I wonder if you have noticed that when you use various famous quotes, we only know one or two sentences of many sentences, but we don’t know their context. Of course, on the one hand, this is because we usually save trouble and have no patience to read the full text, so we ignore it; on the other hand, it is because the upper and lower sentences of this famous sentence may not be in line with our current three views, which makes many people reluctant to mention it.

There are many such examples, such as Du Fu's "Seventy years of life are rare in ancient times". Because the previous sentence is "Drinking debts are common," they are rarely mentioned. This is also the case with the Internet celebrity saying that Xiaomei is going to tell you in this issue. This famous saying is "It is better to forget each other than to forget each other in the rivers and lakes."

When these 11 words are mentioned, the first thing many people think of are two words: free and easy, cool. Yes, this golden sentence is commonly used in many martial arts novels. A hero and a heroine obviously love each other, but for various reasons they have to forget each other and become strangers. This kind of plot is really interesting. So many people think that this sentence should be written by a modern novelist, but in fact this sentence has a history of more than 2,000 years and comes from "Zhuangzi".

Since it comes from a classic such as "Zhuangzi", why do so many people only hear this sentence? What's the next sentence? Why so few people mention it. In fact, it is not that the writing is not classic, but because many people do not agree with the content of the last sentence, which is somewhat inconsistent with our current three views. Therefore, when many Chinese masters talk about this sentence, they are unwilling to mention the next sentence. Let's take a look at what the original text of "Zhuangzi" says:

When the spring dries up, the fish is in the same shape as on the land. , It is better to forget each other in the rivers and lakes than to wet each other and wet each other. Instead of praising Yao instead of Jie, it is better to forget both and change his ways.

This quote comes from the prose "The Great Master" in "Zhuangzi". The meaning of the first sentence of these two sentences is that the spring water has dried up, and the fish are dependent on the land and live on each other's breath. Instead of living together like this, it is better to leave each other and forget each other in the rivers and lakes, and everyone will be at ease.

When you first read this first sentence, many people may think it is a bit unreasonable. The two fish were in the predicament at that time, and there was no way they could survive if they didn't work together. But this is one of Zhuangzi's ideas. The spring has dried up, and death is inevitable for the two fishes. Instead of struggling like this, it is better to let go of everything and not be attached to life and death. Only in this way can we gain great freedom in life.

The meaning of the last sentence "It is better to praise Yao than Jie" is also very clear. Yao is a legendary Mingjun in ancient times and one of the "Five Emperors". He has always been respected by everyone. Jie, on the other hand, is just the opposite, an unruly king. But this sentence says that it actually makes no sense for everyone to praise Yao and belittle him. It is better to forget about good and evil and return everything to Tao.

After reading the 11-character sentences before and after "It is better to forget each other in the world", many people are reluctant to mention this famous saying because the views of the two sentences are indeed not relevant. Accepted by most people. The content of these 11 words is not as simple as being free and easy in love. Its original meaning includes two aspects: first, not to be too attached to life and death; second, not to be too attached to good and evil. This embodies the Taoist skills of Lao Zhuang.

Although later generations have beautified this sentence and understood it as Zhuangzi's hope that everyone can live more comfortably. But it is undeniable that the literal meaning of this passage is not that simple. If there is nothing wrong with not being attached to life and death, then not being attached to good and evil is obviously not accepted by most people in modern times. This is why many Chinese classics masters are reluctant to mention the latter sentence.

After understanding this, Xiaomei still hopes that everyone will not be too obsessed with this golden saying. In family and love, it has reached the point where we need to support each other in order to survive. It is not wise to pursue the so-called "it is better to forget each other in the world". This is essentially different from freedom and ease. Of course, I believe everyone has their own opinions on this matter. After all, this matter has different opinions and everyone is welcome to discuss it.