Fan Li gave away his entire fortune three times
because he never really picked it up in the first place
recently a viewer forwarded me a video
it was about Fan Li Lord Tao Zhu on his deathbed
leaving his descendants three high-energy fields for life
the first one
sit alone in the mountains
to absorb the energy of heaven and earth
the second one
visit wise masters
to elevate your understanding
the third one
walk through the marketplace
to resonate with the human world
he asked me
is this true
so I went and looked into it
I checked the Records of the Grand Historian
I checked the Spring and Autumn Annals of Wu and Yue
I flipped through the Discourses of the States too
honestly
I couldn't find where these words came from
the phrase energy field is itself very modern
there's no way it existed back in the Spring and Autumn period
so in all likelihood
Fan Li never said this
but here's the thing
after I read these three lines I paused for a moment
because what it was pointing at
even if the source is doubtful
the content itself makes sense
when you're feeling down
go sit in the mountains for a while
go talk to someone who sees further than you do
or go to the market the morning market
walk among the crowd
you really can come back to life
I've felt this deeply myself
so today I want to use this as a starting point
not to argue whether these words are real or fake
but to talk about a far more interesting question
this man Fan Li
what exactly was he cultivating
hello
hi everyone
I'm Wang Lijie
you may have heard Fan Li's story
at the end of the Spring and Autumn period
he helped King Gou Jian of Yue destroy the state of Wu
from 494 BC when Gou Jian was defeated at Mount Kuaiji
to 473 BC when Wu was wiped out
a full twenty-one years
what did he do in these twenty-one years
together with Wen Zhong he planned strategy for Gou Jian
enduring humiliation
sleeping on brushwood and tasting gall
he even went to Wu as a hostage alongside Gou Jian
through those most humiliating days
Fan Li stayed right by Gou Jian's side the whole way
and when the great task was finally done
he did something no one expected
he left
not the kind of leaving where you retire to your hometown
he changed his name and identity
calling himself Chi Yi Zi Pi
he took his family onto a small boat
and sailed away
he vanished
before he left
he wrote a letter to his partner Wen Zhong
in that letter there was one line
that later became one of the most famous political prophecies in Chinese history
when the birds are all gone
the good bow is put away
when the cunning hare is dead
the hunting dog is cooked
it means
once the birds are all shot down
the bow gets tucked away
once the hares are all caught
the hound gets thrown in the pot
he saw right through Gou Jian
Gou Jian as a person
could share hardship
but not share prosperity
when you lie in the mud beside him
he needs you
once he stands back up
you become his threat
Wen Zhong received this letter
note this
Wen Zhong was no fool
he and Fan Li planned the entire scheme to destroy Wu together
in intellect and strategy he was no less than Fan Li
he read this letter
he understood it completely
but he didn't leave
why
this is the question in Fan Li's story I find most worth unpacking
it's not why Fan Li could leave
but why Wen Zhong couldn't
because the difference between these two men
wasn't in intelligence
think about the position Wen Zhong was in
he'd worked for Gou Jian for twenty years
he'd endured from the most humiliating stage all the way through
and finally reached the day of turning it all around
after Wu was destroyed
he was one of Yue's greatest heroes
at the very top of officialdom
and at this moment someone tells him
it's time for you to go
could he leave
don't rush to say of course he could
first ask yourself a question
if you'd worked at a company for twenty years
rising from the very bottom to partner
CXO
and the company finally goes public
someone says to you
you should quit
if you don't the boss will come after you
would you quit
most people can't
it's not that they don't want to
it's that they can't bring themselves to
because those twenty years weren't just an investment of time
they became who you are
your identity your social ties
your sense of self
all of it grew into that position
asking you to leave that position
is like asking you to dismantle yourself
try imagining this right now
delete the title on your business card
erase all the identity labels in your social feed
do you feel that tightness in your chest
that tightness
is exactly what Wen Zhong felt back then
psychology calls this identity fixation
the longer someone stays in a certain role
the deeper they invest
the more that role fuses with their sense of self
until finally he can't tell
whether I am doing this thing
or this thing is who I am
this is exactly Wen Zhong's problem
it's not that he didn't know the danger
he knew
Fan Li had spelled it out so clearly
there's no way he didn't know
but knowing is one thing
leaving is another
knowing is a matter of the prefrontal cortex
leaving is a matter of the entire identity system
his twenty years of investment
had crystallized in his mind into a story
I'm the one who helped Gou Jian turn it all around
this story was too perfect
too heavy with meaning
asking him to give up this story
was harder than asking him to give up his life
so he stayed
you know how it ended
Gou Jian gave Wen Zhong a sword
not just any sword
it was the Zhulou sword
the very one that had driven Wu Zixu to his death
Gou Jian said to Wen Zhong
you once taught me seven strategies to conquer Wu
I used only three of them to destroy Wu
the remaining four
go try them out for me down in the underworld
Wen Zhong took that sword
