"As the saying goes, no one is perfect without pure gold. In our daily lives, we often fall into a 'face-up' mindset that tends to divide people into good and bad, pure and sinful. We tend to expect good people to be flawless and bad people to be good.
But the reality is that everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, and the good guys can have their lesser-known flaws, while the bad guys can also have surprising strengths. This 'face-painting' mindset not only limits our horizons and prevents us from looking at others objectively, but also makes us feel disappointed and confused when facing reality.
In the TV series "White Deer Plain", the character of Bai Jiaxuan was portrayed as a near-perfect patriarch. He was selfless, kind and virtuous to his people. However, when we opened Chen Zhongzhong's original work ** "White Deer Plain", we found that Bai Jiaxuan was not a completely positive character, and there were many dark sides hidden behind him.
His actions are not entirely above board, and sometimes he will use all kinds of means to achieve his goals, including taking advantage of the weaknesses of others. This makes us realize that human nature is complex and that no one person is completely good or completely bad. We should abandon the 'face-painted' mindset and understand and accept the complexity and diversity of human nature with a more objective and tolerant attitude.
Bai Jiaxuan once said to Lu San: 'Third brother! Think about it, we have been together for many years, and what I have done, which one has been quietly touched? I'm afraid you can't find even one. But is that really the case? Did Bai Jiaxuan really not do anything unseemly? Lu San didn't know, but this didn't mean that Bai Jiaxuan was really pure and immaculate.
For example, he skillfully exchanged land with Lu Zilin, and in the process he took advantage of Lu Zilin's greed and the kindness of others. His true intentions are so hidden that even those closest to him are unaware. Therefore, we should not easily believe in superficial phenomena, but should dig deep into the truth of the matter.
This hidden transaction is one of the things that Bai Jiaxuan has in his heart. Behind his image of virtue and integrity, there are hidden secrets. And these secrets may be an indispensable part of his humanity.
At the end of "White Deer Plain"**, these secrets are still buried deep in his heart, just waiting to be revealed. "In the twilight of his life, Bai Jiaxuan stared at the crazy Lu Zilin, recalling that he had skillfully seized Lu Zilin's slow slope land in the form of selling land and used it as a cemetery. This guilt grew in his heart, and he sighed: "Zilin, I'm sorry for you. I have only done this unseemly thing in my life, and I will repay it for you in the next life and replenish your heart. ”
Bai Jiaxuan and Lu Zilin, the two reflect each other in the long river of time. Once, Bai Jiaxuan experienced the sorrow of six marriages and six funerals, and the family went into decline. However, the seventh marriage brought him good fortune, Xiancao became his wife, and the family gradually became rich and prosperous. He decided to renovate his house, but as a patriarch, he understood the importance of prestige better. So, he decided to renovate the ancestral hall and build a school to establish his prestige.
This proposal was echoed and appreciated by Lu Zilin, and they worked together to complete the renovation of the ancestral hall and the establishment of the school. However, with the increase in prestige, Lu Zilin found that all this did not seem to bring him substantial benefits, so he chose to part ways with Bai Jiaxuan.
Pak Ka Hin's original intention was not just to renovate the ancestral hall and establish a school. He knew that his name would live on with these buildings for generations to come. The calculation of fame and prestige hidden behind this is his wisdom and scheming as the patriarch. However, this calculation is not malicious, but a manifestation of the complexity of human nature.
The friendship between the Bai family and Changgong Lusan is deep, starting from his father Bai Bingde, this master-servant friendship has been praised in Bailuyuan. The Bai family not only never deducted Lu San's salary, but also cared about his life, and even paid for him to marry a wife. This kindness made Lu San loyal to the Bai family. From today's point of view, this undoubtedly shows Bai Bingde's outstanding leadership ability.
In Bai Jiaxuan's generation, he regards Lusan as his family. He not only sponsored Lusan's son Heiwa to go to school, but also gave advice to Heiwa's new marriage. Even in a famine year, when the other masters chose to let the long-term workers go home to save food, Bai Jiaxuan resolutely refused Lu San's request to take the initiative to go home. In his eyes, Lusan is not a simple long-term worker, but a part of the family. Bai Jiaxuan's words were like a warm spring breeze, he said: "I eat meat, you follow meat, I drink soup, you also drink soup." This undoubtedly shows his benevolence.
However, his next words were like a sharp knife, piercing the foam of surface harmony. He said, "When you go back, let others look at me?" This sentence is like a cold wind in the cold winter, which makes people shudder. In this sentence, we see Bai Jiaxuan's calculations, what he needs is not only superficial benevolence, but also to maintain his face and status. Lu San is just a chess piece in his hand, and his benevolence is just to show his tall image in front of his clansmen.
In Lu San's heart, he always remembered Bai Jiaxuan's kindness. Those kindnesses, as heavy as a mountain, bent his waist and made him loyal to Bai Jiaxuan. Tian Xiao'e's appearance was like a sudden storm, which broke the relationship between Heiwa and Lu San. However, Lu San did not resent Tian Xiao'e because of this, but just suffered silently. But when he saw that Bai Xiaowen was ruined by Tian Xiao'e, he was angry, and the kindness in his heart was instantly ignited, and he decided to get rid of this scourge for Bai Jiaxuan.
