Society is made up of people, and people are simple. So society is relatively simple too. When people are complicated, society is bound to be even more complicated. People today are less simple than at any time before. They are also smarter than people at any time before, so naturally our society is more complicated than that of any previous era, like a vast ocean, broad and deep beyond measure, impossible to fathom.
I know perfectly well that my talent and learning are shallow, and I cannot really study social problems. Yet by some strange twist of fate, lately I have overestimated myself and started to let my thoughts run wild over certain social phenomena. After all, I am not cut out for serious research. My thoughts on these social phenomena are scattered and lacking any proper form; if I put them together, it would simply be “donkey lips not matching horse jaws.” Some of the ideas I arrived at are also rather crude, very much like “folk singing” and “child's play.” Still, since I have thought about them and formed some views of my own, immature as they may be, I might as well make them public and ask the experts for advice.
Below are the 9 “laws” of today’s society that I have “discovered,” along with some notes:
1. People with nothing to do often stir up trouble; people who often stir up trouble usually come to no harm.
——The first “nothing to do” is not absolute. As a rule, as long as a person has the conditions to act, he will not truly have nothing to do. So “nothing to do” here means there is nothing that absolutely must be done, nothing that absolutely must be done personally. The second “nothing to do,” however, is absolute. Those who constantly provoke trouble always have something to rely on; only with backing and without fear can they so easily make trouble, and after making trouble there is always someone to “cover” for them, so they always get off scot-free.
2. Happy people are not necessarily ignorant, but ignorant people are definitely happy.
——Happiness is a kind of perception, not a kind of enjoyment. The more knowledge one has, the harder it is to feel content; the simpler the mind, the easier it is to feel satisfied. This is basically true. But “basically” is only basically, not the same as entirely. Once knowledgeable people learn to take everything lightly and let everything go, they too can feel satisfied with all they have and thus be full of happiness. Ignorant people, of course, have simple minds, sometimes so simple that they do not even know what suffering is. So no matter when, they will not feel unhappy.
3. Those who look glorious in front of others suffer in their hearts behind the scenes; those who suffer in their hearts behind the scenes will look glorious in front of others.
——Those who grab all the limelight in front of others, who wherever and whenever they appear rack their brains to attract every eye and every spotlight by all kinds of means, must have some hidden pain behind the scenes—pain that is hard to tell, cannot be told, or cannot be put into words. Again and again they have no choice but to soak their smiling faces in bitter waters. Those who, behind the scenes, put in real effort and use the time others spend getting their hair washed, getting foot massages, or singing karaoke to study and build their abilities may not fight for attention in public, but they often gain glory that comes more easily and lasts much longer.
4. People who are willing and know how to do things well often do not have the conditions to turn their ideas into reality; people who do have the conditions to turn their ideas into reality often are unwilling or do not know how to do things well.
——Those who offer insightful criticism and suggestions on many matters are often “outsiders.” They find it hard to understand, hard to tolerate, and deeply unsatisfying when the “insiders” have approaches and methods that are obviously full of defects and plainly unsuitable. So they launch “sweeping criticism,” going on and on in every detail and in every aspect. Yet those who have the conditions and responsibility to do the actual work often make a mess of it, and many of the mistakes they make are extremely “low-level,” errors that even kindergarten children could avoid.
5. People for whom nothing is impossible lack a sense of justice; people full of a sense of justice cannot get many things done.
——There are rules for getting things done; as the saying goes, “without rules, nothing can be accomplished.” Nowadays, when handling affairs, there are not only open rules, but hidden rules as well. The open road matters, but the hidden road matters too, and sometimes it matters even more. To get everything done, one must have the ability to get through the hidden road, and anyone who can get through the hidden road is certainly not an upright person. Without question, such people are lacking in a sense of justice. People full of a sense of justice only walk the open road, and only know how to walk the open road. Naturally they are constrained at every turn by hidden rules, and so many things are bound not to get done.
6. People who often praise others for no reason are begging others to praise them; people who do not beg others to praise them never praise others for no reason.
——Praising others for no reason is something normal people disdain. Only those who are not much themselves yet want others to praise them will use this kind of exchange to seek praise from others. Praising others is praising yourself; as long as you are willing, as long as you can bring yourself to do it, then after praising others for no reason, “praising others and self-praise” will inevitably become organically combined. Of those who never praise others for no reason, one thing can be said for certain: when it comes to reputation, they are absolutely not beggars.
