Expression
Except for the great benevolence and the great evil, there is no big difference between the world and the human beings. If a person is very benevolent, he or she will be born in response to a calamity; if a person is extremely evil, he or she will be born in response to a calamity. Luck brings prosperity to the world, and disaster brings danger to the world. Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, Zhou, Zhao, Confucius, Mencius, Dong, Han, Zhou, Cheng, Zhang, and Zhu all came into being. Chi You, Jiang Gong, Jie, Zhou, Shihuang, Wang Mang, Cao Cao, Huan Wen, An Lushan, Qin Hui, etc. were all born in response to the catastrophe. A man of great benevolence will bring order to the world; a man of great evil will bring chaos to the world. Clear, bright, beautiful, and beautiful are the righteousness of heaven and earth, and the benevolent are upholding them; cruelty and perversity are the evil spirits of heaven and earth, and they are upheld by evil people. Nowadays, in the dynasty of Yunlong and Zuoyong, a time of peace and inaction, people who uphold the spirit of purity, clarity, and beauty can be found everywhere, from the imperial court to the grasslands. The remaining beauty has nowhere to go, so it becomes nectar and gentle wind, which irrigates the whole world. The cruel and perverse evil spirit could not be exposed to the broad daylight, so it condensed and filled up deep ravines. Occasionally, due to the wind or being driven by clouds, it would be slightly shaken and inspired, and it would leak out by mistake. Occasionally, when the spirit of wisdom and beauty is overdue, good will not tolerate evil, evil will be jealous of the good, and the two will be incompatible. It is also like feng shui, thunder and lightning, which meet in the earth, can neither be eliminated nor let go, and will only end after fighting and setting off. Therefore, the energy must also be given to others, and it will dissipate as soon as it is vented. Men and women who are born with this spirit will not be able to be benevolent and gentlemen above, and they will not be able to do great evil or evil below. Among tens of thousands of people, his intelligence, handsomeness, and grace will be superior to those of tens of thousands of people; his eccentric, absurd, and unkind attitude will be below those of tens of millions of people. If you are born into a rich and noble family, you will be of the infatuated kind; if you are born into a poor family with poetry and literature, you will be a dissolute and noble person. Even if you happen to be born into a poor family in Bozuo, you will never be able to serve as a foot soldier and will be driven away by mediocrity. The control of the system will definitely be a famous one. Such as Xu You, Tao Qian, Ruan Ji, Ji Kang, Liu Ling, the Wang Xie clan, Gu Hutou, Chen Houzhu, Tang Minghuang, Song Huizong, Liu Tingzhi, Wen Feiqing, Minangong, Shi Manqing, Liu Qiqing, Qin Shaoyou in the previous generation, Recently, Ni Yunlin, Tang Bohu, Zhu Zhishan, and others such as Li Guinian, Huang Banchuo, Jing Xinmo, Zhuo Wenjun, Hongfu, Xue Tao, Cui Ying, Chaoyun and others are all the same people who changed places. (The Second Chapter of "A Dream of Red Mansions")
Notes
1. Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen and Wu - the six great sages most admired by Confucianism. Yao, Shun, and Yu were the ancient sage kings who abdicated. Tang, Wen, and Wu were the founding emperors of Shang and Zhou.
2. Zhou and Zhao - Duke of Zhou and Duke of Zhao, the two founding heroes of the Zhou Dynasty. Among them, the ritual and music system formulated by Duke Zhou has become a political model respected by Confucianism.
3. Confucius and Mencius - Confucius and Mencius, the founders of Confucianism.
4. Dong, Han, Zhou, Cheng, Zhang, and Zhu—seven representative figures of Confucianism in the Confucian Classics era. Dong Zhongshu, a great Confucian in the Western Han Dynasty, first advocated feudal ethics such as "deposing hundreds of schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone" and "Three Cardinal Guidelines and Five Constant Rules". Han Yu, a great Confucian in the Tang Dynasty, denounced Buddhism and Laoism, revived Confucianism, advocated Taoism, and launched the classical prose movement. Zhou Dunyi, Cheng Yi, Cheng Hao and Zhang Zai were the masters of Neo-Confucianism in the Northern Song Dynasty. Zhu Xi was a master of Neo-Confucianism in the Southern Song Dynasty, and his theory became the ruling ideology of the late feudal period.
