Text/Han Qianchang
? -1-
The ancient Chinese people had a very strange attitude towards money and wealth. On the one hand, he respects and firmly believes in the creed that "money can make ghosts grind"; on the other hand, he despises, saying that "money is like dung, but benevolence and righteousness are worth thousands of gold." This contradictory attitude of opposition and unity has lasted for thousands of years.
The ancients’ attitude towards money was not only a matter of face, but also a matter of personality. For example, Jia Yucun in Dream of Red Mansions is obviously so poor that he is living under someone else's roof and is even worried about the cost of taking the exam. However, he still pretends to be nonchalant in the face of Zhen Shiyin's generous gift of silver. I'm afraid it's too polite and insults the dignity of a scholar.
This is actually no wonder Jia Yucun. The ancient Chinese followed the Confucian injunction that "everything is of inferior quality, only reading is of high quality." How can a scholar value money? That is the character and pursuit of inferior people.
Jia Baoyu also ridiculed people who pursue fame as "luke beetles" and regarded Xue Baochai's words, which persuaded him to seek fame, as "bastard words".
Under this concept, money has a rather indecent nickname - "A Du Wu".
According to "Shi Shuo Xin Yu Gui Proverb No. 10": Wang Yifu (Wang Yan), a famous scholar in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, was "elegant and far-sighted". He was a noble man and never mentioned the word "money". His wife wanted to test him, so she asked her maid to take money to surround the bed while he was asleep. After Wang Yifu woke up, he was so angry that he even called the maid to "lift the ahduwu".
"Aduwu" simply means "that thing". In today's words: Put that thing away! He is so aloof and aloof, to the point where he doesn't even want to speak the word money, which shows how unbearable money is in his eyes.
Because I hate money, I don’t mention the word money.
When some people show off their wealth, they take pride in wasting money.
There is another familiar allusion here, which is the story of Wang Kai and Shi Chong's fight for wealth in the Western Jin Dynasty. In order to compete to see who was richer, one used sugar water to wash pots; one used paraffin as firewood; one used red fat to plaster the walls; one used spices and mud; one used silk to make a 40-mile barrier; and the other used silk to make a 40-mile barrier. Just do it and fight back within 50 miles...
This means that whoever wastes more money will be richer. There is no doubt that they love money, otherwise they would not accumulate wealth that is so rich that it can rival the country. However, the end result of love is to destroy.
As far as the hierarchy of the entire feudal society is concerned, there has always been the saying of "scholars, farmers, industry and commerce". The social status of businessmen is the lowest.
Look at the ranking of the wealthy families in Dream of Red Mansions -
"Jia Shi Wang Xue".
Although he is an imperial merchant, his silver is flying like heavy snow in a good year, and his pearls are like earth and gold are like iron. But the Xue family has the lowest ranking among the four major families.
Here is a detail -
Jia Zheng "lightly" found an official position for Jia Yucun with just one sentence, while the Xue family had to pay a heavy price in order to smooth the lawsuit. Silver taels. In ancient times, the importance of political status was self-evident. No matter how rich a rich person is, he still hopes to donate his official position. In a society that pays attention to family status, having only a threshold but no status is also a loss of face. Jia Rong's daughter-in-law Qin Keqing was going to be buried. In order to bring glory to the Jia family, Jia Zhen spent a lot of money to donate a vacant position for her son. Besides, wealth needs political status as a protective umbrella to be safe.
In classical literature, rich people are often the models of unkindness and injustice. The author often spares no effort in writing to vividly express their stinginess and greed for money, and also vividly expresses the heroes' righteousness and wealth. It seems that money should only be used to waste, and those holding money bags are either not good people, or at least they don't look like good people.
In Water Margin, Ximen Qing, a businessman who is good at management and appears to be talented, is described as a rogue, while the bandits who kill people and steal goods are all heroes who regard money as dirt. In order to show that they valued justice over wealth, they scattered the money like stones. When Lu Da rescued Jin Cuilian, the tiger general Li Zhong was despised by Lu Da because he could barely take out two taels of silver while shaking his head.
It’s no wonder that the rich earn their money through hard work and pick it out between their teeth. And the money of the bandits was stolen and robbed. If you don’t know that it is hard-earned, of course you won’t cherish it. Li Bai, who often talks about heroes and strong men, even with the character of an immortal, would have had the courage to mix a five-flowered horse and a golden fur coat with wine and the confidence to "come back after all the golden fur" if it hadn't been for the generous support from his friends and the reward from the emperor? Although Tao Yuanming could not give up for five buckets of rice, he did not dare to say such big words. He has planted chrysanthemums and received the earth's energy.
