There are only three things to do. It originates from the allusion of "one vigorous effort, then decline, three times exhaustion" during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Chinese people seem to have a kind of plot about three. "Three things cannot be done more than three" is used to warn people not to make the same mistakes over and over again; "three declines and exhausts" is supported by historical allusions from the war between the two countries.

From a modern scientific point of view, three is a stable number, and the triangle is the most stable shape.

One divided into three and the golden mean

< p>Should we use the philosophy of struggle or use unity and harmony to resolve opposing issues? In my opinion, building a harmonious society and a harmonious community is actually about "doing both." "Zhong" and "harmony" are actually the same thing, and "harmony" is the dynamic "zhong". A harmonious society is a moderate society that takes into account the interests of all parties and adopts various advantages.

So, what is "three"? What are the forms of three points?

I think there are roughly four forms. One: all three are entities. There is a familiar children's game called "rock, paper, scissors," which refers to a cyclical restraint relationship. There was a popular saying in the late Qing Dynasty: the people were afraid of officials, officials were afraid of foreign devils, and foreign devils were afraid of the common people. This was also a relationship of mutual restraint. In addition to the relationship of mutual restraint among the three entities, there is also a relationship of mutual complementation. In this regard, what China talks about most is “heaven, earth and people”. In China, both Confucianism and Taoism advocate the three poles of "heaven, earth and man". It is said that the role of heaven is in transformation, the role of earth is in nurturing, and the role of human beings is in praise. Heaven can provide conditions to make everything change and come into existence from scratch; the earth can provide various material resources to nourish all things; the role of human beings is to praise, and praise is to help. Man must help heaven and earth to transform and nurture, and heaven, earth, and man are in a mutually complementary relationship. This kind of relationship is called participation. Heaven, earth, and humans each transform, educate, and praise, but the combination of the three is Shen. Therefore, in China, Confucianism has a saying called "Counselor Huayu". These three together form a complete, perfect and harmonious nature.

The second form: two real and one virtual, that is, two entities and one virtual body. The most common example is that it seems that there are only buyers and sellers conducting transactions in the market. In fact, there is a third party somewhere. This third party dominates, controls, and directs the buyers and sellers. Although it Invisible, but there. This is called the "invisible hand" in economics.

There is another example in Chinese history that can enrich this theory, called "invisible feet." "Zhuangzi Tianxia Chapter" mentions that at that time, some sophists raised some strange topics to debate with each other. One topic was "Chicken's Three Legs", and they debated whether a chicken has three legs. Of course it is easy to say that there is no one, and a chicken does not have three legs; but one can also find out the reason for saying that it does have it - in addition to the two legs, the chicken also has an invisible leg, because if it does not have these two legs, it will not have three legs. It's useless. Fighting all day long, the left leg has to go to the left, the right leg has to go to the right, the left leg steps on the right leg, and the right leg pulls the left leg. It must fight, so it must have a dominant third leg. Let the two legs balance, and direct and control the two legs to move in one direction. This leg cannot be seen, but it must be there. This is the imaginary leg that is two real and one imaginary. Ancient Chinese books also say that both Yao and Shun had three eyes, "Yao and Shun had three eyes." This third eye is an invisible eye. It looks at both the situation on the left and the situation on the right, and then combines the situations on both sides to make a correct judgment. It is also a relationship of two realities and one imaginary.

The third form: two virtual and one real. The most obvious one is the trinity of religions. Whether it is Christianity, Buddhism, or Taoism, they all have the so-called trinity. For example, among the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in Christianity, in fact only Jesus, the Son, is real, and the other two are imaginary. Another example is the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha in Buddhism, and the essence, energy, and spirit in Taoism. They are both a trinity of two emptiness and one reality. Li Bai has a poem called: A pot of wine among the flowers, drinking alone without any blind date. Raise a glass to invite the bright moon, and make three people in the shadows. Only Li Bai is real, the other two are fictitious, but his poem is profound and mysterious.

