There is no doubt that our times are undergoing great changes. What is the goal of this change? No one has given us directions, let alone definite answers. It seems safer to cross the river by feeling the stones, but who knows where the stones will lead us? I once wrote an article saying that even if you cross the river by feeling the stones, you should know where the shore is. But now look at it. The direction of the shore seems to be getting blurred.

Change is not necessarily a bad thing, the problem is that we don't know the direction of change. Are we at the beginning of a great era or the end of a prosperous era? As people who have experienced this change, we are at a loss, but history will definitely have a clear answer. What is this answer, but it is what those of us who don't know want to know most.

I often think that when we don't know the answer, the best thing to do is to read history, whether it's from China or foreign countries. Because there are still some laws to follow in the development of society. Every dynasty in the history of China has generally experienced the stages of establishment, accumulation, prosperity, decline and extinction. Some people attribute the rise and fall of the empire to the personal ability of the emperor, which is actually very one-sided. In fact, Qin Huang Hanwu is not necessarily wiser than Chongzhen or Xianfeng. In fact, the former is more dissolute, greedy and cruel than the latter. It was only because their predecessors accumulated for a long time that their national strength was already strong when they came to power that they laid the foundation for their achievements. But it is precisely because of their exultation and excessive export of national strength that the country quickly turned from prosperity to decline. Qin perished shortly after the reunification of China. Prior to this, Qin was strong for hundreds of years, and the Han Dynasty began to decline during the reign of Emperor Wudi. There are many such examples, such as the Tang Emperor in the Tang Dynasty, Wanli in the Ming Dynasty and Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty. I often think that without Qin Shihuang, the State of Qin would have been strong for many years, without Emperor Wu of Han Dynasty, the Western Han Dynasty would not have perished so quickly, and without Li Longji, the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty would have lasted for a long time. If so, China's history may be more brilliant, China's culture may be more perfect and full, and there may not be such a chaotic era of five dynasties and ten countries.

Therefore, it takes a long time for a country to develop from poverty and weakness to strength, but if it wants to splurge, it will soon be exhausted. It is difficult to be a strong country, and it is even more difficult to remain strong after being a strong country. I have been wondering why some western countries can maintain long-term prosperity, while our prosperity is often short-lived. I dare not say that western culture is more advanced than ours, otherwise I will be in danger of being called a traitor or a foreign slave, but others can do better than us, which shows that they do have something better than us and are worth learning.

As the experience of this confused era, learning from others' advanced things may be the most important thing for us to get rid of confusion and find our own development path. I am most afraid of history. Our era is in harmony with Qin Shihuang, or with the era of Han Wudi, or with the era of Tang Mingdi and Qianlong, because their short-term glory is followed by long-term darkness.