In Daiyu in the Red Mansion, the way to reward the little maid Jiahui for running errands is to grab a few handfuls and give them to her. As for how much money those two handfuls cost, I believe she has no idea. But when the little maid got the money, she immediately found a reliable person to keep it for her. In Baoyu's words, no matter what happens to him in the future, as long as there is no shortage of us to eat, drink and have fun. But Baochai, who is also a wealthy lady, often works as a female celebrity until late at night. When Tanchun reformed the Grand View Garden and distributed related benefits, he could also think about the minimum living security issue for ordinary servants.
Why do Baochai Dai, who both come from a noble background, do things so differently?
Because Daiyu was born into a scholarly family, she lived a life without worries about food and clothing since she was a child.
She had never seen human suffering before, so she looked forward to a heavy snowfall that would never stop in her poems to place her poetic thoughts. She could not understand the pain in the hearts of farmers at all. And Baoyu, the son of Gaoliang, is in the ivory tower. As long as he can still eat the rouge paste on the lips of his sisters today, he will not understand Grandma Liu's lament that a dish called eggplant requires ten chickens.
But Baochai knew exactly how the Xue family's money came from. She has followed her father around since she was a child, and she knows the careful calculation in the business world. She has also seen that in the world, besides flowers and brocades, there are also coarse linen and linen clothes. She also knows that things in the world are impermanent and there is no feast that lasts forever. If the building collapses one day, Acupuncture Nvhong's skills can at least ensure that basic life is safe. Because of this, she was able to understand the difficulty of taking care of her servants and take care of their concerns. This is the overall situation awareness and crisis awareness that businessmen have in mind to prepare for a rainy day.
In "The Red Mansion", people often see the poetic and picturesque scenery of talented people and beauties in the Grand View Garden, but ignore that there is another kind of human truth outside the Grand View Garden. There are also some people who are struggling to survive.
When Jia Zhen wanted to spend all her money on her daughter-in-law’s funeral; when Jia Lian wanted to take out the money from the frying pan and spend it; when Jia She used a lot of money to search for women, and Jia Lian Yun Jiaqin and others were interfering, arranging, and flattering for an errand.
While Xue Pan was living and drinking all day long, Zhang Dehui, the servant of the Xue family, was making his own living and doing his small business. There are also poor people like Grandma Liu who are looking forward to a spring rain so that they can plant seeds, so as not to carry their dignity in their waistbands and fight against the autumn wind.
In such a peculiar society, those who create wealth are either cautious or empty-handed, while those who plunder and possess wealth are greedy and insatiable. He also kept saying "A Du Wu". They despise wealth on the outside, but in their hearts they are thinking about how to obtain more wealth. They take pride in plundering and possessing wealth, but regard the creators of wealth as inferior people. In such a society, it would be strange for someone who does not produce duplicity.
Under this strange logic, history will also show a strange appearance.
Everyone praises Emperor Kangxi’s cultural and military achievements, but they don’t know that his successive conquests have already emptied the Qing Dynasty’s treasury. He left with unparalleled honors, but left to Yongzheng a situation that was prosperous on the surface but riddled with holes on the inside. And Yongzheng worked hard for many years and exhausted himself to death before he gradually strengthened the fat Qing Dynasty and laid a good foundation for the later Qianlong. However, he has been saddled with eternal infamy, and few people mention his achievements.
What history remembers is the "prosperity of Kangxi and Qianlong", and Yongzheng in the middle was only ruthless.
An emperor who can make money and understand finance is not as good as an emperor who can fight and spend money.
For the common people, it is a glorious thing for their ancestors to become a high official, but it seems that they are not very good at it if they become a rich man. Sometimes they would even have their pigtails pulled and their tails cut off, which would become an indelible stain for generations to come.
As a result, under such a cultural background, both the official and the private sector did not attach importance to business and devalued the social status of businessmen. This led to later isolation and overall backwardness. When Western capitalism began to sprout and merchant capitalists became the huge driving force for historical development, our national capital struggled to survive under high pressure, and overseas trade became an untouchable high-voltage line. When the world's trends are sweeping, the wheel of our history seems to have come to an abrupt halt.
Therefore, it is inevitable that the building in the Red Mansion will collapse, and it is inevitable that the overthrow of the feudal building is quietly brewing.
