"Sacrifice one's life to obtain righteousness" ancient and modern discussion

Mencius said: "Life is what I want, and righteousness is what I want. You cannot have both. Sacrifice one's life and obtain righteousness." "That is to say, "righteousness" is above all else.

For the sake of "righteousness", "A man with lofty ideals will not drink from a stolen spring, and an honest person will not be fed by someone who complains."

Throughout the ages, there have been endless events.

Because of this supreme "righteousness", there are countless people who "even though they are beaten with axes, axes, soups and woks, they are sincere and happy".

The story of Su Wu’s shepherding is known to all women and children.

After Su Wu was detained by the Xiongnu, the Xiongnu nobles first lured Su Wu with fame and fortune, and then threatened him with severe punishment.

But Su Wu was always upright and would rather die than surrender.

The Xiongnu nobles had nothing to do, so they "moved to the uninhabited place on the North Sea of ??Wu".

Su Wu "digs up wild rats, removes the grass and eats them".

In such a difficult environment, he still held on to the banner of the Han Dynasty and refused to surrender.

He was in his prime when he went on the mission, and by the time he returned to the Han Dynasty, his beard and hair were all white.

He became a famous figure in the history of our country who upheld national integrity.

At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Cao Cao "held the emperor hostage to order the princes" and was regarded as a national thief.

A famous Luoyang doctor named Ji Ping, who was loyal to the Han Dynasty, and his uncle Dong Cheng and others of the Han Dynasty conspired to kill Cao Cao.

He planned to poison Cao Cao when delivering medicine, but accidentally revealed the secret.

Cao Cao ordered people to beat Ji Ping severely, forcing him to recruit someone to instruct him.

Ji Ping was bleeding all over the steps but still scolded the traitor Cao, and then crashed into the steps and died.

In Luo Guanzhong's writings, he is a famous loyal minister.

In the late Qing Dynasty, after the failure of the Reform Movement of 1898, Kang Youwei and Liang Qichao fled to Japan.

Tan Sitong "had the intention to kill the thief, but was unable to save his life."

He firmly believed that "if there is no traveler, there is no plan for the future; if there is no dead, there is no reward for the Holy Lord." He went to death calmly, leaving behind "I am smiling to the sky from the side of my sword, leaving behind my liver and gallbladder." " famous sentence.

Su Wu, Ji Ping, and Tan Sitong could endure all kinds of torture for their loyalty until they gave up their lives.

What they did was largely influenced by feudal orthodoxy. The "righteousness" they sacrificed their lives for could only be loyalty.

With the development of history, the word "righteousness" no longer means "loyalty", but has a new meaning.

During the Huanghuagang Uprising, a large number of revolutionaries shed their lives and blood.

Lin Juemin led a death squad into the governor's office of Guangdong and Guangxi, fought bloody battles with the Qing soldiers, was shot and captured, and died calmly.

With a basket of bombs hanging on his chest, Yu Peilun charged forward and exhausted all his ammunition. He was later captured and died heroically.

Before liberation, due to the corruption and incompetence of the Communist Party, the economy tended to collapse and foreign goods flooded the market.

The famous writer Zhu Ziqing would rather starve to death than buy American relief fans. He is called a "patriotic intellectual who expresses the heroic spirit of our nation."

Today, we live in a completely different era from them. We will not be "loyal" like the ancients, nor will we sacrifice ourselves in the bloody storm like martyrs.

So, what does it mean for us to sacrifice our lives for justice?

Some people would say that the word "righteousness" today is neither "loyalty" nor "justice", but "loyalty".

Speaking of rebellion, one would naturally think of "the three sworn brothers, Liu Guan and Zhang Taoyuan".

They "don't want to be born in the same year, the same month and the same day, but they want to die in the same year, the same month and the same day."

After Guan Yu's death, Zhang Fei could not suppress his grief. He drank to relieve his sorrow, whipped his soldiers, and ordered them to rush to make mourning clothes overnight, which resulted in his death.

Liu Bei vowed to conquer the east of the Yangtze River, and despite the dissuasion of Zhuge Liang and others, he led the entire army to attack Soochow. As a result, Lu Xun burned his entire camp for 700 miles, almost wiping out his entire army, and he himself was killed by Bai Di. city.

Liu Bei and Zhang Fei lost their minds out of loyalty and brought disaster to themselves and their country.

In today's peaceful environment, although we will not sacrifice our lives, "sacrifice our lives for righteousness" is not away from us.

"Sacrificing life" is no longer limited to giving up life, but also includes personal interests that are equally important as life.

"Taking justice" is no longer limited to justice, but includes all public welfare including justice.

Although sacrificing one's life for righteousness in this sense is not as majestic as the previous righteous men and martyrs, it is a spark that cannot be underestimated.

A single spark can start a prairie fire.

Only those who are willing to give up personal interests for the public good will not hesitate to sacrifice their lives at critical moments.

The times call for this spirit.

Only when this spirit is firmly rooted in everyone's heart can our country have hope and our nation rise.