Independent personality

Dai Jianjiang

An independent person means that he has independent thoughts, independent personality, and the ability to live alone. Therefore, independence means not being dependent on others and being able to control your own thoughts and actions, so that you can discern things with an independent perspective. To achieve independence, one must first be able to rely on one's own labor to maintain one's own life economically, that is, independence without relying on other people's money.

However, independent personality is not only achieved through financial independence. People sometimes often fear authority, and those who dare to challenge authority must also have a fearless spirit. The modern Japanese enlightenment thinker Yukichi Fukuzawa once said, "If a person loses the spirit of independent personality, he must depend on others; a person who relies on others must be afraid of others; a person who is afraid of others must flatter others. If you are often afraid of others and flatter others, you will gradually become After getting used to it, his skin is as thick as iron. He is not ashamed of shameful things, and he does not dare to reason with others when he should. He only knows how to give in. "How can we expect them to care deeply for the vulnerable groups? How can we write straightly about state affairs?

Since ancient times, there have been countless people who have given up their independent personality in order to satisfy their desire for money or power. However, there are also many people who have refused official and noble gifts and pressure in order to maintain their independent personality. In this regard, ancient Chinese historians have many commendable things. For example, during the Spring and Autumn Period, Cui Shu, the minister of Qi State, and Duke Zhuang of Qi had a conflict over the competition for beautiful women. Cui Shu took the opportunity to kill Duke Zhuang of Qi, appointed Duke Jin of Qi, and became the prime minister himself. In this regard, the Taishi of Qi recorded: "Cui Shu killed his king." Cui Shu did not want to leave the bad name of regicide in history, so he ordered the Taishi to be killed. The successor Taishi still wrote this and was killed again. The third Taishi still wrote this and was also killed. The fourth Taishi still wrote down the story directly. Cui Shu felt that upright historians would never stop killing him, so he had to give up. At this time, another historian of the Qi State, the Nanshi family, heard that three Taishi were killed for recording state affairs. He was afraid that no one would dare to record the events directly, so he brought a bamboo slip with the words "Cui Shu killed his king" to the Qi State. Walking to the palace, he learned on the way that the fourth Taishi had recorded the truth and had not been killed, so he went back. "Zuo Zhuan: The Twenty-fifth Year of Duke Xiang" records the deeds of Qi Taishi who was "anointed with an ax and ax". The history of Qinnan was not afraid of violence and wrote straightly, and has been praised as a model for ancient Chinese historians for thousands of years. Among the emperors, generals, ministers and historians, one should "claim that he is the best, cover up evil and promote good", the other should "write the story directly and not cover up its flaws"; one should build a monument and biography for himself, and the other should "exhort future generations". These are two purposes and two standards that are diametrically opposed, forming a sharp contradiction and contest between the two forces. Of course, many people give up their independent personality under pressure, so the result of the competition is often that power overwhelms the upright, and the butcher's knife is stronger than the pen. However, as long as the independent personality spirit is maintained, the good history of future generations will still be written in a straight line, so there is Sima Qian's "Historical Records". Before the execution, Sima Qian had a strong passion for joining the world during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. He also hoped to make great achievements and become a general. However, the incident of execution completely shattered Sima Qian's illusions. From then on, he broke away from the mental state of being closely attached to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. At this time, Sima Qian's personality became independent from the vassal state of "seeking to be close to the Lord", and he consciously widened the psychological distance between him and the emperor and generals. Observe and analyze the society and historical traditions of the time with a more rational, deeper and more stern perspective and think independently.

Therefore, people with independent personality tend to have mature thoughts, have the right direction to move forward, are unyielding in power, cannot be licentious in wealth, and cannot be moved in poverty. They appear to be people with backbone, that is, The backbone of the Chinese people described by Mr. Lu Xun. They can maintain the mentality of "a gentleman keeps his integrity when alone, and does not betray others in vain" in the face of various temptations in the external environment, and always maintain his independent personality. In this way, people who engage in scientific research can calm down and seek truth from facts, instead of cheating or plagiarizing to gain fame and gain; people who write papers do not look at other people's faces, are not driven by others, and write "prospering" articles and obey orders without going against their will. By extension, a culture of independent personality can be formed in the whole society, and all industries will show a hundred schools of thought contending and innovating. This is also General Secretary Hu's wish. Didn’t you see, General Secretary Hu proposed the “Eight Honors and Eight Disgraces” a few years ago. General Hu said, “Social atmosphere is an important symbol of social civilization and a concentrated expression of social value orientation. Establishing a good social atmosphere is a must for the broad masses of the people. It is also an inevitable requirement for the smooth development of the economy and society. In our socialist society, the boundaries between right and wrong, good and evil, beauty and ugliness must not be blurred. What we insist on, what we oppose, what we advocate and what we resist must be clear-cut.

”