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No matter what they say, everyone still thinks that money is a good thing. At the wine table, you can wave your arms and say that brotherhood is the most precious, but in private, money is the most useful.
It’s just that history has gone from one extreme to another.
Today’s era seems to be an era where it is shameful to leave money in three sentences. What is posted in the circle of friends is that so-and-so people who are richer than you are working hard to make money in the snowy sunshine in the south, but you are in the cold night in the north like spring all year round, looking forward to poetry and the distance.
In the past, it was in vain to read all the poems and books without talking about the Dream of Red Mansions. Now, if you don't talk about how to make money, even if the pig doesn't like it, the dog won't like it.
Lower-level officials call their superiors boss; grassroots cadres say they work for someone; the aunt who shines shoes has become the boss's wife; primary school cadres engage in power-for-money transactions...
Overnight, it seemed that there was an era in which all people were engaged in business. Without money, it is difficult for people to find the same topic. In the past, it was "money can make the mill go round", but now it has become "money can make the mill go round."
A strange logic of wealth was born and grew for thousands of years, but it only took a few decades to move from one strange thing to another. Thirty years ago, a man named Chi Zhiqiang sang -
Qianqian, you murderous knife...
Thirty years later, a man named Chi Zhiqiang sang: People, because they have no money, their women become other people’s mistresses...
Why is it so subversive?
I have two opinions -
1. I am afraid of poverty.
Look at Jia Yucun in the Red Mansion. He is full of literature and ambition, but he cannot put it into practice because he has no money. As long as he can get by, how can he, an intellectual who has read poetry and books, live in a ruined temple, and even let a disciple hold on to the past? He can only peek at the woman he likes and lust after him; he is eager to get help but has It's hard to speak; after being favored by someone, you still have to pretend to be indifferent and aloof.
Once Jia Yucun gains power, he will intensify his efforts to monetize his political resources. He was really scared of poverty.
It must be said that poverty is an almost incurable harm to people. And once they gain power, the first solution people think of is to use money to regain the lost face, and to raise the dignity that has been low, so high that people can look up to it.
But can this really cure it? Maybe money can plug the bleeding wounds, but it can never erase the scars engraved on the heart. That scar is a permanent pain in the chest, and the only way to relieve the pain is to cover it up with more money. However, the results are often concealed.
As a result, Jia Yucun made a lot of money soon after becoming an official. Therefore, even after he was dismissed and reinstated, he remained the same. It’s really because the harm of poverty is not in the body but in the bones, but not everyone has the courage to scrape the bones to heal the wounds.
Zhao Dehan and Qi Tongwei in "In the Name of the People" are both greedy because they are afraid of poverty. Because of poverty, people will lack calcium, and without calcium, the knees will easily become weak. How can a weak knee stand upright in this sensual and sensual world?
After a hundred years of poverty and humiliation in modern times, the Chinese people are really afraid of poverty. After arriving in New China, another three years of natural disasters struck unexpectedly. Faced with hunger and the test of life and death, how much are face and bones worth? There is hope only when people are alive.
After decades of development, we have got rid of hunger. But there are new worries. In the past, everyone was poor together, but now the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting richer, and the gap is getting wider. It is inevitable not to make people anxious. Physical hunger can destroy the body, but spiritual hunger can destroy the spirit. Because——
2. Because in a society where there are no rules or rules can be broken and trampled at will. Sometimes nothing works except money.
In a cultural background with a contractual spirit, in a society where rules are well implemented, people have equal opportunities. Fairness and justice can be upheld to the greatest extent possible. Therefore, people can use their abilities and talents to create the wealth and life they want under the same rules. People's views on money and wealth will certainly become more rational.
And when social rules become shackles that restrict the hands and feet of some people, but become advantageous resources controlled by other people, social values ????will inevitably be disrupted, and the value of money will inevitably be abnormally highlighted.
Let’s take a look at the Red Mansion first. Xue Pan beat someone to death and took away Yinglian. According to the rules, it was of course a capital crime. But what's the result? Xue Pan, who had committed the crime, went home as if nothing had happened. His confidence certainly does not come from his method of beating people, but from his family's wealth. Having money can settle everything. Isn't it just a human life, just a few hundred taels of silver. If the Xue family had no money, he would not dare to lend him a few courages from Xue Pan. You see, when he met Liu Xianglian, who was not afraid of anything, he was so stunned that he couldn't even call his grandfather.
