Yan Fu Yuan Qiang

Yuan Qiang Yanfu

Those who talk about Western learning and Westernization now know that what Westerners have been diligently pursuing over the past fifty years can protect themselves and govern them. Life, can it be a major event that benefits the people and the country?

Darwin is a British scholar of flora and fauna. Inheriting his family education, when he was young, he lived in Zhou Dynasty and Ying Dynasty. All kinds of vegetation, trees, birds, and fish of special quality and quality will be collected in great abundance. After decades of careful consideration, he wrote a book, also known as "The Origin of Things". Since his book was published, almost everyone in Europe and the United States has not read it, and the academic and political education in Europe and the West has changed dramatically. Commentators say that Ta's teachings are more eye-catching and change one's thinking than Naduan's calculations, which is hardly praiseworthy. It is clearly stated in the documentary evidence and is clearly applicable to people's hearts. The main purpose is that the variety of things begins with one book. The days are changing, and the differences between heaven and earth and the situation of the world are so great that they are almost irreversible. However, these are all things acquired, because it is natural and tame. There are only two chapters mentioned in the book that are particularly authoritative, and all Western writers can describe them. One of them is called "Strive for Self-Existence", and the other is called "Yi Yi Zhong". The so-called striving for self-existence means that people and things live side by side in the world and share the natural benefits of heaven and earth. In order to form a structure of connection, people and things strive for their own survival. In the beginning, species compete with species, and when groups form countries, groups compete with groups, and countries compete with countries. The weak should be strong men, and the foolish should be the servants of wisdom. If a man has to survive by himself and overcome his legacy, he must be strong-willed, strong and skillful, and be the most suitable for all the circumstances of the time and place. also. Moreover, when it comes to fighting, there is no need to use claws and claws to kill. Those who are accustomed to peace will make the land work hard; those who are accustomed to the mountains will make them live in marshes. If they are no longer passed down, their seeds will be exhausted. The struggle for survival is just that. Therefore, every time there is the most abundant species in ancient times, the trend gradually changes, and over hundreds of years, or thousands of years, it disappears, and there are still remains, just like the ancient birds and animals seen by oologists. These small animals are the same, and so are the plants and animals; the small animals and plants are the same, and so are the people. People are just like animals. Darwin always has living things, and he marks their purpose and discusses their generality.

And there is also Xi Pengsai, who is also from England, who follows his principles and expounds on human relations. His school is called "Qunxue". Who is a "group student"? Xun Qingzi said: "The reason why humans are different from animals is that they can flock together." All people can support each other, and can easily accomplish things, including military punishments, rituals and music, all of them have the ability to flock together. To live, so Xi Pengsai named his school Yan. About what he discussed and the details of his program coincided unexpectedly with what I said in "The Great Learning" about the sincere and upright cultivation of Qi Zhiping. The first "Great Learning" quoted it but did not publish it, and the words are unclear. As for the book of Xi Pengsai, it is profound and subtle, rich and profound. To hold a theory or a thing, it must be based on physics, briefly refer to human affairs, deduce its origin to the truest source, and only then pursue its ultimate effect to the point where it cannot be evaded. Due to the rise and fall of a country, the reason why the people's virtues are mellow and mellow is especially the three congratulations. During the rule of the Five Continents, the barbarians were wiped out, and even the most powerful country was criticized and sent out, and nineteen of them were wiped out. But it is unique to the governance of China. This is also unknown to him, so it follows the meaning of Gaique. Xi Pengsai devoted his life's energy to reading it for fifty years before completing it. In addition to the whole book, there are more than ten kinds of miscellaneous series of books, some of which are called "Dong (Ying Ying Quan, the same below - Editor)", and some of which are called "Ming Min Yao Lun". For the public. , "Dongxue Chapter" is also a book that encourages people to govern their studies. His great statement is that: tracing the origin of the world, and pursuing the cause and effect, it is most difficult to learn from the group. When a country has a government, it implements a policy and issues an order. Its purpose is to benefit the people and punish abuses, but what is expected always fails to happen, and what is not expected often happens unexpectedly. And it lasted for a long time and had many twists and turns, and it changed drastically, so there were some things that could not be investigated. Therefore, those who do not understand the principles of Qunxue are not only wrong in following the old rules, but also those who change their ways are even more wrong. Those who follow the rules and are reckless will be in the same category. Why? He who has not learned the truth first, who has not left behind his idiosyncratic feelings, who has restricted his teachings and is weak, and whose ambition is harmful to government, has no future and does not harm other people's country. Therefore, if you want to manage a group of schools, you must first do something for all the schools. If it is not mathematics or the study of nomenclature, then one’s mind is not strong enough to detect the inescapable principles and inevitable numbers; if it is not the study of mechanics or quality, then one does not know the interplay of cause and effect. A force scholar is the so-called Gezhi Qi (Dang Weizhi - Editor) study. Zhi (that is, "quality", the same as below - editor) scholar, the so-called chemistry is also.

