Meng Sheng to hand over Yangcheng.Meng Sheng said: "I obey the order of the Lord Yangcheng to guard this city, and I will not hand it over without the order of the Lord Yangcheng." His students persuaded him, and he said: "I will not die, so I can't be regarded as a Mohist, and no one will think highly of us in the future. The Mo family is gone." His student said, "You are an old man of the Mo family, you don't deserve to die." He sent two students to the state of Qi and told them, "I pass on the position of a giant to Tian Xiangzi of the state of Qi." The two left, and the state of Chu sent troops to attack the city. Meng Sheng died, and one hundred and eighty of his students died along with them.The two went to the state of Qi and told Tian Xiangzi that they would go back after passing on the position of Juzi.Tian Xiangzi said, "You can't go back, you should stay here." The two refused, and Tian Xiangzi said, "I am the Juzi now. You should listen to me." They said, "You can do anything else. Listen, you can't listen to this." Then he went back and committed suicide.This is not only the case of the Mohists, it is also the same under the disciples of Confucius.Zilu was in the state of Wei, and the state of Wei was in chaos. Zilu went to the city to stir up trouble, but his hat was interrupted.Zilu said: "A gentleman should die when he wears his hat properly." He stood there, tied his hat properly, and died like this.You should know that if you want to talk about morality, you have to talk about it even when you are dying.That is, at the time of life and death, there is still morality.But morality is not a strange thing. Who of us has no morality?Who shouldn't be ethical?Confucius said: "In a city of ten houses, there must be someone as loyal and trustworthy as Qiu, who is not as good as Qiu who is eager to learn." Not every child is unfilial, and every subordinate is unfaithful.This kind of performance is only discovered in the most difficult state.The so-called "kill one's life for benevolence, sacrifice one's life for righteousness", these two sentences, Confucius' students can do it, Mozi opposed Confucius, but Mozi's students can also do it.We should look at it from this standard to know the so-called Chinese historical figures.This kind of spirit is our historical spirit, that is, our national spirit and cultural spirit.But it is a heroic spirit, that is, a sage spirit.The neighbors didn't understand, but they said they wanted to overthrow the Kong family shop.Without this spirit, reading "Zi said: Learning and practicing from time to time, isn't it pleasant." Learning and practicing from time to time, how can you be a sage?Is it a hero?Confucius ran out of the state of Wei, and ordinary students followed him hungry, and ran under a big tree outside Song Guoxiao. Confucius said, "Let's learn to dance and sing here."After Song Guohuan heard this, he quickly sent troops to catch and kill them.Confucius heard the news and said: "Let's go, I am born with virtue, so what should I do!" Isn't this another heroic spirit?

I really can't finish talking about the heroes of the Warring States Period, let alone talk about it.During the Qin and Han Dynasties, there was a man named Tian Heng from Qi.In history, the so-called Shandong heroes rose up and died in Qin Dynasty, and Tian Heng was one of them.Han Gaozu sent Han Xin to overthrow Qi, and Tian Heng fled to a sea island.Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty became emperor, and when he heard that Tian Heng was on the island, he sent someone to tell Tian Heng, "Come here, the king of the big one, and the prince of the young one. If you don't come, of course you are welcome." Tian Heng agreed and brought two people go together.All the way to Henan, thirty miles away from Luoyang, when Han Gaozu was in Luoyang, this was the last stop.Tian Heng told his two men: "In the past, I was the same monarch as the King of Han. Now he is the Lord of the world. I don't need to go to him to worship him as a minister." He said, "The King of Han wants to see me. From then on The ground is only thirty miles away, and the horse will arrive in a short while. You take my head away, and he will see that I am still alive, wouldn't it be all right?" Tian Heng committed suicide, and the two took his head, Go to Luoyang to meet Han Zu.Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty was shocked and said: "This is not what I want!" So he buried Tian Heng with the ceremony of a king.Tian Heng was buried, and the two people who followed Tian Heng also committed suicide.Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty was even more amazed and said: "Tian Heng is really a great man. He has such two soldiers under his command. I heard that there are still five hundred people on the island. Hurry up and invite them back." The five hundred people on the island knew that Tian Heng was dead. , and collective suicide.This story is really heroic!

