A letter written to Yan Zi

Yan Ying:

Hello!

How are you in heaven recently? It's quite easy to do things there.

When I was in middle school, I read an article about you called "Yan Zi Envoys to Chu". After the teacher's analysis, I really admire your eloquent tongue and your sharp wit. From then on, I wanted to be a courtier like you and a diplomat like you.

However, due to my natural clumsiness, I did not study hard. Therefore, until now, I have neither a decent job nor an official position, let alone a glorious ancestor. It is quite sad to think about it.

I have been learning about your life experience, your thoughts, and your personality. However, I still don’t understand enough, I can’t study it, I can’t study it thoroughly.

Recently, I have been reading your story again and understanding your strategy of governing the country. I feel that you are really a hero of that era. You deserve it because you have the following advantages:

First, I think you are optimistic, open-minded, and take things naturally. Even our great Confucius highly praised this point: "Don't take what you think is right, refute others' faults, speak politely to avoid blame, this is righteousness!" I think you are open-minded, easy-going and generous, and pay attention to your own cultivation. character. Optimistic by nature, he takes life and death lightly. You said: Everyone is bound to die, no matter the benevolent, the wise, the greedy, or the unscrupulous. Therefore, we never "suffer from death" or "sorrow death" and regard birth, old age, illness and death as natural laws. He always maintains an optimistic and generous mood, and maintains good physical and mental health and longevity.

Secondly, I think you are honest, selfless and open-minded. You have assisted the three Dukes of the State of Qi, and have always been diligent and honest in politics. You are an honest and fair man. You advocate that "Integrity is the foundation of government and the master of virtue." Manage the country impartially and selflessly. Relatives, friends, and officials ask you to do things. Those who are legal will do it, and those who are illegal will refuse. You never accept gifts. They range from rewards and houses to carriages, horses, and clothes. They are all rejected one by one. Not only that, you also often give your own salary to relatives, friends and working people.

Third, I feel that life is simple and pure. What you eat is "food taken off millet" and "vegetables with moss", which can be said to be "meager". In today's terms, you are a vegetarian with simple meals; you wear "cloth clothes"; you ride in the imperial chariot. ; Living in a shabby room "near the city, Qiu Narrows and bustling streets, it is uninhabitable". Not only do you "prevent yourself" as Confucius said, but you also pay great attention to "preventing color". Jinggong saw that your wife was "old and evil" and wanted to marry you with his beloved daughter, but you refused. It is also said: "If you get rid of the old, you will be in chaos; if you accept the young, you will be immoral. If the husband sees sex and forgets his righteousness, if he lives in wealth and honor, he will lose his ethics. This is called against the Tao."

Fourth, I think you are eloquent. When you were admonishing Mr. Qi, you sometimes said the right thing, sometimes you said the right thing, sometimes you were humorous, and sometimes you said it bluntly. These languages ??can be said to be at your fingertips in your mind. In terms of diplomacy, you were even more shocking with your words, and those arrogant people who deceived the world and stole their reputation all shut up under your words and had no choice but to accept them. You were not humiliated and you defended the country's national character.

Fifth, I think you implement benevolent government and put the people first. It is said that you highly admire Guan Zhong's "If you want to reform the world and bring peace to the world, you must start with loving the people." You also insist that "there is nothing more important than caring for the people, and nothing more important than happy people." When there is a famine and the country does not provide food for disaster relief, you will distribute your own food to the victims for emergency relief, and then admonish the monarch to provide disaster relief, which is deeply loved by the people. Externally, you advocate peaceful coexistence with neighboring countries and refrain from aggression. At that time, Jinggong wanted to attack Lu, so you advised him to "please be polite to Lu to appease my resentment, leave behind his stubbornness, and clarify my virtue." Jinggong "did not attack Lu" and all countries lived in peace.

Sixth, I think you are a loyal minister. You have assisted three generations of monarchs throughout your life. No matter which monarch you are, you have tried your best to assist them. When you were assisting the state at home, you were not afraid of the powerful and acted impartially. You skillfully used "two peaches to kill three soldiers" to resolve the threat of the warriors to the monarch. When you were communicating abroad, you fought with the heroes. , became famous in the country.

