One word: "Humility" - the future of Hong Kong's legend
The international financial centers of London and New York have a history of at least 300 and 200 years respectively. In many ways, Hong Kong is still far from them. Even so, it does not mean that Hong Kong cannot be in a situation that is worse than that of London and New York today. long-term goals.
Author: GUDORDI | 2022-12-20
In the history of Chinese culture, the concept of humility has a long history and profound tradition. (Shutterstock)
Continuing from the above article: “The way of a saint is to work without fighting – the legendary future of Hong Kong”
“There is something big that cannot be overfilled, so accept it with humility.”
──”Preface Hexagram”, one of “Ten Wings”
The author mentioned above the three points of guidance derived from the “Tao Te Ching” and its last sentence “Do not fight for the sake of it.” This time I will talk about it in detail.
Appearance is worse than substance
According to the author’s understanding, one of the key points of the “Tao Te Ching” is to emphasize not just looking at the surface. Many times, the truth of things is often contrary to the appearance. In the author’s opinion, this emphasis on “truth” can be regarded as one of the main themes throughout the 81 chapters of the Tao Te Ching.
“Everyone in the world knows that the beautiful is beautiful, but it is evil. Everyone knows that the good is good, but it is not good.” “When the great road is ruined, there is benevolence and righteousness; when wisdom comes, there is great hypocrisy; when the relatives are in discord, there is filial piety; when the country is in chaos, there are loyal ministers ”; “The superior virtue is not virtuous, so it is virtuous; the inferior virtue is not virtuous, so it is devoid of virtue”; “The generosity has no corner; the great instrument comes late; the great sound is silent; the elephant is invisible”; “Chong, as straight as bending, as skillful as clumsy, as clumsy as debate”; “Those who know do not speak, those who speak do not know”; “Words of faith are not beautiful, and beautiful words are not believed. Good people do not argue, and debaters are not good. Those who know If you are not knowledgeable, a knowledgeable person will not know” and so on are all examples of the emphasis on truth and connotation in the Tao Te Ching.
Coincidentally, this view of the Tao Te Ching is very similar to the author’s earlier mention of Cicero’s maxim “Be what you really are, not what you seem to be.” Perhaps, great thinkers all have similar ideas, and there is not nothing in common between Chinese and Western cultures. It is worth noting that there is no certain standard for “international financial center” and “international city”. Therefore, if Hong Kong is determined to truly become an international financial center and international city, it may need to define the concept of an international financial center by itself, and then continue to Just work hard and improve in this direction. Whether people agree with it or how they evaluate it, you don’t necessarily need to pay too much attention to it.
An international city is a state of mind
The author believes that an international city is actually a state of mind, which depends greatly on how people in the past, present and future view the city and act in it. From this point of view, further speaking, the criterion for oneself to become the meaning of this concept is the highest state. Just like no one would ask whether Bruce Lee is a martial arts master or whether Huang Jiaju is a musician, because they represent the highest level of martial arts masters and musicians. realm.
The international financial centers of London and New York have a history of at least 300 and 200 years respectively. In many ways, Hong Kong is still far from them. Even so, it does not mean that Hong Kong cannot be in a situation that is worse than that of London and New York today. long-term goals. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Lao Tzu’s “Tao Te Ching” teaches us that an international financial center and an international city should be an undertaking that takes hundreds of years. There will naturally be ups and downs in the process, even if there are occasional ups and downs. Adversity for a year or more will not be a fatal problem. The most important thing is that Hong Kong can continue to improve on this road. As Lao Tzu said in another sentence, “Misfortune lies where blessings depend, and blessing lies where misfortune lies.” There is no absolute criterion for misfortune and fortune. Everything depends on how we respond. Looking back afterwards, we may encounter difficulties and challenges over a period of time, or Maybe it will be the cornerstone to jump to another stage.
If becoming a truly international financial center and international city can be regarded as the goal that Hong Kong people want to pursue, then a humble attitude is the guide for how to achieve it in the Tao Te Ching. Strictly speaking, the “Tao Te Ching” does not specifically mention humility, but its content constantly emphasizes “being inferior”, not taking credit, not pursuing recognition, using small to overcome big, using soft to overcome strong, and using weak to defeat strong.
“The Tao is always nameless. Even though it is simple, there is no one in the world who can be a minister.”; “In the end, it does not think of itself as big, so it can become big.”; “The weak is stronger than the strong.” “It is better to go down”; “This is why the sage never becomes great, so he can become great”; “The reason why the river and sea can be the king of hundreds of valleys is because he is good at descending, so he can be the king of hundreds of valleys”; “Because he does not fight, so he can be the king of hundreds of valleys.” “No one in the world can compete with him”; “The strong is at the bottom, the weak is at the top”; “Who can serve the world with more than enough, only the Taoist. Therefore, he does not rely on the saints, does not rely on his achievements, and does not want to see the virtuous. “; “No one in the world is softer than water, and no one who attacks the strong can defeat it, and it cannot be easily defeated. The weak can defeat the strong, and the soft can defeat the hard. No one in the world knows it, and no one can do it.” There are famous sentences in the Tao Te Ching. Permeated with the concept of humility.
Only the six lines of the Qian hexagram are all auspicious
It is worth noting that in the history of Chinese culture, the concept of humility has a long history and a profound tradition. Among the 64 hexagrams in the “Book of Changes”, 63 hexagrams are both good and bad. Even the first hexagram “Qian” with the dragon as the hexagram is no exception, but only the 15th hexagram “Qian” hexagram, But all six lines are auspicious. The full name of the “Qian” hexagram is “Dishan Qian”. Its hexagram is a towering mountain, hidden under the earth. Although this mountain is tall, its real height is far greater than what people see on the surface. It is hidden under the water, and the unseen part is the biggest.
According to records, Zhou Gong once said, “There is a way in the Book of Changes, which is big enough to protect the world, medium enough to protect the country, and small enough to protect one’s own body, which is called modesty.” This shows how powerful Zhou Gong thinks humility is. Perhaps, as long as we keep an open mind and continue to improve, Hong Kong still has a lot of room to explore on its way to becoming an international financial center and an international city. In the next chapter, the author will talk about the revelation of the “Qian” hexagram and the third guideline gained from the “Tao Te Ching”.
“Hong Kong’s Legendary Future” Series 14
Contact the author: Gudordi@proton.me
