May you live in an era of change. Global changes on earth

I don’t know what the Chinese meant when they puffed out the hieroglyphs of yet another Chinese wisdom, “God forbid you live in an era of change,” but I believe that this saying, to put it mildly, is not entirely authentic.

(With) Wise Lin at work.

Indeed, taking into account the main postulate of the I Ching: “everything flows, everything changes,” the previous expression looks strange.
The meaning that the philosopher put into his parting words, in all likelihood, should have been understood as follows: “God forbid you live in an era of changes that are pseudo changes.”

Well, let's put it this way:

“Once upon a time there lived in the kingdom of Tang a ruler who loved, puffing out his cheeks and shaking his head like a Chinese dummy, to issue decrees for the Celestial Empire. His name was simple: stupid Van. He believed that the people did not live correctly enough, and as a result they were mired in inertia and dense laziness. Therefore, stupid Wang wrote ardent appeals every day with recommendations on how his subjects could organize the kingdom of Tang. And of course, everyone remembered his historical call “Forward, Celestial Empire!”, from which the Tang kingdom really turned out to be forward.

After which one meticulous courtier named Lin wrote down in the “Book of Changes” in calligraphic handwriting the thought that came to his mind: “make a fool pray to God, he will break his forehead.”

But the worthless and stupid Wang had State Councilor Xiang, a real lieutenant colonel. Usually, any Wang, for greater competition, had three main advisers on his staff - the “three gunas”: “great mentor”, “ great teacher" and "great patron" (Xiang was appointed from among them). In addition, three managers played a significant role in the state: one was in charge of the praise service, the other preserved and increased the treasury, and the third (“the great chief of the stools”) managed the military department.

So, stupid Wang, instead of three senior advisers, ended up with one. This guy's name was Xiana, Pup. And since Pup was cunning and power-hungry, he decided to overthrow the stupid Van, all of whose anal attempts at change ended in simply spoiled air.

Moreover, the subjects did not want to breathe the air of lack of freedom and injustice and “tangerine” moods were ripening in the Tang kingdom. And this was dangerous for the integrity of the Celestial Empire.

And having overthrown the stupid Van, the insidious Pup announced to the people of the empire that Van had lost his mind (and this was a complete lie, because Van never had any reason, and instead of brains he had donkey droppings) and now he would be the Emperor of the Tang kingdom. So that the people would not grumble, the power-hungry Pup ordered all his officials: gong, hou, bo, ji, inan and others, to promise stability and prosperity to the people. And the manager of the service of Praise was given the order to glorify Emperor Pupus in all the open spaces and crossroads of the Celestial Empire.

The insidious Pup canceled all the stupid legislative initiatives of the stupid Van. And he himself began to depict vigorous activity, because the people were waiting for changes. He changed one robe for another, changed Ji for Bo, and Hou for Gong, wore a kippah instead of a skullcap, and a diving helmet instead of a hat with earflaps. He soared into the skies and descended under the water, rode a yellow donkey around the kingdom, praising local donkeys as the most resilient and hardworking. He became an eyesore for everyone: from potters to Shaolin monks, from peasants to merchants, from Tanguts to Uyghurs.

But nothing changed, because the insidious Pup did not understand one simple thing: d Even on a very small Lie it is impossible to build the kingdom of Truth.

Once again, the people of the Celestial Empire lived in deep melancholy and the hopeless darkness of stability, which some subjects called “stagnation”, and more advanced citizens called “sucks”. After which this wisdom came to the mind of the meticulous Lin, which he immediately wrote down in calligraphic handwriting in the “Book of Changes”: “God forbid you live in an era of pseudo changes.”

And as we now know, this phrase was trimmed by later chroniclers to the notorious “wisdom”: God forbid you live in an era of change.”

It turns out that everything is so simple.

PS. About some unknown facts biographies of Lin can be read

“God forbid we live in an era of change,” says an old Chinese proverb, meanwhile this era never ends, and perhaps there cannot be another. Of course, when you read the classics, it seems as if they have everything the same - the same problems, experiences, dreams and anxieties. However, is this so? Not really. Even over the past 100−150 years, many aspects Everyday life changed beyond recognition, and what shocks us today left our ancestors indifferent, while the usual modern man things caused a lot of embarrassment, hostility and inconvenience in the old days.

Housing

Today it is normal for us to have own apartment or even a house, or renting a house. The object of recording is usually either the whole apartment, or room. Looking at luxury apartments from ancient paintings and engravings, we forget how a huge percentage of city residents huddled in corners, attics and basements.

Previously, apartments used to rent out not only rooms, but also corners and beds

It wasn't even the rooms that were rented out - the corners. Individuals and entire families could cohabit in one room, separated by a screen or curtain. Moreover, the practice was to rent out the same bed to several people at once: while you are at work, several renters manage to sleep in your bed.