The teachings of sages and the edicts of fathers and brothers are the most profound. If he behaves like this, he will lead to the rise of agriculture, industry, commerce, and Zaoli. What can I say? In the past, people saw that the monks were too evil and all of them were Sakya. Now I also think that the scholar-bureaucrats are unworthy and all are ignorant, thinking that their teachings are not popular among people. However, because it has only a shallow penetration into people's hearts, the teachings of Zhou and Confucius are inherently imperfect and cannot be dismissed. Why? China is called Confucianism, and it has been here for three thousand years, but it has only achieved this goal of attacking each other, feeling each other, and not getting along with each other. Once foreign aggression suddenly comes, the erosion, destruction, and fistula will not be maintained. After all, if there is no way to survive by oneself, and no way to leave seeds behind, then how can the way be ridiculed? However, this is an exaggeration made out of anger, rather than the truth of the matter. Confucius said, "People can promote the Tao, but it is not the Tao that promotes people." The failure of Confucianism has been due to the rule of ignorant people since the Qin Dynasty.

Secondly, looking at it from this point of view, in order to strive for self-improvement now, it is impossible to treat both the symptoms and the root causes simultaneously. If it is not its goal, it will be impossible to save the current collapse; if it is not its root, even if the root cause is cured, it will soon become self-defeating. What's the bid? Take back power and train the military to be more effective, just like Russia did. As for its foundation, it just means the combination of people's wisdom, people's strength and people's morality. If the people's wisdom becomes more and more enlightened, their strength becomes more vigorous, and their virtue becomes more harmonious, then even if the superiors do not control the standard, the standard will stand on its own. Why? Those who strive for self-preservation and want to leave seeds are the same as those who keep what the people have received from Heaven, and those who do not teach but want to share the same wish. There is a saying: "If the same boat encounters the wind, Hu and Yue will save each other like right and left hands." People who are in a boat are ignorant of the nature of Feng Shui, and if the boat's rafters are not used properly, the effect will be to capsize. There is a pole master to steer and direct, but the disaster is over. However, among the three, the people's wisdom is the most urgent. Therefore, to be rich and powerful is nothing more than a government that benefits the people, but it must start from the people being able to benefit themselves; being able to benefit themselves starts from being able to be free; being able to be free starts from being able to govern themselves, and being able to govern themselves. He must be able to forgive and use the pure and correct way.

It is extremely difficult to describe how Chinese people deal with each other today. Knowing that it is self-interest to harm the other, but not knowing that there is no harm to each other but mutual benefit, and then it is a powerful force. Therefore, it is concealed. As for the inability to move up and down freely, it is useless for self-interest; and the government of prosperity and power cannot be carried out in it. If you do it forcefully, it will lead to self-destruction. Since the maritime ban was restored, China has imitated Western methods in many ways: the General Administration, the first department; the Shipping Administration, the second department; the Merchant Bureau, the third department; the Manufacturing Bureau, the fourth department; the Navy, the fifth department; and the Naval Yamen , six; mining, seven; school, eight; railway, nine; textiles, ten; telegraph, eleven; envoys, twelve. All of these are the most beautiful systems of the West. They use wealth as an opportunity to become strong, and move to a poor place. If they die or survive, there will always be sighs of Huai oranges and oranges. Companies are as powerful as the West. But in China, when two people join forces, they will bully each other. Why? The people are not enough to deal with it, and the people's strength and morality are not enough to bring about such a thing. Yan Gao's bow can be used by Ji to defeat thousands of people. If a boy or a coward takes it and plays with it, it will be nothing more than a dead body. It will just break the "arm" of the wall. This is what I say. Alas! Among foreign things that came to China and spread widely, opium was the only one. Why? Needle, mustard, water and milk, the nature of our people is inherently consistent with it but cannot be understood. I only know this, and then I know how difficult it is to save China today. He only knows how difficult it is, and then he can do it according to the laws of heaven, and he can correct the big gaps and lead to the big troubles. As for how to develop the people's wisdom, how to strengthen the people's strength, and how to understand the people's morality, these three are all urgent tasks today, and they will be discussed later.

Selected from: "Zhibao", published in Tianjin from March 4 to 9, 1895.