Chapter 38 Seventh and third techniques: the magic of ambiguity

Ambiguous means that the meaning is vague and unclear. It can be understood in this way or in that way. "Old Tang Book.Su Weiwei Biography" says: Do not want to be decisive and clear when dealing with things. If you make mistakes, you will be blamed, but you can hold both ends with ambiguity!That is to say, when we are in a situation in life where it is difficult to express our attitude, using ambiguous speech skills can be regarded as a way to get out of the predicament. There is a story about Xiang Luan’s difficulty with Confucianism: One day, Confucius traveled around the world in a carriage.When he came to a place, he saw a child who had surrounded a city with earth and was sitting in it, blocking his way.Confucius asked:

Why didn't you dodge when you saw the carriage coming? The child blinked and replied: I heard that you, Mr. Kong, know astronomy at the top, geography at the bottom, and human relationships at the bottom, but today I see you are not very good.Because since ancient times, it has only been heard that cars avoid cities, so there is no reason why cities avoid cars! Confucius was startled when he heard this, and asked quickly: May I have your name? The child replied: My name is Xiang Lu. In order to save face, Confucius tried to embarrass Xiang Lian with a series of questions, saying:

Your mouth is very powerful, can I test you? Xiang Lu replied: You take the test! Confucius then asked a series of strange questions, saying: What mountain has no rocks?Why is there no fish in the water?What door is unlatched?What car has no wheels?What kind of cow doesn't give birth to calves?What horse does not give birth to foals?What knife doesn't have a ring?What fire has no smoke?What man has no wife?What woman has no husband?What days are too short?What days are too long?What tree has no branches?What city has no officials?Who doesn't have an alias? After Confucius asked a series of questions, he stared at Xiang Luan and smiled triumphantly.

Xiang Lu thought for a while and said: Listen, there are no stones on the hills, no fish in the wells, no bolts on doors without doors, no wheels on palanquins, no calving by mud cows, no foals on wooden horses, no rings on machetes, fireflies from fireflies No smoke, no wives for fairies, no husbands for fairies, short days in winter and long days in summer, no branches for dead trees, no officials in empty cities, no nicknames for children. Confucius was shocked when he heard this: This child is extremely intelligent! Xiang Li didn't allow Confucius to think too much, and asked him instead:

Now it's my turn to test you. Why can geese and ducks float on the water?Why are swan geese and cranes good at singing?Why are pines and cypresses evergreen in winter and summer? Confucius replied: geese and ducks can float on the water because of their square feet; swan geese and cranes are good at singing because of their long necks; pines and cypresses are evergreen in winter and summer because their hearts are solid. Before Confucius could finish speaking, Xiang Lu shouted: No, no!Fish and turtles can float on the water, is it because of their square feet?Frogs are good at singing, is it because of its long neck?Hu bamboo is evergreen in winter and summer, is it because its bamboo heart is solid?

Confucius felt that the knowledge of this subject was so profound that he couldn't even argue with him, so he had to cup his hands and said repeatedly: The younger generation is awesome, the younger generation is awesome! With that said, he drove the car around. The Confucius in the story yelled at the end that the younger generation is awesome, which is an ambiguous speaking technique.What does it mean to be fearful for younger generations?Just can't answer it!But Confucius is still Confucius after all, and he just praised a few words in general, so just bypass it.If we really try our best, I'm afraid the carriage will have to stay here, and the countries will not be able to swim.

There is another joke: One day, a fortune-teller bumped into the sedan chair of the magistrate and was tied to the lobby of the government office. The magistrate originally wanted to ask about his crime, but changed his mind when he learned that it was a fortune teller.It turned out that the magistrate's wife was pregnant, but I don't know if the wife is pregnant with a boy or a girl?He asked someone to untie the fortune teller, and said to the fortune teller: I was about to ask you, is my wife Nong Zhang or Nong Wa? In the old custom, when you give birth to a boy, give him a piece of jade to play with, and call him Nongzhang.If you give birth to a girl, you can only give her a tile to play with, called Nongwa.

The fortune teller doesn't know the details of his wife's pregnancy, Hu Ying said: According to the calculation of the villain, the master's wife is Zhang Yenong and Wa Yenong. The magistrate became angry when he heard it, and shouted: Could it be that you are here to deceive the official, come here, hit forty again, and be thrown out! Unexpectedly, within a few days, the wife gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl.The magistrate was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth from ear to ear, only then did he think of the fortune-teller who had received a 40-year-old ban, and said:

Zhang Yenong, Wa Yenong, this gentleman turned out to be a living god, I have to prepare a generous gift to thank him! Although this is a joke, it shows that when the other party is aggressively asking you to express your opinion on a certain matter, but you really cannot express your opinion accurately, you might as well try the ambiguous answer method, maybe it can help you get out of the predicament.