What does the phrase "cutting flesh to make sores" mean? Flesh represents the principles of nature, and sores represent human desires. Cutting flesh to make sores means mistaking the principles of nature for human desires. Getting rid of human desires means hurting the principles of nature. The disciples meant, "If we see a spark of fire and put it out, there will naturally be no burning of the house. What should we use to cook rice? In other words, if we get rid of the desire for goods, people will not eat, won't they starve to death? If we get rid of the desire for S3x, there will be no S3x in the same room, won't the human race be extinct?" This question is so powerful! So Yangming had nothing to say, and could only get angry. This is because Yangming followed the theory of Song Confucianism and strongly refuted Gaozi, and he did not understand the two words "life is nature" and "food and S3x are also nature".
Yangming did not study the doctrines of Mencius and Xunzi thoroughly. The Chuan Xi Lu records Yangming's words: "Mencius talks about the source, Xunzi talks about the consequences." Let's take the four words "fear, caution, and compassion" mentioned by Mencius to study. Fear and caution give rise to compassion. Fear is the thought of "for myself", and compassion is the thought of "for others". When "for myself" is expanded, it becomes "for others". Fear is the source, and compassion is the consequence. Xunzi's doctrine originates from the two words "for myself", while Mencius' doctrine originates from the two words "for others". Whether what Xunzi said is a consequence or not, we will not discuss it in depth. Whether there is another source above fear, we do not need to study it in depth either. However, the two words "compassion" mentioned by Mencius are definitely not the source. Yangming said this because he read Mencius's book and forgot that there are fear and caution above compassion.
The Record of Transmission of Learning is a collection of quotations from Yangming's early lectures. In his later years, his views were different. The Record of Longxi's Quotations states that Qian Xushan said that "the heart is neither good nor evil, but it has both good and evil intentions. Knowing good and evil is conscience, and doing good and getting rid of evil is the study of things" is the standard for the school. Wang Longxi said: "If you realize that the heart is neither good nor evil, then it is also the intention of neither good nor evil. Knowledge is the knowledge of neither good nor evil, and things are things of neither good nor evil." At that time, Yangming went to Guangxi to fight. He sat on Tianquan Bridge in the evening, and the two of them asked him about it. Yangming said: I have wanted to reveal what Ruzhong (Longxi's name) saw for a long time, but I was afraid that people would not believe it, which would only increase the disadvantages of jumping levels. Therefore, I have kept it secret until now. This is the secret of Fu Xin, and Yan Zi dared not say it when he asked about the Tao. Now that it has been revealed, it is also the time for the secret to be revealed. How can it be kept secret again! When Yangming arrived in Hongdu, more than 300 disciples came to ask for advice. Yangming said: "I have a clue to the future, but I have not dared to reveal it for a long time, waiting for you to realize it. Recently, Wang Ruzhong pointed it out, and it is time for the clue to be revealed." The next year, Guangxi was pacified, and Yangming returned, but died on the way. What Longxi said was to combine the principles of heaven and human desires, which Yangming did not reveal until his later years. Therefore, we know that when the disciples raised the question of cutting flesh to make a wound, Yangming rebuked them with a serious look, not because he said he was wrong, but because he was afraid that he would skip the line.
Qian Dehong is very similar to Shenxiu, a disciple of the Fifth Patriarch, while Wang Longxi is very similar to Huineng. What Dehong said is Shenxiu's "constantly wipe" and is called gradual. What Longxi said is Huineng's "originally there is nothing" and is called sudden. Yangming said: "You must use Dehong's efforts, and Dehong must understand the original purpose of you. The views of the two can only be compared, but not criticized." This is the theory of sudden enlightenment and gradual cultivation. Longxi's words are eloquent, and the principles he talked about are almost the same as those in the Altar Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch. This theory of mind and nature is best explained by Buddhism, so most of Wang's disciples turned to Buddhism, and Cheng's disciples, such as Xie Shangcai and Yang Guishan, later turned to Buddhism. When Buddhism talks about nature, it is also said that there is no good or evil, which is the same as Gaozi's theory. As long as the truth of the universe is studied thoroughly, although they are not teachers of each other, the results are the same. Although Yangming believed in Mencius' theory of human nature, he finally proposed the words "the nature of the heart is neither good nor evil", still following the path of Gaozi. In order to maintain their own school, Confucianism said every day "no good and no evil, this is the highest good". This is also a sophistry, but why can't we say: "no good and no evil, this is the highest evil"?
