Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 750 How come he's still alive?

In recent years, major events in Europe have been reported back to China and published in newspapers, having a significant impact on the country.

A preliminary consensus has been reached within the imperial court that the world gate opened by Emperor Chenghui has played a significant role in promoting the future of the entire country.

It's not that there aren't conservatives, and they are quite powerful, but in the face of the surging tide of economic development, they've all become clowns jumping around.

Those who used to mock ingenious skills and tricks are still stubborn, but no one cares what they say anymore.

Jia Lian wrote an article starting with the rise of the Ottoman Empire, which blocked land travel between Eurasia. To open up maritime routes with China, Europe embarked on the Age of Exploration.

The early navigators had an extremely high mortality rate, reaching 50%. Europeans discovered the Americas, mistakenly believing them to be India, and thus called the local people Native Americans.

Spain acquired vast amounts of precious metals through its colonies, but failed to develop its industry. Was it really because it didn't want to develop?
Jia Lian believed it wasn't that the Spanish didn't want to, but rather that they genuinely couldn't develop the business. The reason was simple: the Spanish wanted to spend their money; if the money couldn't be spent, it was just inactive.

The cycle of plundering from colonies, spending the money back home, plundering again, and spending it all continued. At that time, there was no fertile ground for industrial development within the country.

Spain was later surpassed by the Netherlands and Great Britain, with Great Britain ultimately emerging victorious and becoming the dominant maritime power.

Because the European countries were not large in area, trade was very important. Through trade, they exchanged goods and services, thus developing a different form of civilization.

China, a land that has been built on agriculture and warfare since ancient times, has followed a different path, a civilization primarily focused on developing production.

As Europe entered industrialization, it developed rapidly and continuously expanded its colonies outward in order to obtain raw materials and markets.

If we don't pursue industrialization, sooner or later, European warships will sail over and place cannons on our shores.

Don't think this is alarmist. The foundation of European civilization dictates that they have integrated pirate culture, religious culture, and trade culture. After industrialization, Europe could not allow such a vast market to remain isolated in the East.

Now that we have also begun industrialization and are doing quite well, our maritime trade routes must be protected.

Otherwise, pirates will come and rob us.

Industrialization requires a large labor force, and these people themselves do not have the means of production; they earn their living by selling their labor power.

Therefore, industrialization and traditional farming methods are destined to clash.

The demand for labor from industrialization meant that both men and women had to leave their homes and work in factories and mines.

A significant number of women have thus gained economic independence, and the old model of women depending on their families is no longer appropriate.

It would be extremely unfair to these economically independent women to continue to demand the same attitude from them in the past.

Our society needs to be more inclusive and tolerant of women who leave home to work or study. It is much more difficult for women to leave their homes than for men.

The world is changing rapidly. Globalization brought about by European industrialization inevitably leads to increasingly deeper conflicts of interest between nations. Europe, with its inherent civilizational character, is destined to see nation-states wage war for their own interests. These things have been happening all along, we just weren't aware of them before. The world is not peaceful; the Russo-Turkish War has been fought ten times, and the next one is not far off. War broke out between Prussia and France, and the German Empire completed the unification of Greater Germany.

In the future, all industrialized nations will inevitably engage in larger-scale wars to compete for markets and raw materials. We must prepare in advance to prevent such conflicts from occurring.

The purpose of doing this is not for the benefit of any specific individual, but for the overall national interest.

To prepare for war, the first step was to cultivate civility. Ensuring women received education and entered the workforce was also part of this civilizing process.

These kinds of things will only increase in the future. Those outdated ideas that cling to the old ways and constantly preach about the "three obediences and four virtues" should be put aside.

The world is dynamic, and the existence of a nation is like rowing against the current; if you don't move forward, you fall behind.

If you retreat, you are destined to be beaten. Take, for example, the Ottoman Empire, our military partner. At its peak, it occupied all of Southern Europe, with its army reaching Vienna. Spain, which ushered in the Age of Exploration, was also once ruled by it. The Ottoman Empire was defeated by European countries and continuously lost its territory because it stagnated and even regressed.

