A Ancient wisdom in social governance from 2400 years ago China
Frank Feb. 8, 2016, in Waterloo, Canada
[Highlights] The wisdom from 2400 years ago China lessons us that, the ordinary people can only share in enjoying fruit, but cannot share in growing the fruit. A rational government has to enforce people to do something that will beneficial to them, but, do not expect to convince them in advance.
The value of 5000 years of history of China is not in the length of the time, but, in the vast amount of the written records. The experiences of failure and success will provide reference for offspring to avoid mistake again.
The experiences of failure and success are wisdom.
China's GDP has been dominated in the world's top before door was blown open by British East India Company using gunboats. Recent Decades, China's GDP is rapidly restored towards the status of the world's top. In this process, compared with other populous country India, the population base is not the main reason; it lies on the higher social productivity under effective social governance.
Oct. 2, 2014, I once wrote article Why China did not produce native religions to have introduced a case of rational social governance in 2400 years ago China.
Ximen Bao who was an atheist, a famous Statesman, Military strategist and Hydraulic expert with many great exploits in the period of BC 445 – 396 China. He once worked as governor of Ye County that located in today’s Hebei province of China.
At that time, in Ye County, there a river was always flooding and devouring the lives of the locals. People have tried many ways, but, helpless. Then, there was a Witch who said that there was a god in the river, and the god must marry every year. If we do not marry him with beautiful young woman, the god would harm people by Flooding with spells. Since then, every year, the witch chose beautiful girl to marry the river god.
The county chief and local officials took the opportunity to collude with the Witch to plunder wealth. They levied lot money by the name for the marriage, but with only small partial to pay for the girl family, and the large amount were shared with the Witch.
At the day the river god wedding, the Witch had a beautiful girl sat on a bed to float down the river and finally the girl to be drowned with the bed was sank into the river.
Due to such fear, people who had good-looking daughters often brought them to distant places for evading to be killed in such way. As a result, the county has become ever more deserted and poverty-stricken.
After learnt the evil fact, Ximen Bao was enraged and conceived a countermeasure.
When the day to send a girl to river god, he came and had a look at the girl, then said to the Witch: “This girl is not beautiful. I’ll trouble you to report to the river god that I will choose a more beautiful one in another day.” Then he had the soldiers seize the Witch to throw into the river.
“Why did the Witch not come back in so long time?” later he said. “Let one of her disciple to hurry her up!” Thus a disciple of the Witch was thrown into the river, and then others in a total of three.
“The Witch and her disciples are all women, no good at making a clear report to river god,” later Ximen Bao said. “I’ll trouble county chief to do that.” Thus the county chief was thrown into the river.
Ximen Bao pretended respectfully with bowed low and waited with patience. The County officials were shocked and frightened very much; they all kneed on the ground and forehead touchdown ground again and again, as that of Chicken eating grain on the ground. Some even scraped bloodshed.
Later Ximen Bao said relentingly: “You all may stand up! The river god seems to have detained his guests for a long time, you may dismiss now.”
Thenceforward, no one dared mention the sacrificial marriage for the river god again.
Afterwards, Ximen Bao mobilized people to dig twelve canals to bring the water from the river to irrigate the farmland, and to have ended the flood disaster entirelly.
The construction of the canals was a hard work in the time without the help of machineries, people felt to be troubled and unwilling to continue. Ximen Bao forced them with own administrative power to have finished the canals finally.
Ximen Bao made a famous comment: “the ordinary people can only share in enjoying fruit, but cannot share in growing the fruit. Though you may hate me for causing you troubles in today’s digging canals, but, a centuries later, your descendants will surely thank of what I said today.”
Since then, the irrigation by the canals has been up to today, and the people there have been living in abundant lives due to no disasters of water logging or drought.
Ximen Bao as a governor of Ye County was famed at that time. Since his beneficence affecting countless generations, he has been regarded as a sagacious statesman until today and his deeds was included in the text book.
I remembered him was through my text book when I was a pupil in primary school.
This is why that China has not formed any kind of religions and heresies in the thousands of years’ civilization, because those rational officials killed them in their budding. The religions now in China are all invaded from other countries.
In comparison, India is also a country with a long ancient civilization as similar as that of China, but, to be harmed miserable by free proliferation of religions, such as, for seeking happiness, their people are not to seek hard work as that of the people in China, but to pray with hands clasped together.
Aug. 31, 2014, in article Ancient China and The Art of War inspires Today and Future of Canada, I once indicate that; “China noted as 5,000 years of the history of civilization, as my view, the valuable part is not in the length of the years, but, in the length of the continuous written records – the wisdom of the accumulation of the experiences, the lessons of the successes and the failures. Historical wisdom can help future generations in avoiding detours.”
From the wisdom of an ancient sagacious statesman - Ximen Bao, we may learn that, in modern social reform, why china did not copy the West, but developed successfully.
And that is why that British Martin Jacques said that China is based on the civilization and the West is based on the nations – through wars to have formed current Europe in based on the single races.
The wisdom from 2400 years ago China lessons us that, a rational government has to enforce people to do something that will benefit to them, but, do not expect to convince them in advance.
For the sake of national well-being, government must ensure social stability. In some cases, it is rational that government takes administrative power to promote something – such as, construction of public facilities.
But, that seems impossible in the populist democratic polity of Canada. The democratic polity is unchangeable in a seeable time, due to it is the enjoyment and proud of some people, but, we should not negatively waiting, as rational Canadians, we need to find an alternative way out.
Finally, it is necessary to mention about essence of The Art of War.
Over the years, in the West, The Art of War is regarded as a classic art of war. It is widely used in military confrontation and commercial competition. But, those ignorant people will never understand the initial purpose of the writer: The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.
