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Depression

I often think that it is the ugly woman who creates the beauty.
I often think that it is the fool who brings forth the wise.
I often think that it is the coward who reflects the hero.
I often think that it is all beings who enlighten the Buddha.

—— Shi Tiesheng, "Me and the Earth Altar"

Winslow Homer: Deer Drinking-1892

Geographical Depression#

Depression is a geological concept referring to a landform that is lower than the surrounding area. The character "洼" (depression) is explained in the "Shuowen Jiezi" as "deep pool, from water gauge sound." The English word "depression" also refers to a state of low mood, akin to a "depression."

If an area is lower than its surroundings, it is a depression and is very likely to hold water. Hence, the character "洼" contains the radical "氵" (water). Moreover, a depression is a closed area relative to the surrounding highlands. Therefore, the fundamental characteristics of a depression are its low and enclosed terrain, and its function is to gather water. Water is the source of life, making depressions an important resource for all living beings.

Political Depression#

A depression, at the first level, is a geographical concept; at the second level, it is a political concept with a pejorative connotation.

I first encountered the term "depression" when an economic blogger referred to China as a "depression." According to Baidu Baike, a depression utilizes "comparative advantages" to form a "unique competitive advantage." At first glance, a depression seems like a good term, suggesting a competitive advantage, but upon closer examination, it indicates that we are in a low-lying area, that we are inferior to other places. In plain terms, it means we are quite poor.

Going to Work - L S Lowry-1943

Encountering "China's Depression"#

While searching for "depression," I found the book "China's Depression." The book points out that "compared to Inner Asia, China has always been an input area in terms of political order and civilization, a depression in technological and civilizational development." The book presents a novel viewpoint, cutting in from a unique perspective. The new-style armies of Qin and Zhao originated from Inner Asian technology, and those who mastered advanced Inner Asian techniques led the transformation of Chinese history. The An Lushan Rebellion, the fragmentation of the fiefdoms, and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period "were all aftershocks of the military brotherhood in Inner Asia." In other words, China is a depression, Inner Asia is the high ground, and those who mastered Inner Asian cultural techniques became the new rulers of China.

This book appears very reactionary, yet it is quite affectionate. It offers us an opportunity to re-understand China, a possibility to rebuild civilization. It also tells us to abandon impractical cultural concepts. In plain terms, it means stop pretending.

Why? Because Chinese society currently lacks the ability to spontaneously generate a constitutional system that fosters a virtuous cycle. In Marx's words, it is like "a bag of potatoes," where "there are no diverse relationships between them." Moreover, China missed the best period for establishing checks and balances, during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. There has been no stable class formation among members of Chinese society, making it unable to resist the rule of Inner Asia with its strong technology and advanced civilization. If one insists on "putting on a brave face," boasting about the cohesion of the Chinese nation and "cultural confidence" (文化自信), it will ultimately lead to national ruin.

In September 1945 in Chongqing, China, Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek toast to celebrate the victory in the War of Resistance. Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The author's proposed countermeasure is "stop pretending," and not to emulate Chiang Kai-shek in attempting to stand shoulder to shoulder with Europe and America. Instead, we should "gradually establish our own spontaneous order through imitation and citation."

We need to think about what we can rely on to improve our living conditions. What can we depend on to establish a new social system? Does our national cohesion really have that much strength? Can our communities withstand the oppression of power? People in our country focus too much on the "institutional" level of democracy, neglecting the foundational forces of democracy. My solution is individual power. But how can we establish stable connections between our individual powers? This remains a question worth pondering. Perhaps we should explore the issue of "grouping."

Holy-grail-round-table-bnf-ms-120-f524v-14th-detail

Attitude Towards Political Depression#

Initially, my thoughts on "depression" were not objective enough. Being in a depression myself, I sympathized with China's plight. I then focused on studying how rulers exploit the depression to oppress the people. However, "China's Depression" analyzes the depression not to sympathize with the tragic fate of the Chinese people, but to address the issues faced by people in the depression and to provide countermeasures: "stop pretending." As the saying goes, "A bitter pill may cure illness; honest advice may be hard to hear." Yet many of us subconsciously block out what seems incorrect. This also reflects the significant danger of blindly worshipping the concept of the "Central Kingdom."

I feel fortunate to no longer be bound by the ideology of the "Central Kingdom." True cultural confidence is not blind faith in one's own culture, but a resolute lack of confidence in problematic cultures. Do not let "a piece of bad meat spoil the whole pot." It is never too late to mend the fold. This is the true meaning of objectivism.