We need to take a longer-term view, not just focusing on the next three to five years, but looking further ahead, thirty or fifty years.

The general trend of the world is vast and unstoppable; those who follow it prosper, and those who oppose it perish.

Don't dwell on the past, and don't be intolerant of anything new. The voices of these people are like the incompetent barking of a defeated dog.

All officials must have the ability to look up and see the changes in the world, and to do their job well.

China has always stood at the top of the world, and it will continue to do so in the future.

When people get old, they must accept their age and not always apply their old experiences to everything in the present. Young people are never useless; they will only do better than us old folks.

Young people should not live according to other people's opinions, nor should they care about what others think. They should do what they believe is right.

Jia Lian wrote a long and rambling essay in plain language, which was published in the Minsheng Daily with the title: "A Message from an Octogenarian".

The post included a description of what happened on the street that day, stating that the people involved were not bad people, but simply kind ordinary people with their own hardships. This incident occurred simply because of the changing times and the vast differences in perception between people. We should be tolerant; everyone has their difficulties. Being an ordinary person is even more difficult, because a speck of dust in the era can feel like a mountain on an individual's head.

This article caused a huge stir among the people after its publication. Although the *Minsheng Daily* wasn't a legitimate official newspaper, everyone knew it. Behind this newspaper was the highest-ranking official in the government—the Emperor! This article, written by anyone else, might not have been published, but it was written by Jia Lian.

Many modern people find Confucianism disagreeable, thinking it's all old stuff and should be thrown into the dustbin of history.

In fact, Confucianism has nurtured the Chinese people for two thousand years, and a gentle and kind nature resides deep within them. We don't need the value of this gentleness, because it greatly reduces the cost of social governance.

If everyone only cares about themselves and does not practice kindness, humility, or courtesy, social conflicts will increase exponentially.

The more extreme egoists there are in reality, the more contradictions will arise in this society.

Those who create conflict and antagonism and profit from it are all typical examples of extreme selfishness.

Jia Lian's article sparked widespread discussion in society. While societal thought as a whole remained conservative, productivity was developing rapidly. Thought had fallen behind!
If we continue to view this era through the lens of outdated thinking, the contradictions will undoubtedly increase significantly. These accumulated contradictions will inevitably erupt. Jia Lian wrote this article to ensure everyone sees it and participates in the debate.

The debate in society quickly escalated into two opposing camps, which then engaged in heated arguments.

The writers wrote extensively to debate the issue and express their opinions. Soon, the debate went beyond what Jia Lian had anticipated.

What started as a debate about viewpoints escalated into personal attacks.

The imperial court intervened urgently, issuing a document to stop such personal attacks and emphasizing that while debate is acceptable, personal attacks are absolutely unacceptable.

No one, at any time, should escalate a dispute of viewpoints into a personal attack.

After the imperial court made its statement, the situation gradually eased.

When Jia Lian, the instigator, found out, he simply smiled.

In any case, newspapers across the country made a fortune because of this incident.

Academic disputes have always been like this; even within the Jia family's practical learning, factions gradually emerged.

There are always a lot of people who come up with a new idea and then want to be the boss, or at least the boss of a group of people.

But you know, the sciences still need to produce something real. In mathematics, you need to come up with something new, like Newton claiming he invented calculus. In chemistry, you need to create a groundbreaking award like the Nobel Prize.

In this debate, very few members of the practical school actually participated; they were all busy with academic issues. Only a group of opportunists, posing as believers in practical learning, made a fortune and gained a lot of prestige.

With such people's praise, Jia Lian is practically being hailed as a saint.

The faction of practical scholars really does have a large number of people. Although most of them usually keep a low profile, when some people actually suggested canonizing Jia Lian, the reporters who wanted to stir up trouble interviewed academic bigwigs. They were all quite pragmatic and felt that canonizing Jia Lian was indeed not excessive.