5. Chi You and Jiang Gong - the two major rebels in ancient mythology. Chi You once raised an army to attack the Yellow Emperor, but was defeated and killed ("The Classic of Mountains and Seas: The Great Wilderness Bei Jing"). The emperor failed in his fight for the throne and was angered by Mount Buzhou, and was later expelled by Yu ("Huainanzi Benjing Xun").
6. Jie, Zhou, and Shihuang—famous tyrants of Xia, Shang, and Qin.
7. "Wang Mang" sentence - a famous treacherous official and traitor in the past dynasties. Wang Mang usurped the power of the Western Han Dynasty and established a short-lived "new" dynasty; Cao Cao usurped the power of the Eastern Han Dynasty; Huan Wen conspired to usurp the power of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, but died before he could succeed; An Lushan launched the Anshi Rebellion; Qin Hui framed Yue Fei for death.
8. Righteous Qi - that is, the clear, bright and beautiful Qi, Mencius calls it the awe-inspiring Qi, "It is Qi, the most powerful and strong, if it is nourished directly without harm, it will be blocked between heaven and earth. It is Qi is matched with righteousness and Tao; without it, it is discouraged. It is what is born of gathering righteousness and is not taken from the righteousness. If the action is not carried out in the heart, then it is discouraged." ("Mencius Gongsun Chou").
9. Evil spirit - that is, the cruel and perverse spirit. "The sage conquers the heart, and everyone conquers the desire. The gentleman practices righteousness, and the villain acts evil. The inside is convenient for nature, and the outside is consistent with righteousness. Act according to reason, not Those who are attached to things are righteousness; those who are more attached to tastes, those who are lustful about sounds and colors, those who are motivated by joy and anger, and those who do not care about the future patients are evil qi." ("Huainanzi·Explanation")
10. "Xu You" sentence - famous Yishigao people in the past dynasties. Xu You, a hermit in the Yao era. Tao Qian, Ruan Ji, Ji Kang and Liu Ling were hermits in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. The latter three were collectively known as the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest".
11. The sentence "Wang and Xie's two clans" - famous infatuated people in the past dynasties. The Wang and Xie families, namely the Wang Dao and Xie An families of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, were full of talented people. The famous ones include Xie An, Xie Daoyun, Wang Xizhi, Wang Xianzhi, etc. Gu Hutou, a painter of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, was good at figure painting. He was one of the four masters of the Six Dynasties. He was known as the "Three Masters" of talent, painting and infatuation. Empress Chen, the last emperor of Chen Dynasty in the Southern Dynasty, and a lyricist. Tang Minghuang, the emperor of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, was a musician, songwriter, and calligrapher. Huizong of the Song Dynasty, the last emperor of the Northern Song Dynasty, was a calligrapher and painter. He created thin gold calligraphy and was good at flower and bird paintings. Liu Tingzhi, a poet and pipa player in the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Wen Feiqing, a poet and musician in the late Tang Dynasty, is the originator of Huajian Ci. Minangong, a calligrapher and painter of the Northern Song Dynasty, one of the four famous calligraphers and painters of the Song Dynasty. Shi Manqing, poet and calligrapher of the Northern Song Dynasty. Liu Qiqing, a poet in the Northern Song Dynasty and a giant of the graceful school. Qin Shaoyou, a poet, calligrapher and painter in the Northern Song Dynasty, was one of the Four Bachelors of the Su family. His poems are known as "women's language" and "girl's poetry". Ni Yunlin, a landscape painter of the Yuan Dynasty, was good at painting ink and bamboo. Tang Bohu, a painter of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Zhishan, a calligrapher of the Ming Dynasty.
12. "Li Guinian" sentence - a famous and outstanding figure in the past dynasties who advocated righteous heroes. Li Guinian was a court musician during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. Huang Banchuo was an actor who participated in the military drama in the court during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty. Jing Xinmo, a court entertainer during the reign of Emperor Zhuangzong of the Later Tang Dynasty after the Five Dynasties. Xue Tao, a singer in the Tang Dynasty, wrote poems on homemade colored paper, and was known as "Xue Tao Jian". Zhuo Wenjun and Sima Xiangru, Hongfu and Li Jing, Cui Yingying and Zhang Sheng, Chaoyun and Su Shi, all four women can recognize heroes when they have not met or are in despair, and their touching love stories are widely sung.