Someone questioned me: Gaozi said: "Nature is neither good nor bad." Yangming said: "There is no good or bad in the heart." One talks about nature, and the other talks about the heart. Why are they confused? I said: Nature is the heart's body, and Yangming's words can prove it. Yangming said: "The heart governs nature and emotion. Nature is the heart's body, and emotion is the heart's function. The body and function have the same source. Knowing why the body is the function, we know why the function is the body." Nature is the heart's body. This is Yangming's own explanation, so I said: Yangming's statement is Gaozi's statement.
Many people in our country talk about human nature, and Gaozi's theory of "no good or no evil" is the most reasonable. Using the metaphor of medical treatment, the two words "life is human nature" and "food and S3x are also human nature" are the source of the disease, and the two metaphors of Qi, willow and turbulent water are the treatment methods. Mencius, Xunzi, Yang, Mo, Shen and Han are all doctors who practice treatment. Some like to use hot medicine, some like to use cold medicine, and some like to use warm tonic medicine. Although the prescriptions are different, they can all bring people back to life if used properly. We usually study the source of the disease clearly, learn all kinds of treatment techniques, and then see how the condition changes and apply the right treatment.
The ruler of a country should first use benevolence and righteousness to influence people. This is to use Mencius' method to induce the nature of ordinary people to be good. When good intentions arise, evil intentions disappear, just like a flood controller who dredges the lower reaches, so there will be no flooding. However, human nature can also be evil. If persuasion is ineffective and they dare to destroy everything, they should be severely punished by the laws of Shen and Han, which is equivalent to the construction of dikes by flood controllers. Flood controllers use both dredging and dikes, so rulers use both benevolence and law. Mencius said that human nature is good, which is to persuade people to be good; Xunzi said that human nature is evil, which is to persuade people to avoid evil. To do good and avoid evil is a consistent thing, and we can see it through.
Those who hold the theory that human nature is good advocate benevolence and righteousness to transform the people; those who hold the theory that human nature is evil advocate the rule of law to restrain the people. Mencius originally advocated benevolence and righteousness to transform the people, but he also said: "Itching alone is not enough to govern, and laws alone cannot be enforced." This is to use both benevolence and righteousness and law, which shows that he studied very thoroughly, but in terms of teaching, he wanted to be unique and highlighted the words "human nature is good" to show his difference. When we read Mencius's book, if we remove the words "human nature is good", and remove the words that slander Yang and Mo as beasts and the chapters on human nature by Gaozi, his entire doctrine is pure and flawless.
The world's academic disciplines are divided into three major branches, one is Chinese, the second is Indian, and the third is Western. Initially, Indian academic disciplines were introduced into China and conflicted with traditional academic disciplines. After more than a thousand years, Cheng Mingdao came out and integrated them into one, using the Buddhist law to govern the mind and the Confucius law to govern the world, and formed a new doctrine, the so-called Song Learning. This is a great invention in academics. Unexpectedly, as soon as this doctrine was established, malpractices followed, because after Mingdao's death, his doctrine was divided into two schools, one for Cheng (Yichuan) Zhu and the other for Lu Wang. Mingdao died early, and Yichuan lived a long life. Many of the inhumane arguments in Song Learning probably belong to Yichuan's school.
China is a country that reveres Confucius. Zhu Xi discovered a truth, but he dared not claim that it was his own discovery. He could only explain the four words "investigate things and extend knowledge" in the "Great Learning" and said that my statement was the true teaching of Confucius. Wang Yangming discovered a truth, but he did not dare to claim that it was his own discovery. He gave a new explanation to the four words "investigate things and extend knowledge" in the "Great Learning" and said: Zhu Xi's explanation was wrong. My statement is the true teaching of Confucius. Therefore, the best way for us to study the doctrines of the Confucian scholars of the Song and Ming dynasties is to sweep away all the nouns and terminology we use and only look at their content. If we use simple words, the meaning of the Confucian scholars of the Song and Ming dynasties is: if ordinary people want to be saints and virtuous, they must first make their hearts good. They must examine themselves every time they have a thought. If good thoughts are kept, evil thoughts must be overcome. Over time, what is in their hearts will be pure good thoughts. Regarding this point, the Confucian scholars of the Song and Ming dynasties all have the same statement. But when a thought arises, how can we judge whether it is good or evil? The Cheng-Zhu school said: When you have nothing to do, study every time you encounter something, study it carefully, and understand the principles thoroughly. Then, you will be able to distinguish between good and evil in any future. The Lu-Wang school said: There is no need to be so troublesome. When you have nothing to do, clean your mind thoroughly, like a mirror, without any residue. Then, you will be able to distinguish between good and evil in any future. This is the point of contention between the two schools. In our opinion, if we clean our minds thoroughly while studying the outside world, wouldn’t it be the combination of Cheng-Zhu, Lu-Wang? However, the two schools must stick to their own opinions and refuse to give in to each other. This is just like the dispute between Mencius and Xunzi over the goodness and evil of human nature. In the whole principle, each school cut off half of it to establish its argument, thus forming two opposing schools. This is called sectarianism.
