Chapter 33 Gongsun Long: A white horse is not a horse

"Historical Records" also recorded such a thing.After the Battle of Handan, Yu Qing wanted to ask for Lord Pingyuan in front of King Zhao Xiaocheng. The reason was simple. Lord Xinling was invited by Lord Pingyuan. If there was no Lord Pingyuan, Zhao State would definitely perish. Of course Mr. Pingyuan would not object to this proposal. Just the night before this matter was going to be discussed at court, someone hurried back to Handan from other places and pulled Mr. Pingyuan out of his sleep. This man's name is Gongsun Long, and he is a retainer whom Mr. Pingyuan respects very much.

Gongsun Long is a native of Zhao State. He is as famous as Hui Shi. He is a representative figure among the hundreds of famous scholars in the Warring States Period. It is said that when Gongsun Long traveled around the world, he once passed a pass in Qin State on a white horse.According to the regulations at the time, a tax was required to pass through the customs on horseback, which is equivalent to the toll of today's highways. Gongsun Long didn't want to pay the money, so he said to the officials guarding the gate: "I am riding a white horse, not a horse, so I don't need to pay."

The official said: "You see clearly, as long as it is a horse, you have to pay." Gongsun Long said: "I can see clearly, but I am riding a white horse, not a horse." The official's brain suddenly couldn't make a turn: "Isn't a white horse a horse?" Gongsun Long said: "Of course not. A white horse is a white horse, and a horse is a horse. They are two different things!" Then he swaggered past, leaving only the official scratching his head. After thinking for a long time, he couldn't figure out what he meant. What do you mean. The official didn't know that Gongsun Long threw him a famous proposition in the history of Chinese philosophy called "a white horse is not a horse".

Later, at the debate meeting held at Mr. Pingyuan's house, Gongsun Long argued that "a white horse is not a horse". "Horse" refers to form, "white" refers to color, and "white horse" refers to both color and form, so "white horse" is not "horse". His opponent in the debate was Kong Chuan, who was also a follower of Mr. Pingyuan. Kong Chuan said, "Since you ride a white horse, you can't say you didn't ride a horse, right? You can't say you didn't ride a horse, but you have ridden a horse, right? Therefore, riding a white horse means riding a horse, right?"

Gongsun Long said: "That's not the case. If you want a horse, I can bring you a yellow horse or a black horse; but if you want a white horse, it is wrong for me to bring you a yellow horse or a black horse. If A white horse is a horse, so there is no difference between the above two needs - if you want a white horse, I can also bring you a yellow horse or a black horse, right?" Kong Chuan was stunned for a moment, but his reaction was also quick, and said: "According to what you said, as long as a horse has color, it is not a horse. But there is no colorless horse in this world. That is to say, there is no horse in this world. Horses don't exist, do they?"

Gongsun Long laughed: "Horses have colors! That's why there are white horses. If horses don't have colors, then there are only horses. Where can I find white horses? Therefore, white horses are not horses because of the white ones." The reason. The so-called white horse is the combination of white and horse, or the combination of horse and white, of course it is not a horse." At this point in the debate, Kong Chuan had already pierced and passed out. What game is Gongsun Long playing?If you really don't understand, let us explain it in terms of Western logic. First of all, he explained that the connotation of a horse is an animal, the connotation of white is a color, and the connotation of a white horse is an animal plus a color. The connotations of the three are different, so a white horse is not a horse.

Secondly, he explained that the extension of a horse includes all horses, and the extension of a white horse is just a white horse. The extensions of the two are different, so a white horse is not a horse. Third, the concept of horse is about the essential attributes of all horses, and has nothing to do with the color. It is just a generalization of "the reason why a horse is a horse", so a white horse is not a horse. To sum up, the connotation and extension of white horse and horse are different. They are completely two concepts. Do you still dare to say that white horse is a horse?

Gongsun Long also has a famous proposition called "Li Jianbai".To put it simply, there is a white stone there. What people see is white, but what they touch is hard.The eyes can only feel the whiteness but not the firmness, and the hands can only feel the firmness but not the whiteness.Therefore, the two properties of stone, firmness and whiteness, are separate.The separation of each is the common nature of all things in the world, and independent self-existence is the normal state of things. Whether it is "a white horse is not a horse" or "Li Jianbai", Gongsun Long has actually touched an important issue in the history of philosophy, which is the so-called debate between name and reality, or in layman's terms, the knowledge about existence and language logic .

It was this Gongsun Long who rushed back to Handan day and night after hearing that Yu Qing was going to ask for the title of Lord Pingyuan, and said to Lord Pingyuan, "I heard that Yu Qing asked for a seal for you because Lord Xinling saved Handan." , is there such a thing?" Mr. Pingyuan yawned and said, "Yes." Gongsun Long said: "This is absolutely impossible! Please forgive me, when the king of Zhao asked you to be the prime minister, it was not because your talent was unique in the Zhao country; the Dongwu City was sealed to you as a territory, and it was not because of what you established. You have made great contributions. In the final analysis, it is only because you are the son of the master father and a close relative of King Zhao."

Mr. Pingyuan blushed and said, "That's right, but so what?" Gongsun Long said: "However, when you accepted the seal, you didn't excuse yourself and said you were incompetent; when you accepted the fiefdom, you didn't say you were useless. That means that you know very well in your heart that the reason why you can get these benefits , but because you are a prince. Now you are asking for a reward because you have invited Lord Xinling. You have to be treated according to your status as a prince, and you have to count credits with the king like an ordinary person. You feel sorry Do I have to go?"

The meaning of these words is very clear. If you take up a leadership position by virtue of your status as the second or third generation of officials, don't show off your political achievements, and what is the price for working in your own family! Mr. Pingyuan remained silent. Gongsun Long went on to say: "If Yu Qing proposed to do this, you have to think carefully. Why did he show courteousness to you for no reason? Didn't he want to have both sides? If this is done, you have to thank him; if it doesn't work, You will also read his benefits. With your wisdom, you won't be fooled by him, right?" Lord Pingyuan came to his senses and rejected Yu Qing's suggestion. In 251 BC, Lord Pingyuan died in Handan.Among the four sons of the Warring States Period, Pingyuan Lord Zhao Sheng ranked second in terms of age, and his negative comments from later generations also ranked second, second only to Chunshen Lord Huang Xie.Sima Qian's evaluation of him is: a handsome young man in troubled times, but he doesn't know the general situation, "the profit makes the mind faint". The so-called Li Lingzhi faint refers to the great tragedy that he strongly advocated the acceptance of Shangdang, which led to Qin's attack on Changping and the death of more than 400,000 Zhao troops.