7. People who become film and TV stars often have experiences too painful to look back on; people who are currently creating such painful experiences all want to become film and TV stars.
——The artistic road is rugged, the whole path crowded with people, pushing and shoving, scrambling and fighting. To climb to the heights of film and television, the spirit of struggling up a rough little path is far from enough. One must also possess all kinds of natural conditions suited to market competition, as well as the indispensable and well-known social conditions. To gather all these conditions requires giving up much and sacrificing much; it is even harder than traveling the Shu Road in old times. So after becoming a star, how can one bear to look back on the past? But stars enjoy boundless glamour, and no matter how many sacrifices, no matter how great, people still charge forward bravely. Wow! You really have to admit it!
8. Among “fans,” you will never fail to find baffling people. And among baffling people, there will never be no “fans.”
——When exactly did star-chasing first appear? I have never researched it. But that this group’s population has greatly increased can certainly be said to be a matter of the last ten or twenty years. This group has one unchanging trait: it has an inseparable and hopelessly tangled connection with baffling people. Not all star-chasers are necessarily baffling people, but there are certainly always some baffling people among them. Baffling people do not necessarily all go chasing stars, but among those who do chase stars, there will certainly be no lack of people from this “tribe.” If you want to find star-chasers, go to the crowd of baffling people; if you want to find baffling people, go to the star-chasers.
9. People who lack nothing materially lack a sense of happiness; people full of a sense of happiness lack material things.
——What is happiness? Happiness is having food when your stomach is hungry, having clothes when your body is cold, and having a life full of hope and joy. Through unremitting effort, one’s basic needs can be guaranteed, and at the same time one has beautiful ideals to pursue and strive for—these are the basic elements happiness must have. People in such a state may still lack many material things, but in feeling they are happy. People who lack nothing materially often no longer have any new pursuit. Without pursuit, a sense of boredom naturally begins to grow, and the sense of happiness is then lost completely—“the best scenery is always in the places we have not yet been.” At the same time, talking about giving up property is easy, but actually doing it is much harder. If you have money yourself but cannot bear to give it to those who need it most, then if you do not give it, your conscience and public opinion will condemn you—“to die guarding a great fortune is a disgrace”—and so you remain in pain. And if one is in pain, then there is not the slightest sense of happiness to speak of.
I know perfectly well that my talent and learning are shallow, and I cannot really study social problems. Yet by some strange twist of fate, lately I have overestimated myself and started to let my thoughts run wild over certain social phenomena. After all, I am not cut out for serious research. My thoughts on these social phenomena are scattered and lacking any proper form; if I put them together, it would simply be “donkey lips not matching horse jaws.” Some of the ideas I arrived at are also rather crude, very much like “folk singing” and “child's play.” Still, since I have thought about them and formed some views of my own, immature as they may be, I might as well make them public and ask the experts for advice.
Below are the 9 “laws” of today’s society that I have “discovered,” along with some notes:
1. People with nothing to do often stir up trouble; people who often stir up trouble usually come to no harm.
——The first “nothing to do” is not absolute. As a rule, as long as a person has the conditions to act, he will not truly have nothing to do. So “nothing to do” here means there is nothing that absolutely must be done, nothing that absolutely must be done personally. The second “nothing to do,” however, is absolute. Those who constantly provoke trouble always have something to rely on; only with backing and without fear can they so easily make trouble, and after making trouble there is always someone to “cover” for them, so they always get off scot-free.
2. Happy people are not necessarily ignorant, but ignorant people are definitely happy.
——Happiness is a kind of perception, not a kind of enjoyment. The more knowledge one has, the harder it is to feel content; the simpler the mind, the easier it is to feel satisfied. This is basically true. But “basically” is only basically, not the same as entirely. Once knowledgeable people learn to take everything lightly and let everything go, they too can feel satisfied with all they have and thus be full of happiness. Ignorant people, of course, have simple minds, sometimes so simple that they do not even know what suffering is. So no matter when, they will not feel unhappy.
3. Those who look glorious in front of others suffer in their hearts behind the scenes; those who suffer in their hearts behind the scenes will look glorious in front of others.
——Those who grab all the limelight in front of others, who wherever and whenever they appear rack their brains to attract every eye and every spotlight by all kinds of means, must have some hidden pain behind the scenes—pain that is hard to tell, cannot be told, or cannot be put into words. Again and again they have no choice but to soak their smiling faces in bitter waters. Those who, behind the scenes, put in real effort and use the time others spend getting their hair washed, getting foot massages, or singing karaoke to study and build their abilities may not fight for attention in public, but they often gain glory that comes more easily and lasts much longer.
4. People who are willing and know how to do things well often do not have the conditions to turn their ideas into reality; people who do have the conditions to turn their ideas into reality often are unwilling or do not know how to do things well.
——Those who offer insightful criticism and suggestions on many matters are often “outsiders.” They find it hard to understand, hard to tolerate, and deeply unsatisfying when the “insiders” have approaches and methods that are obviously full of defects and plainly unsuitable. So they launch “sweeping criticism,” going on and on in every detail and in every aspect. Yet those who have the conditions and responsibility to do the actual work often make a mess of it, and many of the mistakes they make are extremely “low-level,” errors that even kindergarten children could avoid.
5. People for whom nothing is impossible lack a sense of justice; people full of a sense of justice cannot get many things done.
——There are rules for getting things done; as the saying goes, “without rules, nothing can be accomplished.” Nowadays, when handling affairs, there are not only open rules, but hidden rules as well. The open road matters, but the hidden road matters too, and sometimes it matters even more. To get everything done, one must have the ability to get through the hidden road, and anyone who can get through the hidden road is certainly not an upright person. Without question, such people are lacking in a sense of justice. People full of a sense of justice only walk the open road, and only know how to walk the open road. Naturally they are constrained at every turn by hidden rules, and so many things are bound not to get done.
6. People who often praise others for no reason are begging others to praise them; people who do not beg others to praise them never praise others for no reason.
——Praising others for no reason is something normal people disdain. Only those who are not much themselves yet want others to praise them will use this kind of exchange to seek praise from others. Praising others is praising yourself; as long as you are willing, as long as you can bring yourself to do it, then after praising others for no reason, “praising others and self-praise” will inevitably become organically combined. Of those who never praise others for no reason, one thing can be said for certain: when it comes to reputation, they are absolutely not beggars.
7. People who become film and TV stars often have experiences too painful to look back on; people who are currently creating such painful experiences all want to become film and TV stars.
——The artistic road is rugged, the whole path crowded with people, pushing and shoving, scrambling and fighting. To climb to the heights of film and television, the spirit of struggling up a rough little path is far from enough. One must also possess all kinds of natural conditions suited to market competition, as well as the indispensable and well-known social conditions. To gather all these conditions requires giving up much and sacrificing much; it is even harder than traveling the Shu Road in old times. So after becoming a star, how can one bear to look back on the past? But stars enjoy boundless glamour, and no matter how many sacrifices, no matter how great, people still charge forward bravely. Wow! You really have to admit it!
8. Among “fans,” you will never fail to find baffling people. And among baffling people, there will never be no “fans.”
——When exactly did star-chasing first appear? I have never researched it. But that this group’s population has greatly increased can certainly be said to be a matter of the last ten or twenty years. This group has one unchanging trait: it has an inseparable and hopelessly tangled connection with baffling people. Not all star-chasers are necessarily baffling people, but there are certainly always some baffling people among them. Baffling people do not necessarily all go chasing stars, but among those who do chase stars, there will certainly be no lack of people from this “tribe.” If you want to find star-chasers, go to the crowd of baffling people; if you want to find baffling people, go to the star-chasers.
9. People who lack nothing materially lack a sense of happiness; people full of a sense of happiness lack material things.
——What is happiness? Happiness is having food when your stomach is hungry, having clothes when your body is cold, and having a life full of hope and joy. Through unremitting effort, one’s basic needs can be guaranteed, and at the same time one has beautiful ideals to pursue and strive for—these are the basic elements happiness must have. People in such a state may still lack many material things, but in feeling they are happy. People who lack nothing materially often no longer have any new pursuit. Without pursuit, a sense of boredom naturally begins to grow, and the sense of happiness is then lost completely—“the best scenery is always in the places we have not yet been.” At the same time, talking about giving up property is easy, but actually doing it is much harder. If you have money yourself but cannot bear to give it to those who need it most, then if you do not give it, your conscience and public opinion will condemn you—“to die guarding a great fortune is a disgrace”—and so you remain in pain. And if one is in pain, then there is not the slightest sense of happiness to speak of.
生命是道凝重的彩虹，天空是密不透风的窗。