There is a way to do things; but such way would not be the ordinary way
Cosmopolitan cities and international financial centers are things that can only be achieved by the power of natural order and cannot be built. However, having said that, it cannot be built, and it does not mean that there is nothing we can do to make Hong Kong a truly international metropolis and international financial center.
Author: GUDORDI| 2022-11-15
What enlightenment does the Tao Te Ching have on establishing and maintaining an international financial center? (Asian News Agency)
Continuing from the above: “Appearance is better than substance – the future of Hong Kong’s legend”
“The Tao can be Tao, but it is not Tao”──Lao Tzu
The above is an intriguing sentence at the beginning of the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu (571 BC – unknown). It can be said that the ideological circles have not reached a conclusion yet on what exactly Laozi said in the “Tao De Jing” and how the opening sentence is related to the main point of the entire “Tao De Jing”.
If we think more deeply, we may agree that it is almost impossible to finalize the decision, because the propositions involved in the book “Tao Te Ching” essentially exceed the scope of words that can be expressed. Therefore, “Tao Te Ching” is a This is a work that attempts to use words to express something beyond what words can express. Perhaps readers can only have varying degrees of understanding based on their own cultivation. It is worth noting that if what is stated in “Historical Records” is true, the “Tao Te Ching” is not a work that Lao Tzu intended to publish in the hope that it will be remembered forever. If it appears, it may also be regarded as a historical work. accidental.
Purple air comes from the east to Hanguguan, and I write a book of five thousand words
Laozi, whose original name was Li Er, was a native of the Chu state. He served as the curator of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and was responsible for managing the Zhou Dynasty’s collection of books and archives. It is said that Lao Tzu couldn’t bear to see the decline of the Zhou Dynasty and at the same time wanted to avoid disaster, so he went west to Hangu Pass and prepared to live in seclusion from then on. However, when he was passing the customs, he was discovered by Yin Xi, who was in charge of the customs at the time, so he asked me to write something to leave to future generations. In this context, Lao Tzu succeeded in one fell swoop and wrote the “Tao Te Ching” in two volumes with a total of 5,000 words.
According to records, when Lao Tzu handed the “Tao Te Ching” to Yin Xi, he said this: “I taught you the Tao Te Ching, which is divided into two parts. The first part is the Tao Jing, which talks about the foundation of the universe and contains the mechanism for the changes of heaven and earth. It contains the secret of the fulfillment of gods and ghosts; the next chapter is the “De Jing”, which talks about the way to deal with the world, the art of advancing and retreating in human affairs, and the way of long-term observation.” After saying this, I rode the green ox backwards and left, and never returned. No one has seen him, but some say he lived to be over a hundred or two hundred years old.
If the above is true, then the “Tao Te Ching” was written with a touch of “waving your sleeves and not taking away a cloud”, which is a bit of a legendary story in itself. Some legends even mythologize it. It is said that one day Tianyin was delighted to see the purple steam in the east and the rays of rays. He was so happy that he shouted, “When the purple gas comes from the east, strangers must pass through” and ordered the officials to pass by. Clean the streets to wait for strangers, so there is an old saying “Purple air comes from the east to Hangu Pass, Laozi writes a book of five thousand words”. In any case, Lao Tzu has no disciples, and he has not done any propaganda for himself. He has been able to dominate the Chinese intellectual world for more than 2,000 years by relying solely on the Tao Te Ching, which may have been written impromptuly. The Tao Te Ching is really a pole. An extraordinary work.
The Tao Te Ching is indeed an extraordinary work. (Internet picture)
Between the universe, heaven and earth, there is a power beyond our eyes
What is important is that the essence of the entire “Tao Te Ching” may be glimpsed in its first sentence. If you can read it carefully, you may have a rough outline of the entire “Tao Te Ching” outline. In the author’s opinion, the “Book of Changes”, which is called the first of the group of classics and appeared at least 1,000 years before the “Tao Te Ching” was written, proves that there is a belief in the blood of Chinese culture, that is, Between the universe, heaven, earth, and sky, there is a force beyond our eyes and beyond human knowledge. If we can experience and understand this force, it may be enough to understand the laws of the operation of all things in the universe and the eternal cycle. The changes are somewhat voyeuristic. In the author’s opinion, the “Tao Te Ching” can be said to inherit the implicit belief of the “Book of Changes”, but at the same time it takes this belief to another level.
It is worth noting that the power beyond the present that the “Book of Changes” implies has never had a name, but Lao Tzu was probably the first person to name it and called it “Tao”. According to the author’s understanding, Lao Tzu believes that although this power is far beyond the scope of human wisdom and cognition, if one has a high enough level of cultivation, one may be able to “say a little bit” about it. The Tao can be “taoized”, but it cannot be Taoized using the methods that ordinary people understand. This also extends to the second sentence of the Tao Te Ching – “A name can be named, but it is not named.” This power is not completely unnameable, but it cannot be named with ordinary concepts. In the “Tao Te Ching”, we see that Laozi mentioned a lot of his observations of various natural phenomena such as water, mountains, and trees. Probably one of Laozi’s strategies is to use various natural phenomena to enable readers to understand ” Do you have some “understanding” of this extremely abstract concept of “Tao”?
A true international financial center, it can be done, it can be done very well
The most important thing is, based on the above explanation, there may indeed be a force in the universe that cannot be named by ordinary human cognition, but is extremely huge. From this perspective, one of the major variables in Hong Kong’s future may depend on whether Hong Kong people’s response to the current situation can cooperate with the power of this “Tao”, or even receive its favor and blessing.
It is worth noting that Lao Tzu’s concept of “Tao” is vaguely consistent with the concept of “Spontaneous order” in Western philosophy. The concept of natural order is contrasted with man-made order. Undoubtedly, some order can be “created” artificially and engineeringly. However, the more complex the phenomenon is and the more variables involved, the more difficult it is to create. However, anything that is created by humans and fails to coordinate with all the naturally derived things around it can only last for a period of time and cannot last long.
In the author’s opinion, cosmopolitan cities and international financial centers are things that can only be achieved by the power of natural order and cannot be built. However, having said that, it cannot be built, and it does not mean that there is nothing we can do to make Hong Kong a truly international metropolis and international financial center. To borrow words from the Tao Te Ching, the trick is to “do it if you can,” but “do it very much.” I will talk about it next time.
“Hong Kong’s Legendary Future” Series 9
Contact the author: Gudordi@proton.me
