Chapter 260: The world is so vast, why should we talk about it?
After Zhuang Sheng left, no one criticized Mohism anymore.
Because there is no need.
Zhuangzi has said everything, but Qin Lisheng still refuses to change. Mohism wants everyone to become a sage. Is this possible?
It is already the 25th year of the Xia Dynasty, but the Mohists are still living in the years of the Ming Dynasty! Both the government and the people have begun to criticize the Mohists.
As the Xia Dynasty became more prosperous, and people had more and more surplus wealth in their homes, they felt more and more bound by the rules and regulations of Mohism and its inhumane behavior.
When they were penniless, they could applaud, but when they finally made a name for themselves, the Mohists came into conflict with them.
Human selfish desires are bound to exist. A few people may be able to suppress their own desires by force, but looking around the world, how is it possible?
Sir, times have changed! After Qin Li won, the second person to come to power was Yang Zhu.
An absolute opponent of Mohist universal love.
Although everyone disliked Mohism, they were even more indignant about Yang Zhu's theory of valuing oneself.
Universal love can at least be considered as guiding people to be good. Don't worry about whether the requirements are high or not. It doesn't matter if people don't listen to it.
But if you don't use the idea of "serving oneself and valuing oneself" well, you are teaching people to be selfish, which is no less difficult than loving all, but the harm is much greater. No matter how much you dislike Mohism, you can't let Yang Zhu disgust you.
What no one expected was that Yang Zhu had just stepped onto the stage when Qin Lisheng, who had just left, came up again.
This time, it was the great Mohist master who asked the question.
"You said that you value yourself and value yourself. If everyone does not harm the world, the world will be peaceful. If plucking a hair from your body can benefit the world, what would you do?"
Qin Lisheng asked directly.
"The affairs of the world cannot be solved by a single hair."
Yang Zhu said immediately.
"If you could, would you be willing?"
Qin Lisheng asked again.
Yang Zhu remained silent.
After a moment of silence, Yang Zhu asked, "If someone hurts your skin even a little, I will give you ten thousand gold coins. Are you willing?"
Qin Lisheng nodded immediately and said, "For that."
Yang Zhu asked again: "If you can get a country by cutting off a piece of your arm, would you be willing?"
This time, it was Qin Lisheng who remained silent.
Because he understood that if he nodded again this time, he would chop off his head and take over the whole world next time.
What is the use of gaining the world if the person is already dead?
This is something no one would agree to.
Yang Zhu laughed and said, "A hair is smaller than skin. A hair is much smaller than skin and muscle, and skin and muscle are much smaller than a body. This is very clear. However, hairs accumulated together make skin and muscle, and muscle and skin accumulated together make a body. A hair is only one ten-thousandth of the whole body, so why should we look down on it?"
If I could pluck a hair to benefit the world, I would not give it to you! Qin Lisheng said, "I can't convince you with more reason. But if you ask Mo Qiu with my words, then my words are right."
When reason goes to two extremes, no one can convince anyone else.
Just as he could not accept Yang Zhu's doctrine, it was equally impossible for Yang Zhu to agree with him.
If plucking a hair could benefit the world, I would not do it; if cutting off one's head and heel could benefit the world, I would do it.
There is absolutely no intersection between the two.
But the debate certainly doesn't end there.
After Yang Zhu, Xun Ke came to power.
He was also questioned by others, and the main criticism was that human nature is evil.
Xun Ke's answer was: "The nature of people today is evil. They must wait for the rule of a sage king and the transformation of propriety and righteousness before they can be governed and become good."
Although human nature has evil, it does not mean that we must submit to this "evil". Xun Ke advocates limiting the "evil" of human nature through education, so that the "evil" of human nature can be transformed into good, rather than becoming a purely "evil" person.
It is precisely because human beings are inherently evil that they need etiquette and education even more, rather than taking evil for granted as a part of themselves.
This is why he once said that he wanted to establish etiquette for the world.
The Xia Dynasty had reached its heyday, and sticking to the old ways was definitely not the right way to go. Everyone was coming up with their own methods to be judged and to demonstrate their own talent and ability.
Gu Dan stayed here with Qingpingzi for several days and then left.
From beginning to end, he never went on stage. He was just like an ordinary listener, enjoying the scenery in the mortal world.
Perhaps a hundred years from now, someone will write about this event in great detail, but his figure will not be mentioned in it.
The Medical Encyclopedia was still being compiled, and hundreds of doctors had gathered in the Imperial Medical Service at this time, working hard for another achievement.
"Let's go meet your fellow traveler."
After Xun Ke finished his story, Gu Dan and Qing Pingzi left and stopped Yang Zhu who was about to rest.
"What advice do you two have for me?"
Yang Zhu was a Taoist who traveled among the world. He possessed the power of a master and had a good vision.
He could sense an extremely dangerous aura from Qingpingzi, with a faint smell of decay, which meant that this person's strength had probably reached its peak, and his age was not too far from death.
As for Gu Dan, he looked extremely handsome, but his strength was not clear. Qingpingzi followed beside him, but was actually a step behind him and did not dare to overtake him, which was enough to show that he was definitely not an ordinary person.