Mencius said: "The sage is the teacher of a hundred generations." After a hundred generations, he can still hear the wind and rise up.When I was young, I liked reading Han Yu's essays. When Han Yu was young, he wrote several articles, one was "Ode to Boyi" and the other was "Writing on Sacrificial Fields and Heng Tombs".He went to Beijing to take the exam, passed Luoyang, and wrote an article in honor of Tian Heng at the place where Tian Heng died.From the beginning of the Han Dynasty to the time of Han Yu in the Tang Dynasty, it has been at least a thousand years, and Boyi has been further away, at least two thousand years.At that time, the number one literary giant of the descendants of China, he still admired these two people so much when he was young.At that time, Han Yu advocated ancient prose, isn't this a heroic act?If we only read Han Yu's "Original Dao", even if we believe in the way he said, without his spirit, the way will not be able to go on its own!If it weren't for Han Yu's admiration for Boyi and Tian Heng when he was young, how could he become a great writer in the eight generations of Wenqi. Besides, the historical figures of the Han Dynasty also refer to unyielding, let's take Su Wu as an example.He was sent as an envoy to the Huns, who valued him and advised him to stay, but Su Wu refused.The Huns put him in the cellar without food, and Su Wu gnawed the snow and the hair together.He didn't die for a few days, and the Huns respected him even more.Send him to the North Sea, which is now Lake Baikal in Siberia, to herd sheep. He is a male sheep.Said: "I will let you go when you give birth to lambs." Su Wu lived there by digging wild mice and grazing grass, so he stayed there for nineteen years.Holding the Han Festival in his hand, he is always unyielding.In the Xiongnu, there was Li Ling, a friend of his.Li Ling was a military prodigy in Chinese history, fighting against 80,000 cavalry with 500 infantry.The Xiongnu ordered: "This man must be captured alive and not killed." As a result, Li Ling was captured and surrendered.Li Ling was not the first to surrender to the Xiongnu. There was a law of defense before, and the Xiongnu had to reuse it.Both Wei Lu and Li Ling came to persuade Su Wu to surrender, but Su Wu did not move.Su Wu did not fulfill his mission in the Xiongnu, and when he came back, he was a small official, but he did not perform well.Our primary school history textbooks today seem to prefer to talk about Zhang Qian and Ban Chao because of their performance.But Su Wu was valued by others in the past, and he was still higher than Zhang Qian and Ban Chao.Most of the dramas we have passed down only sing Su Wu, not Zhang Qian and Ban Chao.Of course Zhang Qian and Ban Chao are also great, but we have always traditionally attached more importance to Su Wu.Because success is subject to external conditions, everyone's encounter is different, and there is nothing to learn.If it is like Su Wu's discipline and unyielding, everyone can learn it.Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, and Zhou Gong cannot be learned when they encounter each other. Those who have no encounters, such as Confucius, should be learned by everyone.Therefore, Sima Qian's "Historical Records" said: "The high mountains stand still, and the scenery stops. Although they can't reach them, they yearn for them." "Han Shu Su Wu Zhuan" was co-written by Li Linglai.Li Ling was one of the best military geniuses, but in terms of personality, he couldn't compare to Su Wu.Su Wu has actually made great contributions to the Han Dynasty, making the Huns worship the Han Dynasty from their hearts, which is more important than winning a battle. The "Hanshu" also suspected that the biography of Su and Li together was too obvious, because in the "Biography of Li Guang and Su Jian", it was written from Li Guang to Li Ling, and from Su Jian to Su Wu.It hides the intentions of the history writers, but it moves the history readers even more.These are the historical methods handed down in China. When we go on, we don't necessarily have to talk about unsuccessful people, and we don't necessarily have to talk about people who have no performance. In short, we need to talk about a few people with heroic temperament.Possessing a heroic temperament is equivalent to possessing the conditions for being a sage and a virtuous person.Su Wu couldn't help saying that he was a sage, and if he was a saint, he would have to serve as servants of Yi Yin, Boyi, and Liu Xiahui.He is already a saint at one point and one corner. He has been unyielding for nineteen years, and he has done everything thoroughly and achieved his home.Although it cannot be compared with the great sage Confucius, it is better to say that he is not comparable to Yi Yin, Boyi, and Liu Xiahui?At this moment, there is no need to argue, and there is no need to