Zhu Ziqing: “On Focusing on the Present”
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As the saying goes, \"When the fire is at one’s eyebrows, one must focus on the immediate situation.\" " This phrase seems to be from an older era; we could say that people have always been like this. In this war of resistance, the flames reached everyone’s brows; \"focus on the present moment\" became a common principle, and such an attitude was rare at that time. However, during the War of Resistance, everyone shared a common vision of \"victory\"; it was vague at first but became increasingly clear over time. This tells us that it’s fine to focus on the present for now; a long-term solution will come soon enough. But it was a narrow victory; the scourge of war struck within one’s own home, the chaos was even worse than during the war of resistance, and it seemed to have no end in sight. There is no common vision; some people simply have no vision at all, while others do have one, but it is only fragmentary, with the overall picture remaining shrouded in ambiguity. But the fire is burning more fiercely and faster; it’s enough to deal with what’s right in front of us at the moment, to take care of each day as it comes – who has time to think about long-term plans! But can this situation be sustained for a long time? We need to be vigilant.
Looking at the present situation, there is a big difference. The first category consists of those who are only concerned with pleasure, living by the principle of \"if there’s wine today, let’s get drunk today.\" Such people were probably those who profited from the nation’s troubles during the war of resistance, and after victory they were likely those who made money by seizing assets or taking advantage of the situation following the victory. They acquire wealth through cunning and theft; it comes quickly, and so does its loss. Although these people may not have been poor to begin with, it is a fact that they became wealthy. Times are always turbulent, and prices keep rising. If the wealth that comes your way is not put to use or spent, you’ll find yourself with nothing in no time! By \"putting it to use,\" one usually means engaging in speculation; this path is full of instability and involves risks. In times of turmoil, one must seize the present; if one doesn’t suffer any losses, all that remains is to enjoy oneself. Pleasure consists nothing more than eating, drinking, sex, and gambling, along with wearing good clothes and living in a nice house. Traditional ways of indulging in pleasures are not sufficient; with the addition of comprador culture, the more Western elements there are, the better – after all, there’s plenty of money. Of course, many of them, after enjoying themselves for a while, end up returning to their state of poverty and having to suffer again. However, there are also a few elite groups that, by leveraging their special powers and influence, take advantage of the chaotic situation to become richer and more extravagant in their spending. Wealth is concentrated in their hands, and pleasure as well. Thus, the rich became wealthy beyond the thirty-third heaven, while the poor fell deep into the eighteen layers of hell. The disparity between the rich and the poor today is unprecedented; the access to entertainment today is also unprecedented. But can most of those struggling on the brink of hunger simply watch helplessly as these indulgent people enjoy themselves to their heart’s content? One day—ah, let them worry about that later!
The second type are those who seek temporary safety. These people do want to work and to build a career, but with such difficult material conditions and an unstable society, everyone seeks the easiest path and wants quick results; as a result, they adapt to whatever situation arises and just muddle through everything. "The term ‘a troublemaker’ is an old saying, and can also be considered part of the inherent culture; however, it is usually used in a self-deprecating manner, as it isn’t seen as something positive with which to spend one’s life. But at the moment, this \"mixing\" seems to have become a principle. There are too many difficulties; it’s impossible to get things done properly. So one has to settle for a shoddy effort, pushing things off as long as possible, delaying them when that’s not an option, and resorting to cutting corners when there’s no other choice. As long as the surface appearance is passable, that’s enough – regardless of quality or durability. It doesn’t matter if it’s not good; as long as one doesn’t suffer any losses! It seems that in the past, only those who were older and more experienced would act in this way. Now even many young people have joined in this trend. This kind of unscrupulous approach, focused only on the immediate present, has become a common practice. No one can predict what will happen tomorrow; as long as today passes, that’s enough. Why take it seriously? What’s the use of being serious? Only some bookworms and would-be bookworms continue to work mechanically and rigidly at their jobs. But one battle news after another – the situation becomes increasingly difficult and unstable, with more and more people getting involved. Can these bookworms and would-be bookworms really hold things together? If everyone continues to act in this chaotic manner, things will eventually collapse. Even ants, who crave to live and focus on the present moment, striving to survive at all costs, have feelings that are understandable; but how long can this last? Those who only care about the present do not think about this.
The third category are those who are poor and have no one to turn to. These people are struggling on the brink of hunger; they can only focus on meeting their immediate needs for food, clothing, and shelter, with no time to think about anything else. They can hardly even take care of those basic needs, let alone have the energy to consider anything else. Such people have always existed, just as the first two categories of people have also always existed, but the accelerating increase in their numbers is concerning and frightening. These people represent the two extremes compared to the first type of people. While the first type increases the amount of wealth, this second type increases the number of people – the same is true for the second type as well. Perhaps this increasing separation of amounts will eventually lead to the distortion of history. Throughout history, it has always been a small number of people who have taken charge of formulating long-term plans for society. But in times of relative stability, most people are still able to make plans for themselves or their families. There are two old sayings: \"The plan for the year lies in spring, and the plan for a day lies in the morning,\" which were probably meant for farmers. No matter how poor or inadequate the plan may be, having a plan is still better than having none at all, as it gives one a sense of comfort. Indeed, it is now a time when no one can plan for the future; one can still think about what to do in a single day, but obviously this is different from how things used to be, as one never knows what will happen tomorrow. Thus, that \"single day\" must really be limited to just that one day. Under such circumstances, talking about a “plan for a century” is naturally out of the question. Yet those wealthy families can still have their own plans; they can plan not only for their own lives but also for those of their descendants. Because even if a major change occurs, they can still slip abroad to live as exiles. These people are naturally satisfied with the status quo. The second type of people, although dissatisfied with the status quo, are also afraid of causing disruption and change, as they feel even more uncertain in such a situation. It goes without saying that the third type of people are dissatisfied with the status quo. However, aside from a few nomadic types, most of them believe in fate and are willing to pay a high price for even the slightest sense of stability; they also fear disruption and change. Thus, \"focusing on the present moment\" became the prevailing attitude; some seized things by force, some led dissolute lives, and some simply waited idly. However, there is also another type of people who focus on the present without considering what lies ahead.
We have the saying \"seize the day,\" but Tao Yuanming wrote in his \"Miscellaneous Poems,\" \"One should strive while time permits, for time waits for no one.\" Although both advise us to act promptly, their attitudes are quite different. "Being timely \"means seizing the present.\" Enjoying life requires seizing the present, and making efforts also demands seizing the present. Tao Yuanming referred to individual effort; what is urgently needed now is the effort of everyone. In an era without major changes, as the saying goes, things can be understood over hundreds of years; the efforts of leaders can thus be considered part of a plan spanning a century. But in this turbulent time, the concept of a hundred years is too vague and abstract. For the sake of everyone, plans should be made for just a few years at a time, in order to be able to work hard with certainty. This is also a form of \"timeliness\" – focusing on the present moment; it could be described as \"taking care of what’s at hand\" in another sense. \"Taking care of what’s at hand\" is meant to address urgent situations, and what’s needed right now is indeed urgent assistance, but not in a way where everyone acts only for their own benefit, nor should it turn into an opportunity for indulgence. Yet in present-day China, there are not even any multi-year plans. So some people, especially the younger generation, start by focusing on making the most of the present. This is the effort to understand the present, expose the present, criticize the present, and protest against the present. They are experimenting, so it’s inevitable that there will be mistakes. In the eyes of the first three types of people, their efforts inevitably head in the direction of that terrible and worrying destruction and change, ignoring what’s right in front of them! But this is just a view from a self-centered perspective; if they consider the interests of everyone else, then these people can truly take into account those around them.