Text: Three-three
Recently, a number of Hong Kong media reported that a manuscript of "general relativity" by the famous late physicist Albert Einstein is currently auctioned at Christie's auction house in Paris, France, and finally sold for 11.6 million euros (about 83.06 million yuan, more than 100 million Hong Kong dollars), and Christie's did not disclose the identity of the buyer. It was reported that the buyer was Li Ka-shing, and the Li Ka-shing Foundation said it would not comment on the matter.
According to Christie's auction house website, this rare 54-page manuscript contains preparations for the theory of relativity, co-authored by Einstein and his friend, the Swiss physicist Besso, and much of the manuscript documents the two men's work on "general relativity" between 1913 and 1914.
In 1915, Einstein officially published the theory of general relativity, which had a profound impact on the physics community and laid the foundation for modern cosmology.
Why does a manuscript sell for such a high price?
According to scholars' research on Einstein's manuscript, the manuscript was not bound into a book and was composed of many different types of loose paper.
We can even imagine: Einstein and Besso sitting at a table full of manuscript paper, looking at a pile of data, their brows locked, the pen in their hands did not stop at all, constantly calculating formulas on the paper, crossing them out, and then listing equations...
In 2017, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland, Hong Kong entrepreneur Li Ka-shing quoted Einstein in an interview: "Never give up what you want to do, people with big dreams are more powerful than people who know everything." ”
According to scholars, Einstein's early research manuscripts are very rare, and this relativistic manuscript is even more significant. For us ordinary people, Einstein's manuscript is more of awe, and for Li Ka-shing, the value of this manuscript is not only this, but also a valuable spiritual wealth. We are not in the same era as the great people, and we cannot communicate and dialogue with them, but through this manuscript, we can feel the formation process of a great theory, feel the love and pursuit of science by the great people, feel the perseverance of the great people, and resonate with the great people at the ideological level.
In addition to his love for Einstein's manuscripts, Li Ka-shing's office also has a couplet that has been hung for more than 30 years, which is of great significance to Li Ka-shing. Even Ma Yun is highly praised for this couplet, and in many of his words, he conveys the influence of this couplet on him.
Make a superior wish, make a medium bond, and enjoy the inferior blessings;
Choose a high place to stand, sit flat, and walk wide.
This couplet was inscribed by the late Qing Dynasty minister Zuo Zongtang in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, and this seemingly bland 24 words condensed Zuo Zongtang's philosophy of "doing things in a high profile and being a low-key person".
Make a superior wish, make a medium bond, and enjoy the inferior blessings.
Lofty ideals and grand ambitions are the beacons that guide the direction and the beacons on our way forward. The ancients said to aim high, no ambition and no goal, and there is no point in getting by and getting by.
Even if the sesame small things in life fall to the ground, even if the career is not so smooth, we can do our best to do things, not to seek perfection, but to be ashamed, to be ashamed of ourselves as a person, not ashamed of the dreams in our hearts. At the same time, we must also be strict with ourselves and be willing to live the life of ordinary people.
We often say that the pattern should be larger. We must look at problems with great foresight, not stick to the present, look at things from the perspective of long-term development, and do not consider the immediate gains and losses. We must grasp the right direction in doing things, especially in being a person, leaving room for everything, and it is not appropriate to be proud of it.
These two sentences are more instructive for the lives of ordinary people. No matter how complicated the contradictions are, we must deal with changes without being alarmed, and not be chaotic in distress, so that we can create a career and keep it.
It was from this couplet that Li Ka-shing realized the truth of doing things as a person, and then applied it to life and business, and finally achieved today's extraordinary career. This couplet hung in Li Ka-shing's office for more than thirty years, not only bringing him the supreme ideological guidance, but people from all walks of life followed the example of hanging in their own office to encourage themselves. We can also remember these 24 words, always feel the understanding, and strive to practice, bringing higher value to ourselves.
Feng Zikai divided human life into three layers: one is material life, the other is spiritual life, and the third is soul life.
Man must first meet the material needs of survival, food, clothing, shelter, food, and drink, which is the most basic part of life. Matter is the foundation, and spirit is derived from matter.
Li Ka-shing's career and life are already a legend, collecting great people's calligraphy and paintings, bringing him a spiritual boost; buying Einstein's manuscripts at a high price is also a higher level that he is now pursuing, constantly accumulating inner wealth and storing his spiritual wealth.