The story of Cao Chong's elephant is well-known, and this "anachronistic" experience during the Three Kingdoms period reveals a profound and thought-provoking historical proposition. The reason why this story is considered "out of place" is that it touches on the pain point of Chinese civilization that has long attached importance to "governing people" but despised "governing things".
Chinese civilization: a group civilization with "governing people" as the main axis.
Most of China's 5,000-year history of civilization has focused on "governing people", which stems from the collective nature of Chinese civilization. In the early days, in the face of the harsh natural environment, it was difficult for individual forces to survive, and the formation of groups made it possible to "subdue cunning insects and control beasts". On this basis, the monarch and the monarchical principle rose rapidly, forming the theme of civilization with "governing people" as the core. The theory of power advocated by Legalism and Confucius's "governing people is the superior way, and governing things is the inferior small art" further emphasizes the importance of "governing people". This led to the gradual deviation of Chinese civilization from the "governance of things", and finally formed a monarchical system.
"Governing people" orientation: losing the sensitivity to "governing things".
During the feudal dynasty, the focus of Chinese civilization has always been on "governing people", and it has a lot of contempt for "governing things". This effect continues to this day, with people who are single-minded and "honest" labeled, while people who are good at interpersonal relationships are more valued. However, "governing things" is the key to promoting the progress of human civilization, because the world is material, not subject to human will, and the level of social development depends on the real productive forces.
The historical enlightenment of the West to pay equal attention to "governing people" and "governing things".
In contrast, the West paid attention to "governing things" in addition to "governing people", and rose to prominence around 1600, successfully harnessing the power of science and technology to promote the rapid development of human civilization. This is due to the thinking mode of attaching equal importance to "governing things" and "governing people", which made Western civilization leap up and gave birth to the dominance of scientific power.
Cao Chong called the elephant: a unique expression of the "governance of things" in Chinese civilization.
Cao Chong said that the elephant has become one of the representatives of "governing things" in the history of Chinese civilization. He was young and pure, and had a clear understanding of the material problems of the real world. When faced with the practical problem of weighing images, he proposed a non-contact measurement method through observation and logical deduction, showing the progress of Chinese civilization in "governing things". However, this also pokes at the pain point of long-standing contempt for "governing things".
The Strategist's Dilemma: The Limitations of Chinese Civilization's Thinking of "Governing People".
Cao Cao's advisers were extremely intelligent, but they were dull when faced with the problem of "governing things". They are Xi to "governing people" and do not know anything about "governing things." Although it has excelled in scheming and interpersonal relationships, it lacks the ability to "govern things" to solve practical problems, which exposes the limitations of the long-term "governing" thinking of Chinese civilization.
Mindset: The difficult transition from "governing people" to "governing things".
Although the strategists are extremely intelligent, they are dull in their "governance" because of their long-standing mindset. They focus too much on the strategy of relationships and ignore the importance of the material world. This makes them fall into an insurmountable cognitive bottleneck when faced with the practical problem of how to weigh the image.
Conclusion: The historical enlightenment of Cao Chong's elephants.
Cao Chong said that this short story inspires us to break the limitations of "governing people" and re-understanding and attaching importance to "governing things". Only by balancing "governing people" and "managing things" can we achieve all-round social progress. Although Cao Chong said that although the elephant is considered "out of place", its essence reveals the long-term loss of Chinese civilization in "governing things", and also leaves us with profound reflection.
Commentary: The distinction between "governing people" and "governing things" in Chinese civilization.
The story of Cao Chong is not only a historical anecdote, but also a profound reflection on the long-term thinking of Chinese civilization of "governing people". The article elaborates on the dominant characteristics of "governing people" in the history of Chinese civilization, and calls for a re-examination of the importance of "governing things" through the interpretation of Cao Chong's symbol.
First of all, the article emphasizes the reason for the dominance of "governing people" in the history of Chinese civilization. In the 5,000-year history of civilization, a large part of the time has been focused on how to "govern people", which stems from the collective nature of Chinese civilization. In the face of the extremely harsh natural environment, the formation of groups has become the key to survival, so "subduing cunning insects and controlling beasts" has become the law of survival at that time. Under this premise, the monarch and the monarchical principle rose to the core, forming the theme of civilization centered on "governing people". This theme was strengthened by the theories of Legalism and Confucius, which led to the continuous deviation of Chinese civilization from the right path of "governing things", and finally formed the monarchical system.
The article further explores the relationship between "governing people" and "governing things". During the feudal period, the perspective of Chinese civilization has always focused on "governing people" and holding a disdainful attitude towards "governing things". This kind of thinking continues to this day, leading to people who do things with a heart and mind being labeled as "honest people". The article emphasizes that "governing things" is the key to promoting the progress of human civilization, because the real world is material and does not depend on human will. The successful experience of the West in this regard has also provided us with enlightenment, proving that it is possible to achieve tremendous development by attaching equal importance to "managing people" and "managing things."
Cao Chong said that Xiang Xiang is regarded as a representative of the "governance of things" in Chinese civilization, and his story reveals the pain point of long-standing contempt for "governing things". Through the description of Cao Chong's imagery, the article emphasizes his keen cognition and innovative thinking in solving practical problems. His non-contact measurement method is not only a progress in the history of Chinese civilization, but also a subversion of the thinking of "governing people".
At the end of the article, the plight of Cao Cao's advisers was discussed. Although these strategists are extremely clever and excel in scheming and interpersonal relationships, they are dull when it comes to the problem of "governing things." This phenomenon reveals the limitations of the Chinese civilization's thinking of "governing people", and the strategists are Xi to this mindset and have lost their sensitivity to the cognition of "governing things". The article warns us to break the limitations of this kind of thinking, re-understand and attach importance to "governing things", and achieve all-round social progress.
On the whole, the story of Cao Chong's elephant has triggered a profound reflection on the relationship between "governing people" and "governing things" in Chinese civilization. This story reminds us that when promoting social development, we should not one-sidedly emphasize "governing people", but should balance "governing things" to achieve all-round progress.
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