Issue 4: Listen to Advice

Hello, this is a civilized program, and you are welcome to travel to 1003 AD. This year in China is the sixth year of Xianping in the Song Dynasty, and Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty was on the throne.After he read the historical materials of this year, I have a feeling, that is, if there is really such a manipulator behind history, we really don’t know whether he is a child who likes to hide and seek, or a foresighted old man., then at least in the year 1003, both personalities were reflected.

Let me give you an example. For example, in the northwest, the Song Dynasty lost Lingzhou to Xixia. Of course, it was very tense.Therefore, a new line of defense has been set up in the Qingyang area of ​​​​Ningxia, Gansu today.What are you afraid of?They were afraid that Li Jiqian from Xixia would lead his troops to attack, but he didn't expect that Li Jiqian not only failed to fight, but also led his troops to fight against Tubo further west, and Li Jiqian died in the process.He didn't know about this news in the Song Dynasty in 1003, so he was still guarding it.Do you think history is playing hide and seek?joke.But it was also in this year that Li Jiqian's grandson, the famous Li Yuanhao, gave birth to a baby. His aunt fell to the ground. No one knows whether he will be important in the future.No one thought that this little guy would found the Xixia Empire 30 years later and bring huge trouble to both the Song Dynasty and the Liao Dynasty.

So you see, what’s interesting is that the next chapter in history started just this year, but no one at that time knew where it was going. So do you think history is also a foresighted old man?Let's look at the right direction again. The armies of Song and Liao fought a battle in Wangdu this year, which is southwest of Baoding today. As expected, the Song Dynasty lost again.The news the Song Dynasty received at that time was that general Wang Jizhong had died in battle. This Wang Jizhong was not an ordinary person, he was very important.Why?Because he had followed Song Zhenzong since he was a child, he was regarded as the emperor's own. Zhenzong had not yet become emperor at that time, so Emperor Zhenzong, do you think Fa Xiao is dead?He was very sad and awarded a lot of official titles posthumously, but in fact Wang Ji was not dead, but was captured by the Liao army.Do you think this is hide and seek?joke.

But Wang Jizhong’s story is not over. Next year, in 1004, during the Battle of Chanyuan, Wang Jizhong became a key person and the key to the peace talks between Song and Liao through this clever close relationship between the two parties.hub.Would you say that history is once again planning for big events in the future through a small event?So think about us today. You receive various signals from reality every day, but it is difficult to tell whether these signals are taken seriously. They may be just a fake shot, but they may also have profound meanings.Specifically, let’s go back to 1003 AD. So what topic should we talk about this year?Let’s talk about a person this year, the current Prime Minister Li Hang.Li Hao From September 1003 to 1004, only Li Hang was left as prime minister in Zheng Shitang of Zhongshu Province.Li Hang will pass away in 1004 next year, so if our civilized program does not talk about Li Hang, we will have no chance to talk about him.But the important thing is not this person, but that he has a very rare political opinion. In the entire history of China, this kind of political opinion can be regarded as a flash of inspiration.Once Li Hang died, few people spoke out this idea boldly, openly, and thoroughly.So this year we must talk about Li Hang’s shocking proposition.Okay, with this question in mind, let’s travel back to 1003 AD.

Let’s briefly introduce Li Hang first. He was from Feixiang, Mingzhou, which is today’s Handan, Hebei Province. It is said that in 980 AD, which was the time of Song Taizong, he won the Jinshi.This status was very noble at that time, and then he had a smooth journey in the officialdom, and became the chief minister, that is, deputy prime minister and central-level official.During this process, of course, Song Taizong had been observing him from the sidelines and thought he was a good person, so in 995, he assigned him a very important task to the prince, who later became Song Zhenzong Zhao Hengdang.teacher.You must know that this appointment was a big deal in the era of imperial power.Just think about it, a person today can make friends from all walks of life, and there are all kinds of people, but if you are willing to let your children be fully influenced by one of your friends, think about it.How many friends like this do you have left?Yes, the emperor at that time also had this trouble. The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty seemed to be very great people, but they were willing to hand over the future prince of the country to him. Under his full influence, the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty could not choose a few.Yes, so this appointment shows that Song Taizong fully recognized Li Hang.And this is also a big deal for Li Hang, because this is a predetermined position of prime minister for him. If you want to wait until the prince becomes an emperor in the future, this new emperor is not familiar with the civil and military affairs of the Manchu Dynasty, so you will be familiar with him.If he is not the prime minister, who should be the prime minister?Yes, Li Hao later took this path.After Song Zhenzong succeeded to the throne, he served as prime minister for six years until his death at the age of 58.

Li Han's resume is so simple. We have finished talking about it, but I guess no matter what I say, you still feel strange to this name.Who is Li Hang?This name sounds quite strange.That's right, the word "Han" is the derogatory word we use, which is called "Han". Of course, the word "Han" alone has no derogatory meaning. It refers to the appearance of water vapor that is unmistakable, called "Tang".

