We hereby pay tribute to all those who have sought, contributed, and even sacrificed their lives for the happiness and perfection of humanity.
Preamble
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” “People are ascending to heaven; people are descending to hell.”
Do not assume that it doesn’t concern you; if the ship of society sinks, everyone on board will perish. Even if you are not directly affected, the consequences will eventually reach your descendants.
Do not just complain and blame, as it is unproductive; do not wander aimlessly or become numb, as that only wastes your life.
Do not expect to find answers from previous generations, as they have not faced today’s challenges. Instead, learn from the wisdom of ancient sages, and use their methods to unlock the door to wisdom.
Let us set aside our preconceptions and prejudices, open our eyes like infants, and see the world anew.
Let us return to the basics, identify the right direction, prioritize tasks, and strike a balance.
Let us Develop and elucidate wisdom, innovate mechanisms, apply technology, and enhance civilization.
The power to determine the fate of humanity has always been in the hands of the vast majority of ordinary people. It depends on whether we are aware of it and whether we can use it.
Chapter I. Return to the Fundamentals
1. Fundamental Objective – Happiness and Perfection
Human beings themselves are the ultimate goal of all social activities.
We must not forget why we started just because we have gone too far.
The fundamental objective of humanity is the happiness and perfection of individuals. Economy, politics, science, culture, religion, ethics, and other aspects must revolve around this fundamental objective and use it as the main basis for judgment and evaluation.
Happiness and perfection are the true universal values, while everything else is a means to an end.
For this reason, we must establish Gongdeism. Gong refers to outside achievement, and we should be diligent in labor and accomplishments. De refers to inside achievement, and we should strive to understand the world and perfect ourselves.
If human beings do not become better, or even degenerate; if society fails to promote happiness, but rather becomes increasingly restless, then all economic and technological advancements will lose their meaning. This also indicates that there are serious issues with the related ideologies and social systems.
Throughout history, all social changes and system replacements have revolved around interests and power, attempting to overthrow the domination of interests and establish new rules of the game. However, if the game itself does not change, regardless of who is in charge or how the rules of the game change, the original social issues will reappear in a different form. This is the historical portrayal of human society for thousands of years.
Such a game can no longer continue.
2. Fundamental Basis – Human Nature and Conscience
Humanity is a society, and society needs order. Order is built upon ideas and norms, which manifest in the forms of values, ethics, customs, laws, and even unwritten rules, guiding and constraining all aspects of human behavior.
People are shaped by their ideas, and the type of ideas they hold determines the type of life they live.
People are also subject to norms, and the type of norms they follow determines their limitations.
Ideas and norms are extremely important and have a significant impact on human happiness and perfection. We must approach them with caution.
There were originally no paths in the world; a few people walked ahead and explored, and most people followed behind, and thus paths were formed.
There is not just one path; due to mountainous barriers and varying terrain, paths differ from each other.
Society originally had no concepts or norms. Sages set examples, people happily followed, or norms were established by authority and enforced. Thus, they came into being.
Ideas and norms are not entirely the same, nor are they unchanging. Factors such as intellectual horizons, cultural traditions, development levels, and even geographical climate all play a role in shaping them.
Not to mention that some ideas and norms serve the interests of a minority, rather than the welfare of all humanity.
Once ideas and norms are established, they become dogma through constant indoctrination and even enforcement.
Whether a dogma can stand the test of time ultimately depends on whether it is in line with human nature and conscience.
The brilliance of human nature is worth expecting, and its dark side should not be underestimated. The goodness in human nature needs to be promoted, and its ugliness needs to be restrained. The neutral, natural instincts in human nature need to be acknowledged, satisfied, and guided.
The development of human society cannot be built on exploiting human weaknesses, let alone stimulating and reinforcing them. Otherwise, material civilization will progress while the spiritual world continues to deteriorate.
Understand, abide by, transform and elevate human nature encompass the entirety of human pursuit of happiness and perfection.
