01
It was written in the book at that time: "The sun is setting in the majestic sorrow of separation, and the east point of the whip is the end of the world. Falling red is not a heartless thing, it turns into spring mud to protect the flowers." Then I remembered it. The falling red flowers are not ruthless to the flowers, they are just another way to protect the flowers. At that time, I probably just understood that things are often seen from different angles, just like the phrase "curve to save the country." Many times when we encounter frustration, we can still leave a ball of hope in our hearts. As long as the ultimate goal is not achieved, the process in between is just an extra test. In this way, we can be less disappointed, less hopeless, less sad, and even less broken.
In recent years, I have discovered that many books on the interpretation of the works of our ancestors have emerged on the market. I rarely dabbled in them before, but later I read one or two books and gradually understood myself from the interpretations of scholars. Money-strapped when reading a book. Maybe it’s because I still haven’t covered enough content, so I still can’t decipher their thoughts and feelings at that time in certain segments of life or ideals. For example, the protagonist in the book - Gong Zizhen, maybe because I studied history in high school, so the representatives of the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties that I remember are Tang poetry, Song lyrics, Yuan opera, Ming and Qing novels. Poetry may have lost its significance long ago in the Qing Dynasty. brilliance. So I probably remember that he was a poet in the Qing Dynasty and wrote a book called "Miscellaneous Poems of Jihai". I once thought that "Miscellaneous Poems of Jihai" was just a poem, but I didn't know that it was a collection of poems, let alone that the author was in What circumstances led me to write it, let alone the feelings and ideals behind it. Now that I read it, I feel that after all I have seen so little.
History is like the rushing Yellow River, which keeps rolling forward and never stops for anyone. And in later generations, we can still see the works left by our predecessors. In those underdeveloped eras, it is enough to show that he was good enough at that time. As the author said, Gong Zizhen's life had its blessings and misfortunes. Fortunately, his talent was recognized, and everyone around him recognized his talent. His political views made politicians afraid to look directly at him, and his talent allowed his poems to be sung. This is a difficult thing to do many times. After all, in the same society, if you are too different, you will be criticized. One is that you are too talented and all living beings are too mediocre; the other is that you are too different and have done many things that others dare not do, so the group attacks you. In his era and in his poems, he achieved this by "keeping close friends in the sea" and "making friends with all the beautiful and famous people". Unfortunately, it was probably because of his sudden and violent death that a generation of talented people fell. What's more, his true character was not recognized by everyone, and many people had one-sided evaluations of him.
In fact, who can make a comprehensive and objective evaluation of whom? We are always used to looking at the world that we like, and criticizing the world that we don't like. From today's perspective, fair evaluations only come from those who truly understand themselves or those who have the same three views as themselves. If you ask everyone to understand you, it is actually a kind of forcing others to do something difficult, and it is even more paranoid about yourself.
02
Because of the book "Miscellaneous Poems of Ji Hai", most people think that Gong Zizhen is a poet. In the book, the author starts from poetry to interpret Gong Zizhen's poems, among which After a closer look at the contents, I found that they cover a wide range of fields: politics, economics, culture, frontiers, geography, classics, dialects, water conservancy, agriculture, etc. Looking at his opinions and remarks, I can't help but wonder: How much of his life did he spend learning about the world? He was not just a dabbler, but he had deep research and claimed to be systematic. When he took the imperial examination, he wrote down his thoughts on the entire country with the feelings of Wang Anshi's reform in his heart. He was considered by the courtiers at the time as " He came with bad intentions" and failed to reach high school in one fell swoop. Many of the ideals and ambitions in my heart were gradually lost in my years as an official.
He once decided to travel around the world, so he spontaneously learned the dialects of various places, looking forward to one day going to that place, being able to integrate into the local area, and see them with his own eyes. Economically, regarding the outflow of silver and the depreciation of copper coins in society at that time, he had his own thoughts about the entire society. He could see the disadvantages and even found a solution, but he did not have the opportunity to display his talents. In addition to classics, he also has his own thoughts on the inheritance of Confucianism. He has also read the classics of each era and is familiar with their contents, including later studying Buddhist scriptures. He has always been self-disciplined and used his own self-discipline to Correct the errors that occurred in the circulation of some classics so that culture can be better passed on.
Looking at the characters of the same period who appeared in the book, those names that I had met at a glance in history books, Chinese language books, and geography books, I couldn’t help feeling that there were so many talented people in that era. They all appear in various fields, and only by doing their best in their lifetime can they be remembered in history. It is undeniable that there will be depressed people in every era. For example, Gong Zizhen himself.
Forced to resign, he gave up what he once pursued, became a commoner, and returned to his hometown. Even if he had a court in his heart, he had to let go of being an idler for a while. However, people with ideals in their hearts cannot be idlers, so they thought of breaking the precept and writing poems again, which resulted in the poems we see today. As the book says: “I have been abandoned by fate and the world, but I still do not assert that I still have love and goodwill towards the world.