Mr. Sun Yat-sen once said: Marxists further studied and invented the saying "survival is the center of history", and Gaozi had already said "life is nature" more than 2,000 years ago, which is worth studying. Darwin's theory of survival competition is consistent with Gaozi's "life is nature". Darwin's theory is not wrong, but the mistake is that because of the survival competition, it advocates the law of the jungle, which has become a boundless competition. Even after reaching the survival point, the competition is still going on, and the European powers plundered the survival materials of the weak nations to satisfy their insatiable desires. Nietzsche took Darwin's theory a step further and advocated supermanism, saying that loving others is slave morality and that destroying the weak is the natural duty of the strong. As a result, Kaiser Wilhelm II was born, causing the First World War; Mussolini, Hitler and the Japanese warlords were born, causing the Second World War. The root cause of the disaster was actually Darwin's lack of research on life. If Darwin had said one more sentence: "Competition ends when the survival point is reached," how could there be such a malpractice?
Chinese philosophers are different. Mencius and Xunzi both acknowledged Gaozi's statement that "food and S3x are human nature". Xunzi advocated restriction, needless to say. Regarding food, Mencius only talked about not being hungry or cold, and living in good health and having no regrets after death. Regarding S3x, he only talked about having no resentful women and no lonely men. Once the survival point is reached, that is when he stops. Although he advocated rites and righteousness, there is a saying that "rites and righteousness will flourish when food and clothing are sufficient". This has been China's consistent proposition, and there is absolutely no drawbacks from Western theories.
If we want world civilization, we cannot seek it in the current Western theories, but should seek it in our own theories. Our reform of economy, politics and all systems cannot be imitated by European and American countries. Even in terms of the constitution, the US Constitution is considered to be the best, but it has fundamental problems. When the US Constitution was first drafted, some people said that human nature is good and advocated local decentralization, while others said that human nature cannot be completely good and advocated centralization. After a long dispute between the two factions, the latter eventually won and established centralization (see Mr. Sun Yat-sen's Civil Rights Principle for details). This is a victory in political struggle, not a victory in theory. How can it be worthy of our learning? According to our research, human nature is neither good nor evil. Local decentralization and centralization should be integrated into one. The constitution that is drafted is local decentralization from the perspective of the landlords and centralization from the perspective of the central government. It is equivalent to the whole human nature. From the perspective of Mencius, it is good nature, and from the perspective of Xunzi, it is evil nature.
Throughout the ages, people in China and abroad have discussed human nature, and there is no consensus. Only Gaozi's theory that human nature is neither good nor bad is consistent with the theory of Indian Buddhism. He said: "Life is nature." It is consistent with Darwin's theory of survival competition, and it is also consistent with the theory of Marx's followers that "survival is the center of history." As for his saying: "Food and S3x are human nature." People nowadays are rushing towards these two words like crazy, which further proves that his observation is not wrong. We say: "Psychology changes according to the laws of mechanics." But Gaozi said: "Nature is like turbulent water." The change of water is the change of force. Our conjecture cannot escape his scope. The dispute over whether human nature is good or evil is an unsolved case in my country for more than 2,000 years. We can make a conclusion: Gaozi's theory is reasonable.
Five psychology changes according to the laws of mechanics
In the universe, the interaction of centrifugal and centripetal forces creates all kinds of things. On the surface, they seem to be disordered, but in fact, they have a certain fixed orbit. People and things are created with a great force, and they are also molded, so human affairs and physics are connected. Centrifugal force and centripetal force are mutually changing, so there are many things in the world that we force them to be together, but they turn around and separate, and sometimes they are allowed to separate, and they combine by themselves. The desire of a crazy person to escape is directly proportional to the force of confinement. The tighter the confinement, the more he wants to escape. Sometimes, if he is not confined, he does not want to escape. Fathers and brothers must understand this principle when they discipline their children, and officials must also understand this principle when they discipline the people.
The Qin regime was harsh and bandits rose up. Emperors Wen and Jing were lenient and the people became simple and honest. There is a regular pattern in this process and it is not without reason. When we rub a clay ball with our hands, it increases the centripetal force. The more we rub it, the tighter it becomes. If it is tight to the extreme, the centripetal force has reached its extreme. If we rub it with great force, the clay ball will immediately break, showing a separation phenomenon. When water is cold, it contracts, which is a centripetal phenomenon. The colder it is, the more it contracts. When it reaches four degrees Celsius, it becomes a centrifugal phenomenon when it is colder. The colder it is, the more it expands. It can be seen that centrifugal and centripetal are originally a change of force. For example, when we hold a needle and pierce paper, the closer it moves to the paper, this is a centripetal phenomenon. After piercing the paper, it still moves forward, that is, the further it moves from the paper, it becomes a centrifugal phenomenon. The direction of the needle does not change, but it will produce two phenomena. Because everything has a limit, water has a limit of four degrees Celsius, and paper has a limit of the paper surface. If the limit is exceeded, opposition will occur. Fathers and brothers restrain their children, and officials restrain the people. They must know where the limit point is.