The Dynamics of Political Depression#

Laotzu said, "The way of heaven is to diminish the excess and supplement the deficiency. The way of man is not so; it diminishes the deficiency to serve the excess." As entropy increases, geographical depressions will eventually be filled in. However, human social depressions, on the contrary, are continuously reinforced by rulers. Political depression is a means of exploitation where rulers control the people, intentionally maintaining and promoting its existence.

Geographical depressions lack sustaining dynamics, but political depressions have sustaining dynamics. Due to erosion from flowing water, depressions will gradually disappear. If no one intervenes in human social depressions, they will evolve with the flow of people, leading to the flow of technology and converging the material foundations of society. However, political advantage holders have discovered the value of depressions, shifting from passive utilization to active creation of depressions, thus maintaining their continuous benefits.

Henri Rousseau: The Repast of the Lion

Thus, the dynamics of political depression lie in the maintenance by political advantage holders, a process that can be unconscious or conscious. The world is always changing, but humans seek permanence. Political advantage holders, facing rapidly changing power dynamics and challenges to their positions from politically disadvantaged individuals, inevitably fear the loss of power. Therefore, they will employ various means to solidify and capitalize on their political advantages. Just as plants undergo photosynthesis, "utilizing light energy to convert inorganic substances like water and carbon dioxide into organic matter that can store chemical energy."

We can say that the maintenance of political depression is driven by the desires of political advantage holders, but the term "desire" is too vague. Moreover, desire highlights too much subjectivity. Everyone has a psychological pursuit of permanence; rather than calling it desire, it is more accurate to describe it as an instinct. It is an instinct for self-maintenance and self-preservation.

The role played by political advantage holders is a prototype of a collective thinking organ, and their substantial individual power makes it easier for them to solidify their political advantages. In contrast, politically disadvantaged individuals, due to their weak individual power, have a reduced ability to solidify political advantages. As the Matthew Effect states, "To those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who do not have, even what they have will be taken away." Advantages are not eternal, but they can be solidified through certain means, that is, capitalized. In the process of solidifying advantages, there will be a relatively fixed energy threshold. Just as the nuclear fusion process requires fuel, sufficient temperature, pressure, and maintenance time to reach the fusion threshold, so too do advantage holders find it easier to solidify their advantages, while the limited advantages of the disadvantaged cannot be solidified. This is because the former's advantages are sufficiently large to reach the threshold for solidification. What is the essence of this solidification? What is the essence of the energy threshold? A preliminary thought is that the essence of solidification lies in the transfer of energy mediums, and the core of medium transfer is obtaining transfer methods. For most disadvantaged individuals, the most challenging part is acquiring transfer methods. The derivation of transfer methods will consume a certain amount of advantages. However, the energy of the disadvantaged is fundamentally insufficient to support them in obtaining transfer methods.

Methods of Maintaining Political Depression#

Depressions are not necessarily created by humans, but political depressions certainly rely on the sustained maintenance by political advantage holders. In this process, political advantage holders utilize their political advantages to create many means to maintain their advantages, converting their advantages into long-term political capital. These means are reusable and, as a form of cultural capital of the ruling class, become the cornerstone of political depression. Throughout history, rulers have adhered to the methods of maintaining political depressions as a guiding principle, determined by their instinct for self-maintenance.

Imperial Federation, Map of the World Showing the Extent of the British Empire in 1886 (levelled)

Closure and Openness#

What does political depression maintain? It maintains the low-lying nature of the depression. The low-lying nature of the depression requires its closure. Only with closure can the depression continue to accumulate water. However, political depression cannot be too closed, as once the gates of civilizational exchange are opened, they can be instantly dominated by external forces. For instance, after the discovery of the New World, the civilizations established by the indigenous peoples were instantly destroyed. Although China is also a closed country, this closure is relative. The reason the West could not completely colonize China after the Opium War is that China continued to engage in exchanges with Western civilization. At this time, China could be both a closed depression and not be instantly destroyed due to being too low-lying.

Current Affairs Map

Openness and closure are the oscillating politics of China's depression. Openness establishes a new order, while closure maintains the existing order. However, closure is the mainstream of the depression, while openness is a passive reshuffling. As the saying goes, when in poverty, one thinks of change; when one is "not poor," one cannot "think of change." The existing closed exploitation system allows rulers to enjoy a century of stability. Once they actively open up, they fear the impact on their regime, leading to significant creative destruction that threatens their power.