call him a saint. He is always a sage and a hero.When it comes down to the Eastern Han Dynasty, I don't want to mention people like Zheng Xuan just now, but let me mention a soldier Ma Yuan.As long as we went to the frontiers of Guangxi and southwestern Vietnam, the story of Ma Yuan was still circulating.Ma Yuan was a general in the Guangwu Zhongxing era, and most of the Guangwu Zhongxing Group were his classmates at the Imperial Academy.Ma Yuan is a herdsman in the northwest, herding cattle and sheep for a living.Ma Yuan has a few words that have been circulating.He said: "A man should be strong when he is poor, and strong when he is old." And Ma Yuan can really do this.He was engaged in animal husbandry when he was poor.But he had thousands of horses, cattle and sheep, and tens of thousands of hu from farming and accumulated grain, and became a big rich man on the frontier. He said: "What do I need all this wealth for? I should be able to help the poor, otherwise it will be nothing but money." He is just a prisoner of money." To guard a sum of money, he is like a slave to that sum of money. The words "scrooge of miser" or "money guard" are also mentioned by Ma Yuan.Later Han Guangwu saw him, and he was highly regarded, but Ma Yuan was named Marquis later.He was enfeoffed as a marquis in Vietnam, and he was getting old. The Han Dynasty wanted to send troops to fight against the Wuxi Man, and Ma Yuan was going. The Han court said he was old, so how could he go to the frontier again?Regarding the traffic at that time, the climate over there, and everything else, it is of course more appropriate to send a young soldier there.But Ma Yuan said: "I am not old".He also said: "A man should die in the frontier, and his ears should be buried in a horse leather shroud. How can he die on a bed, in the hands of a son and a woman?"Ma Yuan is a great hero, if he hears about him, he can rise up forever.Don't want money, don't enjoy old blessings, and would rather be buried in a shroud of horse leather, isn't it considered a hero?Only those who possess this set of heroic qualities can express the highest personality. But when we talk about figures in Chinese history, we cannot say that such as Yi Yin, Boyi, Liu Xiahui, Tian Heng, Su Wu, and Ma Yuan are top outstanding figures. There are also Confucius, Yan Yuan, and Mencius among them.These people all came from a great source, from the highest theories of the ancient Chinese, the highest cultural ideals of China.Next, I want to talk about the Southern and Northern Dynasties. Let me give you one person, that is a monk who became a monk.There are no great monks in China, how can Buddhism develop in China?According to legend, there are three treasures in Buddhism.One is "Buddha". Without Sakyamuni, there would be no Buddhism.One is the "Dharma", which is a set of principles taught by Sakyamuni.However, if you want to believe in this set of principles and be willing to follow him, you must have another treasure, which is the "monk".There are no monks, no matter whether it is the Buddha or the Dharma, it is a pile of empty things, nothing at all.Today we want to revive Chinese culture. Confucius is a Buddha and a set of Dharma, but without the monks of the Confucius family, one of the three treasures is missing, and the two treasures are also absent.As long as these two treasures are put there, there will always be great monks coming out in the future.I don't believe in Buddhism, but I admire some great monks and eminent monks in China.I only use an ordinary personality standard to look at monks and eminent monks, and to see their performance.But Chinese eminent monks rarely write in the Twenty-Four Histories.There are too many historical figures in China, and the Twenty-Four Histories are too numerous to write. In addition, China has "Biography of Eminent Monks". "Biography of an Eminent Monk", the first continuation, the second continuation, and the third continuation, all the way down, I will only talk about one Zhu Daosheng today.Monks don’t have a surname, because Buddhism came from India, and India was translated as Tianzhu at that time, so his surname is Zhu, and his name is Zhu Daosheng.There are also monks whose surname is only one of Shakyamuni's "Shi". To this day, our monks all have the surname "Shi".At that time, the Chinese respected the monk and did not call his name together, so Zhu Daosheng was also called Shenggong.Only after the May 4th Movement, Confucius was not called Confucius, nor was he called Kong Zhongni. Calling Kong Zhongni was already too polite, so he should be called Kong Lao Er.If you still call Confucius, you are outdated.Confucianism should also be renamed Confucianism.That is our modern times.At the time of the birth of the Duke, the "Xiao Pin Ni Huan Sutra" was first translated into China. "Ni Huan Sutra" has a large volume and a