According to the above reasoning, the creation and destruction of the earth can be understood. The colder the earth is, the more it shrinks. When it reaches the limit, it will show a reverse phenomenon, break up by itself, and become ashes, which will spread into space. The current earth will end. And due to the effect of gravity, after several years, a new earth will be born. The matter in our body will be introduced from the current earth to the new earth. The matter in the human body rotates according to the laws of mechanics from generation to generation. Therefore, the psychology of people from ancient times to the present is also rotating according to the laws of mechanics.
Everything has gravity and everything has separation. If gravity is stronger than separation, then the object exists. If separation is stronger than gravity, then the object is destroyed. All existing objects have gravity stronger than separation, so there is the theory of universal gravity. Objects whose separation is stronger than gravity have long been destroyed and no one has seen them. Therefore, no one pays attention to the universal separation.
The earth is an existing thing, so it pulls things outside the ground inward. The mind is an existing thing, so it pulls the six dusts and their shadows inward. Children are things that seek survival, so when they see things outside, they take them and put them in their mouths. Human beings are things that seek survival, so when they see things that benefit themselves, they pull them toward themselves. All natural phenomena pull inward, including the earth, the mind, children, and humans. In the future, they will be eliminated by the force of separation of all things, but before they are eliminated, their force of pulling inward cannot be eliminated no matter what. How can the Song Confucianists' theory of eliminating selfishness achieve this?
Since selfishness in the human heart cannot be eliminated, we have no choice but to acknowledge it and draw the human race into a big circle, so that everyone can pursue their own selfishness. Only then can everyone survive and the world be peaceful. We humans should work together to treat the animals, plants, and earth outside the circle (such as the circle C in Chapter 3 of this book) as enemies, search for their treasures, and share them equally with humans. This is the extreme of fairness. It can also be said to be the extreme of selfishness. Otherwise, if we just take away the wealth of humans, the world will never be peaceful.
The changes in psychology are equal to the changes in water. Water can become clouds and rain, frost and dew, ice and snow, rivers and lakes, and seas. Sometimes it is calm and peaceful, and sometimes it is surging and changing. It is almost unbelievable, but scientists have used the laws of mechanics to control it and found that there is a track to follow for each of them.
The human mind is nothing more than two functions: pushing and attracting. If you think something is beneficial, you will attract it and push it away. Because of this mentality, human beings can love each other and produce all kinds of benefits; because of this mentality, they will fight and rob each other, producing all kinds of disasters. People in charge of politics and education should use the method of controlling water, dredging and diking together. If you get the method right, you can sail boats and irrigate fields, which will bring endless benefits. If you don't get the method right, it will wash away houses, kill people and livestock, and cause endless harm. The Confucian scholars of the Song Dynasty did not understand this principle, and they forced the distinction between the nature of righteousness and reason and the nature of temperament, and created various theories of heaven's reason and human desire, which is tantamount to saying that the water that sails boats and irrigates fields comes from heaven and reason, and the water that washes away houses and kills people comes from people and qi. I don't know what the words "heaven, man, reason and qi" in the academic records of the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties mean, so I can only say that they are circuitous and difficult to understand.
If we examine our hearts carefully, we will find that all the changes are in accordance with the laws of mechanics. When we are ecstatic, the lines of force develop outwards, and when we are afraid, the lines of force shrink inwards. When we encounter unexpected events, if we want to go east, the east is blocked, and if we want to go west, the west is blocked. The lines of force are uncertain, and our hearts become panicked. For a certain theory, if we admit it, we will naturally accept it. If we deny it, we will naturally reject it. When we encounter a theory that seems to make sense, it seems to make no sense, and we cannot accept it or reject it, so we become suspicious.