Of course, if you add the dimension of time, you will see a more complex three-part relationship. The most famous one is "positive and negative combination", which is a relationship divided into three from the time dimension. Zheng Banqiao has a famous saying: "It is rare to be confused." He said that it is difficult to be smart, difficult to be confused, and even more difficult to go from smart to confused. This contains a very profound principle of positive and negative combinations. You can think about this carefully and understand it.

The above are roughly the four forms of three points. These forms actually have various expressions in Chinese history.

For example, in the Han Dynasty, someone proposed the concept of "three is the completion of the number", saying that among the ten numbers, one is the beginning of the number, ten is the end of the number, and three is the completion of the number. One is the beginning of counting, and ten is the end of counting. This needs no discussion, because eleven is actually the beginning of the second round. Three is the result of numbers. This thought is incredible and profound. "Three" is the end of a small cycle stage, a completion, why? Three includes one and two, and one and two are the two most basic elements of numbers. Odd and even, the two most basic elements, are both included in three, so three is the composition of numbers. "Three" also combines pros and cons.

Starting from one, then to two; one is identity, two is opposition, from identity to opposition, and then to three, which is opposition and identity. This statement has an impact to this day. We say "think three times before you act." The "three" does not mean thinking three times, but a simple majority, a completion. There are also "three bowls but not enough", "three times and five times", etc. The "three" here is not three in the real sense, but a virtual reference, which represents "the number of successes".

Another example is the familiar “gold mean”. In one sentence, "docility" means "holding both sides in the middle". "Persistent" means to grasp, grasp both ends, and use the piece in the middle. This is the most basic meaning of "golden mean". "Take both ends and use them to benefit the people." You say this will work, but I say this won't work. Pick out the advantages of both of us, throw away the shortcomings, and find something completely different. This is It's called "doing both things". The concept of "gold mean" has been popular for more than two thousand years, but it has only received some criticism in modern times. Now everyone seems to be rethinking the meaning of "moderate".

If broken down, we can divide "the golden mean" into four forms. One is A and B. For example, "gentle but tough" means being gentle, courteous, thrifty and conciliatory on the surface, but does not give in when it comes to issues of principle. Comrade Mao Zedong said that Deng Xiaoping had needles hidden in cotton, which meant the same thing as "gentle but tough". You may be kind to others, but kindness itself has shortcomings. Similarly, everything has its shortcomings, so it is necessary to use opposites to supplement them, and finally reach a better intermediate state. This is "holding both sides and using the middle".

The second form of "gold mean" is A instead of B. B is a special form of A. For example, if a person is "powerful but not fierce", "power" and "fierce" have similar meanings, but "fierce" is an excess of "power" and is not a good development, so it must be restrained. Everything has its tendency to go to extremes. To prevent it from going too far, this is the "golden mean".

The third form of the golden mean is neither A nor B. For example, "neither humble nor arrogant" means neither humble nor arrogant, neither adopting one end nor the other. This is also what it means to abstain from voting when expressing opinions.

The fourth type is just the opposite of the one just now, both A and B. "Able to be both literary and martial", "both popular and professional", integrating the advantages of both sides, this is another meaning of "golden mean". If not A and not B means eliminating the shortcomings of both sides and taking a detached approach, then doing both A and B means tolerating the advantages of both sides, achieving the best of both worlds, and having everything ready for me.

Of course, it is difficult to truly achieve the realms mentioned above, but the thinking and working methods of "holding both ends and using them" are the precious and great wisdom of the Chinese people. We need to think carefully and apply it seriously.

Currently, we are in the process of building a harmonious socialist society. How to solve the relationship between reform and stability, freedom and order, development and justice, eliminate differentiation, narrow the gap, and build a harmonious society. In the final analysis, it is still a two- or three-part question. Should we use the philosophy of struggle or unity to resolve opposition? question. In my opinion, building a harmonious society and harmonious community is actually about "doing both things". The "zhong" and "harmony" are actually the same thing, and "harmony" is the dynamic "zhong". A harmonious society is a moderate society that takes into account the interests of all parties and adopts various advantages.