Bai Jiaxuan's attitude towards Bai Xiaowen is even more amazing. He is well aware of the truth of "from good as ascending, from evil as collapsing". When the matter between Bai Xiaowen and Tian Xiao'e was revealed, he did not hesitate and immediately tied Bai Xiaowen to the ancestral hall to punish him. This move undoubtedly shows his iron-faced selflessness. However, this was only part of his calculations. After the punishment, he quickly proposed to split the family to prevent Bai Xiaowen from further leading the family astray. Every decision he makes is the result of careful consideration.
When Bai Xiaowen decided to return to Bailuyuan to worship his ancestors, Bai Jiaxuan's attitude changed. At first, he refused his son's request. But then, he changed his mind. He knew that Bai Xiaowen returned to his hometown to regain his lost dignity and face. As a father, the dignity of the son is also his dignity. The initial refusal was just because I couldn't put it down.
Later consent is what he really thinks in his heart. After Bai Xiaowen worshiped his ancestors, Bai Jiaxuan was satisfied and relieved from the praise of his clansmen. He heard the people talking: "The dragon seed is the dragon seed after all." It made him feel like he had been compensated for being hollowed out. His heart was fulfilled and filled.
Finally, we must not forget Bai Jiaxuan's attitude towards Lu Zilin. He was always calculating, and every decision was well thought out. His calculation of Lu Zilin is even more so. In his eyes, Lu Zilin is just a tool for him to achieve his goals. Every decision he makes, every action he takes, is to preserve his position and face. Bai Jiaxuan's world is full of calculations and strategies, but deep down, there is still an indescribable emotion surging.
This emotion stems from his sense of responsibility to his family and his obsessive pursuit of his own status. In his world, affection, power, family, and status are intertwined to form a complex and orderly worldview. On the White Deer Plain, the two major families of the Bai family and the Lu family have always been secretly competing, and their strength is comparable. Among these two families, Bai Jiaxuan and Lu Zilin are known as role models for the clan, and they each have extraordinary wisdom and talent. The competition between them is like an invisible knife, sometimes in the light and sometimes in the dark. Sometimes, in order to achieve the goal, even at the expense of others, as a warning to the other party.
The story about Leng Qiuyue was spread in Bailuyuan. She claimed that she had an affair with the male deer Zilin, and such rumors undoubtedly had a great impact on the family. Although many people are skeptical about this, Bai Jiaxuan is convinced. He has always felt that Lu Zilin's behavior is like a beast in the affairs of men and women. Therefore, Bai Jiaxuan chose to believe Leng Qiuyue's words, perhaps to combat Lu Zilin's arrogance. He sacrificed Tian Xiao'e and Goudan to warn Lu Zilin. And Lu Zilin knew in his heart, he knew that Bai Jiaxuan hit him in the face with seven points of force.
After Lu Zilin was released from prison, Bai Jiaxuan personally visited him and apologized to him. Lu Zilin knew that in the past, he had designed to demolish Bai Jiaxuan's house, which made him lose face. Could it be that Bai Jiaxuan really couldn't stop Bai Xiaowen? Probably not. Maybe Bai Jiaxuan is borrowing his son's hand, trying to find lost face. For the kindness of the rabbit baby, Bai Jiaxuan seems to be grateful for Lu San's hard work, providing an opportunity for his son rabbit to continue to work at home. Not only that, but he also married a daughter-in-law for the rabbit baby, gave him a good piece of land, and let him stand on his own. But is that really the case?
When Bai Jiaxuan married an ideal daughter-in-law for his third son Bai Xiaoyi, unfortunately, the third daughter-in-law never got pregnant. Bai Jiaxuan hoped that his son could marry another, but Mr. Leng pointed out that the problem may be Bai Xiaoyi. At this time, an incredible idea sprouted in Bai Jiaxuan's heart - borrowing seeds. And the rabbit baby became the primary target.
It turned out that all the "kindness" was just a plan made by Bai Jiaxuan for the interests of the family. The news that the rabbit baby made the third daughter-in-law pregnant was a tricky problem for Bai Jiaxuan. In order to cover up this family scandal, he decided to adopt some strategies. He found Mr. Leng, gave him a generous gift, and cleverly attributed the third daughter-in-law's pregnancy to Mr. Leng's "panacea". This approach makes people sigh that he is shrewd and capable, and at the same time exposes his hidden calculations.
The secret of the rabbit baby and the third daughter-in-law was revealed, and Bai Jiaxuan understood that the rabbit baby could not continue to live in the Bai family. So, he married a daughter-in-law for the rabbit baby and made her move away from the Bai family. As for the matter of giving the rabbit baby's land, it was also affected by Mr. Zhu's advice. In this dispute, behind many of Bai Jiaxuan's seemingly benevolent decisions, there are actually hidden personal interests.
Pak Ka Hin's behaviour reminds us that we need to be rational when looking at human nature, and we cannot simply divide it into good and bad. Don't blindly worship others, and don't be disappointed by the occasional good deeds of the so-called bad guys. We should look for the shining points from them and give them affirmation, so that they can exert greater positive energy. Therefore, we need to be kind to humanity and maintain a rational and tolerant attitude.