Beyond Righteousness and Profit

Beyond Righteousness and Profit (version 1)
Confucius said, "The mind of the superior man is conversant with righteousness; the mind of the mean man is conversant with profit." The Chinese philosophical view of life seems to have revolved around just two words: righteousness and profit. However, what if I am neither a superior man nor a mean man?

There was once an age when everyone claimed to be superior，and righteousness was always an unavoidable topic in conversations. There might have been authentic superior men who placed righteousness above profit at that time. However, hypocrites who chased after profit in the name of righteousness and pedants who believed in fake righteousness were more often observed than not. Such an age no longer exists. Radical changes occurred not long ago. The reputation of righteousness suffered a disastrous decline. Superior men disappeared from the scene, while hypocrites showed their true colors, and the pedants suddenly became enlightened as both hypocrites and pedants raced after profit. It is said that people's ideas have been updated and a new understanding to differentiate righteousness from profit has emerged, i.e., profit is not merely the franchise of the inferior man, but an unalterable principle of humanness.

"Time is money," this is a prevailing slogan in today's society. Entrepreneurs who use it as the guideline to promote production shouldn't be blamed. However, if the slogan were taken as a life motto, i.e., if the business spirit replaced the wisdom of life, then life would turn out to be an enterprise. Consequently, interpersonal relations would become a business market. I once mocked superficial acts of human kindness. But now, even such things become priceless and rare. May I ask: can you get a wisp of a smile, a greeting, or a little bit of sympathy without money?

However, it is not necessary for us to be nostalgic. To correct the wrongdoings of the times, and to rectify the manner and morals of the world by all types of preaching on righteousness would be an exercise in futility. There is another attitude towards life besides righteousness and profit. Accordingly, other character traits besides superiority and inferiority do exist. To use Confucian style wording, "the mind of a sage is conversant with temperament."

Righteousness and profit seem to contradict each other. In fact, they have something in common. Righteousness requires a man dedicate himself to the abstract social entity, while profit drives a man to devote himself to worldly material benefits. Both ignore man's interior life, and mask man's true "ego". Righteousness calls for man's dedication while profit whets man's appetite for possessions. The former turns life into an execution of obligation，while the latter turns life into a battle for power and profit. In fact, the true value of life goes beyond obligation, power and profit. Neither righteousness nor profit can ever be ignored, whether in justified suppression of rebellion or profit dominated lives. As a result, interpersonal relations are always intense.

If we say righteousness represents an ethical attitude towards life, and profit a utilitarian one, then the temperament I mentioned stands for an aesthetic attitude towards life. It advocates acting willfully, knowing when and where to stop. Thus everyone preserves their true nature. In that way, you are neither what you believe in nor what you own. You are who you are simply for the sake of your true "ego". The meaning of life does not lie in dedication or in possession, but in creativity. Creativity means the active development of man's true temperament, and the emotional satisfaction in the realization of his fundamental power. Creativity differs from dedication in that it is the realization of the true "ego", instead of just the accomplishment of external obligation. As for creativity and possession, the difference between them is clear at first glance. Take writing for example. Possession cares about things like fame, profit and the social status that it can bring. However, it is the pleasure of creation itself that creativity posits. Men of authentic temperament pursue only emotional communication in getting along with people, and show interest only in the taste of delight in dealing with material possessions. More importantly, such men's manner of dealing with people and material possessions would always be serene in a bustling age when others are driven by profit and are busy pursuing it. I am not referring to the leisurely and carefree mood of feudal China's scholar-officials, nor am I referring to the easily-contented and conservative mood of modest peasants. What I refer to is a simple sentiment about life, that is, neither to be driven by profit nor enslaved by materialism. Still, using writing as an example, I cannot understand why there are people who identify themselves with the number of their works. One short poem would be enough to win eternal fame. Without such a desire, one would lead a free and easy life, and writing would be just a way of such a life.

George Bernard Shaw once said, "There are two tragedies in life. One is not to get your heart's desire. The other is to get it." I used to firmly believe in what he said and admire him for his witty description of pathetic situations in life. After careful consideration, I discovered what he said was still based upon possession, which is the very reason why he set up double tragedies: the agony of not getting what was desired mixed with the boredom of getting it. If we shift our standpoint to creativity, and appreciate life from an aesthetic perspective, the result would be the opposite: "There are two delights in life. One is not to get your heart's desire so that you can seek and create. The other is to get it so that you can savor and experience it?" Of course, life can't be completely devoid of suffering. And those who are driven by profit can never even imagine the bitterness and sadness experienced by men who prefer temperament to profit. However, by getting rid of the desire for possessions, men could live more expansively, for material detachment could at least set men free from trivial disturbances and miniscule sufferings. It is not that I intend to take aesthetic temperament as a good policy to fashion the morals of the world. It is just that I express a faith here that beyond righteousness and profit, there is another approach towards life more worthy of our attention. And such a faith would sustain me in the coming years, whether they turn out to be auspicious or not.