He did not dare to be negligent at the moment, thinking that he was a strong man who was ready to lecture him, so he stopped and was quite cautious.
"I just heard that you came here from another country. I was curious and wanted to come over to talk to you."
Gu Dan said: "If you don't mind, you can come sit in the courtyard, drink wine, make tea, and chat casually."
Yang Zhu was the first master that Gu Dan met who came from an unfamiliar country.
The Xia Dynasty is now very powerful, and the key is that this power is no longer based on its own military force, which forces the surrounding countries to bow down.
Even so, the influence of the Xia Dynasty still only remains in a few well-known countries around it. Further away, there is almost no news, and only occasional intersections of merchants and travelers.
This world is huge. Even within the Xia Dynasty, if one really wants to travel all of it, it would take an ordinary person’s entire life.
If you can’t even finish looking at your own country, how many people can really have the leisure to pay attention to the outside world?
If they wanted to go to Daqi, they would have to start from the imperial capital of the Xia Dynasty and travel non-stop for several months. Not to mention the food and fodder for the people and horses along the way, there would be losses. The round trip and the delays in transactions would mean that one trip would take a year.
If we run from Daqi to other surrounding countries, the time will double, and the farther we go, the less worthwhile it will be.
Moreover, the prejudice of this era was very serious. The national conditions of different countries were different. The Xia Dynasty at that time could be considered tolerant and open. Other neighboring countries such as Daqi and Dayong also gave face to the Xia Dynasty and rarely made things difficult for it.
In another country, the monarch might be cruel and stupid, and it is possible that he would kill foreigners. The risk is too great.
It is not easy to trade with several neighboring countries. As for the more distant countries, there are only brief records in books. Information in this regard has always been scarce. Even the royal family only has a general impression.
It's so hard to have a well-traveled master come over, it would be a waste if we don't have a good chat with him.
"Of course."
Upon learning the purpose of their visit, Yang Zhu also smiled.
This kind of thing is quite common.
As a master, he can be treated well wherever he goes as long as there is no hostility. There are also many people who want to learn about the outside world from him, so it can be said that he is quite familiar with it.
Gu Dan brought Yang Zhu to the Gu family courtyard.
When he first entered the courtyard, Yang Zhu exclaimed, "There are some tricks here!"
He looked around, not only at the colorful flowers and plants in the yard, but also at the layout of the whole place, and could not find any fault with it!
The Gu family courtyard has been there for many years and has of course been renovated several times by Gu Dan. After all, it is where he lives and he never skimps on it. The current Gu family courtyard and the courtyard that was originally used as the Mo family martial arts school look like two different places.
And many of the things I have learned from reading various Taoist scriptures and books over the years have been applied here unconsciously. Although the area occupied has not been expanded, people who are knowledgeable can naturally appreciate different things from them.
"Come, have some tea."
Sitting on the stone table under the willow tree in the courtyard, Gu Dan took out the Qingling Fruit Tea, a treasure that the Daqing royal family would send him every year.
As soon as the tea leaves were brewed, a refreshing fruity aroma wafted from it. It was completely different from ordinary tea and didn't even look like tea.
This is naturally a variant of Daqing itself, a special tea tree, probably on the same level as Dayong's Tiancheng Water and Xia Dynasty's Liuyun Zhuiyue Silk. The annual output is not high, and only Gu Dan, with his special status, can enjoy it.
"Huh? Good stuff!"
Yang Zhu's eyes lit up, he took a sip, closed his eyes and savored it carefully, opened his eyes after a while, and said: "This tea is truly a creation of heaven and earth. Among all the teas I drink, it is one of the top three."
"Oh? This is just a fight for the top three?"
Gu Dan was quite curious.
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"Yes. The world is vast, with many countries standing side by side. For many people, at most, we only know some names. Although everyone was born under this world, there is no connection between them at all. Rather than saying that they are a connected whole, it is better to say that a group of unrelated individuals make up this world."
Yang Zhu held a cup of Qingling fruit tea and said with emotion: "The direction of a country is usually limited to its own country. Even if two countries are at war, it will rarely have any impact on more distant countries. Most of the time, it just changes the name and a group of people. Who can tell clearly how big the world we are talking about is, and how many countries there are? Not to mention what is contained in it!"
Yang Zhu was very excited and pointed to the Xia Dynasty palace in the distance, and continued: "As for the Xia Dynasty, you were born and raised here, so you naturally understand the things here, know the history of the Xia Dynasty, know the heroes and heroes here, and even the saints and sages. You think this is a very important part.
But before I arrived at the Xia Dynasty, I didn't know there was a Xia Dynasty in this world. It was only 25 years old. For the mortal world, this was enough for a generation to grow up and take it for granted. But for the countries farther away, the Xia Dynasty might not even have been passed down. So, does its existence have any impact on them? Definitely not! I am a master. I have reached the peak of mortal martial power and can go anywhere in the world. But I am now over 90 years old. After I was promoted to master, I began to travel around the world. It has been more than 40 years. I have been to dozens of countries at least. There are very few people who really know each other!
