About the gathering and dispersing of wealth, this is a very interesting philosophical proposition. On the one hand, as Confucius said, "Wealth and honor are what people want." "Wealth is something that can be sought after. Even though I am a warrior with a whip, I will do it." As long as you are a human being, everyone hopes to have wealth and possess it. Wealth is the accumulation of wealth; on the other hand, the ancients also said that "a gentleman uses wealth to make a fortune, and a villain uses himself to make a fortune." Be willing to spread your wealth to maintain long-term wealth.
There is a vessel in the temple of Duke Huan of Lu called the "Qi Qi", which is usually placed on the right side of the desk, so it is also called the "Xi Si Qi". This vessel is very strange, like a half-filled cup. It is half-tilted when it is empty. It will tip over if it is filled with too little water, and it will tip over if it is filled with water. It is upright and balanced only when the water level is just right. One day, Confucius took his disciples to the temple to see this vessel. He asked someone to get a ladle of water for testing, and it was true. Confucius said, this is the same as being a human being: when you are full, you will suffer losses.
If this balance law realized by the ancients is introduced into wealth, it is also very applicable. Therefore, since ancient times, there has been a saying of "spreading wealth and spreading slander" in order to preserve the safety and continuity of wealth. Zeng Guofan knew this well. Before he became famous, he wrote an elegiac couplet for his friends and lamented that "when fame spreads all over the world, slander will follow." His ninth brother, Zeng Guoquan, liked to accumulate wealth. When he was scolded as an "old glutton", Zeng Guofan gave him advice, which was to "spread wealth to seek happiness" and "spread wealth to share slander", and advised him that "the place where the name lies should be with Everyone should share it equally; where the benefits lie, they should be shared with others."
The saying in "The Great Learning" that "when wealth gathers, people disperse, and when wealth disperses, people gather together" is also true. Confucianism believes that in a country, morality is the foundation of the country, and wealth is just the tail. Therefore, if you underestimate the fundamentals and focus on the branches, you will compete with the people. Therefore, if the monarch only focuses on gathering wealth, the people will be dispersed; only if wealth is distributed to the people, the people will obey.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, Tao Zhugong's wealth was scattered three times, but in the end he was rich enough to rival the country and was revered as the God of Wealth by the people. There is also the Han Dynasty's excellence in "breaking elephants to distribute wealth" and "spreading wealth", and the folk saying that "a house that accumulates good deeds must have a shadow". Liu Bowen carved on the rock wall of a mountain stream "Five miles up, five miles down" "Here, if you want gold and silver in the bamboo bridge," the poem about loose wealth and hidden things reflects the ancients' wisdom and understanding of the gathering and dispersing of wealth to a very high level.
Lao Tzu said in the "Tao Te Ching": "If you love too much, you will spend a lot of money; if you hide too much, you will perish." This means that people who love money will definitely spend too much thought and energy, and people who have a lot of money will definitely spend too much thought and energy. Failure to know how to give will lead to destruction. Therefore, if the rich do not know how to circulate, do not help others, and do not share with others, they will often be burdened by wealth and become victims of wealth.
A sage once made a "cycle diagram of the rise and fall of wealth", which is quite thought-provoking. This picture is actually a cyclical poem: "Poverty makes people repent, repentance makes people diligent, hard work makes people frugal, frugal makes people rich, riches makes people arrogant, extravagant makes people lustful, and lustful violence makes people miserable. Disasters make people poor." This shows that there seems to be a "cyclical rate" between the accumulation and dispersion of wealth and the rise and fall of wealth.