Understanding and mastering human nature is the first priority in personal development and social governance.
Human nature needs to be moderately satisfied, not indulged recklessly, repressed blindly, or left unattended.
Things that are in line with human nature will exist in a certain way when the conditions are met. Even if they are explicitly prohibited, they will show their vitality in the form of unwritten rules.
Fighting against human nature will make things difficult for others and create trouble for oneself. Adapting to human nature can lead to natural and effortless success.
To deal with the ugliness of human nature, the first step is to remove the fertile ground for its existence, followed by setting up corresponding costs. But the most fundamental approach is to transform human nature through self-cultivation.
True and lasting happiness belongs to those who continually perfect themselves and thereby transform their hearts.
The starting point for human perfection lies in cultivating one’s conscience.
Conscience is innate and does not depend on external factors. By removing the impurities of the mind, it will naturally manifest. Education plays a significant role in inspiring the conscience.
Conscience does not have a fixed or established way of expression, yet at the same time, it does have a fixed way of expression.
The non-fixed aspect means that the same situation can have different responses depending on the time, space, and object. The so-called “subtlety of application lies in one’s heart.”
The fixed aspect means that behind all conscience, there is a common ground shared by all. To choose the most important among them is called the general principle and two pillars.
Causality is the general principle of conscience; to believe in causality is to believe in the natural order and to believe in science.
The essence of all scientific achievements lies in clarifying specific causal relationships. Although many causal relationships have not yet been fully understood, there is nothing in this world that happens without reason.
Being cautious with causes and their effects, we should “do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you.” Since effects can be traced back to their causes, we must be able to “reflect upon ourselves when things do not go as desired.” These are the two pillars of conscience.
Adhering to existing concepts and norms is called dogmatism, which is often limiting. Starting from human nature and conscience is called returning to the source, which is always fresh and applicable.
It is appropriate to have dogmas but not to forget their origins. Transitioning from one to the other can be complementary and mutually beneficial.
Do not rigidly adhere to dogmas, neglect human nature, or lose sight of conscience.
The strength and eventual success of nations, ethnic groups, and individuals lie in aligning with human nature and conscience. Going against human nature and conscience, even if prosperous, will ultimately lead to decline.
3. The Fundamental Method – The Yin-Yang and the Four Images
The world has dimensions, and thoughts have dimensions. The higher the dimension, the greater the freedom and the broader the wisdom; the lower the dimension, the greater the limitations and the more obstacles.
There are four dimensions in which things manifest, called the Yin-Yang and the Four Images. Recognizing the world must be based on this fundamental method.
At this moment, whether you are in Yangzhou (a city in China) or not, you must be in one of the two situations and can only be in one. This is called “either this or that.”
A piece of paper must have both side A and side B simultaneously, which are interdependent and indispensable. This is called “both this and that.”
Water can carry a boat but can also capsize it. Everything has both opposing values at the same time. This is called “dual this and that.”
Day and night are phenomena caused by the rotation of a planet. Apart from this context, in the solar system, the Milky Way, or even the entire universe, day and night are not applicable. This is called “neither this nor that.”
Life has different realms, and human nature varies. The human body may be very similar, but the spirit can be vastly different.
The realm of life is determined by the mental realm, and the mental realm is determined by the level of thinking.
“Either this or that” is point-based thinking, which is the elementary level of human cognition. It has significant limitations and can easily lead to selfish and destructive confrontations.
“both this and that” is two-way thinking, which is the progress of human cognition. It has both the opposition of “either this or that” and the unity of interdependence. It allows for both competition and cooperation for mutual benefit.
“dual this and that” is holistic thinking, which is the sublimation of human cognition. It comprehends the coexistence of gains and losses, pros and cons, the circulation of the great path, and the recurrence of cycles. Therefore, it can follow the laws of nature, and everything is unobstructed.