If I tell you that Li Hang, whom everyone is not familiar with, has a prime minister called a holy elephant or a sage in history, you may be even more surprised.Yes, in our history in China, those who can be called saints must have reached the pinnacle of achievement in their profession.If you count Confucius, the sage of literature, Sun Wu, the sage of war, Wang Xizhi, the sage of calligraphy, Du Fu, the sage of poetry, Wu Daozi, the sage of transformation, and the Martial Saint, the Martial Saint is controversial. Some say it is Jiang Ziya, some say it is Guan Yu, and some say it is Guan Yu.It belongs to Yue Fei, but you can tell that he is a well-known celebrity no matter what.

Then let’s take a look at this icon again. Li Hao, hey, who are you?If you are not a professional researcher or an in-depth lover of Song history, you may not have even heard of his name.Yes, it is said that we have many famous names in ancient China, such as Xiao He and Chen Ping in the Western Han Dynasty, Zhuge Liang in the Three Kingdoms, Wang Meng in the Pre-Qin Dynasty, and Fang Xuanling, Du Ru, Huiyao, and Chongsong Jing in the Tang Dynasty.In the Song Dynasty, there was Zhao Pu in the front, Fan in the back, and Wang Anshi and Sima Guang in the middle. Which one is not more famous than you, Li Hao?Just tell me how it was your turn to be the holy elephant. Then do you think you gave him such a nickname because he was a flatterer of the Prime Minister's generation?No, the first person to give the name Li Hang was Wang Dan. Wang Dan served as Li Hang's deputy. After Li Hang's death, he served as prime minister for more than ten years.

As a former colleague, Wang Dan initially disapproved of some of Li Hang's actions. However, after Li Hang's death, the longer time passed and the longer Wang Dan was the boss, the more he discovered that Li Hang was really smart., so he lamented that Li Hao was really a saint, which led to people inside and outside the court beginning to honor Li Hang as the Holy Elephant.Please note that I emphasize again that this incident occurred many years after Li Hang's death, so there is no issue of flattery.If you feel that the evaluations of these contemporaries are inevitably exaggerated, then let’s take a look at another one. This is great. Wang Fuzhi, a great thinker more than 600 years later, also has a frighteningly high evaluation of Li Hang in this Song Dynasty treatise., he said that Li Hang's knowledge far exceeded that of Yao Chong in the Tang and Song Dynasties who recorded Sima Guang and other famous figures.Alas, it seems that Li Hang does have something, but what exactly do you have, and what great things have you done?If we look at historical data, we find that what Li Hang did was nothing more than being honest in government, speaking out and daring to remonstrate. To put it bluntly, he was using Confucian moral principles to fight against himself and stay away from the emperor.Regarding this kind of thing, for example, Li Hao has a very famous joke, saying that one day Emperor Zhenzong wanted to make the Liu family in the harem a noble concubine.Noble Concubine, so one night Emperor Zhenzong sent someone to find Li Hao with a handwritten photo written by him, which was just a piece of paper, hoping to get his support.

Can I, the empress, be a concubine?That?After Li Hao read the note, he took a candle directly in front of the messenger, burned the note on the candle, and while burning, asked the messenger to guide Zhenzong.Just say that I, Li Hao, do not agree. This seems a bit bold, but there is no way. Li Han is always the teacher of Emperor Zhenzong, so it is normal for him to be a little arrogant in his words and actions.In other words, what does it mean to be upright and honest, to speak out and dare to speak out? How often do such things exist in Chinese history?Comparing you with Wei Zheng of the previous dynasty, comparing you with Kou Zhun of the same era, and comparing you with Fan Zhongyan who was a little later, there is nothing unique. Li Hang will never be able to bear the word "holy elephant" based on this kind of thing alone..There are actually not many historical materials about Li Hang. After reading them all, I feel that there is only one statement that is really special.This statement is particularly important. I have to read the original text to you.He said that he would be in the middle for fifteen years, and he would be a minister at home and abroad, and all benefits and harms would be repaid.This young person serves his country and becomes his country.Li Xing's position as prime minister is very important, and I don't have any big contributions. My only contribution worth mentioning is all the suggestions made by officials of all sizes inside and outside the court. I ignored all the suggestions that were about eliminating harm.You heard it right, this is what Li Hang means. I ignore all policy suggestions, whether good or bad, about doing this or that. This is my most important contribution.What are you talking about?Listen, you are not just a retired stubborn old man in the park, you are a prime minister.

Hey, as a senior leader of the country, you listen to everyone’s opinions. Isn’t this a basic quality?Hearing both brings light, listening partially brings darkness. You must have heard of this famous saying, right?Well, our episode of Civilization is set in 1003 AD, and we’re going to solve that mystery.Li Hang is such a famous prime minister, why did he say this?What's the rationale behind this?The reason why Li Hang’s words are important and shocking is that they touch upon a key principle in the design of our traditional Chinese political system, that is, as a person with rights, you must listen to opinions and suggestions, especiallyCritical suggestions.The reason seems to be very simple. If you have rights, you can do whatever you want.So advice from all directions is the brake pad and antidote to your power, right?I remember that when we were in middle school, we learned a text called Warring States Policy, in which Zou Ji satirized the King of Qi for accepting remonstrances, saying that it was the State of Qi.

