Is Song Xianggong, who wants to give the throne to his brother, really benevolent?

There are many stories about benevolence and righteousness in the Chronicle of History. There are two that I remember deeply.

Tang, the founder of the Shang Dynasty, saw that there were birds catching on the side of the road, and the bird catchers set up nets on all four sides of the east, west, south, and north, and then prayed to the heavens: May the birds enter my net from all sides of the world. Soup said: Hey! You're going to catch the birds all. So I removed the net on all four sides of the bird catcher from three sides, and then wished to heaven: Let the bird want to fly left to the left, and fly right to the right, and if it is really bad fate, enter my net. After this matter spread, all the princes of the world obeyed the soup and said: The morality of the soup is really to the extreme, and even the animals and animals can be favored.

Another story is that Song Xianggong fought against King Cheng of Chu in the "History of the Song Weizi Family", because to talk about benevolence and morality, it was necessary to wait for the enemy army to set up a position before starting the war, so it was defeated, seriously injured, and became a joke.

The kind of bird catching method that is made into soup is impossible to catch birds. But his words and deeds made the princes return to their hearts and praise them for thousands of years. Song Xianggong did not take advantage of the danger of others, but he was also sincere, but he lost the army and injured himself, and the world spit and scolded, what is the reason? About "Ren" must have the strength to back it up, and only then will anyone appreciate it? I think of a city newspaper report: Traffic police go to work, used to stop a car on the road as a taxi that does not cost money. Once, the car of the secretary of the municipal party committee was stopped, and the secretary not only did not get angry, but also sent the traffic police to the unit. The traffic police praised the secretary gratefully in the newspaper. But for the countless car owners who were stopped by them every day before, they were of course justified. So the same acts of benevolence, carried out by people of different identities, the feedback is fundamentally different.

In the entire "History", the most respected mainstream ideological concepts and codes of conduct are actually a "benevolent" word.

What is "ren"? "Benevolence" means to fully respect the laws of nature, not to harm the interests of anyone and all things, and to benefit others and all things as much as possible. The essence of this is the two sentences in Confucianism: one is not to do to others what you do not want; the other is the old man and the old man, the young man and the young man.

Before Confucius, the concept and criterion of "benevolence" was already the most widely recognized mainstream culture, and Confucius was highly clear and elaborated on it, and built the entire Confucian doctrine with "benevolence" as the cornerstone. According to the statistics of experts who study the Analects: "Ren" is the word that Confucius uses most frequently in the Analects, up to 109 times.

The continuous enrichment of Mencius and other great Confucians has made the concept of "benevolence" develop into the most holy magic weapon of governing the country and the highest law of international interpersonal communication. The Confucian strategy of governing the country based on "benevolence" describes a blueprint for constraining the relationship between man and nature, man and animal, man and man, and country to state in a most ideal state, so as to achieve a lasting, abundant, and peaceful cycle of mutual conformity and mutual reasoning.

But, as tempting as this description is, these Chinese the highest social ideals that have never been realized, exist only in words. There has never been a dynasty or a monarch who grasps medicine according to the prescription and really tests Kong Meng's "benevolence" based royal way in China. The reason may be that the gap between this ideal and reality is too large, and the degree of trust between people does not form the basis for a comprehensive experiment.

Selfishness and laziness are human nature, which is inherently incompatible with the purpose of "benevolence". If you want to be a "benevolent" person, you must first become a "ninja" - that is, to restrain all your selfish desires that are only for yourself and for the detriment of others. But how many people can actually do it?

Chinese acts of benevolence and righteousness are basically done for the heavens to see—because people believe that the gods in the underworld want people to do so. Doing so will be praised by the gods and rewarded accordingly. The second is to show it to others, because if you do this, you will be praised by others, and others will think that you are a good person, a good person, a person worthy of contact and trustworthiness. And if you do a benevolent and righteous act, will you and can you really get the reward of heaven or man? It's probably a matter of time, so Chinese always half-hearted and half-convinced about this.

The teacher of benevolence and righteousness always loses to the mighty master, and the righteous always loses to the unscrupulous... The results of being bound by "benevolence" are always so daunting. Therefore Chinese later made many interpretations of "benevolence": such as great benevolence and small benevolence, the benevolence of women and the benevolence of gentlemen, and the heavens and the undesirables were blamed for it... With these interpretations, "Ren" can no longer bind the hands and feet of ambitious people. Han Feizi: The foreign reserve said that the top left: saying that the things that have been praised by the ancients are beautiful but not true; praising the benevolence and morality of the previous kings cannot put the country on the right path, and such a situation can only be used for games, not really used to govern the country. The three kingdoms of Han, Zhao, and Wei are examples of those who weaken and chaos by pursuing benevolence and righteousness; and the Qin state that governs the country strongly without pursuing benevolence and righteousness is an example. However, the State of Qin has not yet claimed the title of emperor, only because the governance is not perfect.