So, in that era of frequent wars, I say that you are a hero of the times and you deserve to be honored. Even the sage Confucius praised you like this: "You save the people but don't boast about them, you do what you need to do to complement the three monarchs but don't have them, Yan Zi is a gentleman!"

However, in today's era of reform and opening up, in the era of rapid change and development, driven by the history of cultural diversification and economic integration, I think you still need to learn something in the underworld of the Yin Dynasty in order to Only by following the trend and advancing with the times can we be handy and have everything we need in today's world.

What should you learn? In my opinion, there should be the following:

First, you must be well versed in the ways of being an official. To be proficient in Houheixue, to be able to understand world affairs and understand human feelings, you must know the four-character true secrets of blowing, patting, coaxing, and paying tribute, as well as the four-character mental skills of ruthlessness, accuracy, stability, and endurance. Don't strictly follow the system. The system is dead, but people are alive. The system is too cold, too rigid, and too heartless. In short, leaders and subordinates must respond to requests and turn a blind eye to sometimes unsightly work. Only in this way can there be harmony!

The second is to learn to play with women. As the saying goes: "What man is not in love, and what woman is not in love". To be honest, I am not satisfied with you. If someone wants to marry you with a good girl, but you refuse, and you still want to guard your own yellow-faced woman, this is like hanging on a tree.

Throughout history, which official did not have three wives and four concubines? Looking at it today, isn’t this also popular? A leader used explosive devices to send 13 lovers to the West; a leader used MBA management knowledge to effectively manage 7 lovers; and some leaders managed to make lovers and wives have a harmonious family relationship. The great sage Confucius also said, "Food and sex are the nature of food!" Well!

Third, you must learn to be pompous and elegant. Isn't there a popular saying now: "Life is about food and clothing." That's the truth. There is also a saying that goes, "One third of talent, seventy percent of dressing up." In fact, clothes can show a person's identity and status. If you don’t believe it, look at these officials. Each one is neater and more gorgeous than the last. This can be said to be: “prominent status and grandeur”. This is nothing. Just look at the wine table. That’s what it means. style. A meal for several people can cost tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands. Think about it, this is the real fine food and clothing.

Fourth, you must learn to take it from the people, use it for the people, and make profits from it. Now, you are opening your own granary to help refugees. I think you are too out of date, too stupid, and too unbelievable. In fact, many officials now work with the people. You see, isn't the current immigration relocation also doing good things for the people? Only ignorant people like those in Guizhou would commit suicide by drinking medicine. Like the old lady in a certain area who refused to leave, she was pushed into the wall by an excavator and buried underground. Even so, officials do not develop the same areas and drive people into new homes. Rural areas have been urbanized, political achievements have improved, officials have been promoted, and red envelopes have been collected. Why not do such a thing?

Fifth, you must learn to be evil. Speaking of evil intentions, I have to say that today's people are really like "the woods are big and there are all kinds of birds." If you want to achieve some political achievements, start a real estate business or something, they will stop you and they will gather together to cause trouble. At this time, if you are not evil-minded, you will have no political achievements, you will not be promoted, and you will not even be able to secure your official position. So, you just have to be evil-minded, arrest the leader of the crowd, and torture him severely. After a few times of this, those who will not dare to make trouble again will know: "The people cannot fight with the officials."

Sixth, you must learn to amass wealth and flattery. These days, you can't be too honest. People will say you are an alien, attack you everywhere, frame you everywhere, and flatter you everywhere. You just collect some and take some. I don’t think anything of it, you don’t record it in your account, so what are you afraid of? Besides, the person giving the gift is either a relative or a friend. Even if he is not a relative or an acquaintance, he must have been introduced by personal experience. You can't refuse someone thousands of miles away. If you don't keep things that others bring at home and give them to your superiors, you might be promoted at any time. Isn't this killing two birds with one stone?

Okay, let’s stop here. It’s very deep now. It’s time for me to go to bed. I hope you can finish reading this letter. Respond promptly.

Yamano Murao

The evening of December 1, 2011