During the Warring States Period, there was a man named Zou Ji in the Qi State. He was a very high-ranking official. He always cared about himself and another handsome man, namely Mr. Xu. Who was more beautiful?Then ask your wife, ask your concubine, and ask your guests.Hey, everyone says you are beautiful, you are the most beautiful.As a result, Zou Ji actually met the Xu Gong later and saw that he was far inferior to the Xu Gong, so he had an idea.The simple summary of this experience is that everyone who praises me is asking for something from me, so those who praise me are false. Anyone who scolds me, alas, is good to me and is true.

Later, Zou Ji told the king of Qi about this experience. When the king of Qi heard that it made sense, he issued an order, saying, if you can point out my faults in front of me, you will be rewarded.If you don't dare to face me in person, write a note in writing and tell me that you will be rewarded. If you don't dare to face me outside, and criticize me in public outside, you will still be rewarded if I hear you.Then it is said that after doing this, the politics of Qi State will be improved.

This story is very popular in China. We learned this principle when we were in middle school.Behind this is a set of political assumptions. As long as someone pays close attention to it, those in power do not need to be responsible for what you say. As long as you have the courage and attitude to speak, you will definitely get a political outcome that is clear and clear.Did anyone say that?Look at the holy word of the saint, isn’t there an ear in the traditional Chinese character?The reason why a saint is a saint is that he must listen.You see, the most famous pair of monarchs and ministers in Chinese history are Tang Taizong and Wei Zheng. They relied on this set of logic to perform a political drama.Whenever Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty made a mistake, Wei Zheng would have to criticize it, and Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty would have to tell me to correct it, and then politics would get better.

So what is this subtext?At this time, the two of them must have gone to see the monster and said that the performance by the two of us was so wonderful, didn't you write it down?One is outspoken and dares to take the sword, the other is open-minded and accepts the sword, a famous minister through the ages, and a wise king through the ages. It is really a political story of mutual achievement.Therefore, daring to listen to opinions and daring to accept opinions has become political correctness in the Chinese court.But is this assumption correct?Few people in history have doubted it.

To this day, the Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty, Li Hao, we are talking about, suddenly said, "Don't give me suggestions, and I won't mention them if you do." It's just like the anti-fraud notice posted in the bank today, asking everyone not to listen.No viewing, no transfer.The key is that he should regard this as his only contribution to serving the country as prime minister.It’s incredible, is there any truth behind Li Hang’s words?

Then why doesn't Li Hang want to listen?It is recommended that we first listen to the reasons given by Li Hang himself. He gave two reasons. The first one was that those who had just passed the Jinshi examination could not even do simple things such as how to do things, how to stand, and how to carry luggage., when he met me, he talked to me about his ideals, his achievements, and hoped that I would promote him.I can't talk to these people about running the country. If I listen to them talking nonsense, it is called winning people's hearts according to the popular saying.Sorry, I can't do it.This is the first reason. The second reason is that the country's system has been established. If I do something or change something according to the ideas of those who give opinions, it will harm many people.Benefit.Those villains only put forward opinions in order to climb up the ladder, and did not consider that what he said and did would harm the common people.You see, Li Hang has only two reasons. One is that they can't do it. What opinions do they have?The other thing is that it’s good now. What opinions do they have?Does this sound a bit arrogant and domineering?Please note that this is the same book I mentioned just now. More than 600 years later, Wang Duanxuan added a large space to Li Hang in the Song Dynasty.Wang Fuzhi classified and summarized seven situations in which suggestions are given. I will not go into the details. In short, his conclusion is that no matter what suggestions you make, I don’t care whether your level is high or low, whether your original intention is good or bad.Those in power who make suggestions, say this is good or that is bad, none of them are worth listening to.Alas, these words are so absolute. If these words were not printed in black and white in Wang Fuzhi's book, I would have thought they came from some outlaw, haha.

I recommend an article that is very imaginative. The article by Lin Hu from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences is called Reform Party Struggles in Scholar-official Politics, which introduces Wang Fuzhi’s political theory in detail.After reading this article, you will find that Wang Fuzhi has his own reasons.In fact, if we step aside and think about it calmly, this is in line with our common sense.You want to give advice to a powerful person, what's behind it?It’s often our own purpose, and we have our own calculations, right?Human nature.For example, today I brought a book, this memoir by the last emperor Puyi, called My First Half of Life, which is a very exciting memoir. He said in this book that he said that I should not be emperor, and I abdicated. On the surface,Everyone around me cares about me.

An idea today, a memorial tomorrow to give me suggestions, but I know very well that each of them has their own little calculation. Some people advocate business as usual, just pretend that you are still the emperor, why?Because only in this way can the interests of this group of people be protected.For example, former Minister of Internal Affairs Shaoying, he can continue to be in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and there is a bit of oil and water here.There is also Puyi's own biological father, Prince Chun Zaifeng, who can still receive a salary of more than 40,000 taels of silver per year as usual.

