Chen Ping, one of the three heroes of the early Han Dynasty, was dividing meat in his hometown when he was a boy. According to legend, the sacrifices in his hometown required people to divide the meat equally. Many people were unable to do this job well. It would be difficult to divide the meat with one knife. Evenly, it's either more or less, which is very unfair. Later, Chen Ping volunteered to share the meat and solved the problem with one move. how? It's actually very simple. Cut the meat into good pieces. The size will definitely be uneven, but let me tell you, whoever takes it first, just leave the last piece to me. As a result, a miracle happened. Everyone was too embarrassed to take the biggest piece. After dividing the meat, not only did the villagers have no complaints, but the remaining piece on the chopping board was actually the largest. From this Chen Ping also proudly said that dividing the world in the future will be like dividing meat. Lao Tzu said: "Husbands don't fight, so no one in the world can fight with them." Chen Ping left the last piece of meat to himself, which was to turn Lao Tzu's words into strategy and practice. This story gives us a revelation: If the referees in today's society can learn from Chen Ping and not compete with the people for profit, then the world will be at peace. Because Lao Tzu also has a saying, "It is the saint who puts himself behind others and takes the lead." This means that the saint puts himself behind everyone, but he can get the support of everyone. Today's referees should learn from the actions of saints and practice the righteousness, then the world will be clear. There is a story in "Aesop's Fables" called "The Fox Divides Meat". The general meaning is that two little bears found a piece of meat and didn't know how to divide it. A cunning fox came over and volunteered to be the referee. As a result, the fox used his mouth to divide the meat, one bite from the left and one from the right. Most of the meat went into the fox's belly, and the little bear only got a little bit in the end. In our society, is it Chen Ping or the fox who divides the meat? I hope the fox can become Chen Ping and use morality to restrain himself. Is it possible to share the meat relatively fairly? Or follow the Western approach and put the fox in a cage. Use legal methods to force the fox to share the meat fairly. Many people in our society have a logic, which is to keep their eyes on the government, hoping to achieve fairness and justice through moral constraints or system changes. But I think they only see one side of things and seriously ignore the other side. Let’s take a look at Chen Ping’s meat. Is Chen Ping a saint? Chen Ping is a wise man. In the process of dividing the meat, he grasped the main contradiction. That is, although no one in the village is willing to take the smallest piece of meat, no one is embarrassed to take the largest piece of meat. So Chen Ping strategically placed himself at the end and made a gesture of giving me the smallest one. As a result, he successfully solved the problem of dividing the meat. "Isn't it selfless? That's why it can be selfish." It's still Lao Tzu's words. It means that Chen Ping used his selfless gesture to achieve his career. The reason for Chen Ping's success is certainly his own wisdom, but more importantly, isn't it that the folks are too embarrassed to take the biggest piece of meat? Let's look at the fox dividing the meat again. Why the fox can successfully eat most of the meat? The fox's cunning is only an external factor, but the most important internal factor is that the two little bears want to compete for the bigger piece of meat. If the bears are not greedy, does the fox still have a chance? If the folks are all greedy, I think with Chen Ping's wisdom, it is very likely that he will turn into a fox. Reading history can help us learn from the present, but we must keep pace with the times. Today's society is different from the society of thousands of years ago. For example, our current society already has a critical spirit that few ancients had. This critical spirit is not found in temples, but among the people. Today, a young man born in the 1980s can already criticize society and the government unscrupulously. Although the remarks are somewhat superficial, this spirit is worthy of recognition, and this is what the Chinese have gradually learned from the West since the May Fourth Movement. But is it enough to have a critical spirit? It is easy to criticize others, but it is difficult to criticize yourself. To use the words of the previous era: "Be Marxist-Leninist to others, but liberal to yourself" is a double standard. I think that while we have a critical spirit, we must also learn from the ancients the spirit of "seeking others in return". In current terms, it means having a spirit of self-criticism. Just imagine, if you are greedy and the whole society is full of little bears who want to get big meat, do you still hope that referees like Chen Ping will appear in society? Referees are also human beings. Since you have desires, do you want referees to be as self-disciplined as saints? In other words, you put the referee in a cage like a fox and use the system to restrict him. However, don’t forget that the fox is called a fox because he is cunning enough. If the fox has no conscious desire to enter the cage, wouldn’t it be a fool’s dream to just rely on a group of stupid and greedy bears to lock him in? Without a group of folks who restrain their irrational desires, there would be no wise Chen Ping; without two little bears fighting for each other, there would be no cunning fox. History is written by most people, and the direction of social development is the direction expected by most people. Great men are just promoters at major junctures. "If you don't respect the virtuous, the people won't fight; if you don't value hard-to-find goods, the people won't steal; if you don't see the desirable, the people will not be confused... It often makes the people ignorant and desireless; it makes the wise men dare not do anything." Now, if we don’t respect celebrities, we won’t fight for fame and wealth; if we don’t value rare treasures, we won’t have evil thoughts; if we restrain irrational desires, society won’t be in chaos. If everyone maintains normal desires, then those who think they are smart will not dare to act recklessly. Please note that everyone has desires, and asceticism is wrong. But you can't go too far in anything, as going too far is never enough. There is a fable of the bee in "The Wealth of Nations".

It is said that bees are selfish. They work continuously for their own desires, and as a result, the entire hive prospers. From this, Mr. Smith inferred that as long as members of society strive to pursue their own happiness, they will bring the greatest welfare to society. For decades, Chinese people have been working hard inspired by this idea, and in order to realize their own personal value, they are also constantly pushing society forward. But think about it, if bees pursue desires beyond their abilities and constantly do things beyond their abilities, can the hive still live in peace? Similarly, if people in society are pursuing desires that exceed their abilities, and desires are greater than abilities, in order to achieve their unrealistic ideas, bizarre and obscene techniques will emerge in endlessly. Isn’t it natural that the chaos in today’s society and even the crisis in the entire world will appear? Someone may ask, I understand what you mean, I just hope that everyone will restrain their excessive desires, but in this society everyone is pursuing it, wouldn’t I suffer a loss if I don’t work hard? Yes, personal thoughts cannot influence the trajectory of society. All an individual can do is conform to the trend of social development. This is the ruthlessness of reality. Individuals are always trapped by society. But you can control how you adapt. Here, I suggest everyone show a little free spirit. Freedom is not about doing whatever you want. The most primitive free spirit of human beings is the instinct of self-preservation. How to protect yourself? It means clearly seeing the trend of society, neither expecting Chen Ping to share the meat fairly, nor believing the sweet talk of the fox. No matter you are a wise man with a benevolent mouth, or a kind person with a sad face. I only trust my own judgment and do what is within my capabilities.