“Neither this nor that” is ultimate thinking, which is the transcendence of human cognition. It transcends all categories, breaking all attachments, and thus can create something from nothing and return from existence to nonexistence.
Just as three-dimensional space contains two-dimensional planes and one-dimensional lines, higher levels of thinking include but do not deny lower levels of thinking.
Space, plane, and line, although they have different dimensions in terms of hierarchy, all share the commonality of infinite extension. As for the realm of life, we should not only pursue the ultimate in lower dimensions but also strive to elevate ourselves to higher dimensions.
The Yin-Yang and the Four Images are ubiquitous, but their manifestations vary.
Facts are “either this or that,” one is one, two is two, and there is no room for ambiguity.
Relationships are “both this and that,” as we are all in the same boat and need to take care of each other and work together.
Values are “dual this and that,” with no absolute good or bad; the key is to grasp the right balance.
The ultimate reality of the world is “neither this nor that,” with no universal truth, and consciousness is the ultimate category for humanity.
The realm of life is not related to knowledge, wealth, power, or status. As Confucius said, “Though he may be unlearned, I must call him learned.” This is what is meant.
Thinking in terms of “either this or that” for everything is characteristic of unenlightened commoners.
Reaching the realm of thought of “both this and that” signifies a virtuous person.
Reaching the realm of thought of “dual this and that” signifies an insightful person.
Reaching the realm of thought of “neither this nor that” signifies a sage.
Unenlightened commoners tend to be extreme, stubborn, fanatic, and impulsive. If they possess knowledge, wealth, power, and status, they may bring pain and disaster to society, others, and themselves.
Preventing “either this or that” thinking from crossing boundaries is critical to personal growth and social development.
To achieve this, we need to employ the thinking of “both this and that” and “dual this and that“ to coordinate, integrate, and maintain balance.
Chapter II. Coordination and Balance
The spirit of coordination, balance, and moderation should be applied to all aspects of human life.
1. Equality and Difference
Divide a uniform piece of iron into two halves; one half becomes a hammer, the other half becomes a nail. Although they come from the same piece of iron, the hammer can’t do what the nail does, and the nail can’t do what the hammer does. Besides hammers and nails, this piece of iron can also be used to make various other items.
Hammers and nails are equal because they are made of the same iron.
Hammers and nails are different, as they have distinct shapes, functions, and are difficult to substitute for each other.
The potential of hammers and nails is equivalent; they can both be transformed into each other or other objects.
Equality and difference coexist as one, inseparable as “dual this and that.”
Difference is established on the basis of equality in essence, and equality exists within the differences of appearance and function.
Personal dignity should be equal; knowledge, ability, realm, wealth, power, status, and even physical attributes are bound to be different.
Equality is the essence and possibility, mainly in terms of equal opportunities; difference is the appearance, function and reality, manifested as differences in outcomes.
We all have the right to take exams, with the same exam papers and scoring criteria, which represents equal opportunity. Based on different scores, we enter different universities, which represents outcome differences.
We should insist on equal opportunities and different outcomes, and oppose unequal opportunities or equal outcomes.
Equality and difference are equally important and lead to the same goal. They need to be applied as a whole, without bias.
Because of equality, changes are subtle; because of difference, the world is beautiful.
Because of equality, there are infinite possibilities; because of difference, there are abundant uses.
People go uphill, and water flows downhill. Without differences in height, there would be no driving force for movement.
Opportunities and results are interdependent; equal opportunities produce different results, and previous results determine future opportunities.
Equal opportunities should be universal, and differences in outcomes should be moderate.
A truly fair society guarantees equal opportunities and reflects differences in outcomes.
2. Freedom and Capability
Freedom is an action, and actions require capabilities. We cannot abstract or absolutize freedom without considering capabilities.
Without financial capability, there is no financial freedom; without the ability to fly, there is no freedom to soar.
When freedom exceeds capabilities, it can lead to disaster.