Of course, there are also people who advocate change, Liu Yang, going abroad, and seeing the world, so that they can be restored in the future.But the opinions on Liu Yang's destination were different. For example, Luo Zhenyu, who had been to Japan, advocated that he go to Japan, and Huang Gao, who had served as European minister, advocated that he go to Europe.But from Pu Yi's point of view, hey, I'm very aware of your little thoughts.You have a conspiracy to hold the former emperor of China in your hands. Whether in Japan or Europe, you want to hoard them yourself.

Even some of the minions below are making similar ideas. For example, Puyi wrote in his memoirs that he had a sixth uncle named Zai Xun, and Zai Xun had a retainer named Wu Xibao. He only wrote a lot of excerpts and kept urging PuyiWe must use the law, understand the law, study the law, and use the law to learn the theory. Why is this in line with the trend of the times?Puyi thought it made sense at first, but when he asked about it later, he discovered that Wu Xibao himself was a lawyer, and using the term "jurist" means referring to himself.

So you see, Puyi is no longer the emperor at this time and has no power. However, with only such a small aura of power, the people below are deliberately trying to package their own interests by making suggestions, so those in power can be careless.?So you see, if the person below is trying to flatter you outright, then of course you have to be wary, but the motive is on the table after all, doesn't he just want to please you?If, on the other hand, it is the people around you who have the right to give you advice, even some harsh advice, then you have to be even more careful, because it is often the result of carefully packaged interests.

If you don't have Puyi's caution, you might fall into their trap.Hearing this, you might say that not all the people who make suggestions are so miserable. There are always those loyal ministers and righteous people who have no selfish motives at all.Or even if you have selfish motives, the suggestion itself is still good.Don’t we Chinese have a saying?If you call nothing, you will be crowned, and if you call it, you will change it, right?People suggest that you just listen.In case the suggestion itself is not bad, then let's do a thought experiment today. Let's imagine an extreme situation. Someone makes suggestions to me. His motives are absolutely good and the suggestions are absolutely correct.

So is it useful?There are many such examples around us. For example, someone told me Luo Zhenyu, for your own good, you should run 10 kilometers every day.Luo Zhenyu, for the sake of your health, you should not stay up late and go to bed early.Luo Zhenyu, you should uninstall all the short videos on your phone and stop playing games. You should read more. When you eat, you should not eat meat or staple food, but eat more vegetables.Of course I know it’s well-intentioned, and it’s a big statement, and it’s basically right.But so what?Debate master Huang Zhongzhong once said that the problems in your eyes are actually other people's solutions.For example, if we see a child delaying his studies because of playing games, I suggest that he stop playing games in the future. If we dig deeper, we will think of why he plays games. It may be because he is full of frustration in real life.

At school, teachers don't like to go home and parents diss him. Only in games can he find a sense of dignity. This is the solution to his life.So if we, as bystanders, directly advise him not to play games, this will not solve his problem, but take away the solution to his problem.It’s the same as going back to ancient Chinese politics.If a grassroots official sees a large number of unreasonable phenomena in reality, then he can ask the emperor to correct these phenomena. Is it enough to remove them?It becomes a bright and clear world, which is too childish.For example, if I had been born in the Ming Dynasty, I might have thought, wow, this is such a troubled era. Eunuchs are still out of the palace, making money for the emperor, and collecting various taxes. It is unreasonable.Why is it unreasonable for the emperor to have a royal guard?The emperor set up factories in the east and factories in the west. You see, those dead eunuchs are unreasonable, but even if I shout my throat, the emperor will not cancel these institutions.The reason is simple. The reason why these institutions exist is that the emperor has his own problems to solve.Until there are alternative solutions to those problems, it is impossible for these phenomena, which I believe to be unreasonable, to disappear.

Everyone in the game knows what the world is. The world is a network, and one move affects the whole body.You can't optimize the entire network just by changing one or two points.If we go one step further and change the status quo indiscriminately, it may bring more tragic results.In the future, our civilization program will talk about the Qingli New Deal and Wang Anshi's reforms. At that time, we will touch on this topic again. In short, don't give me suggestions in my game, even if it is out of good intentions, even if what he says is right, what do I usually do?People mean well, but we can only smile politely and cannot hear the past.We often divide speech into true and false, correct, wrong, well-intentioned, and malicious. We divide speech in this way, but have you realized that there can also be a classification of speech, as long as this speech is directed at the speaker himself?, or is it directed at others?Point to your own remarks.For example, I state my confidence, my opinions, my demands, I fight for my own interests, and I defend my position. As long as these remarks are not illegal, they are good and are the wealth of society.And the remarks directed at others are me telling others what should you do?In your case you should do this, the value of such remarks is very doubtful.

For example, let's think about it, if you are the chairman of a company, if you say during the company meeting, I hope everyone can speak freely and make suggestions for the company.So what exactly do you want everyone to talk about?It's okay to talk about the development strategies of your respective departments and fight for the interests of your brothers in your department, including yourself. It is definitely something that you, the chairman, should and are willing to listen to.Why?Because these all point to the speaker himself, he speaks for himself. You may not agree with these words after hearing them, but they are all information that you should have as the chairman of the board.

