If the power of the world is not prosperous, it will decline If the rule of the world does not advance, it will retreat

【Guangming Forum· Wen Gu】

Author: Wu Rongsheng (Researcher of the Party School Base of the Provincial Party Committee of the Xi Jinping Research Center for Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era in Shandong Province, Young Expert of Taishan Scholars)

Recently, President Xi Jinping attended the 2022 World Economic Forum video conference and delivered a speech entitled "Firm Confidence and Courage to Move Forward to Create a Better World in the Post-EPIDEMIC Era". It pointed out: "'If the power of the world is not prosperous, it will decline, and if the rule of the world does not advance, it will retreat.' The world always develops in a movement of contradictions, and without contradictions there is no world. Throughout history, human beings have grown up in overcoming test after test and developing in overcoming crises. We must advance in the logic of historical progress and develop in the tide of the development of the times. ”

"If the power of the world is not prosperous, it will decline, and if the rule of the world does not advance, it will retreat", from the Southern Song Dynasty's Great Confucian Lü Zuqian's "East Laibo Discussion". Lü Zuqian's great-grandfather Lü Haowen "Enfeng Donglai County Marquis" in the early years of the Southern Song Dynasty, when scholars mostly called his uncle Lü Benzhong "Mr. Donglai", Lü Zuqian was called "Mr. Xiaodonglai", and later generations generally called Lü Zuqian "Mr. Donglai", and referred to him together with Zhu Xi and Zhang Yu as "Three Sages of Southeast". The "DongLai Bo Discussion" is a reading note written by Lü Zuqian after studying the "Zuo Biography", also known as the "Zuo Shi Bo Discussion". Lü Zuqian wrote this book as a "work for the examination of all students", that is, as a reference book for those who took the examination at that time. The book is full of speculative arguments, and adds personal deep understanding of history and society, and has become a model for deliberation and policy sought after by scholars from the Southern Song Dynasty to the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The "East LaiBo Discussion" mainly comments on the intricate spring and autumn historical events, expresses Lü Zuqian's views on historical events and historical figures, and most of the content discussed involves the rule of law of the country and the issues of international relations at that time. "If the power of the world is not prosperous, it will decline, and if the rule of the world does not advance, it will retreat", which is Lü Zuqian's righteous play to the princes of Qi Huan in the ninth year of the Duke of Lu's reign. The gist is that if the various forces in the world are eliminated one after another, if they are not strong, they will decline; if the governance of the country does not seek development and progress, the existing harmony and stability will be destroyed, and the society will face retrogression.

In 651 BC, Duke Huan of Qi summoned the states of Lu, Song, Wei, Zheng, Xu, and Cao to form an alliance at Kuiqiu (present-day Lankao, Henan), and agreed to "all those who are allied with me, after the alliance, will return to good deeds." Zhou Tianzi sent Zaikong to participate, giving the royal family of the Duke of Qi Huan the sacrificial meat when sacrificing his ancestors, adding a knighthood of the first rank, and allowing him not to have to worship and receive the gift. Duke Huan of Qi summoned Guan Zhong for consultation, and Guan Zhong believed that if the king did not talk about the majesty and the courtiers did not observe the courtesy of the courtiers, it would be the source of the disaster. Therefore, Qi Huangong insisted on going down the stairs to worship the head of the auditor, and then he went to the hall to accept the meat. This marked that duke Huan of Qi had become a legitimate overlord recognized by the King of Zhou, and the hegemony of the State of Qi had reached its peak. However, at this time, Qi Huangong and Guan Zhong were already in the twilight of their lives, and with the completion of the hegemony, the self-satisfied Qi Huangong was also increasingly arrogant and obstinate. Therefore, Lü Zuqian commented on him: "When the expectation is full, his heart is also full, and when he is full, he is proud, he is proud, and he is sluggish, and if he is sluggish, he is weak." Soon after Guan Zhong's death, the Duke of Qi Huan became more and more dim and incompetent, and the state of Qi also turned from prosperity to decline. Lü Zuqian sighed: "I don't know that if the power of the world is not prosperous, it will decline, and if the rule of the world does not advance, it will retreat." If the strong stop at the strong, they will not be able to keep them strong. He who stops at the uncle will not be able to protect his uncle. ”

"Taking history as a mirror" and "observing the past and knowing the past" are the historical wisdom in China's excellent traditional culture, and also a profound reflection and summary of China's historical development experience. In China's history, whether it is a new dynasty established through tremendous social changes or a ruler of the current dynasty who encountered a ruling crisis, they attach great importance to drawing wisdom from the historical experience of the rise and fall of chaos and governance. After the Zhou Dynasty destroyed the Yin Merchants, they faced the pressure of the Yin people to resist and consolidate their rule. Why did Yin Shang perish? How did the Zhou regime avoid repeating the mistakes of the Yin merchants? From this thinking, the concept of "suitable for Yin" was formed.

The Book of Poetry says, "Yin Jian is not far away, in the life after Xia", and the Book of Shang says, "I must not be unsupervised by Youxia, nor can I be unsupervised by Youyin", all of which cite the history of the rise and fall of Xia and Shang as a reference for rulers. After the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Bang ordered Lu Jia to "try to write for me Qin so that the world has been lost, and I have gained what I have gained, and the country that has succeeded or failed in ancient times", so there are twelve political treatises summarizing the historical experience of the rise and fall of the regime, "New Language". Subsequently, Jia Yi's "On Passing the Qin Dynasty" written by Emperor Wen of Han and the "Countermeasures for Raising Virtuous Virtues" written by Emperor Jing of Han Jing's Shi Chao mistakes all used the lessons of history as a reference for governing the country. At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, Tang Taizong Li Shimin often alerted himself with the ancient saying that "water can carry a boat, but also can cover a boat", and he not only ordered the establishment of a history museum to write the history of the liang shu, the chen shu, the northern Qi shu, the zhou shu, the sui shu and other previous dynasties, but also personally wrote some of the historical treatises in the Jin Shu. "Taking the ancient as a mirror, you can see the rise and fall", Li Shimin's emphasis on historical experience and reference not only helped him create the "rule of Zhenguan", but also laid a solid foundation for the subsequent "Kaiyuan prosperous era".

The Southern Song Dynasty, where Lü Zuqian lived, was in an era of internal and external troubles and crises, and the Song court, which was in a corner of the southern part of the Jiangsu River, not only faced the threat of the minority regime in the north going south, but also the internal class contradictions were becoming increasingly acute. The Southern Song Dynasty scholars, who regarded the world as their own responsibility, wrote books and made speeches one after another, carrying the ideal of serving the country and the people, and summing up lessons and lessons from historical development. Lü Zuqian is also a thinker full of a sense of distress, "if the world is not prosperous, it will decline, and if the rule of the world does not advance, it will retreat" is exactly the cry he issued under the worries of the times and the thoughts of history.

From the traditional Chinese historical thinking, we have profoundly realized that there is no end to national governance, social development cannot be delayed, and if we are proud and complacent, we will repeat the mistakes of prosperity and decline. Only by taking history as a mirror and moving forward with courage and determination can we go steady and far, and we can walk in danger.

Guangming Daily ( 2022-01-20 02 edition)

Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily