The Fog of History refers to the teleology in which the deer is the horse and the king is defeated

Mondo History Updated on 2024-01-28

In the long river of history, the end of the Qin Dynasty was an era full of turbulence and change. The young Qin II (Ying Huhai) had just ascended the throne, while the ambitious prime minister Zhao Gao had quietly seized real power and had ambitions to usurp the throne. However, deep down, his attitude towards the ministers of the DPRK and China was full of doubts: how many of them would be loyal to him, and how many could be a stumbling block to his progress

In order to find the truth and consolidate his power base, Zhao Gao unleashed an ingenious strategy. On a solemn day of the last dynasty, he brought a sika deer, and in front of the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty, pointed to this docile creature, and declared to Qin II: "Your Majesty, I offer you a rare horse. ”

In the face of this obvious lie, although Qin II knew that it was a deer and not a horse, he did not immediately expose Zhao Gao's trick. At this time, the ministers were in a dilemma: some people, out of fear of Zhao Gao's power, even knew that it was a deer, but they went against their will and said that it was a horse;Others stick to the bottom line of the facts, insisting that it was a deer. Eventually, the ministers who chose to speak the truth fell victim to Zhao Gao's purge of dissidents.

The essence of "referring to a deer as a horse" or "referring to a horse as a deer" is that human beings reinterpret the meaning of events in order to achieve their own needs and goals. Just like a man and a woman in the period of first love, the shortcomings of the other party will also be seen as strengths;Couples in the Cold War, on the other hand, will try to find each other's imperfections. The same two people's interpretations of the same thing show diametrically opposite directions because of different situations.

The law of "winning the king and defeating the king" is not uncommon in the long history of China. The struggle between Chu and Han at the end of the Qin Dynasty and the struggle for hegemony between Wei, Shu and Wu during the Three Kingdoms period all reveal this phenomenon. Liu Bang defeated Xiang Yu, established the Han Dynasty, and became the "king";And Xiang Yu, history portrays him as "Kou".

The human brain has limited space, and many memories have faded away, while others have gained new interpretations over time. Forgetting the past is also a way to change the past, and its essence is still to satisfy the purpose of the present.

If the above argument holds, then we can change our behavior patterns by changing the purpose. Our purpose and goal in life are inDon't leave, we'll move on to the next issue**. Thank you for your interest and hope it will bring you some inspiration.

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