Laozi also put forward: "When people are alive, their bodies are soft, and when they die, they become stiff." . Vegetation is soft and fragile when it grows, but it becomes hard and boring after death. So strong things belong to death, and weak things belong to growth. ""The weakest thing in the world can also break into the strongest thing in the world, which can be said to be pervasive. " "In the whole world, nothing is weaker than water, and nothing can beat water to beat the strongest thing. Weak is better than strong, soft is better than strong. Everyone understands this truth, but few people can do it. "
"Combining rigidity with softness" can be said to be the essence of China's ancient traditional thought of governing the mind, which was well known by all successful emperors. Kangxi in the early Qing Dynasty was a successful model who was better at using this strategy. Kangxi was the first scholar-type emperor in the history of China, and also one of the rare outstanding emperors who were both civil and military. Facing the turbulent Qing Dynasty, Kangxi understood the true meaning of flexibility, just giving, weak giving, strong giving and four combinations. With his foresight, keen insight and extraordinary talent, he created a way to treat the heart with both rigidity and softness. Based on this, the Qing Dynasty was pushed to the prosperous Kangxi period in the world, and China became an important eastern power in the world.
The mountain is calm and rigid, but it can change all kinds of scenery, so Dongpo's dream of returning to Matsuoka is another wonder in the mountain. Even if I don't hate the adulterer's flattery, I don't feel depressed because of my friend's betrayal. Huang's tenderness and thoughtfulness are kept in my heart, which makes him show the gentlest sadness.
Water is soft, flexible and changeable, but its unchanging nature is only in a sense; The mountains are solid, gloomy and stable, but the scenery of the four seasons is soft in a sense. Easy to be soft, soft with rigidity; Dongpo combines rigidity and softness, and both rigidity and softness. Combining rigidity and softness, Song ci spiraled up because of its flexibility and calmness, and finally rose to be another dazzling star that kept pace with Tang poetry.
We usually see that many people in the society sometimes "like the spring breeze, wake up at night and blow open the petals of ten thousand pear trees", sometimes "there is no way to go, and there are other villages", and sometimes "one night for two years, five hours for two years", which reminds us of such a fable:
Because of the abundant sunshine and rain, the oak trees growing on the top of the mountain grew thick, tall and strong in a few years, and the elegant crown covered the sun and held their heads high. One day, a sudden gust of wind uprooted the oak tree standing at the top of the mountain and threw it into the reeds at the foot of the mountain. For no reason, the destroyed oak tree looked at the reeds intact in the strong wind and felt very confused. Reed told it, "because you don't have a tall and straight body, we have cultivated a rigid and flexible body in years of wind and rain."
For everyone who grew up in modern society, it is also necessary to practice the kung fu of combining rigidity with softness like a reed. Because in the fierce social competition, it is the anti-risk ability of talent growth that determines a person's continuous success. During thousands of years in China, many romantic figures came and went like lanterns, but few people really lived to this day.
What we need to remember is "don't faint when standing on the cusp", and don't repeat the mistake of rubber trees standing on the hill. The torrent of the times is rolling in, pushing those outstanding talents who want to make a difference to the forefront. In today's market economy environment, the struggle of life is not limited to the economic sense, and all aspects of resources are beginning to converge to the capital core. Knowledge, talents, culture, people and social service resources are all developed and deeply utilized through capital. In many cases, only through development and utilization can some resources participate in the overall process of promoting social progress and prosperity. This is a basic trend in today's changing times.
Combine rigidity with softness, and combine rigidity with softness. Do both. In the past, it usually refers to administrative means, public relations, enemy strategy and lifestyle. Here only refers to the way of life, which can be described as a life problem. In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Luo Guanzhong stated that no matter who is a general, he should combine rigidity with softness, and he should not rely on his courage. Clearly understand the combination of rigidity and softness: it is not the requirement of ordinary people. In fact, this refers to people's ability to control others' thoughts and behaviors by means of both rigidity and softness. For those who can control other people's minds, they are generals. If they can't do this, they can only be soldiers. There is no shame in going abroad by combining rigidity with softness.