When my mind tries to understand the truth of things, it moves forward in a straight line. When it reaches point A, it does not make sense, so it turns to point B. If it still does not make sense, it turns to point C. The twists and turns of the mind are similar to the detours of flowing water. Water originally moves in a straight line. Although it twists and turns a hundred times, it still follows the laws of mechanics. Our mind is the same. In addition, there are various phenomena. If we study them carefully, we will find that they are not the two functions of deduction and pulling. Sometimes, when we sit in meditation, all external factors are extinguished. There is no one who pushes or pulls, and there is no one who is pushed or pulled. It is like a deep pool with no waves. It presents a peaceful and clear image. Although the mind at this time does not show any function, in fact, thousands of functions are hidden in it. The human mind is connected with magnetism and electricity. When the electricity is neutralized, it has no function. Once it starts to function, its changes are incredible. If we understand the principles of magnetism and electricity, we can understand the human mind. Although water moves in a straight line, if it is placed in a container, it will take on different shapes according to the container. If the container is square, it will be square; if the container is round, it will be round. The same is true for human psychology. People have various desires, and the reason why they do not express them freely is that there is a restraining force that restrains them. The restraining force varies from person to person. Some are restrained by the law, some are restrained by public opinion, some are restrained by money, some are restrained by fathers, brothers, teachers, friends, some are restrained by cause and effect, and the teachings of saints. There are many different kinds of restraints. As long as the restraining force in his heart is removed, his desires will immediately be revealed, just like a water container with a leak, which will flow out.
A person who is greedy for money and lustful will face great disasters. Others can see it clearly, but he himself is unaware of it. This is because his thoughts and feelings follow the general rule of a straight line. The straight line is on the target object, and the things on both sides are invisible. For example, a poor scholar wants to be an official, but after becoming an official, he still feels that it is not enough and wants to be a high-ranking official. After becoming a high-ranking official, he still wants to move forward; Yuan Shikai became the president and wanted to be the emperor. The Qin Emperor and the Han Emperor, after becoming emperors and being respected in China, still felt that it was not enough and wanted to raise troops to conquer the four barbarians. After the four barbarians were pacified, they wanted to become gods. This is a clear proof that human desires follow a straight line.
Christianity aims to save people and takes fraternity as its main purpose. Its doctrine is: "If someone slaps me on the left cheek, I shall offer my right cheek." The dispute between the new and old religions led to bloody wars and disasters. The treatment of pagans included burning and torture, which was obviously contrary to the doctrine. What is the reason for this? The French Revolution called for freedom, equality and fraternity, but it killed people indiscriminately. Anyone who opposed or behaved suspiciously was killed. This was completely contrary to the main purpose. What is the reason for this? If we want to explain this reason, we can only seek the law of mechanics. The followers of Jesus and Rousseau only know how to pursue the goal in their hearts. They are passionate and fierce, just like a train running forward at full speed. People and animals are all crushed to death on the way. Anyone who believes in various doctrines can seek this general rule.
Everything has exceptions. For example, the two pictures in this book refer to the usual cases, to static phenomena, and to no external force. If we talk about exceptions, there are those who help outsiders attack their brothers, and those who love flowers, stones, and mountains and rivers and forget their own lives. It is said: "A loyal minister will not serve two masters, and a heroic woman will not marry two husbands." With the words "loyal" and "heroic" in their hearts, they are often willing to kill themselves without regret. It is also said: "It is easy to die bravely, but it is difficult to die calmly." Generosity is a dynamic phenomenon, and calmness is a static phenomenon. During the Sino-Japanese War, many unknown soldiers in our country, carrying bombs, saw Japanese tanks coming, and immediately lay down on the road, dying together with the enemy. They did not seek profit or fame, but they did such things. Why? Mencius said: "What we want is more than life, and what we hate is more than death." It is because there is something else outside of me that they focus their attention on. Followers of Jesus and Rousseau forgot their creeds in order to achieve their goals. Our country's patriots forgot themselves in order to achieve their goals. There is indeed a certain trajectory in this process. Therefore, Laozi said: "People do not fear death, but they can be frightened by it." The goal can be changed at any time, and its manifestation can be different in various forms, but it is ultimately the law of mechanics. Only when we understand this principle can we handle events and educate the people.
People's thoughts and feelings are originally carried out in straight lines, but they are expressed in many twists and turns and strange states. The reason is that there are so many people, the lines of force are intertwined and push and pull each other, and the situation changes from time to time. Everyone has different footholds and observation points, so the straight line turns into a curve. For example: we take a straight board and draw a line on the blackboard with white ink along the straight board. This line is of course a straight line. If the blackboard is moved arbitrarily when drawing the straight line, the line drawn will become a curve. If we apply Einstein's theory of relativity to human affairs, we can explain this principle clearly.