"Whether a person is hiding or advancing, whether he is unknown or seeking fame, can he be completely free?" If you have a reputation, how can you talk about being open-minded? If you have never been stained with fame, how can you talk about being open-minded? "You can imagine how many nights Gong Zizhen asked herself this question over and over again, saying I won't give up, I will still persevere, I just changed my approach, but in my heart I was beating myself up over and over again. He asked, but at the same time he was afraid that this would be the end of his life. He wanted to convince himself to let go, but he was also afraid that he would not be able to let go. How would he be different from ordinary people like this?
In the end, he found the way to "be a complete person?" You can build Taoism outside the political stream. When you are powerless to do anything about the political stream, you can perfect Taoism to correct the current situation. "There were three thousand kalpas in heaven and five hundred years in this world." "Isn't what we are suffering just like what the Buddhists say, that we are experiencing calamity? Isn't a person's life also a practice?
03
The book says: " People in the peaceful era may not understand the power of one person. Individuals really should not underestimate themselves. He has the ability to turn things around. "I guess that when Gong Zizhen realized this, she was looking at a certain teacher in the countryside. She never thought that his thoughts would transcend time and space and come to our world, right?
Everything in the world wants Nothing will be easy, but is it difficult not to do it? Maybe everyone has a voice in their heart not to give up, but compared with the difficulties, many people will fail. If you want to complete it, don’t think too much, just work hard. I remember when I was studying geography in junior high school, the teacher told us how serious desertification was in China. The thought that came to my mind at that time was, that’s it. Plant trees so that their roots can absorb water and retain moisture underneath. When the trees grow up, they can also block wind and sand. When there are enough trees, there will be no desert. Before I could express my thoughts, the teacher interrupted. It reminded me that it is impossible to plant trees in the desert, and I told us how difficult it is later. However, the data in recent years have come out, and we have also seen that the desertification area in China is decreasing, and even from space. The photos taken show that the once golden area was gradually replaced by green? There is a hint of the persistence of the tree planter back then. I guess he didn’t think it would be successful when he did it, but he just tried his best, and the results slowly came out. If you persevere, you will have your heart's desire.
In every era, there are things that make us feel unfair. We all know that it is unfair, but many people recognize the injustice and ignore it. They don’t think about how to change the injustice, because what they often say is: “I don’t have the ability and power, these things should be left to those who have the ability and power. "I like a sentence in the book very much: "Unconditional commoners can do greater and better things in making meritorious deeds than conditional princes and generals." "What I insist on is not to neglect your own abilities and abilities. If you persist in your heart, please continue to persist. As long as your original intention remains unchanged, everything in the universe will reward you in its own way.
< p> In many cases, there is more than one choice in life. The important thing is to find the one that suits you. Just like in Gong Zizhen's era, the social atmosphere was to learn and be good at becoming an official, but there were also many "apes and cranes". What they pursue is the literary morality they want to pursue, and they choose to live in seclusion in a corner, preach and teach, and strive to continue their study of classics and talents. This is not a kind of provenance. They have turned their lives into an army, and their origin is derived from it. Take control by yourself. When Gong Zizhen lamented that his ambitions were difficult to achieve and his ambitions could not be fulfilled, he just handed over his source to others. He needed people who understood him politically and supported him, but at that time In the traditional culture, being an official is for a reputation, but not for performance. This is contrary to his pursuit in the general environment. It is conceivable that the result is difficult to realize his dream.Looking at the entire universe and the entire history, we are just small grains of sand in it. Let alone a talented person like Gong Zizhen who was in a low mood when he first left officialdom. How can ordinary people understand it? During the years when Dao Gong Zizhen was an official, in a blink of an eye, white people with freckles on their temples appeared. There were few friends at that time. Yes, time has been washing, and we kept meeting and leaving. At a certain moment, you will think of the person you used to be, but you can’t remember his face.
In many moments of decision-making in life, we are often faced with difficulties because no one knows. What will happen after we choose? We can't know in advance whether it will be better to choose another one. When the one we choose is not what we originally thought, how many people can make a break and make a complete break with the past? What?
It is difficult to advance or retreat in the history of Yongrong. How many people are angry and angry? All living beings are suffering, and you are not the only one. We are making this choice almost every moment. There are many people in the world who keep making choices and regretting. How many people stop their losses in time when they realize that they have made the wrong choice?
Life is a practice, what is it? It is probably a heart that is not afraid of favors and humiliations, watching the ups and downs of a short life of several decades. Each of us has spent many years pursuing you. Some things you like can only be put down in an instant. Just like a falling flower, it doesn't mean that you have no feelings for the branches and leaves, but you are guarding them in a different way. In many of the darkest moments in life, what you need is to let go of yours. Obsession.
When you understand that there is more than one way to achieve your goals, you will no longer struggle with the question "This road is dead, where is the road?" because you will find another way and start again.