2025.12.08 - When a child has a fever, parents must get these two things right

2025.12.08 – When a Child Has a Fever, Parents Must Guard These Two Gateways

Educational Anxiety, He Answers with “Ritual and Music”

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/mgcjz1ukq6xyAvOQdWzGsA

Ritual (li) and music (yue) are the foundation of a nation and of the human heart. In a sense, they are also the cornerstone of the Chinese people’s identity that has lasted for millennia. China has long been called the “land of propriety,” and in the pre‑Qin era “ritual and music” referred to a set of rules for governing order, educating the people, and calming the mind. Later, when the Zhou‑ritual order collapsed, Confucius revived the system and famously said that “ritual and music” are first and foremost a way of ruling: “It begins with poetry, is established by ritual, and is perfected by music.” Ritual is the external norm; music is the harmony of inner feeling. Taiwanese writer Hsieh Jen‑ming argues that the most crucial—and most effective—place to restore ritual and music is the family.

---

Confucianism and Modern Spirit: Regaining Human Dignity in an Instrumental Age

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/xHXdfVG_Llupo_jJts-kOA

We discuss Confucianism today not out of nostalgia but as a form of “self‑rescue.” In an era where AI threatens to replace skills and systems aim to swallow the individual, drawing on Confucian thought, insisting on “learning for oneself,” practicing the principle that “a gentleman is not a tool,” and cultivating the aspiration to “hear the Way” can help us live a truly modern life—upright, independent, free, and internally calm. Let us straighten our backs, refuse to be objectified or turned into a mere instrument, and become people of integrity and inner brightness. That is the genuine “modern spirit” and the dignity we deserve.

---

Understanding “淡” (淡) Unlocks Chinese Thought

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Rg8F_nmlePrC-kgzYYQGRw

In ancient Chinese philosophy—whether Confucian, Daoist, or Buddhist—“淡” (dàn, “tranquility” or “subtlety”) is the highest standard. The Dao De Jing says, “The way’s output is淡, its flavor is without taste.” The Doctrine of the Mean states, “The gentleman’s way is淡 and never tiresome.” Zen even advocates “no reliance on words.” But what does “淡” really mean, and what does the pursuit of it entail? We can see it through Su Shi’s warning against deliberately chasing blandness. Su Shi noted that beginners often mistake the apparent simplicity of a master’s work for plainness, when in fact it is “the most dazzling.” He advised his nephew not to “only see the present blandness” but to examine the essays of Su Zhe and himself when they were candidates for the imperial exams—works that were “high and low, rising and falling, like dragons and snakes that cannot be captured.” The true “plainness” is a dazzling brilliance; human creativity is like a snake biting its own tail.

---

Mike McFarlane’s Latest China Visit: The Core of Western Thinking Is Binary Opposition

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/SuinHk3AgCpiymB_CPuztA

Western thought is rooted in Greek logic, whose core is binary opposition: good vs. evil, black vs. white, male vs. female, heaven vs. hell, true vs. false. This either‑or mindset underpins the entire Western value system. In the arts, since the Renaissance, painting (visual art) and poetry (linguistic art) have been treated as separate, even opposing realms—called “the mute painting” and “the blind poetry.” Chinese civilization, by contrast, emphasizes the harmony of yin and yang and the interconnection of all things.

---

Viewing Ni Haixia’s Six Health Standards Through the Lens of the Six Classics’ Qi Transformation

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/tYQ4ljLe52qaWNLKmdNJyw

The whole Huangdi Neijing (Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic) is essentially an inquiry into “what health is” and “how to be healthy.” It contains maxims such as “Avoid the invading wind at the right time,” “Tranquil and empty, true qi follows,” and “When qi flows smoothly, wishes are fulfilled.” Practicing even one of these can bring greater ease and composure to daily life; practicing ten can open ten layers of clarity. Yet the Neijing reads more like a “cultivation manual” containing profound, all‑encompassing wisdom—perhaps too grand to serve as a simple everyday health ruler for ordinary people. Ni Haixia’s “Six Standards for a Healthy Person,” based on the Shanghan Zabing Lun’s theory of the six meridians’ qi transformation, is far more tangible for laypeople to perceive and self‑check. I often recommend it to friends and patients. His core claim: health is the normal operation of the six meridians’ qi transformation. The six standards are the most direct reflections of that state.

---

Liu Lihong | When a Child Has a Fever, Parents Must Guard These Two Gateways

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/Nl2J4wry2nCjCLtPrIs89A

First gateway: sweat. Recognizing this, parents need not panic when a child has a fever. If you can help the body release the exterior and disperse cold, restoring smooth flow in the muscles and skin, the heat will naturally recede.

Second gateway: diet. The “Taiyang” (Greater Yang) channel governs the exterior, but it is linked internally to the spleen and stomach. Why does appetite drop when someone catches a cold and develops a fever? It’s a double‑meaning phenomenon: on one hand, the exterior Taiyang disorder affects the interior spleen‑stomach, weakening digestion; on the other, it is the body’s instinctive protection. It tells us that during a fever, food should be light and reduced. This is not the time for tonics or “high‑nutrition” meals!

---

Originally written by Ping Xia (平侠) and published in Chinese on 拾一集 (Weekly Reflections). Translated and adapted for DriftSeas with permission.