On the other hand, the prosperity brought by openness is also immense. The Ming Dynasty's Longqing period (明朝隆庆) opened just one port in Fujian, the monthly port, which had a tremendous historical impact. Opening the port not only resolved the banditry problem of Fujian merchants colluding with Japanese pirates but also brought a large amount of silver to the Ming Dynasty. More importantly, the introduction of crops like sweet potatoes allowed the Chinese to further fill their stomachs, with the population reaching four hundred million. However, openness has never been proactive; it has always been influenced by the banditry problems along the southeastern coast, forcing the Ming to open a port. Whether during the Opium War or the Reform and Opening period, openness has always been compelled by circumstances.

Seikei Zusetsu (~1800)

Thus, closure is the main theme of the depression, while openness is a temporary measure forced upon the political advantage holders to maintain the political depression.

Means of Closure#

The essence of closure is isolation. Political advantage holders utilize their political advantages to isolate politically disadvantaged individuals within the political depression from the outside world, establishing a closed internal circulation exploitation system. Of course, closure can also serve as a form of protection, but the people in the depression lack the power to choose, so even if there is protection, it ultimately transforms into imprisonment. The purpose of protection is not isolation, but to help people adapt to the environment and gain individual power for survival.

Part of the Great Wall of China (April 1853, X, p.41)

To achieve the effect of isolation, the simplest method is to prohibit the movement of people. Therefore, border and household registration systems must be established. Guan Zhong may have established the earliest household registration system in China, where scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants must reside according to their professions and identities, unable to migrate or change occupations. From the transition from the feudal system of the Western Zhou to the system of registered households, and then to the household registration system that restricts migration... from the Great Wall to the Great Firewall, from eliminating the five pests to upholding "Confucianism," countless tangible and intangible "walls" curse this land. Chinese society has been shaped by political advantage holders to be more suitable for their rule. These methods will, along with the depression, become the underlying logic of the depression that is difficult to erase, forming an irreversible political cultural capital.

The Future of Political Depression#

Will political depressions be filled in? What are the causes of political depressions? The instinct of self-preservation of political advantage holders. Will political advantage holders disappear? The best scenario is a return to the original state, but there will still be differences in intelligence. Individual differences are the special evolutionary methods of groups. Life instinct is inherently about the infinite exploration of survival.

However, having differences does not mean that political depressions will always exist. A group that has not evolved a self-restraint mechanism is unsuitable for existence in the objective world. When the ratio of political advantage holders to political disadvantaged individuals becomes extremely imbalanced, it will generate tremendous destructive power. Because the power of the group is controlled by a very small number of political advantage holders, it is inevitable that individual willfulness will disregard the collective will over time.

Thus, political depression is not to be feared; what is to be feared is the inability of the group to differentiate into a stable structure, leading either to death from internal strife or destruction from forced openness.

Final stem cell differentiation

The reason justice holds the highest value is that justice is synonymous with the existence of the group.

Justice is the principle of group existence. In fact, the form of the group conceals the source of justice. Since it is a group, it must want to maintain its form and continually approach the highest form of the group, which is justice. — What is Justice

Therefore, exploitation is not to be feared by the group; what is to be feared is imbalance. Balance is not a coincidental equilibrium but the stability of social structure and the formation of a self-restraint mechanism within the group. How to construct a self-restraint mechanism for the group? This is another interesting topic to discuss later.

Broad Sense of Depression#

The Ontology of Broad Sense Depression#

The Concept of Broad Sense Depression#

Frederic Edwin Church - Niagara Falls, from the American Side - Google Art Project

The world needs depressions because people are thirsty, and depressions have water. "China's depression" or "political depression" is a very small concept, limited to political, cultural, and historical aspects. A larger concept is broad sense depression. Geographical depressions must be low-lying and enclosed. Political depressions are group situations that control people through closure for the purpose of exploitation. Broad sense depression is a relatively closed, concealed potential difference.

The Relativity of Broad Sense Depression#

"Energy" and "value" share similarities; they only exist between two parties. If there are no "beings," what value does the "Buddha" have? If there is no "low energy," what value does "high energy" have? Thus, power, strength, and energy are all relative, determined by the weaker side. Broad sense depression is a widely existing, omnipresent energy difference in the objective world. For individuals, one side of this energy difference is the world, and the other side is the individual. Therefore, our state determines the world's value for us.

