There is a story in “Han Feizi” that is widely known:

A man from Chu was selling shields and spears. He boasted about his shield, saying, “My shield is so strong that nothing can pierce it.” Then he praised his spear, saying, “My spear is so sharp that it can pierce anything.” Someone then asked, “What if you use your spear to pierce your shield?” The man was left speechless.

Pre-Qin literature is generally obscure and difficult to understand, but this passage is straightforward and needs no further translation.

After watching a video recently, I pondered this for quite some time.

First: Chinese culture promotes the idea that one cannot possess both the best spear and the best shield; (One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers.)

The best spear and the best shield cannot coexist; otherwise, at least one of them is a fraud. This reflects a deep-seated suspicion in people’s minds. Why can’t the best spear and the best shield exist together in the world? Why can’t one possess both an impenetrable shield and an all-piercing spear?

Second: Chinese culture encourages internal strife:

When a person possesses both the best spear and the best shield, why would they use their own spear to strike their own shield?

For example, the state of Qin was so powerful that no other state could rival it. Even when six states united to attack Qin, they could not breach its defenses—how strong its shield was! And when Qin conquered the six states, how sharp its spear was!

Qin could possess both the strongest spear and the strongest shield, which is why it was invincible.

However, the lesson from Qin’s downfall tells us that using one’s own spear to strike one’s own shield leads to rapid destruction.

Third: Chinese culture promotes negative thinking:

When people see the best spear and shield together, instead of thinking about how to create even stronger weapons to counter them, they stand by and watch, smugly looking for faults.

The lack of progress in Chinese technology is closely related to this mindset!

Under the influence of this mindset, people do not strive to improve technology but instead indulge in criticizing from the sidelines. They do not focus on learning and researching life and production skills to enhance social productivity but instead cling to ethical and moral teachings from thousands of years ago, dreaming of managing their families and governing the state.

In the end, the ideal of self-cultivation, family harmony, and state governance remains a Platonic myth.

I’ve noticed something strange: nowadays, whenever people encounter the slightest problem, they immediately turn to pre-Qin literature for solutions.

However, that is ultimately just morality, and morality is unreliable. If you learn it but others don’t, your moralistic behavior will be seen as immoral by them.

In the end, the essence of Han Feizi’s teachings has not been understood—the focus should be on the rule of law!