Okay, let's imagine again, if there is a meeting, everyone in your company can stand up and say, I want to guide the head office on how to develop. The key to this is to do a good job in the canteen, so that everyone can work with morale.The one said, well, our current products are not good, how about our company switch to live streaming to deliver goods?Haha, the chicken has its mouth and the duck has its mouth. As the chairman, are you going crazy?There is a legend about Huawei. It is said that a new employee, when he first joined the company, wrote a letter of ten thousand words to his boss Ren Zhengfei, which contained many suggestions on the company's development strategy.Ren Zhengfei made a big note, instructing that if this person has mental illness, it is recommended that he be sent to the hospital for treatment; if he is not ill, it is recommended that he be fired.I guess if we ordinary office workers heard this story, we would not take it seriously. They just made a suggestion, so they wouldn't say it so harshly.They are also good for the company, but if you have ever been a boss, or if you have the opportunity to start a business in the future, you will understand what they say after hearing this.If you are not in the position of the boss, do not bear that responsibility, and cannot see his overall situation, it is impossible to make reliable suggestions.So when we give advice to others, we sometimes think, well, I'm not in his game, let's save it.Haha, yes, this is what Li Hao meant. People who are not in my game should not give me suggestions, because they are of no value.

Okay, then the next question comes again. If you, as a senior leader of a country, do not listen to suggestions, how can the people in power make decisions about the governance of a country and optimize and improve it?Okay, let's listen to Wang Fuzhi's plan next.

Just now we mentioned that Li Hang, as the prime minister of the Song Dynasty, actually suggested that I would not listen to any suggestions about my governing style.Alas, here comes the problem. How can a country change if it refuses to listen to any suggestions?How can he improve?Hundreds of years later, Wang Fuzhi gave a complete set of solutions in the Song Dynasty. To put it simply, there are four sentences in total. To create wisdom in classical Chinese, listen to it, go to Xiuju, and listen to it.Baizhi considers it carefully and listens to it, and the palm force is used to listen to it. Bianmeng expands and explains the first sentence. Chuangzhi listens to this institutional framework. You must listen to the founders of the country in front of you.

Who is Jianguo Zhijun?The people whose ancestors started their own business faced the most complex situations, and they had the most sufficient conditions to solve problems at that time. These people also have excellent abilities, so the institutional framework they formulated is very reasonable. Don't take it lightly.To move it, this is called creation.Listen to the second sentence and practice the duties of listening.What is a hundred jobs?For professional cadres in various vertical fields, should a policy be adjusted or a project be held?This is called quitting. We must listen to them and listen to professional cadres.The implication is that you should never listen to laymen.Didn’t Guo Degang have such a joke?He said, for example, a rocket scientist and I said that your rocket is not good and the fuel is not good. I think it is best to burn wood, coal must be selected coal, and water-washed coal will not work.If that scientist looked at me squarely, he would lose.This is Guo Degang's joke. To put it bluntly, this is a spirit of respect for professionalism.No matter how lively the layman shouts and no matter how sincere the suggestions he makes, he cannot be ignored. This is called resting.

Listen to a hundred words, consider three sentences, listen to the palm of your hand.What is consideration?It is the specific proportion of implementing that policy. Do you want more or less?Is it lighter or heavier?Who do you want to listen to?Listening to local governors and department heads is called Chang Li.When the major policies formulated by the central government of your country are conveyed to the lower levels, they are just a few lines of capital, but when they reach the grassroots level, the situations they encounter are all real and life is very different.If you don't give grassroots officials this kind of flexibility, they won't be able to do anything.For example, some time ago I saw a grassroots village official sharing his work experience online. He said that one of the characteristics of our village is that villagers love gambling.Originally, every family was extremely poor. They couldn't make much money outside in a year. During the Spring Festival, they would lose everything by playing a few cards.For those of us who are cadres, if you come to your door to persuade someone, they won’t listen.Okay, you use police force to arrest them. If you arrest them on occasions such as weddings and weddings, it will easily cause conflicts, so you can't do it forcefully.

What to do?We forced everyone to do square dancing, held regular square dancing competitions, invited professors from the music school to be judges, and even created a ranking list.In this way, the energy of the villagers is consumed. It can be seen to the naked eye that there are fewer people participating in gambling.But if you let an outsider look at this, he would definitely say, "Oh, the cadres in this village are not good enough to force people to participate in cultural activities. Why are they doing this?"He must be doing a face-saving project for his own political achievements. How do they know our true purpose? As God testifies, it is for their happiness that the villagers are not allowed to gamble. Sometimes the measure of policy implementation and joining the party are really...It can only be decided by the officials closest to the people.

If you are not in the middle of the situation, it will be difficult for you to intervene.The rights and wrongs you see from the sidelines are probably layman's terms.Wang Fuzhi also has a fourth sentence: obey and listen, and border alliances are the common people organized to protect the people on the border. They are called border alliances.Under the political conditions in ancient times, the common people could only be governed. But don't forget, even if the common people were completely passive, they still had the right to speak. However, this speech was not about speaking, but voting with actions.The so-called compliance refers to whether the people cooperate or not.If this is a policy, then you can rest assured that ordinary people will naturally find ways to exploit loopholes, find loopholes, non-violently disobey or simply leave, so this policy will still not be implemented.