Yan Ying, also known as Yan Zi, was born in Yiwei (Gaomi, Shandong Province) in the Spring and Autumn Period. Born in an unknown year, he died in 500 BC. Gong Ling, Zhuang Gong and Gong Jing III are famous figures in Qi after Guan Zhong, and also outstanding politicians and diplomats in ancient China. During the Spring and Autumn Period, princes rose up and the situation changed. Yan Ying is witty, eloquent and brave. Internally, he assisted the National Government, remonstrated with the King of Qi many times, and tried his best to save the State of Qi, which was at home and abroad. In the foreign struggle, he was not only flexible, but also always adhered to principles, and he was not humiliated when he went abroad, thus defending the national dignity and prestige of Qi. When carrying out the task, Yan Ying gave full play to the way of doing things with both rigidity and flexibility, and ended the task with victory after victory.
On one occasion, Yan Ying was ordered by the King of Qi to go to Chu. When King Chu Ling heard that Yan Ying was coming, he said to his ministers, "Yan Zi is an eloquent minister of the State of Qi. He is very famous, but he is a dwarf. I want to humiliate him face to face and let him know the power of our Chu state. " So King Chu Ling ordered people to open a 5-foot-high door next to the city gate overnight, and ordered the soldiers guarding the city to close the door when the envoys of the State of Qi came to the city gate and let them enter the city through a side door.
Early the next morning, Yan Ying and his party came to the city gate of Chu. Seeing the gate closed, they stopped the car and sent someone to call the door. A soldier guarding the city said, "I heard that Qi Shi is short and can enter the city through a small door on the edge of the city, so he didn't open the city gate." Yan Ying smiled faintly, pointed to the small door and said loudly, "Only people sent to the dog country can enter through the dog door. Now that I'm on a mission in Chu, I shouldn't go in through this door, should I? " Seeing that the situation was not good, the protocol officer of Chu had to divert traffic and send Yan Ying and his party into the city from the gate.
When Yan Ying went to visit King Chu Ling in the palace, King Chu Ling just glanced at Yan Ying and said haughtily, "What, is there no one in Qi? Why did you send you as a special envoy? " Yan Ying replied: "There are many residents in Qi, and when people roll their sleeves, they become overcast. Everyone wipes their sweat, just like rain. People walked side by side, touching their feet. How can you say that there is no one? " After listening to Yan Ying, King Chu Ling asked, "In that case, why did Qi Jing send people like you to Chu?" Yan Ying replied, "Everyone has his own master. A wise man makes a wise man, and a corrupt man makes a bad king. Yan Ying was corrupt, so he went to Chu. " Hearing this, King Chu Ling suddenly felt an unspeakable embarrassment. He wanted to have an attack, but he knew that he was indefensible, so he had to be polite to Yan Ying and his party.
The following winter, Yan Ying was once again sent to the State of Chu on the orders of the King of Qi. King Chu Ling heard that the dwarf Yan Ying was coming again, and remembered the embarrassing scene of being scolded by Yan Ying last year, so he decided to try his best to humiliate Yan Ying this time anyway, so as to relieve last year's hatred.
After Yan Ying arrived in Chu, King Chu Ling was no longer as indifferent as he was last year, so people soon gave a banquet to treat Yan Zi. Half drunk, I suddenly saw two soldiers passing by your highness with a bound man. King Chu Ling pretended to be angry and scolded, "What are you doing? Don't you see that I have a distinguished guest here? " Then pretend to be casual and say, "Where did he come from and what crime did he commit?" Pretending to be in a hurry, the two soldiers replied, "He is from the State of Qi and committed theft." "Is he from Qi?" King Chu Ling deliberately said the word "Qi" loudly, for fear that Yan Ying could not hear him. Then he squinted at Yan Ying with his eyes, put on a puzzled look and asked, "Are you Qi people so fond of stealing?"
