Chapter 73: Teaching My Son _1

Jiang Yu laughed and said, "I'm not teaching you to lie, but rather imparting a fact to you by word and by example.

"If you hesitate between telling the truth and lying, that's being inflexible.

"The way people from The East handle things generally involves saying the appropriate words, regardless of whether they're true or false.

"Just like earlier, although I didn't tell the truth, everyone was happy.

"My brother-in-law thought the matter was settled, my sister and her family felt hopeful, and I avoided being scolded by my sister.

"What's wrong with everyone being happily together?"

Sixteen, with her arms folded, spoke with righteousness: "But this happiness is built on lies! You lied to your sister and her family just because you didn't want to be scolded. That's too selfish of you!"

Jiang Yu didn't get angry, but instead smiled and said, "Do you still remember what we talked about earlier, 'seeing is believing' and 'seeing is deceiving'?"

Sixteen nodded her head.

"The pragmatism of Easterners is reflected in all aspects," Jiang Yu explained. "For example, not suffering immediate losses is not being cowardly, nor is it just self-consolation; it's a form of self-protection.

"Sometimes, taking a step back will open up a wide vista; taking a step forward can cause chaos and panic.

"Westerners have to talk about right and wrong, justice, and human rights, but what's the use? How many just deeds have they actually done? In the West, who dares to claim they are always doing the right thing?

"Though the Declaration of Independence declares 'all men are created equal,' it still preserved the institution of slavery.

"The civil rights of Black Slaves were held by their masters, five Black people were counted as three white people for the purpose of representation.

"From the moment this country was founded, there was no intention to respect human rights! What kind of human rights do they talk about every day?

"People from The East see the dangers of this world and are willing to embellish these dangers a bit, so at least on the surface, the world we live in still seems to have some hope!"

Sixteen shook her head, still unable to accept it: "If he had the chance, Lu Xun would beat you to death!"

"Humanities is my field of study; I wouldn't dare to compare myself with Mr. Lu Xun, but I'm definitely better than you!" Jiang Yu lit a cigarette and continued:

"Furthermore, what I just said about 'saying the appropriate words' comes with preconditions: first, you must be guilt-free; second, you must be at peace with your conscience.

"I'm not teaching you to constantly tell lies and be submissive. When it's time to speak up for justice, you must do so without yielding an inch.

"But on ordinary days, there's no need to always be so impassioned, pushing yourself to the limit.

"Chinese people value 'being round on the outside, square on the inside.' The so-called 'inside square' represents one's personal boundaries and principles. As long as you don't cross your boundaries and principles, you can feel at peace with yourself."

Sixteen frowned, "That's so complicated!"

Jiang Yu spoke earnestly, "Did you think being a human was that easy?

"Being good is not okay, being bad is not okay, being kind is not okay, being evil is not okay!

"The hardest thing under heaven is to be a human."

Sixteen asked, "Why is being good and kind also not okay?"

"Because when people see someone better than themselves, it's not about how to learn from him, how to become a person like him!" Jiang Yu smiled and said:

"Instead, they think his goodness and kindness are just an act, a show of hypocrisy, and they will be quick to slander him the first chance they get!

"That's human nature!"

After a few seconds of thought, Sixteen said: "Having heard your explanation, I don't even want to continue integrating into human society anymore!"

Jiang Yu took a puff of his cigarette: "That's called being weak!"

"Why do they say 'the greatest art to conceal oneself is to appear in public'? It's because those who see through human nature but still love life are the truly powerful figures!

"As I said before, those who truly see through the wickedness of the world are actually willing to embellish it.

"Why is the classical culture of The East so impressive? It's because the ancients have told us all the answers to the great question of how to live."

Sixteen did not argue, nor did he share his own opinions, instead choosing to listen seriously to Jiang Yu's words.

Jiang Yu continued, "Hegel was greatly disappointed when he got the translated version of The Analects, as he didn't expect the classic revered by Easterners as holy to be just a book of trivialities.

"This is because Hegel simply didn't understand The Analects. The brilliance of Confucius is that he listed the ways of both the gentleman and the villain but never persuaded everyone to become a gentleman.

"Because Confucius knew, everyone seems to be an upright gentleman, but who hasn't had moments of pettiness in their life?

"Confucius understood human nature so well; he didn't urge people to be gentlemen, yet he established the values of a gentleman for us, making us aspire to become one, and directing us to consciously stay away from the actions of the villain.

"In modern times, the reason Confucian thought became harmful was that some people were too dogmatic about Confucianism, and others used it as a tool, losing the true essence of Confucian thought and grossly misinterpreting certain phrases."

Jiang Yu extinguished his cigarette on the roadside trash bin, giving Sixteen enough time to think.

After thinking in the winter sun for a couple of minutes, Sixteen finally said, "I'll read more Eastern classics in the future."

Jiang Yu smiled, "Our stomachs have digested the food quite well; it's time to go back."

Sixteen nodded. Suddenly, he asked, "By the way, why didn't your sister immediately take legal action when someone owed her wages?"

Jiang Yu sighed, "Perhaps she wanted to give the other person's humanity a chance.

"As long as they don't meet in court, there's still hope for the other person to find their humanity."

"That hope doesn't seem very promising."

Jiang Yu laughed, "Who told you that all hope is bound to be realized? Then hope would lose the meaning it's supposed to have."

Sixteen thoughtfully nodded.

Back home, the family played cards for the afternoon and left after dinner at Jiang Yu's sister's house.

Hu Huilan wanted to tidy up the guest room for Sixteen, but Jiang Yu said it was fine for Sixteen to sleep in his room, and Sixteen did not object.

After closing the bedroom door, Sixteen unzipped his backpack and placed a small, forearm-high black iron box on the desk, "It's been in the backpack all day, did you almost suffocate?"

Jiang Yu thought to himself if Sixteen was playing house with a black iron box?

Just as he was about to ask, the iron box spoke, "It's okay, after all, I don't need to breathe."

Jiang Yu pointed to the iron box, "Is this 'Athena'?"

While taking out his pajamas, toiletries, and other items from the backpack, Sixteen said, "This is my only friend."

Jiang Yu guessed again, "A newly created artificial intelligence?"

"Not really," the black iron box replied, "My body went out of control, and Sixteen preserved my brain."

Jiang Yu immediately thought, "Number Three test subject?"

Sixteen stopped what he was doing, "You sure know quite a lot!"

"Baluo briefly mentioned it," Jiang Yu continued, "Baluo said that the cell division in Number Three's body went completely out of control, but his brain wasn't affected?"

Sixteen continued arranging his belongings, "Any person with basic biological knowledge would know that human brain cortex cells lose the ability to regenerate due to highly specialized functions.

"Even if the cell division in Number Three was uncontrollable, the brain cells still did not break the chains of being non-regenerative."