De Grebber-God Inviting Christ to Sit on the Throne at His Right Hand

Broad Sense Depression and Life Instinct#

Energy tends to flow from high energy to low energy, and human desires also tend to spread from the known to the unknown. Radiating from high energy to low energy is the essence of the world. So, does this principle manifest in human thinking? I believe it does, therefore I hypothesize the existence of a high-energy thought core. The thought core is like the sun of the thinking world, constantly radiating its own light and heat. Why is the thought core so powerful? Because of life instinct. Life instinct is the most fundamental logic of life, allowing life to explore infinite possibilities for survival. Thus, the true energy of the depression lies in the energy of life.

How to Discover the Value of Broad Sense Depression#

Hidden Depressions#

Broad sense depression can be divided into two types: hidden depressions and non-hidden depressions. Everyone wants to be the sheep that goes to the high ground to drink water, rather than being the water in the depression. However, the classes, hierarchies, cultures, nationalities, and lifestyles we are in inherently fix us into a certain depression or low ground. There are many things in this world that we cannot control, so we do not need to consider them. These ungraspable depressions are mostly non-hidden depressions, which have mostly been occupied by others.

However, there are many things we can change, and changing these can enhance our energy. These belong to hidden depressions, untouched virgin lands.

Discovering Hidden Depressions with Personal Standards#

An ugly woman can be a beauty, a coward can be a hero, a fool can be a wise person, and all beings can be the Buddha. Anything that can be compared is actually on the same level, with differences only in quality and quantity. Beauty and ugliness, bravery and cowardice, foolishness and wisdom, beings and the Buddha are all relative concepts. If you judge using the general standards of society, you are standing in a cognitive depression. In a cognitive depression, you cannot discover the value of the world because there is no energy difference. Conversely, if you view the world with your own standards, your world becomes brand new.

Differing from the world's cognition is just the first step; it does not mean we can discover beauty. Confucius said, "Choose the good and follow it, and the bad and change it," which is about discovering depressions. The so-called hidden depressions are actually values that ordinary people cannot discover. Please remember, the existence of hidden depressions depends on the individual, on the observer themselves. Our standards are, in themselves, a depression.

Discovering Hidden Depressions with Wisdom#

Since we need to "choose the good and follow it, and the bad and change it," then what is "the good," and what is "the bad"? To discover value, one must be able to distinguish between things and provide objective evaluations. For intelligent individuals, they can see the world more clearly, and then they will make choices that benefit themselves. Therefore, if one can see clearly, it becomes easier to make good choices.

But what is "good"?

Creating Hidden Depressions with Nihilism#

"Good" means "finished," while "not finished" means "not good." This line from "Dream of the Red Chamber" aims to illustrate that the standards of good and bad are quite nihilistic. This nihilism means we can transform our thinking to discover more "hidden depressions." For wise beings, other depressions hold no value for them. Because of the world's nihilism, they can self-root, thus creating more value. Because depressions are composed of both low-energy and high-energy individuals. Changing oneself is changing the world.

Conversely, the most nihilistic can create more reality.

Creating Hidden Depressions with Good and Evil#

Both good and evil can provide immense energy to individuals. In the current economic downturn, many people struggle to survive, even losing hope for life. Thus, the flower of evil begins to bloom wildly.

In "Why do some people not wish for the Chinese to improve?," there is a passage:

Faced with such a large group, if they cannot cooperate and coexist, they will fall into a predatory relationship, leading to the disintegration of the group. Many people do not wish for the Chinese to improve because they cannot gain the benefits of cooperation and coexistence from the current predatory relationship. They believe that this situation cannot be changed by a mere transformation, and in the face of an uncertain future and the dark political black forest, they choose to utilize the scaffolding left by the group to deconstruct it in reverse. Regardless, they have gained inner peace and the power of destruction. Just like Fan Wencheng, since they cannot settle in the Ming Dynasty, they might as well actively seek refuge with the Qing.

Good and evil are actually personal standards, and this standard, which differs from mainstream values, allows one to discover hidden depressions.

Scaffolding at Buckingham Palace, 1913

Similarly, kindness can also be used to create hidden depressions, as not everyone is kind; kind individuals are in the minority. Giving is itself a form of reward; when we pass our goodwill to others, they will also reciprocate our kindness. However, kindness carries risks, and unwise kindness can also lead to self-destruction.

Summary of Depressions#

Energy analysis is a way of thinking that I particularly enjoy; the formation of depressions is closely related to energy.

We find ourselves within a political depression, often passively accepting our identities. However, this world contains countless hidden depressions; as long as we shift our cognition, we can see them. Each depression has a desire to return to the objective world; each depression hopes we will change its state of existence. Depressions cannot exist forever; they need to return, to that existence that allows them to return to the objective world.

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