King Chu Ling's trick was finally seen through by clever Yan Ying, who knew that this was King Chu Ling's deliberate insult to Qi. So he left to pay his respects to King Chu Ling and replied, "Your Majesty, I heard that citrus reticulata grows in Huainan, and they produce oranges; If transplanted to Huaibei, it will bear bitter oranges. Although their leaves are similar, their fruits taste different. What is the reason? I think this is mainly because the soil and water in Huainan and Huaibei are different! Now Qi people don't steal in Qi, but they all become thieves in Chu. Isn't it because of the soil and water in Chu that people like to steal things? "
For Yan Ying's words, King Chu Ling was dumbfounded and speechless. After a long silence, I finally had to say, "You can't joke with saints. I do this is really boring ... "
On another occasion, Yan Ying was ordered to go to Wu. One morning, Yan Ying came to the palace of the State of Wu, waiting to meet the King of Wu. After a while, an order came from the attendants: "The son of heaven summoned." Yan Ying Zheng, when did the prince become the son of heaven? At that time, although Zhou existed in name only, the vassal States still called Zhou Wei, which was his exclusive title. Yan Ying reacted immediately. This is the prince showing off his national strength. So he played it by ear and pretended not to hear. The bodyguard repeated loudly again, but Yan Ying still ignored it. Helpless, the guard went straight to him and said slowly, "Please look at the son of heaven." Only then did Yan Ying pretend to be surprised and said, "I went to Wu on the orders of the King of Qi. Who knows that Yan Ying was so stupid that he went in the wrong direction and came to the court of the son of heaven. I'm terribly sorry. Where can I find the king of Wu? " After listening to the master's report, the king of Wu had no choice but to give an order: "Please see the king of Wu." Upon hearing this, Yan Ying immediately stepped forward, greeted the prince with his head held high, and gave him due etiquette when meeting with the princes.
The prince of Wu wanted to make things difficult for Yan Ying in this way, but he was cut down and embarrassed. But he won't give up and wants to continue to make things difficult for Yan Ying. He deliberately pretended to be sincere and said to Yan Ying, "What should a king of a country do if he wants to maintain the prestige of the country and hold his own territory for a long time?" Yan ying replied without thinking: "people come first, then themselves;" Give benefits first, then punish; Strong does not bully the weak, expensive does not bully the cheap, rich does not arrogant and poor. Don't remove the monarch of another country by force, and don't annex another country by force. This is the right way to safeguard national prestige. If you don't do this, it is very dangerous. "
The pretentious prince listened to Yan Ying's speech and couldn't think of any problem to embarrass Yan Ying. Yan Ying, with her intelligence, quietly won the task.
On another occasion, Yan Ying went to the State of Jin. The doctor's uncle in the state of Jin was very puzzled when he saw that Yan Ying's clothes were very shabby. At the banquet, he asked politely, "Excuse me, sir, what's the difference between thrift and meanness?" Ying understood her uncle's intention and was not angry. He replied seriously: "frugality is the virtue of a gentleman, and meanness is the evil virtue of a villain." To measure the amount of property, we should use it in a planned way. If we are rich, we should hoard it excessively. If we are poor, we should not borrow money from others, indulge our selfish desires and extravagance, and always remember the sufferings of the people. This is frugality. If you accumulate wealth for yourself and don't want to help the people, even if you spend a lot of money, it is stingy. " Uncle Xiang immediately stood in awe of Yan Ying after hearing these words. Later, he dared not judge a book by its cover and looked down on Yan Ying.
Yan Ying, an outstanding diplomat who is immortal in history, not only adheres to principles, but also is flexible. The softness is softness, and the rigidity is rigidity. Faced with the arrogance and censure of great powers, he was neither humble nor soft: he solved various problems again and again, so that he did not lose face when he went abroad, and he maintained and defended the dignity of Qi state again and again, and at the same time won a high reputation among vassal States.
Zhuge Liang, a famous strategist in ancient times, once said: "A good general is both rigid and flexible, so we should use weakness to control strength and softness to overcome rigidity. Pure softness is pure weakness and must be cut; Pure and powerful, it is bound to perish; It is common to be soft and rigid. " The general idea of this sentence is: a good commander-in-chief can't be broken if he is strong, can't be bent if he is soft, can control the strong with weakness, and can control the cutting with softness. If it is only flexible but not strong, the combat effectiveness will be weakened; If you are strong but inflexible, your fighting capacity will be lost. Just: rigidity is rigidity, softness is softness, and the combination of rigidity and softness is the best way to be handsome.