Some people accused Feng Yuan’s family of being greedy for money. But have you ever thought about it, what if there are ten thousand unwilling people? If we continue to fight hard, it will only cost more lives. For Xue Pan, isn't it just a matter of flies and mosquitoes to spend another thousand taels of silver and dig a few pits to bury people?
People like Feng Yuan are still ordinary people. Sister Feng faced the officials of the dynasty, and without moving a finger, she crushed Brother Zhang Jin to death and got three thousand taels of silver in exchange for them. How can you resist this method of turning your hands into clouds and rain?
What are rules? Money rules.
What is written is a clear rule for the fish to follow, a red line that cannot be crossed. Hidden behind the scenes are the unspoken rules set by the swordsmen. It's a fishing line—the kind you put out for a long time to catch a big fish.
The list goes on and on.
Such rules themselves are used by some people to break through.
At the critical moment, you will find that the rules you regard as gods are completely useless. When your life is in danger, praying to heaven and earth is not as effective as having a heavy amount of money in your pocket. Therefore, the incense of the God of Wealth in the temple is always stronger than the incense of the Bodhisattva. He was chanting Amitabha, but the incense table was enshrining Mr. Guan Er.
In an era where primary school cadres are bribed to vote, you cannot accuse a person who values ??money more than life.
So of course "time is money" can be shouted loudly as a slogan; Armani will always be more popular than n representatives; the scientific concept of development is not as powerful as destroying the three outlooks; the Chinese dream naturally does not cry in a BMW Dreams are more vivid and concrete.
Fortunately, there are always people who understand.
Qin Keqing in the Red Mansion is one. She had already seen through the corruption beneath the Jia family's gold and jade. She entrusted her dream to Sister Feng, but Sister Feng turned a deaf ear to her heartfelt words.
But you can’t blame Sister Feng.
Because Keqing has gone to heaven to become a fairy, she needs to abide by the rules of the fairy world, while Sister Feng still needs to struggle under the rules of the human world. If she wants to live a decent and high-quality life, the rules must be beneficial to her, so she can only be a participant in making the rules or use money to accumulate another set of hidden rules. Only in this way can she control or take advantage of the rules without being unspoken.
Grandma Liu, the female locust, is also a sensible person.
After Mrs. Wang’s enlightenment, she bought real estate in the countryside, managed her own small life, and made a farmhouse lively. Later, it became a spring and autumn mission of helping those in need. I really don’t know what the dandy sons of the Jia family who were in jail at that time thought.
Baochai and Tanchun are also sensible people.
It’s a pity that the fault lies not in bad luck, but in being a daughter.
Xichun realized it early.
Unfortunately, her boat only carried her alone.
Money is such a good thing.
When the four major families in the Red Mansion were powerful and wealthy, they all used "high-end" soft tobacco to paper their windows. But once they are unlucky and out of money, what locks them is not the Bisha cupboard but the iron shackles.
When the daughters of the Red Mansion were rich, they could sing and dance in the Grand View Garden. If they had no money, they could only accompany other rich people in the leisurely painting boats and gossip.
In reality, many beautiful women would rather cry in a BMW than laugh on a bicycle. The former "scholars, peasants, industry and merchants" have become merchants, workers and peasants. Talking about money is no longer a shameful thing, and those who don’t talk about money deserve to be lonely.
However, how many people can have the sharp eyes of Qin Keqing and Grandma Liu and be able to see through this mortal world at a glance?
Perhaps, occasionally someone will raise their arms at the wine table and say:
What money are we talking about! ? Talking about money is vulgar!
But when he turned around, he said in his heart:
No money? If you don’t have money, why are you pretending? !
This kind of sitcom will definitely continue to be staged.
As for when will the show last?
Who knows...
Postscript——
The reason why I did not directly explain my personal views on money is because I do not want to make value judgments. In a pluralistic civilization, existence is reasonable.
I just feel that many Chinese people, especially Chinese literati, have a distorted view of money for a long time. This has a lot to do with the long-term influence of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Some concepts have been integrated into our blood over the long historical process. Our view of money is unhealthy and irrational, causing an imbalance in our spiritual world, so it often swings. Money is money. It only represents an equal exchange relationship of a certain value. It is not a moral symbol in itself. But how to look at it correctly is an important thing. The most important point, I think, is that money can only serve our material and spiritual world. It is a tool that can only be controlled by us, not the other way around.