Rights are the legal manifestation of freedom. If they represent opportunities, they should ensure equality. If they reflect outcomes, there must be differences. These differences are based on the assessment of capabilities, just as the right to attend different universities is determined by examination scores.
Freedom is proportional to capability. The greater the capability, the greater the freedom granted.
Restricting freedom despite having capabilities or granting freedom without capabilities are both ways to infringe on freedom.
People are born with certain capabilities and therefore enjoy certain freedoms, which must be fully protected.
3. Bottom Line and Direction
The bottom line is the minimum requirement, while direction is the location of the goal.
Breaking the bottom line will lead to moral decay. Without direction, it’s inevitable to spin one’s wheels.
Freedom is supported by the bottom line, and only above the bottom line can freedom exist. Direction guides improvement, and clarifying the direction leads to better improvement.
Individuals, organizations, and societies, as well as actions, relationships, and interests, all need to agree on a bottom line and clarify direction.
Only by considering both the bottom line and direction can concepts and norms be complete.
The bottom line must be enforced, while direction can only be encouraged and guided.
We should not tolerate any attempts to break the bottom line, but we need not be harsh on individual behaviours that contradict direction.
4. Public and Private
There is only relative public interest, inseparable from the universal private interest.
The private interest is the foundation of humanity, and the public interest is a societal necessity.
Individuals have their own pursuits, and society has collective interests. We must balance and consider both, without neglecting one for the other.
Private interests generate vitality, allowing for diversity and competition. Suppressing the private interest will undermine the foundation of human development and progress.
The public interest maintains justice, supports the weak, and upholds the collective. Weakening the public interest will undermine the balance and stability of society.
Eliminating private interests is an unrealistic goal and contradicts human nature. Infringing on public interests often stems from private instincts, usually in the form of benefiting oneself under the guise of public interests.
The imbalance between public and private development is a catalyst for many social problems. Preventing local private interests, especially capital interests, from harming the overall interests of society is an urgent task in modern society.
Building the strength of the public interest, implementing mainstream values, and organizing human society more effectively are lessons that need to be made up for human civilization.
Chapter III. Innovate Mechanisms
Achieving goals requires the establishment of mechanisms. Without mechanisms, ideas can only influence a minority’s behaviour, and norms will be rigid provisions.
Goals determine mechanisms, and mechanisms must be adapted to the goals.
A society that hopes to eliminate medical corruption will struggle to achieve the goal of medical integrity if it allows hospitals to profit from selling drugs. This is a typical example of a mechanism that is not adapted to its goal.
A good mechanism should expand the sky of human goodness and remove the soil of human evil.
Compulsory provisions lacking mechanisms expose the arrogance of power and the desolation of wisdom. They are not only difficult to implement but also breed unspoken rules.
Humans have systems such as the nervous system, respiratory system, digestive system, circulatory system, and immune system. These systems operate independently and support each other. If any system has a problem, life is difficult to maintain even if other systems are healthy. Therefore, a comprehensive and coordinated development is needed.
Society also has operating systems. The systems of knowledge, education, practice, evaluation, and interests are its components. Among them, the education system is an extension of the knowledge system, and the evaluation system is a prerequisite for the interest system. Therefore, the five operating systems can be further summarized as knowledge, practice, and interest systems.
Knowledge dominates the spiritual world, interests dominate the material world, and practice is only a specific manifestation guided by cognition and driven by interests.
Knowledge mechanisms and interest mechanisms determine where humanity is heading, and they are the most critical mechanisms of all.
1. Knowledge Mechanism – Weilu（Gathering Around the Fire）
Behind human behaviour is the guidance of cognitive understanding. With certain understandings come certain behaviours. If there is a problem with behaviour, there must be a problem with knowledge.
Fragmentation and selective truth are the main issues in the knowledge system. The parable of the blind men and the elephant is a vivid metaphor for these issues.
The defect of fragmentation is innate. Individual cognition is inherently limited, and no one can know everything.