Personal hygiene

You don't know anything about shame unless you've had to hide your bathroom in a closet and hide your shower behind a fake door. Meanwhile, according to the etiquette of the 19th century, such objects were considered indecent. In the palace of Alexander II, the bathroom was hidden in a special recess in the floor, on top of which there was a sofa, and the shower was literally located in the closet. Before filling the bathtub with water, it was necessary to lay a clean sheet in it - they tried to avoid direct contact of the body with the body of the bathtub. Shower-chandeliers were also popular - candles were inserted into them on one side, and water flowed out of holes on the other.

Gau Eduard Petrovich. Bathroom of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. 1877

Way of life

By staying late at work, you probably warn your family about it. But imagine what a late return promises you on the street at night. And not because a jealous spouse won’t let you in, but because your own janitor simply won’t open the door for you. Returning after midnight and not being allowed into your own apartment is a common occurrence for residents of apartment buildings. For reasons of order and safety, the windshield wipers were always locked every evening. entrance doors, and they took a “tip” from latecomers.

Pets"

“If there was a hut, there would be cockroaches”, “A cockroach is not a fly, it will not upset the belly” - there are many proverbs about cockroaches in Russian culture, and it is no coincidence - together with fleas, bedbugs, ants and other pests they formed an integral part of the inhabitants residential buildings. “What kind of sleep is it without a bug?” one of Goncharov’s characters reasoned in Oblomov. It’s not that they weren’t trying to get them out, but they weren’t considered a big problem either. The homes of both ordinary townspeople and those very beautiful aristocrats from ceremonial portraits were infested with various pests and insects. Instead of fighting them, people of even the highest society often preferred to carry elegant bite scratchers and exquisite flea trap boxes.

It is difficult to imagine what is ordinary and familiar today will become wild for our descendants. What will they laugh at in a hundred years and what will the next generations be horrified at? It seems to us that we are absolutely normal even now.

Why hide the shower in the closet and how to cope with disgust for the bathroom? Who could not let you into your own apartment and with whom did aristocrats and poor people share their bed? We answer these questions in the new issue of History Elective.

“God forbid we live in an era of change,” says an old Chinese proverb, meanwhile this era never ends, and perhaps there cannot be another. Of course, when you read the classics, it seems as if they have everything the same - the same problems, experiences, dreams and anxieties. However, is this so? Not really. Even over the past 100-150 years, many aspects of everyday life have changed beyond recognition, and what shocks us today left our ancestors indifferent, while things common to modern people caused a lot of embarrassment, hostility and inconvenience in the old days.

Housing

Today it is normal for us to have our own apartment or even a house, or rent a house. The rental object is usually either an entire apartment or a room. Looking at luxury apartments from ancient paintings and engravings, we forget how a huge percentage of city residents huddled in corners, attics and basements. It wasn't even the rooms that were rented out - the corners. Individuals and entire families could cohabit in one room, separated by a screen or curtain. Moreover, the practice was to rent out the same bed to several people at once: while you are at work, several renters manage to sleep in your bed.

Personal hygiene

Way of life

By staying late at work, you probably warn your family about this. But imagine what a late return promises you on the street at night. And not because a jealous spouse won’t let you in, but because your own janitor simply won’t open the door for you. Returning after midnight and not being allowed into your own apartment is a common occurrence for residents of apartment buildings. For reasons of order and security, the janitors always locked the entrance doors every evening, and took a “tip” from latecomers.

Pets"

“If there was a hut, there would be cockroaches”, “A cockroach is not a fly, it will not upset the belly” - there are many proverbs about cockroaches in Russian culture, and it is no coincidence - together with fleas, bedbugs, ants and other pests they formed an integral part of the inhabitants of residential houses. “What kind of sleep is it without a bug?” one of Goncharov’s characters reasoned in Oblomov. It’s not that they weren’t trying to get them out, but they weren’t considered a big problem either. The homes of both ordinary townspeople and those very beautiful aristocrats from ceremonial portraits were infested with various pests and insects. Instead of fighting them, people of even the highest society often preferred to carry elegant bite scratchers and exquisite flea trap boxes.

Gau Eduard Petrovich. Bathroom of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna. 1877

09.02.2014 09:04

"God forbid you live in an era of change." (Chinese proverb)

During the time of perestroika that unexpectedly overtook us and the changes that followed, the opinion was firmly established that the most disgusting thing in our former life was the period of stagnation. However, it soon became clear: it was precisely the years of perestroika and upheavals, financial collapses and social changes, social cataclysms and political instability that turned out to be an even greater misfortune. The most terrible, failed and lost time.

This banal truth, noted by ancient Chinese sages, had to be rediscovered and tested own skin.

