There was an old man thinking alone thousands of years ago. His name was Lao Tse, who was among the greatest thinkers in Chinese Philosophy History. I hear his words now, through his great work left to us. What did he say? He said: Do not admire or praise those who are intelligent, thus competitions between our civilians will finally disappear.
This idea was so strange at the first sight that it attracted my full attention immediately. It goes against the common ideas which all of us have been familiar with since we were born. It means that no intelligent person will be superior to an illiterate person. Furthermore, it seems to support illiteracy. Then how can the society develop with a nearly 100 percentage of illiteracy? Very few people will agree his idea, at first sight.
I thought over it at the second sight. Didn’t he know that knowledge is the power of social improvement? I cannot help to answer like this: Yes, he did. With this answer, I started to pay my attention to the second half of his words: Competitions between our civilians will finally disappear. How peaceful a world that he was describing! Isn’t it the final goal all the rulers tried and tries their best to achieve? Now our society is not like that peaceful yet, and there is not a single signal showing that it can be like that. Lao Tse’s theory seemed to be very childish, but childish theory has nothing to do with a successful one. Then I tend to believe Lao Tse was right, at least his great hope.
Then the third sight: even you tell the civilians do not admire or praise those who are intelligent, will there be no competitions truly? Sorry to say, cannot, because every person has the tendency to choose the best one from a certain group. Competitions come naturally. Then it became really childish. But he was Lao Tse!! What about his was just using an irony? Then it seems so painful that a thinker had to use childish words to express his great idea and hope. Wow, how great Lao Tse was!
But, if a child says these words casually, will I look and think over it for three times? Probably not. That is the greatest pain Lao Tse and other thinkers suffered at their times.
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I have read Lao Tse, but have not come across the quote you mentioned. h=However I am glad that you are reading Lao Tse. He has great ideas, I know Confucious better, and the saying that has been attributed to him:
ReplyDeleteGIVE A MAN A FISH, HE EATS FOR A DAY. TEACH HIM TO FISH. HE EATS FOR A LIFE TIME.
WHEN PLANNING FOR A YEAR, PLANT RICE; PLANNING FOR A DECADE,PLANT TREES; PLANNING FOR A LIFETIME, EDUCATE THE PEOPLE.
I find these two very very powerful messages in so few words.