small volume, and the small volume is called a sketch, and there are only eight volumes.There are thirty-four volumes of the big ones.There is a sentence in the small book that says: "One Chanti cannot become a Buddha." One Chanti is someone who slanders Buddhism.But Zhu Daosheng said: "You can become a Buddha even if you say Chanti." At that time, the northern monks rose up and objected: "It is clearly stated in the scriptures that you can't become a Buddha if you say Chanti. How can you say that you can become a Buddha if you say Chanti?" drive him out.Of course Zhu Daosheng had no choice but to accept everyone's decision.But he said: "If my words are wrong, I will go to the tongue pulling hell after I die. If my words are not wrong, I will sit on the lion seat after death and preach the righteous law." The big Buddha statues in the Buddhist temple include sitting lions and elephants. , Sitting on the lotus, Zhu Daosheng especially admires the lion in the middle.Everyone should know that to become a monk, you must have a heroic temperament, otherwise the monk will not be a treasure.Fortunately, China was divided into north and south at that time. He crossed the Yangtze River and ran to the Southern Dynasty.As a result, the "Great Nirvana Sutra" was turned out, and it was said that one Chanti can also become a Buddha, and Zhu Daosheng's statement was finally proved. In the Tang and Song dynasties, there were characters along the way, but it is a pity for time, so I will omit it.Let me give an example of a person from the Yuan Dynasty.The Song Dynasty fell, and the Yuan Dynasty rose. There was a man in China named Zheng Sixiao Suo Nan, who had nothing to say.It is said that he often paints, only painting orchids, but not rooted in the soil.Someone asked him, and he said: "There is no soil."There are four large characters inscribed on the door of his house, "the world of this acupoint", put together, it is really a world of the Song Dynasty.He wrote a book called "Da Wugong Ten Kong Jing", which is actually the word "Da Song".He also has a "History of the Heart", which was sealed in an iron letter and sank at the bottom of a well in a temple in Suzhou. It appeared during Ming Chongzhen.He is also a hero, and should be included in Boyi's group among the three sages of Mencius. There are also many figures in the Ming Dynasty, such as Mr. Wang Yangming, you will know that he is also a hero when you read the Yangming genealogy.One more person, Hai Rui.He is from Hainan Island, Qiongzhou.He was upright all his life and called himself Gangfeng.In today's mainland, there is nothing to say, and the story of Hai Rui is used to rewrite the script.At that time, Hai Rui had lost his wife in the city coffin.Zhou Xinfang, an old Shanghai actress, sang that Hai Rui scolded the emperor.Wu Han wrote a book "Hai Rui Dismissed from Office".If you don't say that Hai Rui is a sage, he should be a hero. In the early Qing Dynasty, I would like to mention one person, Li Erqu, who is a kind of Tian Han in Shaanxi.He talked about Yangming's philosophy, and he became famous, and the emperor of the Qing Dynasty decided to win over him.A magistrate was sent to send him to Beijing Ying Boxue Hong Ci Ke, but he said he was sick and refused to go.The imperial court ordered that if you are sick, you should use the bed to carry it.The road is very well guarded, and the unarmed can commit suicide.He had no choice but to starve to death and not eat.The magistrate was also moved, saying that he was really sick and could not come, and sent him back.He said: "I was really wronged by the name."From then on, they broke up all their friendships and dug an earthen chamber underground without seeing anyone.When Gu Tinglin arrives in Shaanxi, he can go down to the earthen room to meet him.After talking for a long time, I don't know what to talk about.At the end of the Qing Dynasty, when everyone rose up for a revolution, readers should not think that it was the French and American revolutions that led us. In fact, the stories of veterans in the late Ming Dynasty, such as Li Erqu, also played a significant role.Today we are going to revive culture, and everyone is talking about the Western Renaissance. In fact, we should cite a few more precedents that can be used as examples in Chinese history. Let's talk about the latest generation.When I came to Taiwan, I found two people.One is Zheng Chenggong and the other is Wu Feng.With these two, we will not be lonely when we come to Taiwan.I went to the United States and met another person.During their Civil War, a general retired and lived in New York.The general had a bad temper and lived alone all his life. The servants he used would scold and beat him whenever he was unhappy, and the workers came and ran one by one.A man from Shandong, China, named Ding Long, came to the general's house.The general