Selective truth is often deliberate. For specific purposes, what is presented is a true but selectively chosen partial truth.
When selective truth meets an either-or mindset, conflicts arise, and unresolved disputes become the norm.
Many great thinkers have emerged throughout human history, leaving behind brilliant ideas, but no single school of thought has solved the core problems of human society. On the contrary, the ideological separatism caused by sectarian concepts, under the influence of either-or low-level thinking, has become a major obstacle to social harmony and progress.
People within sects tend to believe that if everyone believes in their school of thought, society’s problems will be solved. However, thousands of years of human history have proven that this is an unrealistic illusion. It has never been achieved in the past, and it will never be achieved in the future. Moreover, there are many problems within the sects themselves. If they cannot solve their own problems, how can they solve society’s problems?
“Love and know its evil, hate and know its good.” Each school has its merits, and each has its limitations. There is no perfect person in the world, and even the sages were no exception.
It is time to let go of the attachment to self-righteousness and try to touch other parts of the elephant from different positions. It is time to bring together the different parts touched by everyone and form a complete elephant.
To this end, it is necessary to implement the “Whole Elephant Plan” for human cognition, mapping a panoramic atlas reflecting human cognition and its relationships.
This is an action similar to the “Human Genome Project,” a systematic sorting and integration of spiritual cognition after a comprehensive analysis of the physical body.
This sorting and integration requires the innovation of the operating mechanism for the knowledge system, which is called “Weilu” in Chinese (gathering around the fire).
Individuals each have their own perspective on issues, and understanding is inevitably limited. if we sit together and gather what everyone sees, we can form a relatively complete view of the world.
Just as the parable of the blind men and the elephant illustrates fragmented and selective truth, the idea of gathering around a fire serves as a metaphor for the operation mechanism of knowledge system.
Understanding may start with the blind men feeling the elephant, but it needs to progress further by “gathering around the fire.”
Knowledge comes from individuals, but it must go beyond individuals.
Debate among various schools of thought is encouraged, but there must be an integration mechanism.
The function of gathering around the fire is to, based on inclusiveness, remove redundancy, refine, and locate the viewpoints, preserve the false, and leave room for doubt. It integrates knowledge to avoid only seeing the trees and not the forest.
In the era of knowledge explosion, there is too much repetitive information, causing resource waste and making people feel overwhelmed, so it is necessary to remove redundancy and refine.
Knowledge systems are like spheres, with completely opposite poles coexisting on the same surface. Through two dimensions of latitude and longitude, any point on Earth can be located.
Knowledge systems also have dimensions, with different levels of thinking requiring sorting of nature and clarification of relationships.
To assign “latitude and longitude” for specific viewpoints and determine their level, this is called to locate the viewpoints.
Truth is precious, falsehood has value, and doubt generates motivation. All human knowledge should be preserved and not discarded, not only because they have different values but also because today’s truth may become a fallacy in the future, and vice versa. Therefore, we should verify the truth, preserve the false, and leave room for doubt.
The principle of gathering around the fire is the unity of freedom of speech in self-rotation and social consensus in orbital revolution.
There are roughly three situations of freedom of speech and social consensus. When there is sufficient freedom of speech and an effective consensus mechanism, this is the best scenario. When there is insufficient freedom of speech but a relative social consensus, this is a moderate scenario. When there is sufficient freedom of speech but no effective consensus mechanism, or neither freedom of speech nor social consensus, this is the worst scenario.
A society without consensus will sooner or later face turmoil and division until a new consensus is formed.
Knowledge and food are equally important to humans. The concept of food safety and balanced nutrition also applies to intellectual and spiritual nourishment.
In the era of self-media, freedom of speech has become excessively rampant, and it is necessary to establish systems for evaluating credibility, capability, and speech responsibility.
The goal of gathering around the fire is to form a complete system of human knowledge, providing comprehensive and personalized services for organizations and individuals.
