穷?! Not Simply Poverty, But Extreme!
Poverty and wealth, what is the definition of them? With the cutting-edge development of technology and the economy, how they play their new roles in our daily life?
Deep dive research brings us back to old history again. This time, it focuses on the word 穷-poverty, end, extreme.
The simplified version of 穷 originated from窮. With the upper half穴 meaning a mountain cave, the lower half躬 meaning bending the body, 穷 meant “Living in a cave, the body is forced to bend and is not free”, then it had the extended meaning that refers to Extreme situations – extreme bad situations.
Through our late to modern history, there have been many stories about poverty caused by extreme bad situations:
- The whole nation was battered and bruised from body to spirit due to the Opium War, plus 39.02 million taels of silver COMPENSATED to the invader Great Britain, and…
- COMPENSATED 259.69 million taels of silver plus tax to the invader Japan (About 389.5 million yen equivalent to approximately 5 times Japan’s annual fiscal revenue) due to the signing of an unequal treaty because of the seclusion of the Qing government; and…
- A large number of historical relics and treasures kidnapped and destroyed due to the invasion of the Eight-Power Allied Forces, plus over 450 million taels of silver plus tax COMPENSATED to 10+ western countries, the invaders; and…
- From 1840 to 1912, in addition to Hong Kong and Macau, in various unequal treaties signed by the Qing government, more than 2 million square kilometers of land were ceded (Parts of these lands have been recovered).
- COUNTLESS lives, homes, buildings, cities… were lost due to the Civil War and the War of Resistance Against Japan and Liberation.
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These extreme bad situations put a big flourishing nation into extreme poverty for a very long time. Will it last forever? No. The development of things is always in the intention to transform into the opposite, as described in Tao Te Ching, Chapter 58, by Tao Tzu. (https://lnkd.in/gtJa8he)
Despite all external uncomfortable situations, what resides inside plays a key role in transforming the situations: the birth of CPC; the founding of the People's Republic of China; the government’s putting people’s benefits as the highest priority; the people’s love and supporting their government through hard workings with their bare hands and their gifted brains. This is what has fundamentally brought 1.4 Billion people out of poverty over 40 years.
When we are moving on under an extremely positive situation earned by our faithful hearts and hands, we are happy in sharing our experience and wealth with global friends on the same road our ancestors shared their silk to the world.
#peace #unity #love #kindness #heart #authenticity #wisdom
