A few years ago, the college entrance examination essay featured a character "人" (person). If it were back then, I would say: "人" seems simple to write, just a stroke and a dot, but to be a person is not as simple as that; instead, it involves various complex relationships. However, nowadays, I personally believe that the essence of a person is as simple as the character itself.
This simplicity is not a superficial understanding of what is called simple, but rather we should seek its origin. The essence of a person is actually very simple; the great principles that people pursue are established on this essence. Just like the philosophers of the pre-Qin period, who stood on the foundation of national culture, which is the root, most of the philosophies learned later cannot escape this foundation. The same goes for people; the complex principles of the world and ways of dealing with things are actually built upon a simple essence. Those principles should be extensions of the essence or specific interpretations of it. Starting from the fundamental principles of being a person and dealing with the world, one will naturally find that being a person is not difficult.
Surely, some might say something like, "Society is so complex; how can being a person be simple?" This viewpoint cannot be considered wrong, but it is also not entirely correct, because we cannot understand the inner core from the surface of society, just as a surgeon cannot perform brain surgery without expertise. Therefore, we must let specialists handle specialized tasks, allowing brain surgery experts to perform surgeries. The complexity of society arises from human factors; various desires drive people to push society forward, making it more complex. However, if we think from another perspective, lines are made up of points, and surfaces are made up of lines. Society is also composed of individuals. If every person can be open and honest, society would present a different, simpler state, no longer elusive. The reality is that while we cannot say everyone can start from the fundamental principles of being a person, we also cannot say that every individual in society is complex. After such a "yin-yang" harmony, we naturally will not find being a person very difficult.
In this discussion, it seems I support the theory of inherent goodness, as I seem to believe that human nature is good, starting from goodness and from the foundation. However, I do not actually support the theory of inherent goodness, nor will I discuss its validity; I think we should combine the views of the two wise men, Confucius and Xunzi. We must believe that the root of being a person starts from goodness, while also constantly correcting and educating, after all, the most challenging part of a large tree's growth is its roots. We need to provide space while also guiding.
The Chinese character "人" (person), formed by a stroke and a dot, represents both the appearance of a person and the meaning of being human. A single character teaches us so much, yet it seems unremarkable. This is actually the unique charm of Chinese culture, isn't it? Subtle and implicit, yet always ready to bloom, the special and beautiful Chinese culture.
This article is updated by Mix Space to xLog. The original link is https://fmcf.cc/posts/life/Roots-and-Connections