After this matter escalated, Jia Lian stepped forward and stated in the *Minsheng Daily* that his school of thought, rooted in the wisdom of past sages, was not his own invention. He merely summarized the essence of various sages' ideas, intending to apply them, not to create something new. He absolutely rejected the idea of ​​being canonized. "Everyone, disperse, don't join the fun!"
Jia Lian did not acknowledge that his so-called practical learning was something he created himself, nor did he accept the so-called theory of contemporary sages.

The proponents of the pragmatic school were met with a cold shower, but they were not discouraged. They found a new angle and touted Jia Lian as the Zhuge Liang of today.

Such statements quickly became fashionable again, forcing Jia Lian to step forward and declare once more. "I, Jia Lian, am a man of tastes, greed, lust, and amusement. I am but a common man; how dare I compare myself to the Prime Minister?"

Jia Lian knew exactly what these people wanted to do; they simply wanted to praise Jia Lian, their so-called mentor, in order to achieve the goal of being the most outstanding in practical learning.

If the teacher becomes awesome, won't these people become awesome too?
This has always been the practice in academia: praising one's teachers, bestowing upon them the title of "master," and then, as a junior member of that school, feeling superior as well.

Speaking of this master, there was a time when the "masters of the Republic of China era" were being hyped up a lot. The problem is, anyone with even a little knowledge of history knows what the Republic of China era was really like.

It's not that masters are useless; some masters are truly dedicated to scholarship. They also disdain being praised.

There was a self-proclaimed "master" who not only enjoyed being praised but also loved to boast. However, if you look through his past statements, you'll find details about what this "master," praised by countless people, said during the September 18th Incident, during the Great Wall Resistance, and during the War of Resistance against Japan. Oh, and it seems he had close ties with the Low-Key Club.

It's fortunate that he fled to the United States during the War of Resistance against Japan, otherwise he might have really become a traitor. He probably looked down on Japan, and his spiritual homeland was on the other side of the ocean.

However, he had little presence on the other side of the ocean and eventually returned to the island. Due to his lack of magnanimity, he was criticized and collapsed.

To prevent future troubles, Jia Lian published a statement in the newspaper.

Anyone who, under any pretext, praises Jia Lian, the so-called founder of "practical learning," and tries to bestow honorary titles upon himself, is definitely a fraudster. Don't believe his nonsense.

After uttering those harsh words, they finally quieted down. Yes, Jia Lian is still alive. These people will remain in hiding for now, deciding to return to the scene once Jia Lian is dead.

That's how it is on the internet; disagreements can easily escalate into personal attacks. Now, this has extended to many social media platforms, which are full of dichotomies.

The most distinctive feature of these diodes is their tendency to label things. They do this simply for convenience, and more importantly, for the thrill and satisfaction of winning.

The most distinctive feature of this type of person is their novelty; once they become numerous, the sickle to harvest them will arrive.

Don't pity them. These kinds of people are smug after being exploited, thinking they've made a profit. Their idols keep speaking out for them and representing their stance.

They never considered whether their so-called spokespeople received a single penny. In fact, they not only didn't receive a penny, but they also made money off them.

Some things are best left unsaid. After observing them, don't make any hasty judgments. Think about why the person said that and what their purpose is.
If you can't figure it out, go find some books to read.

When it comes to opinions, even if they come from others, you should chew them over and understand them before using them.

Okay, enough about others. I wasn't much better when I was young. I just learned my lesson the hard way and became more shrewd as I got older.

Of course, when you suffer a loss, you must remember not to fall twice in the same place.

Most of the time, the development of things is not influenced by individual subjective will.

For example, many people hoped that Jia Lian would die soon, because only when he died would he be more valuable to them.

In fact, after Jia Lian's article was published, many people privately cursed him with very harsh words. However, they dared not say it openly, and could only vent their anger by cursing in secret.

The reason you only dare to curse him in secret is simply because Jia Lian is too special, and he's eighty years old. You really can't openly curse him no matter what he says.

A year has passed, and Jia Lian is still alive. More and more women are showing their faces in public, appearing in various places. Those who wish for Jia Lian's death can only sigh silently.

"Sigh, another year has passed, how come he's still not dead!"

(End of this chapter)