You see, with these four sentences, Wang Xiuju listens before creation, Baizhi considers it, and Zhangli obeys it. Wang Fuzhi of the border alliance has outlined a complete logic of political adjustment, which is nothing more than fourThe first layer is the big institutional framework. Listen to the founder of the country and don’t touch it.Second, whether policies should be revised or projects should be stopped, let’s listen to professional officials.The third is whether there should be more or less, whether the intensity should be loose or tight, listen to local cadres, and the fourth is to cooperate with the people recently or not?Are you willing or unwilling?Finally, let’s look at the reaction of the people. Is the plan set up by Wang Fuzhi a bit like some kind of mechanical structure?It means that there is first a large stable frame, then some thick knobs, and some finely adjusted knobs. This layer by layer makes the entire social governance system both stable and adaptable.

You should have heard the core logic of this plan, which is that specific people preside over the operation and changes of specific links in specific ways.Of course there is a subtext here, that is, please don’t break away from your own position to worry about other people’s hearts. There can’t be a position where you don’t know anything, you have no expertise, you just give advice to others, this kind of adviceOf no value.Among these four sentences, I think the one that we as modern people may not be used to hearing the most is the first sentence called "Creation of Intelligence, Listen to it and go."Hey, why?The founder of the country may have been dead for hundreds of years. We still regard the words of our ancestors as Jing Ke Yulu. Isn’t this kidnapping the living by kidnapping the dead?This question is very complicated, haha.At least when we are talking about the Song Dynasty in 1003 today, we cannot use a modern perspective to look at the institutional framework created by the founding emperor in ancient times when the social environment changed very slowly. It was indeed very adaptable.This problem is so big that we won’t talk about anything else. Today I will talk about a very small problem, that is, when the highest power is only passed down within a family, one generation will not be as good as the other. That is a high probability.

King Qian is better than the king he is now. You have to recognize this, right?Using a concept in the theory of evolution, what is this called?This is called regression to the mean, right?This concept is a phenomenon discovered by Darwin's cousin Galton. If the father's height is greater than the average, the son's height will most likely be shorter than the father's. In turn, the son's height will most likely be shorter than the average.My father is tall.Other indicators of intelligence, emotional intelligence, energy and physical fitness are similar.Returning to the mean is fate.The first generation of entrepreneurial monarchs should be far superior to ordinary people in all aspects of ability, but it is inevitable that the abilities of their descendants will return to the average. It is impossible for generations to be strong men descended from heaven. This is a hard bargain.

Let's just look at the Song Dynasty. Song Taizu and Song Taizong were not ordinary people. Needless to say, Taizu, Song Taizong was only diligent, and his descendants could not compare at all.Let's take the emperor's rest time as an example. During the Tang Dynasty, the emperor was required to stay in court for more than five days. After the Anshi Rebellion, there were more national affairs, and the emperor became more diligent.The emperor's rest is also a day of work and a day of rest.But what are the characteristics of an old man like Song Taizong Zhao Guangyi?Not taking a day off?Yes, during his 21 years in office, he worked every day and went to court every day. On the day of his death, he even summoned ministers and righteous men.So how meticulous was Song Taizong in managing things?He personally decides the cases that he can handle.For example, in the case of Kaifeng Mansion, the record he left behind was that he sentenced hundreds of cases a day.Some ministers advised him, "Your Majesty, you are working too hard. What did Song Taizong say?"What's so hard about this?I didn't feel tired at all. I felt like I just sat there for a while and got the work done.A capable person is a capable person, and this must be obeyed.What experience did you say this was?When he came to Song Zhenzong, he could insist on going to court every day to learn from his father at first, but gradually he couldn't do it anymore, and he began to find reasons to take holidays for himself every now and then.To be honest, Song Zhenzong is really not lazy, but as an ordinary person, his experience is not as good as that of Song Taizong, a man who is called a genius.

Speaking of which, I would like to mention a famous scene in Chinese history.It is said that the prime ministers in the early Han Dynasty were first Xiao He and then Cao Shen.The time of Cao Shen was the time of Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty. Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty thought that I, the Prime Minister, Cao Shen, only drank alcohol every day and had no ambition to make progress. He just came to Cao Shen to talk to him and asked, "Can you change things?"Let's do something.Then Cao Shen asked him while holding the wine glass, "Hey, is your ability comparable to your father Liu Bang?"Oh, it can’t compare, right?Ha, then do you think I, Cao Shen, am better than my predecessor Xiao He?Oh, no comparison.Haha, then neither of us can compare, so why are we still messing around?If we just follow the rules honestly, that is, if we act in accordance with the founding system, wouldn’t it be the end of it?What kind of innovation are you doing?It was a famous scene, and later the idiom was left behind, called Xiao Gui Cao Sui.