This can explain why benevolence and morality cannot save Song Xianggong. The State of Song was a state established by the son of King Yin shang after he was destroyed by King Wu of Zhou, in order to seek the name of benevolence and righteousness. Before the Song Dynasty, there were rebellious ministers such as Hua Du and Nangong Wan, and later there were tyrants who established themselves as kings and made the Song Kingdom the name of Song Dynasty. Originally, it really had little to do with benevolence and morality. The reason why people in later generations said that Song Zong had to involve benevolence and morality was mainly because of the famous Song Xianggong.

The Song kingdom before Song Xianggong was really a country that lacked benevolence and morality. The "History of the Song Weizi Family" says: One day, the beautiful lady of Sima Kong's father Jia went out, and on the way, she met Dazai Huadu, who looked at Zhongjia's wife and stared at her intently. Hua Du coveted Jia's wife, so he had people threaten to say in the kingdom: "In the ten years since he was on the throne, he has fought eleven major battles, and the people are miserable, this is all the sin of Father Kong, and I will kill Father Kong to stabilize the people." When public opinion was almost created, Hua Tuo killed Kong's father and took his wife. Duke Huan was very angry, so Hua Du killed Duke Huan again, and from Zheng Guo welcomed back Mu Gong's son Feng and made him king, which was Duke Zhuang. Duke Zhuang died nineteen years after he ascended the throne, and his son Gongjie Tang took the throne. Ten years after the Duke of Tang ascended the throne, the State of Song attacked the State of Lu, and in battle at Chengqiu, the State of Lu captured the Song general Nangong Wan alive. At the request of the Song people, Lu Guo released him. One day, when Tang Gong and Nangong Wan were out hunting, they had a dispute about playing chess, and Tang Gong said, "At first, I respected you, but today, you are just a prisoner of the Lu Kingdom. Nangong Wan Yong was powerful and hated Tang Gong for saying this, so he grabbed the chessboard and killed Tang Gong in Mengze. The doctor Qiu Mu came to the gongmen with a weapon to ask for the guilt, and Nangong Wan killed Qiu Mu and killed Dazai Huadu, so he changed his son to prince You as the monarch. The princes fled to Xiaoyi. Xiao Yi and the sons who fled from Song jointly killed Nangong Wan's younger brother Nangong Niu, who was leading the army, and killed the newly established prince You, and Li Tang's younger brother Yu said that this was The Duke of Huan. Nangong Wan fled to Chen Guo. The State of Song sent someone to bribe Chen. Chen Guoren cleverly made Meiren Ji drunk Nangong Wan with alcohol, wrapped him in leather, and sent him back to the Song Kingdom. The Song people inflicted a temperance on Nangong Wan.

Duke Huan became seriously ill thirty years after his reign, and Crown Prince Zifuqian had his brother-in-law Muyi succeed to the throne, saying that Muyi was older and had the name of benevolence and righteousness. Muyi refused. Although Huan Gong believed that the prince's intention was moral, he ultimately did not agree. Thirty-one years later, Duke Huan died, and Crown Prince Zifu took the throne, which was the Duke of Song Xiang. Xianggong made his brother Muyi the prime minister.

In such a country that lacked benevolence and righteousness, as soon as Song Xianggong appeared, he had the benevolent act of pushing the throne, and it could not be said that he was a benevolent and righteous person. However, just after succeeding to the throne, his father Duke Huan had not yet been buried, and when he heard that Duke Huan of Qi had met with the princes of various countries in Kuiqiu, Song Xianggong hurried to attend the meeting. This immediately revealed the other side of this benevolent prince, that is, he liked to make a false name. Moreover, in the process of Song Xianggong succeeding to the throne until he was discredited, almost every major decision, As the chancellor, Muyi, had proposed the best plan and dissuaded Song Xianggong's wayward behavior, but Song Xianggong did not listen to it once. It can be seen that his abdication is a kind of hype rather than a sincere recognition of Muyi.

Song Xianggong's best reputation in history, and his most beautiful time, was to send troops to establish qi xiaogong, the king of the state of Qi.

Originally, Duke Huan of Qi and Guan Zhong agreed to appoint Crown Prince Zhao, entrust the crown prince to Song Xianggong, and ask him to help Zhao succeed to the throne in the future if there were any changes. I have to say that Qi Huangong and Guan Zhong really chose the right people. Later, when Guan Zhong died and Duke Huan of Qi became seriously ill, the five sons each led their supporters to compete for the throne and made a mess. Crown Prince Zhao fled to the Song Dynasty. Song Xianggong called on the princes and led the army to send prince Zhao and Qi. When crown prince Zhao was established, the supporters of the other four princes attacked the prince together, and the prince once again fled to the Song kingdom. The State of Song sent an army to engage the ranks of the four princes, defeated them, and established the status of prince. Crown Prince Zhao officially succeeded him as Duke Xiao of Qi.