Everyone has a mind, that is, everyone has a line of force. Each line of force develops outwards, so it is natural that there will be conflicts everywhere. Why are conflicts rare in normal times? Because there are various lines of force: when one force does not intersect with another, one person does thing A, and another does thing B, and they do not interfere with each other. When one force cancels another force, for example, someone has the intention to harm someone, but then thinks that the other person is also very capable and is afraid that he cannot defeat him, so he stops. When one force matches another force, for example, the pace of the sedan bearers is naturally the same. When one force needs another force, for example, a cloth seller and a tailor, there is cloth but no one to sew, or someone to sew but no cloth to sell, neither of them will work. They need each other for their own use, so they naturally live in peace with each other. There is also a strong force that restrains a small force, for example, when a child is having fun, his parents order him to do something. Although he is unwilling in his heart, he still has to do it. It is the power of his parents that subdues his opposition. Another example is that friends with deep friendship can tolerate minor disagreements because the cohesion between them is very strong and the minor conflicting force cannot be expressed. If we examine things like this in detail, we will find that when people are connected, the lines of force are intertwined and complex, like a web. There are many lines that not only do not conflict with each other, but rather rely on and complement each other. This is the reason why human beings can maintain and survive in the world.
Normally, people have equal strength and are independent. A person with great ability has great strength and can attract several people around him to form a group. After forming a group, the combined force makes it even stronger and attracts people around him. The more it attracts, the greater its power becomes, and its influence spreads all over the world. This is the case with the party members in the Eastern Han Dynasty and the party members in the Ming Dynasty. If there is a person with great strength who is not attracted by him and attracts several people around him to form a group, the more it attracts, the greater its power becomes, and they become two opposing parties. The new party of Wang Anshi's faction and the old party of Sima Guang's faction in the Song Dynasty are such phenomena. The Luo Party led by Cheng Yichuan and the Shu Party led by Wesley Su are also such phenomena. The confrontation between the parties now is also such a phenomenon. When two parties meet, the trajectory of their lines of force is the same as when two people meet. For any leader, it is important to eliminate the internal conflict and unite against the outside world. Otherwise, his group will dissolve on its own. Some groups become stronger the more they are oppressed by the outside world, while others disintegrate as soon as they are oppressed. The reason for this lies in whether the leader can unify the internal force lines, and has nothing to do with the size of the external force.
Some people say that the psychology of the crowd is different from the psychology of the individual. When an individual is alone, he often has clear consciousness and proper emotions. Once he encounters the actions of the crowd and is involved in them, this consciousness and emotion will completely disappear, and he will act along with the actions of the crowd. There are often people who are usually gentle and modest, but once they enter the crowd, they suddenly become fierce, arrogant, and unreasonable thugs. There are also people who are usually cowardly and mean, but once they enter the crowd, they suddenly become patriots who are enthusiastic about justice and are willing to sacrifice their lives. Frenchman Li Peng wrote a book called "Crowd Psychology", citing facts and believing that the psychology of the crowd cannot be explained by individual psychology. In fact, this is not the case. If we apply the laws of mechanics, we can explain this principle.
Everyone has one mind, that is, everyone has one strength. The strength of one person cannot defeat the strength of the masses. When the masses move, I am involved in it. My own strength is pushed and shaken by the great strength of the masses. Unconsciously, I follow the movements, taking the consciousness of the masses as my consciousness and the emotions of the masses as my emotions. My own brain completely loses the ability to be independent. Because of this reason, only those who are the commanders can drive thousands of civilians to fight on the battlefield, and only those who are the leaders can command many party members to commit atrocities such as murder and arson.
When an individual is alone, he uses his own brain as his own mind, but when a group of people act, they use the brain of the leader as their mind. As long as the leader is strong-willed, he can command as he wishes. History records: "When Li Guangbi entered the army, he issued an order and the flags changed color." It is said that "there are no weak soldiers under a strong general", which is the reason.
The changes of water follow the laws of mechanics. The changes of our psychology also follow the laws of mechanics. In a meeting room, everything is calm and peaceful. Suddenly, someone comes on stage to give a passionate speech. His passion immediately rises and a major incident occurs. The people in this meeting room are like the water in a deep pool. Once the embankment collapses, the water will rush out, washing away houses, killing people and animals. It is inevitable. Therefore, the way we deal with mass riots must adopt the method of controlling water. There are three methods: (1) If it is water from a dam, climb high to avoid it. When it dries up, nothing will happen. (2) If it is water from a source, try to block it to prevent it from flowing horizontally. (3) Or dredge the downstream to make it flow downward. The movement of water is the movement of force. We will never go wrong if we use the method of controlling water to deal with the masses.
Only when the two forces are balanced can there be stability. All things return to balance. Water will flow if it is not level, and things will make noises if they are not level. The capitalists treat the workers too unfairly, and the imperialists treat the weak nations too unfairly. It can be concluded that they will fail in the end. When you are in a favorable situation, your heart must be changed. When you are in a worrying and dangerous situation, you must have a spirit of moving forward, so that the two forces of divergence and contraction can maintain their balance, so as not to fail. The rich and powerful should be humble, and the poor and the poor should be high-spirited. Otherwise, it will be unfair. If the one in the upper position is arrogant, we must say that he is arrogant, and if the one in the lower position is humble, we must say that he is mean. This is because our heart is formed by a kind of force, and the force returns to balance. Therefore, there is a word "balance" hidden in our heart, which is the standard for measuring all things, but we are used to it and don't notice it. The power in the heart is connected with the power of the universe, so my heart can measure all things. Wang Yangming's theory was born from this.