Fortunately, in Israel we avoided revolutionary upheavals, although there is no need to talk about complete calm/stagnation. There have always been plenty of unrest and reasons for concern: political crises, economic difficulties, difficulties of adaptation, not counting military conflicts, intifadas, shelling of cities and terrorist attacks.

And yet those tragic events, those moments of crisis were a temporary phenomenon. They either flashed brightly or slowly faded, but somehow quickly went into the shadows, and the public quickly lost interest in them.

And only one social phenomenon receives constant attention and is at the center of the vigilant control of the press. Only in one area there is a breakdown and restructuring, one revolution is replaced by another, one reform, not having time to end, is replaced by another, ready to begin.

“Those who peer into the tip of a hair will not notice how big the world is.”

We are talking about school education reform in the country.

Just as renovations in a house, having begun and drawing many performers into its orbit, never end, so a large-scale reform, having gained momentum, feeling the influx of money and ministerial initiatives, will never be completed. School reform seems to be an endless carpet, thrown into the future, along which it is so convenient for reforming officials to walk. There is room for the boss’s hand to roam, and there is room for the reformist shoulder to itch.

I don’t want to talk about everyone: the average Israeli was spared the endless school tsunami. Perhaps it slightly hurt those whose children are now studying, and who through them felt the tremors. Who indirectly, reflectedly, got an idea of the grandiose progress, colossal plans and total restructuring in school education.

If we allowed ourselves to blatantly quote folk Chinese wisdom, appropriately and inappropriately, then it would be a sin not to remember the national Russian poet. To paraphrase Nekrasov: the great chain broke, broke and hit the teacher with one end; to others - a student.

Only the victims (students) and scapegoats (teachers), direct participants and performers of the mass entertainment event under the menacing name “School Reform” felt the consequences of the rising wave of change.

“He who listens to thunder will not hear silence.”

Having begun as a progressive movement for change in the outdated Israeli education, as a helping hand for the modern student, as a change in the image of the teacher, the reforms turned, in the end, against both the student and the teacher.

The first wave of planned school reforms arose back in the distant 2000s. Then, indeed, the need and timeliness of reforms was obvious: it was provoked both by the falling results of inspections from year to year, and by the public’s accumulated complaints about outdated methods and old approaches.

The large-scale school reform outlined by the Dovrat Commission attempted to cover all aspects of school life: pay and workload for teachers, training of teaching staff, improving the image of teachers, changing methods. Shlomo Dovrat wrote that his group "spends long hours with the leadership of the teachers' union and makes enormous efforts to implement reform that covers all aspects of the education system."

The prepared reform was then headed by the persistent and ambitious Limor Livnat (2001 - 2006), who was able to convince Ariel Sharon of the necessity and usefulness of school reform.

“He who sees the greater will not see the small.”

But even then, at the time of the heyday and general approval of the reform, a nasty fly in the ointment was poured into the ointment. To begin with, before entering into the reform, Limor Livnat hastened to make a statement: “According to the reform plan, the number of teachers will be reduced. The dismissal of a number of teachers will increase the salaries of the remaining teachers and create vacancies for new teachers.”

Limor Livnat was replaced by Yulia Tamir, who was replaced by Gideon Saar, who in turn gave up his post to Shay Peron. The ministers of education were different, but in one thing they remained unchanged - they were all zealous reformers, supporters of incessant reform-pressure.

Having begun under Limor Livnat as a good undertaking, under Gideon Saar the reform turned into an effective instrument of pressure on the school, a battering ram that brought down on the school, which had not yet recovered from the shocks, either reform for the younger grades (“Ofek Hadash”), or for the seniors (“Oz”) -le-Tmura").

If at the beginning of the school reform there was only a small dose of ointment in future benefits for the teacher, now less was said about supplements - more about new responsibilities. The entire working day of a teacher changed: a full working day of 40 hours became mandatory, making him equal to civil servants.

“He who listens to what is near will not comprehend what is distant.”

AND final stage The protracted saga of school reform began with the arrival of the new Minister of Education, Shai Peron. It seemed to him that it was not enough what had already been done with the school, not only that every step of the teacher was taken under control - his soul demanded new broad gestures.

Another round of endless reform has touched this time internal sides school life. Now it was no longer the established objective criteria that dictated the set of final exams and the rules for admission to universities, but the subjective ministerial opinion.

If the minister doesn’t like psychometric tests for admission to universities and colleges, we’ll cancel them with the stroke of a pen. Shai Peron doesn't like a lot of final exams in different subjects - let's radically reduce them. Moreover, the minister plans to deepen and continue the reform: “Shai Peron is planning a more ambitious reform, providing for a radical reduction in the number of subjects in which schoolchildren take exams... He promised that it will be carried out in two stages, and in the second stage the number of subjects in which students taking final exams will decrease.”

Making it clear: revolution has a beginning, but reform has no end.

