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Discussions from the Jianghu
Compiled by Lian Kuoru and Jia Jianguo, Edited by Lian Liru / 2011 / Zhonghua Book Company
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Dec 23, 2023 10:52 PMWhat is Jianghu? What are the ways of the world? Through deep and clear observations, and interesting descriptions of Jianghu tactics, all are presented in colloquial language aimed to admonish the common people not to be greedy for small gains, to avoid deception, to shun evil paths, and to follow righteousness. The work targets ordinary individuals, depicting the societal evolution within a closed, vast geographical and cultural space, pushing the philosophy of jungle survival to an extreme: exploiting differences in information, human weaknesses, and psychological control techniques to deceive, treating humans as prey to extract maximum value, and putting in great effort to hone these deceitful skills, even turning it into a spectacular art form. Using covert terms not only avoids misfortune but also helps in building trade barriers while making people reflect on the deep-rooted and long-standing tradition of using substituted words in Chinese culture. The simple downstream players in the information food chain, though earnest and hard-working, are fatally simple; whereas the cunning upstream figures, though skilled and wealthy, are unable to achieve a perfect or virtuous end. The setting is like that of a musical theatre, where the dust and clamor do not touch the audience's clothes, yet a familiar essence lingers in the air, silently reminding those present that they are from and within these mountains, and cannot hope to remain unaffected.