Six tracks of personnel changes
Since we say that "psychology changes according to the laws of mechanics", the changes in force can be explained by mathematics, so the changes in psychology can also be explained by mathematics. The changes in force can be drawn into a graph to find its orbit. The Twenty-Five Histories are images left by human psychology. We take historical events and draw them into a graph based on the laws of mechanics. Then we know that all the turbulent human affairs have certain orbits. The method of drawing a graph is, for example, thinking of something in your mind, that is, treating it as an object. Thinking of it in your mind means that a line of force is sent out in your mind to connect with it. If you like it in your mind, you want to draw it closer. If you don't like it, you want to push it away. From this mutual attraction and push, you can find the orbit.
Sun Tzu said: "The people of Wu and Yue hate each other, but when they are in the same boat and encounter a storm, they help each other like left and right hands." This is when the boat is about to sink, and the people of Wu and Yue both want to pull the boat out of the water, forming a combined force in the same direction, so ordinary enemies will become good friends who help each other in times of trouble. All historical events can be studied by drawing a picture based on this method.
Han Xin's back-to-the-water formation was a desperate attempt to survive. The Han army was oppressed by Chen Yu's troops. There was a big river in front of them, which was a dead end. The only way to survive was to turn around and push Chen Yu's troops away. If everyone thought in this way, they would form a combined force line with the same direction, so the mob could unite as one. The direction of their force line was the same as Han Xin's, so Han Xin succeeded.
Zhang Er and Chen Yu were close friends. Later, Zhang Er was surrounded by Qin soldiers and asked Chen Yu to save him. Chen Yu was afraid that the Qin soldiers were strong and refused to go. As a result, the two of them became enemies. Zhang Er pushed the Qin soldiers to Chen Yu, and Chen Yu pushed the Qin soldiers to Zhang Er. The lines of force were in opposite directions, so the best friends became enemies. Finally, Zhang Er helped Han Xin and killed Chen Yu on the water.
At the end of the Qin Dynasty, the whole nation suffered from Qin's harsh rule. Chen She raised his arm and called for the support of the Shandong people. Chen She did not send anyone to unite the people. Why did they all respond? This was because the people had been suffering from Qin's harsh rule for a long time. Everyone wanted to push him away. They had the same interests and the same psychology, so they formed a joint line of force with the same direction. They did not need to unite, but they naturally united.
At the beginning of the uprising, Liu Bang and Xiang Yu were all determined to destroy the Qin Dynasty. They had the same goal and formed a joint line of force, so people of different surnames could become brothers. Later, after the Qin Dynasty was destroyed, the target was gone and a new country appeared. Liu Bang wanted to seize it, and Xiang Yu also wanted to seize it. The lines of force were opposite, so the brothers of different surnames fought bloody battles.
Let’s take the relationship between Emperor Gaozu and Han Peng as an example. When Xiang Yu was the hegemon, Emperor Gaozu thought: If Xiang Yu is killed, I will be fine. Han Peng and others also thought: If Xiang Yu is killed, I will be fine. With the same thoughts, they naturally formed a joint line of force, so they met at Gaixia and killed Xiang Yu immediately. After Xiang Yu was killed, there was no need for them to work together as the king and his subjects, so everyone’s mind tended to power. But power is something that if you have more, I will have less, and if I have more, you will have less. The lines of force are conflicting, so Emperor Gaozu killed the meritorious officials.
Emperor Taizong of Tang conquered the Sui Dynasty, and Emperor Taizu of Ming conquered the Yuan Dynasty. At the beginning of the uprising, it was the same as the Han Dynasty. After the uprising, brothers killed each other in the Tang Dynasty, and the meritorious officials of the Ming Dynasty were exterminated, which was no different from the Han Dynasty. Generally speaking, after the world is pacified, the power lines between the monarch and the ministers will conflict. If the monarch does not destroy the minister, the minister will destroy the monarch. The size of the two forces determines the survival of each other. Li Siyuan assisted Emperor Zhuangzong of Tang to destroy Liang and Khitan. Zhuangzong's power could not control him, so he took away Zhuangzong's world. Zhao Kuangyin assisted Emperor Shizong of Zhou to defeat Han and Tang. The successor's power could not control him, so he also took away Zhou's world. This is the negative text of Liu Bang not killing Han, Peng and others.