continued to beat and scold, and Ding Long ran away in anger.Not long after, the general's house caught fire, part of the house was burned down, and Ding Long came again.The general was surprised and said: "Why are you here again?" Ding Long said: "I heard that your house was burned and you are asking for help. We Chinese have passed down Confucius' way of loyalty and forgiveness. I think I should come." The general was even more surprised and said: "Confucius was a great sage thousands of years ago in China. I didn't know you could read ancient Chinese books and understand the way of your Chinese sages." Listen to me." The general said, "Although you don't read, your father is a scholar." Ding Long said, "No, my father can't read, and he can't read. My grandfather told him. , even my grandfather was illiterate and didn't read, my great-grandfather told him. I don't know about the above, anyway, my family is all from farmers who don't read." The general was very surprised and left Ding Long behind. From then on, master and servant became friends, but the general was influenced.The two have been like this for a lifetime.When Ding Long was about to die of illness, he said to the owner: "I will stay in your house for the rest of my life. Food is yours, housing is yours, and I will be paid back. I have no home, no relatives and friends, and I will keep all the money. Now I If he is dead, I will return the money to you. It was originally your money.” The general was even more surprised, thinking, “How could there be such a person in Chinese society?” So he took the small salary left by Ding Long , I also donated a large sum of myself to Columbia University, where a special lecture will be set up to study Chinese culture.This lecture is called "Ding Long Lecture".Columbia is the first university in the United States to set up a lecture dedicated to Chinese culture.Now that the United States is researching Chinese culture everywhere, I think the main thing is to study how to produce people like Ding Long in Chinese society. In fact, this story is not simple. It is not easy to find an answer unless we go deep into Chinese culture.If I say that Ding Long is a sage, it should be Liu Xiahui, one of the three sages of Mencius.If Wu Feng is also a sage, it should be Yiyin Yilu among the three sages of Mencius.This is not unreasonable, at least they are all sages.In other words, they are all heroes.People in the Ming Dynasty said that the streets are full of saints, and the tea boy is also a saint.There are many saints in Chinese society.The sages went abroad and went overseas, and one of them went to Taiwan, which was Wu Feng.One went to the United States, Ding Long.In the motherland, isn't Shandong Wuxun also a sage?At least he is a hero.He begs for food, kneels down when he meets someone, asks you for help, and wants to run a school. There are too many such stories to tell.If you look at the Twenty-Four History of China according to this standard, besides politicians, military strategists, financiers, artists, scholars, religious figures, etc., there are many other figures in history, who are just naked people without any incidental facts. , and don’t need external conditions, just rely on yourself to be a person.Now we all want external conditions and feel that we are inferior to others.From a historical point of view, the era is not enough for the external conditions, and there are many people who are not enough for the external conditions.But Confucius also had no external conditions. When he met Duke Ai of Lu and Duke Ling of Wei, he was always unhappy when bumping into him. However, Confucius became a great saint.Compared with the times of Confucius and Mencius, our society today may be better.It is much better than the Mongols who were subjugated in the Southern Song Dynasty and the Manchurians who were subjugated in the Ming Dynasty.We are much better than Wu Feng who came to Taiwan from Fujian, and Ding Long who went to the United States from Shandong.Instead of paying too much attention to external conditions, we should pay attention to our internal conditions.这样始叫我们每个人都可做一个历史的主人翁。每一人也有每一人的一段历史，纵说是一段小历史，如吴凤，如丁龙，把这些小历史合拢来，便成为一部中华民族的大历史。我们的历史理想，其实即是我们的人生理想。若把我们的历史理想人生理想都放在外面去，则权不在我，也不由我作主，试问那还有何理想可言。 可是我们今天的社会风气，却愈转愈离谱。我在香港新亚书院时，有一学生从大陆来，上我课，听到“君子无人而不自得”一句话，他觉得这真是人生最大要求所在。他问我这个道理，我说：“你且慢慢听，慢慢学”。他见我散步，也要学散步。他说；“我读书程度浅，来不及，散步总该能。看你怎样散，我也怎样散，我散步庶亦可以自得其乐”。那学生极诚恳，极有志，可是别的同学有些会笑他，骂他。后来他觉得中国社会到处跑不进，转进教会，外国人却懂得欣赏他。现在他做了牧师传教，见了我，要来向我传教。他说：“先生，我得你好处不少，我该同你讲讲耶稣吧。”唉！今天的中国社会，偏偏中国道理不能讲，要讲就给人家笑骂，要逼得你特立独行，只有学伯夷，那怎了得！所以今天我们至少要大家负起一些责任，隐恶而扬善，来转移风气。至少要使年轻人有条路走，不要弄得像今天样，除了去外国，好像前面无路。“文武之道，未坠于地，在人。”我们到乡村老百姓圈子里，在无知识人身上，或许还有一点中国文化影子。我们受这时代潮流的冲激太大了，我们都要变成一现代人，而我今天却特别提出历史人物这题目来讲。当然我不过随便举几个例，希望我们将来学校小学中学乃至大学的教科书，多讲一些人物，讲一些中国历史传统所看重的，即如何做人。要讲一个无条件的，赤裸裸的，单凭自己便能做到的“君子无入而不自得”的这一套。 （一九六八年十二月国防研究院“思想与文化”课讲演，一九六九年八月《东西文化月刊》第二十六期刊载）