The king of a small country, in the name of justice, commanded the princes, commanded the multi-country army to fight against a big country, and established the leader of this big country. This scene is really too beautiful! Looking at Song Xianggong's later actions, he can only guess that he did not want to copy these scenes all the time. At that time, he wanted to take this opportunity to make an alliance with the princes. But no one answered. A few years later, he made another call for an alliance on the deer. Chu Guo agreed to him. It should be known that the main alliance has always been the patent of a big country and a strong country, and a small country and a weak country like the Song State, no matter how beautiful the name of advocating this matter, is a matter of great taboo. Gongzi Muyi said: "It is a disaster for small countries to compete for the head of the alliance. Xiang Gong could not listen to MuYi's advice. In the autumn, the princes gathered and allied with the Song Gong at Lu. MuYi said, "Is this the plague here?" The desire of the monarch is too much, how can he bear it! Sure enough, Chu arrested Song Xianggong in order to attack the Song state—it turned out that the Chu state had agreed to this in preparation for humiliating Song Xianggong. In the winter, the princes met again in Bo, and the State of Chu released Song Xianggong. The fish said, "The plague is not over yet." "During the reign of Duke Xiang of Song for thirteen years, the State of Song rebelled against the State of Zheng. The fish said, "The plague is here." "The State of Chu fought against the State of Song in order to rescue the State of Zheng. Xianggong wants to fight. Ziyu Jin said, "Heaven has abandoned Shang for a long time, and it is not allowed to fight." But Song Xianggong still resolutely went to war.

"Han Feizi Wai Chu Said Upper Left" says: Song Xianggong and the Chu people fought on the Zhuo Valley, the Song people had already set up a position, and the Chu people had not yet completely crossed the river. Sima Jianqiang, the right sima of the Song Dynasty, said: "The enemy is outnumbered, please attack the Chu people when they are half-crossed and have not yet set up a position, and they will certainly be able to crush them." Song Xianggong said: "I have heard the gentleman say, don't hurt those who have already been injured, don't arrest old people, don't push again when others are in danger, don't add another yard when others are trapped, and don't attack the enemy army that has not set up a good position." Now the Chu army did not completely cross the river to attack, which was justified. Or wait until all the Chu people have crossed the river, set up a position, and then beat the drum to let the warriors attack. Sima Right said: "The king does not cherish the people of the Song Dynasty and does not protect the foundation of the country, but only for the sake of benevolence and righteousness." Xianggong said, "If you don't hurry back to the team, you will be dealt with according to military law!" When The Right Sima returned to the line, the Chu people had already lined up and set up a position, and Xianggong only then beat the drum to attack. The Song people were defeated, and Song Xianggong injured his thigh, and died three days later.

For this feat of Song Xianggong, the Song people all resented it. Ziyu said, "Winning the battle is a credit, but what is the use of saying some empty truths?" If you really do what Xianggong said, you should be a slave to serve others, so why fight a war? ”

Tai Shi Gong said: After Song Xianggong suffered a defeat in Hongshui, some gentlemen thought that he deserved praise and lamented that the countries in the Central Plains at that time lacked courtesy, so they commended him because Song Xianggong had the spirit of courtesy.

There is a story told in "Han Feizi Nanyi": Jin Wengong was preparing to fight the Chu army, and summoned his uncle to ask: "I am ready to fight with the Chu army, and the enemy is outnumbered, what should I do?" The uncle said, "I have heard that gentlemen who pay attention to etiquette are not too loyal; soldiers fight each other on the battlefield." Not too much fraud. You're still using fraudulent means. Duke Wen dismissed his uncle and summoned Yongji to ask, "I am ready to fight the Chu army, and the enemy is outnumbered, what should I do?" Yong Ji replied: "Burning the woods to hunt, you can hunt more wild beasts for the time being, and you will certainly not be able to hunt wild beasts in the future; if you treat the people with fraudulent means, you can get temporary benefits, and the people will not be deceived again in the future." Wen Gong said, "Good." "Dismissed Yongji. Wen used his uncle's strategy to fight the Chu army, and as a result defeated the enemy. After returning, he was rewarded with a knighthood, first rewarding Yong Ji and then rewarding his uncle. Qunchen said, "Chengpu's victory depended on the schemes of his uncle.' Adopt his schemes, but put him behind, okay? Wen Gong said, "This is not something you can understand." The uncle's proposition is a stopgap measure, and Yongji's proposition is in line with the long-term interests. When Confucius heard this, he said, "It is entirely right that Jin Wen should be hegemonic!" He understands both expediency and long-term interests. ”

This interpretation of Confucius's old man is very clever and humorous. Benevolence is a long-term solution. However, when encountering problems in normal times, we still have to use the strategy of equity. Song Xianggong will only make long-term plans, use long-term measures to deal with the immediate crisis, and it is inevitable that he will eventually be discredited. Fundamentally speaking, how can there be a benevolent and righteous person who worries every day about letting the people of the country shed blood and fight wars everywhere in order to disregard the strength of the country for the sake of false fame? Song Xianggong's benevolence is false benevolence.