The more people you meet, the bigger the world you see, and the more you can feel how small you are and how insignificant you are to the world."
Yang Zhu stared at the green tea in the tea bowl, and his emotion came from the bottom of his heart.
If a person's depth is measured according to his experience, then his experience is enough to form a book.
But the experiences of most people in this world are unremarkable and not worth mentioning. It is difficult to occupy even a page of paper or a line of words, let alone a book.
In fact, many people live in their own small world all their lives, never going out of the area within a hundred or a thousand miles.
For that group of people, how big is this world, how many mysteries does it have, and is it really worth caring about?
Probably not necessary.
Throughout history, all those who were curious about the outside world were either well-fed and well-clothed young men, or masters who had reached the pinnacle of strength and had no room for improvement, without exception.
Even between countries, there are mostly isolated islands, and only the adjacent islands have some connection.
"I seem to understand why you proposed the ideas of 'for me' and 'self-esteem'."
A glimpse of the whole picture can reveal the whole picture. After hearing the meaning of Yang Zhu's words, Gu Dan also felt the other party's mood.
Since the universe is so vast, the world is so broad, and individuals are so small, there are very few people who can intersect with each other, so why bother?
Isn't it enough to just live a good life? Anyway, they can only live a good life.
It is precisely because Yang Zhu has seen so much that he understands more clearly how vast the so-called whole is, so vast that even the masters would feel despair and insignificant.
In this case, it is better to pursue the absolute individual, at least the individual can be controlled by oneself.
"My fellow Daoist understands my intention very well."
Yang Zhu laughed, "Like Mo Qiu, he is truly a first-class hero in the world! It is not an exaggeration to praise him as a saint. But how many countries have such a person spread across? If I had not come to the Xia Dynasty, I would not even have heard of the name of Mohism.
Even if an individual is at his peak for a time, how insignificant is he? Mo Qiu is a great man, but which country does not have its own great men and heroes? There are so many great men! Fame, wealth, fortune, and wealth are just passing clouds, passing clouds! What's the point of talking about them?"
"Fellow Daoist, you have seen so many people and landscapes that you can no longer find the meaning of being a person in them?"
Gu Dan asked.
“Insightful!”
Yang Zhu's eyes lit up and he clapped his hands in joy, as if he had met a soulmate who exactly pointed out the feelings in his heart.
When you have experienced enough things, you will find that everything is fleeting, and your personal efforts and joys and sorrows are not worthy of praise at all.
Over time, it is inevitable that you will put this idea on yourself.
What can I do myself?
What is the meaning of self? Who am I? Where do I come from?
Where are you going?
When food and clothing are no longer a problem and one's strength has reached its peak and there is no more room for improvement, people will start to create problems for themselves.
The problem is that this problem is too big.
Even the grandmaster can’t solve it.
Throughout history, anyone who has tried to think about these questions has ended up with a broken head and become unfortunate.
Therefore, based on his own experiences and observations, Yang Zhu summed up the way of serving oneself and valuing oneself.
In other words, no matter what happens outside, it is enough to live your own life. No matter how big the world is, if I am not happy, it means nothing! No point?
The meaning is to get yourself started, the meaning is to enjoy life.
Although this is not the solution to the ultimate problem, it does give myself a reasonable and self-consistent justification.
"You don't look that old, but you can actually see through such a concept!"
Yang Zhu was amazed, his eyes wandering around Gu Dan, and he said with emotion: "I'm afraid he won't have a good end!"
Qingpingzi, who was drinking tea, almost accidentally spit out all the tea in his mouth.
Do you dare to say that this person will not have a good end and does not want to live? "Oh? Why do you think so?"
Gu Dan was not angry, but asked instead.
“Because there’s nothing that can be done.”
Yang Zhu shrugged, "The sooner you start thinking about this problem, the more unfortunate you will become. I have also been entangled in this problem in the past ten years, and so far I have only come up with 'for me', 'respecting oneself', and 'preserving one's true nature' to fight against it. But you, me, and even all living beings are just a part of this world, but we can never turn our eyes to the world.
Just like the frog at the bottom of the well, we sigh and speculate about everything in our "frog life" in the small well we can reach. How sad and lamentable is that? We don't even have the opportunity to see the whole picture, so how can we dare to say that we are right? We don't even know how big the world is! "
What’s scary is not that we haven’t found the problem, but that we don’t even have a solution.
He is destined to have no liberation throughout his miserable life!
The more you see and the more you think about it, the more sad, pitiful and lamentable it is.
All Grandmasters are bound to face the same problem.
Congratulations, you have reached the pinnacle of the world and there is no going any further. What are you going to do next?
Extravagance, debauchery, and wanton happiness?
Good! Live happily for ten or twenty years. When you are tired of this happiness, what should you do?
Before you reach the top, you always have the motivation to climb because there is still a road ahead.
But when you really reach the top, when there is no further to go and there is no way forward, you can only compete with yourself and will never be able to be free and will never find the answer.
One can only wait for death silently with the strength at the pinnacle of the world.
This is another kind of sadness of the master, which can usually only be seen in old masters.
Grandmaster, Grandmaster, what's the point of talking about him?! (End of this chapter)