Therefore, the ancients always talked about ancestral laws and compliance with ancestral systems. This was not a conservative reaction in concept, but very realistic. He knew it, right?This emperor is not as good as the previous generation, and there is a high probability that this will happen. This is a very feasible political strategy.So today our program does not tell historical stories, but introduces them through a passage from Li Hang. In fact, we are repeatedly playing with a concept.The most core of them are these two. First, don’t listen to the advice of irrelevant people, and always try to eliminate the disadvantages and make changes.So why is this the second one?The system established by the late king is actually quite good and very reasonable. Don’t move it if you can. To put it bluntly, these are the two concepts we are talking about today. So what kind of concept is this set of concepts??In the genealogy of thought all over the world and all mankind, we know that this is the so-called conservatism tradition. Why do we talk about this in this issue?Because even in ancient China, there were very few people like Li Hang and Wang Fuzhi who expressed this concept so clearly and completely.This year is 1003 AD, so Li Hang will pass away in July next year.Therefore, we must seize this electric moment in Chinese history and capture this rare fragment in the history of Chinese thought.Hey, in the next part of this program, we will ask about conservatism again. What is he talking about?

Our pursuit of a better life comes from the opening of every extraordinary door.Casarte was born for love, the art of home.We mentioned conservatism just now. However, the word conservatism sounds like a derogatory term. There is nothing we can do about it. Although the themes of the Chinese people's times in the past 200 years have been different, sometimes it is the old king, and sometimes it is the old king.Enlightenment, sometimes rise.But we Chinese people of the past 200 years all have the same strong thinking and background. We all advocate change and oppose conservatism. We all feel that the status quo is not good and needs to be transformed. Tomorrow will be better. This is a major event in the world. We should just go along with it.Chang, if you go against it, you will offend the king.

Therefore, when Chinese people of our generation hear the concept of conservatism, they will inevitably find it harsh, bizarre, and unimaginable.So in today’s civilized program, we will try to spend a little time to understand this conservatism. What is he talking about?After understanding, we can make a decision. Should we agree with him?All right?So what is the starting point of conservatism?Are you clinging to tradition, clinging to the status quo, clinging to the words of your ancestors and not letting go?

Is it an antique?no.The fundamental starting point of conservatism is three words: distrust.It's a deep-rooted distrust of humankind's intellectual capacity.By the way, this is a little tip for learning the history of thought. When we study the history of thought, we cannot just look at how he expresses his thoughts. What does a thinker stand for?Don't look at this yet, let's first look at what he hates?Disgust is an emotion. This is not rational disgust, it is emotional.What is he against?Fear of what?Dislike what?Alas, after finding this, and then looking back at the anger, fear and disgust on his face, we can suddenly understand why he has those opinions.

Yes, the same is true for understanding conservatism. First look at its opposite. What does he hate?Conservatives believe that by using pure rational thinking and conceptual reasoning, you can come up with a plan to transform the world.This person is too arrogant. The conclusion these people come to must be a utopia. Human society is not a machine. Whatever is broken can be repaired and made better.Human society is a very complex organism, and no one's wisdom can understand all the laws of its operation.As an outsider, when you propose a change, you can see the benefits of a change, but you cannot see the hidden costs.Why?Because real life is the Internet.Let me give you a very small example, which I saw in a book recently.Suppose a trainee screenwriter is very talented and is good at writing scripts. He is reading a script and suddenly a new idea comes to him, saying that I should add a character and a cat to this story, okay?You see, this idea sounds very good and reliable, but there is an extra cat, the cat does not need to be ugly in the film, and there are pets in the film. You see, in today's society, young people will definitely like it. Is this a good idea?But let me tell you, this screenwriter must have never read this book, hahaha. The book I got recently is called The American TV Drama Screenwriter’s Handbook.

This book mentions a detail, saying that when you are not absolutely sure, don’t write about the baby series and the pet series. Why can’t you write about the series with cats?Because it is very difficult for children and pets to cooperate during actual filming on the set. If the filming scene cannot be handled properly, the entire staff may have to work overtime.Haha, the cost and complexity of the entire film will go up, so don’t just add a cute-looking cat character to the script, the hidden price is huge.

You see how small this is. If you are not in the game, you do not understand the potential costs and costs brought about by a change.Therefore, there is an old saying among the Chinese: If a law cannot be established, it will not change a hundred times. If it does not bring a hundredfold benefit, don’t try to make changes.Ordinarily, wouldn’t it be possible to make changes if the benefits are doubled?No, if you want to keep the remaining 99 times the benefits, what can you do to hedge against the potential risks and costs that you don’t know now and haven’t yet shown?Whatever we do, we must fully consider the shortcomings of human reason. This is the fundamental starting point of conservatism.He doesn't believe in human rationality. Now you may better understand why Li Hang said that.

I don't listen to those policy suggestions that promote advantages and eliminate disadvantages, and I dominate all the interests and harms of my subjects at home and abroad.This is the same as the Western conservative tradition.Edmund Burke, the founder of British and American conservatism, opposed the French Revolution.Sometimes it is difficult for us to understand the French Revolution. Isn’t this a good thing that promotes the progress of the times?Why do you object?He is not against the slogans of freedom, equality, and fraternity. He does not believe in these people. You hold up these slogans and think that you can transform a better society because you have the truth. This is too arrogant. This is conservatism.The first characteristic.