Sword of Damocles. According to Greek legend, the Syracuse tyrant Dionysius (late 5th century BC) offered to replace him on the throne for one day with his favorite Damocles, who considered Dionysius the happiest of mortals. In the midst of the fun at the feast, Damocles suddenly saw a naked sword hanging on a horsehair above his head, and realized the illusory nature of well-being.

Crisis is some very alarming word and condition hanging over our heads like the sword of Damocles. Everywhere there is nothing but talk: someone was fired, someone was sent on leave for an indefinite period of time, someone had an unpaid loan, someone is sick, and the medicine is becoming more expensive, and then... What will happen next?

There are troubles, such as wars, when you can survive only by uniting the whole people. There are troubles when everyone survives on their own, and even by relying on the help of a friend, or by uniting in some small cells.

Let's learn to survive. Where to begin? First of all, don't panic! Any panic is an additional expenditure of energy, nerves, money, it is chaos. Try to clearly differentiate between your personal problems and your social group and state ones. Unfortunately (or fortunately), the state is not always us; it has its own difficulties. If you are a civil servant or an employee, or you have your own business, these are also slightly different planes. In the first case, if you were fired, there is no need to make a tragedy out of it. Calm down, wait it out and just start looking for another job, perhaps changing your occupation altogether. Try to find a use for yourself in some other area. Maybe it will turn out that everything is for the better and that before you worked in a completely different place, and the changes will open up new abilities and other perspectives in you.

Believe me, there is always work, the only question is what to do. Don't be afraid of change! Remember that in the 90s, many engineers and teachers changed jobs to jobs completely unrelated to their education: they went into business, repairs, and trade. Among my acquaintances in those years, a former officer took up Internet technologies, and the best teacher of the year in one of the republics took up construction. Some remained in this field, grew up and feel great, others returned to the profession and remember those years as some kind of adventure, not the worst in life. Which, meanwhile, gave me the opportunity to simply survive in that very difficult time, to help myself and my family. The current owners of their own business can even more proudly say: I survived in a more difficult situation, I persevered, nothing has broken me and nothing will break me now.

In stressful situations, it is important not to focus on yourself, on your own suffering, not to accumulate or cherish resentment at the injustice of our world order. Everything passes - the crisis will also pass. A jump down is not always evil. What we spent a lot of energy on suddenly goes away and we free up a lot of time and energy for something else. Nothing happens in life for nothing. Maybe someone specially stopped your endless running in a circle to nowhere and you need to look back and think? In fact, to be happy, a person needs close people, a loved one, and understanding. And in monetary terms, our relative well-being fits into the amounts that we can always earn. Of course, if you don't sit with your hands folded.

What's going on, a crisis? But nothing threatens you as an individual. Has your income decreased? A reason to calmly analyze your expenses. Believe me, you will definitely find that in some ways they require adjustment for a long time and they can be limited absolutely painlessly. Remember that free time can be spent not only in the hustle and bustle of shops, buying sometimes absolutely unnecessary things or filling carts to the brim in supermarkets. With great pleasure you can spend a day in the park or outside the city, on fresh air and at minimal cost.

Remember that you once had a “hobby”, you were interested in something, for example, music, or growing tomatoes on the windowsill, or really loved assembling complex models of aircraft carriers. Or maybe you should try to discover your talent as a painter or remember that there are wonderful books in the world that you just couldn’t get around to reading. Or maybe you have long wanted to correct your figure or make your biceps more prominent? Start now! An excellent stress reliever.

It sounds banal, but it has been proven by life: the rich also cry, the presence or absence of happiness does not depend on the number of rubles or dollars in your pocket. Money by itself does not make people happier. The most brilliant works came from the pen or brush of masters during periods of their greatest poverty and misfortune.

So, what do we need from today:

1. Accept as an axiom that there is no stability in our time and there never will be. Even if you are working now, have a backup plan. It might come in handy.

2. Try to have several sources of income. Let it be several thin streams. If one suddenly runs out, the rest will help you stay afloat.

3. Don't be afraid to think and act outside the box. Don't be afraid to be "not like everyone else." Exactly non-standard solutions sometimes they give the most unexpected and positive results. Don't be afraid to make mistakes!

4. At the slightest opportunity, study. Don't be afraid to look ridiculous in someone's eyes. There is an opportunity - at least learn Chinese. Who knows, maybe this will be the decisive factor and help you draw your lucky lottery ticket.

5. Be optimistic! Friday the 13th? Are you at all worried? Let's get to work! On Thursday the 12th, dye your black cat red - it will definitely bring you good luck.

The world is changing before our eyes, rapidly. Changes beyond recognition. You have to live with this.
There is only one life. Appreciate every moment, even during a crisis.
Tell yourself: I am a man! I am a person! I can do everything! Life is Beautiful!
Any test is another step up. Don't be afraid to go up the stairs.