To live in groups without relying on others, to be independent without fear means to be in a group without relying on anyone, and to be without fear when alone.
From Su Shi's "Mo Jun Tang Ji". "Don't rely on others when living in groups, don't be afraid of being independent" is a word borrowed from bamboo to describe the character of a gentleman.
This article, like Su Shi's other prose, does not describe the subject in large paragraphs. Instead, it uses the story of Wang Ziyou to highlight the story, and uses sentences such as "sparing simplicity to resist strength" Let's draw some bamboo and express bamboo through the description of Wen Tong's bamboo painting techniques.
Praise bamboo through aphorisms such as "If you are ambitious, you will be prosperous without being arrogant; if you are not ambitious, you will be barren but not humiliated. If you live in groups, you will not rely on it, and if you are independent, you will not be afraid." People love bamboo, and bamboo transforms into people. Bamboo has a full image; people have noble conduct. People become the same kind and friend of bamboo, and bamboo becomes the foil and background for expressing personality. The article is called "Writing Bamboo", but it actually writes about people. People and bamboo are integrated and complement each other.
The former is about blending interests, while the latter is about pursuing like-mindedness.
The highest state of life is to "live in groups without relying on others, and be independent without fear", both of which are fundamental to emphasizing oneself.
To gain a foothold in society, we must be able to "pierce the sky upwards and root down to the roots" in our conduct and work. As long as your personality cultivation is "live in groups without relying on others, be independent without fear", you will be calm and unhurried , because you can see and distinguish clearly, no matter what difficulties and problems you encounter, you will have the determination and the solution.
The weakness and flaw of many of us is that we long to integrate into the group, hope to have someone to rely on, and look for a sense of security in the crowd. When we are alone, we are afraid of loneliness. It is difficult to be content and not seek. Therefore, struggle in thought and hone in work - without scars, there will be no rough skin and thick flesh. Heroes have suffered many hardships since ancient times.
The wind and snow are sharp to observe its movements; the cliffs and rocks are precise to show their integrity. If you are ambitious, you will be prosperous but not arrogant; if you are not ambitious, you will be barren but not humiliated. Don’t rely on others when living in groups, don’t be afraid of being independent.