When the wisdom of all humanity forms a complete crystallization in an intelligent knowledge system, it becomes an omniscient virtual sage.
2. Interest Mechanism – Circular Ownership, Separation of Politics and Administration
The essence of all social relationships is interest.
Property is a form of interest, and the most important form.
Human society has long been engaged in a game around property interests, hoping to achieve social fairness. However, various proposals put forward for this purpose either do not touch the essence of the problem or go from one extreme to another.
If absolute power leads to absolute corruption, then unlimited property can lead to unlimited madness.
Anything, when maintained in moderation, can be acceptable; however, when limits are exceeded, it will lead to things reaching an extreme and reversing.
Personal property also needs moderation; limiting it too much can suppress creativity and initiative, but having no limits will trigger insatiable human weaknesses and lead to an extreme and reversing.
If it is too broad to say that capitalism is the root of all evil, then the unlimited property system is the essence of the problem.
There are various types of interests, which can be divided into property interests and non-property interests from a social perspective. Property can be further divided into public and private property, investment property, and consumption property. Non-property interests include courtesy, mainly in the form of honor and privileges.
General privileges are ubiquitous, and as long as they result in differences under the premise of equal opportunity, there is no need to oppose them. Instead, they should be used positively and reasonably.
The affirmation and respect for individuals embodied in honor and courtesy can sometimes stimulate people’s enthusiasm and creativity more than property interests.
Interests should be allocated in a balanced way, and no type of interest should be developed excessively.
Different forms of interests should be able to circulate and transform, forming a dynamic organic life form.
Establish a circulation mechanism for the bidirectional flow of public and private property. Under the premise of ensuring that the overall scale is roughly equivalent, clarify the different social responsibilities, business areas, and principles of mutual transformation between public and private property.
Public property should be used for the distribution of interests to all citizens or internal members of an organization. This is an important practical mechanism for implementing mainstream social values.
Establish a mechanism for the circulation and transformation of individual consumption property and non-property interests. Limit the multiples of personal consumption property and promote the conversion of excess consumption property into non-property interests. Grant non-property interests the ability to convert into property interests, leveraging non-property interests to provide insurance and protection for property interests.
Encourage practical mechanisms to effectively curb excessive accumulation of personal wealth. and oppose the forcible confiscation or occupation of personal property by coercive means.
From the perspective of group and individual subjectivity, interests can be divided into abstract interests and specific interests. Power determines specific interests is the root of corruption. The vicious cycle of power chasing interests and interests chasing power is a perennial problem in human society.
If the top leader of a city has the power to decide which construction company will undertake the renovation project of a certain street, this is an example of power determining specific interests. Such a mechanism is prone to corruption and makes it difficult to ensure integrity and fairness because it is also human nature.
Social governance includes both politics and administration. Politics is about rules, while administration is about implementation. Politics should be upright, and administration should be smooth. Politics need to lead the way, while administration cannot be detached from reality.
Politics is abstract and grand, with little attention from the general public, who lack the corresponding capabilities. Understanding public opinion and respecting people’s wishes are necessary, but elite governance is the commonality and fact of all political practices throughout history.
Administration is concrete and detailed. If we rely on honest officials, even if they are subjectively impartial, objectively, they cannot possess the knowledge and ability to solve all problems. Moreover, power determining specific interests can trigger various human weaknesses, such as corruption.
Allowing stakeholders to determine the allocation of specific interests according to the rules is true democracy and appropriate democracy.
Politics led by elites and administration by democracy, if implemented with the help of intelligent technologies, will bring about lasting political integrity.
Whether to impose appropriate restrictions on the proportion of personal property and whether to return people the power to allocate specific interests are the touchstones for testing the thoroughness of all economic and political reforms.
3. Practice Mechanism – Promoting Human Improvement through Distribution, Changing the World through Consumption
The world can be divided into two parts: the external material world and the internal world of body and mind.