There is a second characteristic of conservatism that often leads to misunderstandings: we often think that conservatism is opposed to change.No, they just demand cautious change.Then you might say what's the difference, right?What does caution mean?How to measure this caution?Doctoralists have put forward a whole set of ideas, which is very imaginative.Don’t they advocate change?Okay, everyone has to come to the meeting.Who are we?All stakeholders involved in the change must be invited to the meeting room and everyone must vote together.But here comes the point, who is this stakeholder?This is the thinking of conservatives. He says that you are not just living. This world existed before our generation. After our generation, this world will continue to exist. WeTheir descendants must still survive.So what the world looks like cannot be decided only by those of us who are alive.The dead, the people in the future, and of course us, all have a role to play. Everyone has to enter the conference room, go to the negotiation table, speak, and vote.Yes, this is the famous saying of Eton’s blog.

I also brought this book review of the French Revolution. It says in it what does he mean by country?The state is a partnership not only between living people, but also between those who are alive, those who have died, and those who will be born.So since it is a partnership, we have to let them speak, let the dead and the unborn speak together, right?So you see those political newspaper activists are the spokespersons of our ancestors.

No matter what we think, they will shout at the poker table, don't just see the benefits, think more about the costs.Those fiscal conservatives are the representatives of our children and grandchildren.No matter what we want to do, they will shout at the card table that we are not allowed to eat everything. This is just the idea of ​​​​your generation. We must leave some for our children and grandchildren, for those children and babies who are not yet able to vote.

There is a British conservative thinker named Chesterton who put it very clearly. What does he mean by tradition?Tradition is the democracy of kings. The essence of respecting tradition is not not to change, but to allow dead kings to participate in our democratic decision-making process.Only this kind of decision-making process, which involves all stakeholders, can be a thoughtful process, and actions taken through this process can be responsible and prudent changes.

You might say that this is not the case, this is just a concept, right?The dead ancestors cannot speak, and the infants and unborn children who cannot speak yet cannot speak. How can they participate in decision-making?They don't need to talk.Let me give you a simple example. For example, we ordinary people, the way we do things by ourselves in the room is the same as the way we do things in front of our parents who are sitting next to us.Even if our parents don't say anything, we will act much more serious, right?As long as we realize that our ancestors and our descendants are all in this conference room, even if they don't say anything, they are actually participating.
Yes, as Fan Zuyu, a historian from the Song Dynasty, said, we are now in 1003, and Fan Zuyu would not be born until 40 years later.Fan Zuyu is also one of the editors of Zhizhi Tongjian

one.Fan Zongyu told Song Zhezong, the then emperor, that if every word and action of our ancestors is above us and left aside, we can always enjoy the seams of the world without losing it.It's you, the Emperor. When you do everything, you think of our ancestors sitting next to you.They may often ask you why you do what you do. As long as you have this thought, hey, our world is not that bad.If you understand this truth, we may be able to understand more deeply why the ancients took the trouble to talk about the Zongzhi system.Well, now, whether you agree with conservatism or not, you at least understand one thing, that is, conservatism is not narrow-minded, and it does not only look at the past.Non-conservatism actually penetrates the past, present and future. It provides a broader perspective and the participants in their conference room are richer.

Our civilization program today is a bit abstract. It starts with a sentence from Li Hang. We have said so much. I know that even if I explain so much, that sentence still sounds quite harsh. What is the meaning of Chinese and foreign culture?What is it called?With everything at stake, why are you so arrogant?Fortunately, I still have a book on hand, and I brought more books today.Mr. King Kong, this is one of the three hundred years of the Song Dynasty series written by a folk thinker that I like very much.Li Han's words are also mentioned in this book.Then he said that three things are needed to understand Li Hang's sentence, and I will read it to you.One thing needs to be said. Yes, the founder of the Song Dynasty, Taizu Taizong, devalued legislation in the historical situation since the Five Dynasties. This is the profound meaning of the system created by the founding monarch. Do we really understand it in full?We have to think about it, this is the first thing we need, and we also need to examine the weaknesses of the scholar-bureaucrat class who are obsessed with meritorious deeds and seeking fame.Hey, those are the people who put forward extreme suggestions for reform. Have they really thought about it or are they just for their own selfish interests?Hey, we also need to ask this question, and we need to have some ideological understanding of the historical sage concept of governing by doing nothing and modern conservative political philosophy.

Is there some truth to the objections of ancient Chinese sages and Western conservatism to middle-aged people?Well, back to 1003 AD.Li Hao, our protagonist today is still serving as prime minister, but by July 1004 next year, Li Hang, known as the holy elephant, will die.After Li Hang's death, the political atmosphere of this Chinese-style classical conservatism gradually disappeared.From the need for change to everyone vying for opinions and suggestions, to party disputes because of different opinions, the political style of our Song Dynasty is about to undergo major changes.

In our cultural programs for the next two years or so, we will continue to touch on this topic.This year we are watching the departure of the old man Li Hang in advance, so that we can remember the stubborn figure of Chinese classical conservatism.Next year in 1004, the ultimate decisive battle between Song and Liao will begin, so in the next episode of Civilization, we will focus on the battlefield of swords and swords.See you next time.