The origin and reflection of the word "smelly Laojiu"
-Xiong Feijun
For China people born before 1970s, the word "smelly Laojiu" is not strange, it is synonymous with China intellectuals in 1960s and 1970s. This laurel, invented by Mao Zedong, has been worn by China intellectuals for nearly twenty years.
It is necessary to make some special explanations on the meaning of the word "smelly Laojiu". The word "smelly" is easy to understand, meaning disgraceful and annoying. The word "Laojiu" is rather puzzling. This should start with the hierarchical society in China. China is a hierarchical society. Since ancient times, China people have been artificially divided into several different classes according to their social status, just like the Indian caste system. As the name implies, Laojiu is the ninth class, that is, it is divided into the ninth class in the social hierarchy. That's a desperate order! Old people in Mao Zedong are not satisfied. He thinks this is not enough to express his contempt and disgust for intellectuals. He added the word "smelly" before "Laojiu", which is a more desperate order.
Why intellectuals are called "the ninth kind of people" can be traced back to the imperial period in the13rd century. Although China is a hierarchical society, successive governments did not clearly define the social order of citizens as Indian did. The government came forward to define the imperial civil society in the form of documents, which was the original creation of the Yuan Empire. After Mongolian barbarians entered China, according to their close relationship with Mongols and their "qualifications" as conquered peoples, the subjects of the empire were divided into four classes: the first class was Mongols; The second category is Semu people (Central Asians); The third is "Han Chinese", that is, China people belonging to the Jin Empire; The fourth category is "Southerners", that is, China people belonging to the Southern Song Dynasty Empire. The above classification is rough. The Yuan government divided the imperial subjects into ten grades according to the nature of their occupations: 1. Officials (government officials). The second is officials (government employees who cannot be promoted). Third, monks (Buddhist monks). Fourth, Taoism (Taoism). Fifth, the doctor (doctor). 6. Workers (senior engineers and technicians). 7. Artisans (low-level manual technicians). Eight, prostitutes (prostitutes). Nine, Confucianism (intellectuals). Ten, beggars (beggars). Confucian intellectuals, who have always been the most respected in China's traditional society, have been relegated to the bottom of society, worse than prostitutes despised by Confucianism, and only slightly better than beggars. In fact, even beggars can't compare with them, because the personal safety of beggars is guaranteed and intellectuals are in danger at any time. When the government is unhappy, it makes fun of their heads. ...
Why does the Mongolian government despise and hate intellectuals so much? The answer to this question is not clear in a few words. Let me briefly introduce this group of intellectuals.
Intellectuals are a special social stratum in China, which is different from other groups. The traditional intellectuals in China are the product of the imperial examination system and the "talents" selected by the imperial examination, including the imperial examination and those who prepare for it. Their only function is to cope with the imperial examination and be an official. Before talking about intellectuals, it is necessary to introduce China's imperial examination system.
The imperial examination system is a system of selecting officials through competitive examinations. Originated in Sui Dynasty and customized in Tang Dynasty. Its original intention is to change the unreasonable phenomenon of family-led government and select new officials from the civilian class through open competitive examinations. All intellectuals who passed the exam were appointed as officials, regardless of their family background. Therefore, the imperial examination system has a certain progressive significance in the early stage, which has played an indelible positive role in improving the cultural literacy of the entire ruling class, expanding the ruling foundation of the government and promoting social equity. This progressive and reasonable system became more and more unreasonable because the government after the Tang Dynasty attached too much importance to it. During the Ming Dynasty, the imperial examination became the only way out for intellectuals, and no matter how much non-scholars contributed, they could not serve as prime ministers or ministerial officials. Intellectuals who fail to pass the imperial examination will have no way out, and the importance of the imperial examination has entered a deformed state, which has become the chief culprit of social stagnation.
The content of the imperial examination is very narrow, and only Confucian classics, namely "Four Books" and "Five Classics", are tested. Under the temptation of the imperial examination system, the first thing intellectuals should do is to cope with the imperial examination. Therefore, the knowledge of intellectuals is extremely narrow, and what they have learned is mainly the four books and five classics, while the knowledge of natural science and social science closely related to the progress of human civilization is rarely involved. The sin of Confucianism is conservatism and reverence for the past. It opposes any form of social change, so intellectuals who master Confucian classics are incompatible with modernization and progress. Therefore, the traditional intellectuals in China are not progressive classes, and often unconsciously play the role of hindering social progress.