Human activities in the external material world have established systematic theories, institutions, and organizations. These practices are called external practices and are the main content of human life.
Although there are theoretical elaborations on human activities in the internal world of body and mind, there are no non-religious, whole-society-wide institutions and organizations. These practices are called internal practices, mainly relying on the promotion of small groups and individual awareness.
The imbalance between internal and external practices is the helplessness of the era of relatively low productivity. However, the long-term deviation from the fundamental goals of happiness and perfection has made humanity pay an unbearable price.
Technological progress, especially the application of intelligent technology, will partially or even completely replace human external production labor. This is a huge challenge as well as a rare opportunity.
The challenge lies in: If machines replace humans in production, where does human value lie? What is the basis for social distribution?
The opportunity lies in the fact that human self-improvement has no limits, and activities related to it can be sustainable. This can not only solve the embarrassment of humans having nothing to do and prevent indulgence in entertainment and degradation, but also return to the fundamental goals of happiness and perfection, achieving a relative balance between internal and external practices.
Human activities in transforming the external material world and the internal world of body and mind are both labor.
Labor should be rewarded. Without rewards, people cannot engage in material production labor from nine to five. With rewards, the pursuit of happiness and perfection in internal practices will be colorful.
The labor rewards for human internal practices should be mainly paid by the state or social organizations from the investment returns of public property.
It is advocated that private sectors should take into account the evaluation factors of internal practices during distribution.
If distribution is the key factor for society to influence individuals, then consumption is the main lever for individuals to influence society. In an era where capital controls everything, this is the only way for ordinary people to regain dominance.
The rewards paid by public property should be in the form of traceable digital currency. Only products from those who comply with mainstream social values, concepts, and mechanisms can enter the market formed by this currency. This market is called the Yishi in Chinese (Beneficial Market).
Encourage individuals to consume their income from other channels in the Beneficial Market and make it an evaluation indicator for the distribution of public property.
Products from those who refuse to accept individual property ratio restrictions cannot enter the Beneficial Market. Under equal conditions, the search ranking of Beneficial Market products is related to the degree of adherence to mainstream social values, concepts, and mechanisms.
No matter how powerful capital is, if no one consumes its products, it is nothing.
Distribution can influence the direction of social development, and consumption can generate the power to change the world.
Epilogue
Some people say that in Chinese history, there were two eras when people were very lucky.
One is the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, with a hundred schools of thought contending. At that time, any thought, as long as it could justify itself, would be considered. Even if they could not be as famous as Laozi and Confucius, they could still be remembered as green leaves accompanying red flowers in history.
The other is the late Qing and early Republic period, when many great masters emerged, laying the foundation for a new culture. At that time, whoever could first apply Western academic theories and research methods to organize and study Chinese traditional literature, art, and history would become a master in the relevant field.
However, such times are rare, and there have been only two in the thousands of years of Chinese history.
Revolutionary changes in human production and lifestyle are the main indicators of the birth of a new civilization.
New technologies, represented by artificial intelligence, are leading humanity into the era of intellectual civilization. The games centered on interests and power in times of material scarcity will be absorbed and replaced by the pursuit of happiness and perfection in higher-dimensional social practices.
The emergence of new things creates new research subjects, and new technologies endow humans with more powerful capabilities. All of these have provided a vast sky and fertile soil for new thoughts and new practices.
This is a critical moment in the development of human society and another great era when the times create heroes.
Born at the right time, we should live up to the era and ourselves.
Let us innovate our thinking, be courageous in practice, shoulder our historical mission, and realize our life values.
On June 13th, 2021, I started writing while undergoing quarantine upon arrival at Toronto airport in Canada.
The initial draft was completed on July 14th, 2021 in Twelve Corners, a northwest suburb of Augusta, Maine in the United States.
On July 19th, 2021, when I reached 1000 kilometers of Global Walking Kowtow Prayer, the final version was officially released in Portland, Maine, USA.