After Emperor Guangwu pacified the world, Deng Yu, Geng Yu and others handed over their military power and studied behind closed doors. This was because they had seen through Emperor Guangwu's path and decided to move away. Emperor Taizu of Song gave up his military power over a cup of wine. This was to make it clear what path he was going to take and ask them to move away. In fact, the psychology of Emperor Guangwu of Han and Emperor Taizu of Song was the same as that of Emperor Gaozu of Han. We cannot say that Emperor Gaozu of Han was cruel, nor can we say that Emperor Guangwu of Han and Emperor Taizu of Song were magnanimous. It can be said that it is a general rule of mechanics.
Yue Fei wanted to pull the Central Plains to the south, Qin Hui wanted to push the Central Plains to the north. Yue Fei wanted to pull Huizong and Qinzong to the south, Gaozong wanted to push Huizong and Qinzong to the north. Gaozong and Qin Hui formed a combined force line in the same direction, which was exactly opposite to Yue Fei. Yue Fei's strength alone was no match for the combined force of Gaozong and Qin Hui, so the three words were unjustly ended and Yue Fei had to die.
In history, anyone who blocked the route would suffer misfortune. When Emperor Liu killed Zhang Yu, Zhuge Liang asked for his crime. The Emperor said, "The orchid grows outside the gate, so it must be weeded out." What crime did the orchid commit? It was because it grew in the wrong place. When Emperor Taizu of Zhao attacked Jiangnan, Xu Xuan begged for a delay. Emperor Taizu said, "How can I allow others to sleep soundly beside my couch?" What crime did the orchid commit? It was because it was sleeping in the wrong place. There was another strange thing in ancient times: the two men, Kuang Yan Hua Shi and Kun Di, were not loyal to the world above, nor were they friends of the princes below. They ploughed the fields for food and dug wells for water. They were obviously orchids in the valley, sleeping soundly on their own couches, so they should be able to avoid disaster. When Taigong arrived in Yingqiu, he first executed them. What was the reason? Because at that time, Taigong used titles and salaries to drive heroes, but there were two people who did not accept titles and salaries, standing in front of him. This still blocked the route, so how could he be allowed to pass? Taigong is a sage, and Kuang Yanhuashi is a noble man. If a noble man blocks the way, the sage will not tolerate him. This can be said to be a common rule.
Feng Meng killed Yi because the teacher blocked the student's path; Wu Qi killed his wife because the wife blocked the husband's path; Emperor Gaozu divided the soup because the father blocked the son's path; Le Yangzi ate the soup because the son blocked the father's path; Duke Zhou killed Guan Cai; Emperor Taizong of Tang killed Jiancheng and Yuanji because the brother blocked the brother's path and the brother blocked the brother's path. It can be seen that when the lines of force conflict, even fathers and sons, brothers and spouses cannot escape. Wang Meng understood this principle and met Huan Wen and changed his service to Fu Qin; Yin Hao did not do so and suffered failure. Fan Li understood this principle and broke the Wu Kingdom and sailed on the five lakes; Wen Zhong did not do so and was killed. In addition, Han Fei was imprisoned in Qin, Zixu fell on the sword, Ji Kang was killed, and Ruan Ji escaped. Let's try to examine the facts and words of Han Fei and others, and find out the points of attention in the minds of Li Si who killed Han Fei, Fuchai who killed Zixu, and Sima Zhao who tolerated Ruan Ji and killed Ji Kang. If we examine the course of their routes, we will know that whether they conflict or not, there are certain common rules in between.
Wang Anshi said: "Natural disasters are not to be feared, people's words are not to be pitied, and ancestors are not to be followed." The truth is correct, but he was slandered because of these three sentences. When we read them today, we still feel that he is arrogant and feel a little uncomfortable. If we were born in that day, we might not have conflicted with him. Chen Hongmou said: "Judge right and wrong by yourself, listen to praise and criticism from others, and accept gains and losses as numbers." The meaning of these three sentences is the same as Wang Anshi, but when we read them, we feel that this person is amiable. What is the reason for this? Because Wang Anshi seems to be lying across the sky, and he refuses to turn away any "natural disasters", "people's words" and "ancestors" that pass by. Chen Hongmou listed the word "self", the word "people" and the number as three parallel lines that do not conflict with each other. When we listened to Wang Anshi's words, we unconsciously put ourselves in the character "人" (people) of "don't worry about what others say"; when we listened to Chen Hongmou's words, we unconsciously put ourselves in the character "人" (people) of "let others judge you for what you say". The force line in our hearts is also to like others to give in and not to like others to stop us, so unconsciously, our feelings towards Wang and Chen are different. If we understand this principle, we will benefit greatly from it in dealing with things.
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