After the imperial examination, traditional intellectuals did not know and transform the world, nor created wealth, but how to be an official. Therefore, traditional intellectuals are actually a parasitic class that gets something for nothing. This is incomprehensible and unbearable for the Mongolian people who take labor as their virtue and grew up in a desolate and bitter desert. In the desert area of Mongolia's native land, all people, including women and children, must engage in productive labor. In their limited knowledge field, it is hard to imagine that there is such an industry in the world that specializes in reading and being an official. Therefore, they looked down on intellectuals extremely, hated the imperial examination system that brought up intellectuals, and abolished it mercilessly. Without the imperial examination system, intellectuals can't display their specialties and have no other skills. They become more and more passive and eventually become "untouchables" who are not as good as prostitutes. In the eyes of Mongols, prostitutes can create wealth, while intellectuals are out-and-out parasites who can do nothing but study and be officials.
With the demise of the feudal monarchy, the imperial examination system was swept into the garbage dump of history, and China traditional intellectuals withdrew from the historical stage. However, intellectuals, as a special social stratum, did not disappear with them. On the contrary, they developed and expanded. Modernization is inseparable from professional knowledge and skills, and intellectuals also adapt to the needs of the times, changing from learning Confucian classics to learning professional knowledge and skills. Intellectuals in the new era are quite different from traditional intellectuals in knowledge and ability, but there is not much difference in personality. The bad habits of traditional intellectuals (conservatism, cowardice, disunity, love and quarreling with others) have been deeply rooted in the soul of intellectuals and cannot be completely changed overnight. Intellectuals in the new era, because they have mastered natural science and social science, have changed from a force hindering social progress to a decisive force in understanding and transforming the world, and should be a respected and admired class. However, the opposite is true. Intellectuals have not received due respect until today in the last century. There are many reasons for this, and the personality defects of intellectuals themselves may be one of the most important reasons.
I wrote an article called "The Sorrow of Scholar-officials" in the book "History Crys Here", and at the end I outlined the character defects of modern intellectuals:
"Self-esteem is too high, don't buy each other, good breath, for some trivial things also want to fight for the rights and wrongs.
Too self-centered, unwilling to face up to the advantages and strengths of others; I can't distinguish priorities, and I always like to express myself on trivial issues.
No overall concept, not good at making necessary concessions in the cause of cooperation; Too picky in a relaxed environment, and surprisingly able to bear the burden of humiliation under the suppression of arrogance and violence.
I have a deep memory of my misfortune, but I have no deep sympathy for human suffering.
Complaining without action is a coward on the stage.
Too much concern for personal safety and lack of the spirit of sacrifice necessary for the common cause lead to higher costs.
Stubborn in thought, shrewd in small matters and confused in big matters; Blame others for their perfection, set yourself a step, and rarely verbally affirm others' abilities.
Lazy behavior, sloppy style and lack of enterprising spirit; I think I can enjoy my success by mastering knowledge, but I didn't realize that knowledge and contribution are two completely different concepts, and the return can only be measured by contribution. "
In the 1960s and 1970s, the situation of intellectuals fell to the lowest point in history. The old people in Mao Zedong hate intellectuals to an incredible extent, and a series of mass movements have destroyed the remaining dignity of intellectuals.
Intellectuals were labeled as "smelly Laojiu" and became the most humble stratum in society.
Despite their weaknesses in one way or another, intellectuals are, after all, the most advanced class in China today and the force that China must rely on for modernization. Hating or denying intellectuals is the greatest tragedy of a country and a nation. A mature and rational nation should attach importance to intellectuals, tolerate their weaknesses, create a social and political environment conducive to their survival and development, and let them give full play to their potential and advantages to serve the country's modernization and national progress. In addition, intellectuals should learn from their mistakes to correct their personality defects and make themselves a group worthy of respect and love by the whole society. To improve the social status of intellectuals, we should not pray for the enlightenment and gift of a certain group or leader, but rely on our own strength advantages-ability and character. To achieve this, intellectuals should first improve themselves, and then seek justice from society. If intellectuals can't improve themselves greatly in ability and character, the tragedy of persecuting intellectuals will be repeated in China! ! !