2025.09.29 - Eager to Hear Your Aspirations

Title: 2025.09.29 – Want to Hear Your Aspirations

Juli: How to Re‑read “On Protracted War” Today

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/5a8k6TYc1DRKiolaZevdcw

Many of the problems we face are medium‑ to long‑term, so they must be understood from the perspective of a protracted war. Opening “On Protracted War” in the right way and revisiting it from multiple angles allows us to constantly draw fresh inspiration, strengthening our confidence in eventual victory, grasping the overall situation, and rallying collective energy. This has important practical significance.

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How Young People Define the Countryside

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/hXNb2EJRf1PGor9Fk6ZLHw

When young people in rural areas are no longer troubled by basic infrastructure such as water, electricity, transportation, internet, and courier services, and when they can enjoy exhibitions, reading, music, handicrafts, and other cultural pleasures in the countryside, the fast‑paced, efficiency‑driven rhythm of the city collides with the slower tempo, warmth, and ecological beauty of rural life. This creates a strong possibility for a new era of local civilization to emerge.

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Taoism: From Grave‑yard Raves to Cosmic CEOs

https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/1931479100431774250

Taoist culture has long permeated every aspect of your life. The Spring Festival you celebrate—putting up door gods, staying up for the New Year, offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God—is inseparable from Taoist belief and its pantheon of deities. The martial‑arts novels you enjoy, with their internal‑energy techniques and immortal ascension, are literary renderings of Taoist alchemical thought. Even the idioms you use—“follow the Way of nature,” “return to simplicity”—originate from this ancient well of wisdom. So the next time you feel life is overwhelming, stop mindlessly forwarding lucky‑fish memes. Try “sitting forgetfulness” for five minutes, or read a page of Zhuangzi. Don’t remain a clueless incense‑burner; become a truly savvy practitioner. Taoism isn’t a relic; it’s China’s answer to the future world. In the age of artificial intelligence, we need its “unity of heaven and humanity” to balance technology and humanity; in an era of spiritual confusion, we need its “return to simplicity” to rediscover life’s meaning. Your Tao is beneath your own feet. How you walk it is your choice.

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Why Does “Zao Xin Tu” (Kitchen‑Heart Soil) Replenish the Soil?

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/qDgB1ZE1iJxsVWMbqLj_nw

Many herbal medicines still lack a clear scientific explanation, yet they work undeniably. “Zao Xin Tu” embodies the transformation of wood, the purity of earth, the spirit of fire, the rigor of metal, and the hidden nature of water, hence it is called “the concealed dragon liver.” Its non‑stagnant nature can stop vomiting and stabilize blood; its warming, drying power dispels dampness and cold while preserving the proper balance. A physician’s “mind” senses the rhythms of heaven and earth and can harness their forces. As the saying goes, “one leaf foretells autumn”; ancient people used the falling of phoenix or paulownia leaves to induce miscarriage—this was not mere folklore. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) clinical practice, analogical reasoning often yields insights that transcend time and space. A true healer, upon seeing a plant, can infer its properties from its habitat, shape, vigor, and whether it grows in sun or shade, allowing flexible, individualized application rather than rigid formulas.

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Rereading the Huangdi Neijing Series III – The Water Cycle

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/hdc6k2APFH2hbVqEGcouJA

TCM usually emphasizes the circulation of qi and blood, while paying less attention to the water cycle. In fact, the body’s water circulation is a crucial aspect. Ancient physicians often say that medicine originates from the Dao; from the Dao’s viewpoint, the Dao generates one, one generates two. The yin‑yang, qi‑blood, and defensive‑nutritive systems studied by physicians are the “two.” So what is the “one” in the human body? For people, the “one” may be water, from which qi and blood arise. Thus, one can study the human body starting from water, the root of qi and blood.

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Fu Peirong: Truly Understanding Confucius—Why Everyone Admires Him, and It All Comes Down to Twelve Words

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/HQ4tIP--euwMEPxeL-ZZ7Q

Yan Yuan served Zi Lu. The Master said, “Let each of you speak your aspirations.” Zi Lu replied, “I wish for carriages and horses, light furs, to share with friends, covering everything without regret.” Yan Yuan said, “I wish to be free of boasting, free of labor.” Zi Lu said, “I wish to hear your aspirations.” The Master answered, “Let the elders be at peace, let friends trust you, let the young hold you dear.” Professor Fu Peirong explains: “Human nature tends toward goodness; goodness is the proper relational balance between me and others.”

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