and killed himself
look at the history of this sword
Wu Zixu was ordered to die for being too loyal
Wen Zhong too was ordered to die for being too loyal
the same sword
killed two great ministers
Gou Jian didn't pick this sword at random
he was telling you
this is the fate of a hero who serves
you see
he stayed in that role right up to his death
he never once questioned it the way Fan Li did
do I have to be this role
now let's look back at Fan Li
why could Fan Li leave
on the surface
it's because he was smart
able to foresee what kind of man Gou Jian was
but this explanation isn't enough
because Wen Zhong was smart too
Wen Zhong could foresee it too
both men had the same information
and reached the same conclusion
Gou Jian can't share prosperity
the difference is
one could bring himself to leave
the other couldn't
the one who could leave
had something in him
it wasn't intelligence
it wasn't courage
it was something I can't find a better word for
he wasn't attached to his own identity
in Yue Fan Li was a strategist
after leaving he went to the coast of Qi
changed his name to Chi Yi Zi Pi
and started over by farming the land
within a few years he'd amassed a fortune of hundreds of thousands
the people of Qi heard of his wisdom
and invited him to become prime minister
he served for a while
then sighed and said
at home I can make a thousand in gold
in office I can rise to prime minister
for a commoner this is already the limit
holding an honored name too long is not a good thing
then he returned the seal of office
gave away his money
and left again
later he arrived at the land of Tao
which is today's Dingtao in Shandong
and once again started from nothing
and once again became the richest man around
and after becoming the richest
he gave it all away
sharing his money with the poor and distant relatives
then he made it back
then he gave it away again
Sima Qian wrote in the Records of the Grand Historian
in nineteen years he made a fortune three times
later generations summed up his life in four words
three times gathered three times scattered
you won't find a second person in Chinese history who did this
most people read this story as the wisdom of retreating at the peak
or the virtue of generous charity
but I think both readings are too shallow
someone being generous once in a while
you could call him generous
but a man who repeatedly earns and repeatedly gives it all away
and repeatedly starts from zero
this isn't generosity
this is a kind of training
what was he training
he was training non-attachment
think about it
the first time he gave it away
maybe there was still some hesitation
the second time
probably a little easier
the third time
maybe it was already effortless
not because he didn't care about money
a man who could become the richest three times
clearly understood business extremely well
but because he'd figured out one thing
money is water flowing through his hands
not flesh growing on his body
the identity of strategist is also water
the title of prime minister is also water
the halo of a hero of Yue is also water
the water flows in
he tends it seriously
the water flows away
he lets go
this is the most fundamental difference between him and Wen Zhong
Wen Zhong froze the water into ice
and welded it onto himself
Fan Li let the water stay water
now look back at that idea of three high-energy fields
even if the source is doubtful
you'll find it quietly matches the arc of Fan Li's life
the mountain
he sailed the five lakes
living in seclusion among mountains and rivers
not to absorb energy
but to wash off the roles clinging to him layer by layer among the mountains and rivers
anyone who's climbed a mountain knows
the moment you reach the summit
all those work things and home things in your head
who offended you
all of it grows lighter
it's not that the mountain gave you energy
it's that the mountain took away what was extra on you
people
he met a few key people in his life
the most important was Ji Ran
the teacher who taught him the way of business
Sima Qian said Fan Li used Ji Ran's methods to build his wealth
applying Ji Ran's economic theory to business practice
but more important
he learned his deepest lesson from Gou Jian
power turns a person into someone else
this is a lesson no book can teach you
he observed it up close for twenty years
and proved it at the cost of Wen Zhong's life
the marketplace
three times he started from nothing in the marketplace
the marketplace isn't an arena of fame and fortune
it's a laboratory of human nature
when you do business on the street
people's greed cleverness kindness and calculation
are all laid bare
a man who has earned and given away money in the marketplace
understands human nature
more deeply than any philosopher
so the three fields that video talked about
even if they aren't Fan Li's own words
when used to look back on Fan Li's life
they really do make a decent mirror
but I want to add something that video didn't say
those three fields
the mountain
the people
the marketplace
for Fan Li none of them were charging stations
he didn't go to the mountains to recharge when he was down
then come back to grind once his energy returned
wherever he went it was never to gain something
he went to the mountains
because the last role was finished
he needed a place to take off that costume
he entered the marketplace
because after taking it off he still had to live
so he stepped into a new role
but this time he knew
this outfit looks good
but it isn't my skin
this is why he gave away his wealth so cleanly
that money wasn't his skin
it was clothes he wore for fun
when the clothes got old
he gave them away
and bought a new one to wear
have you noticed
most of our suffering
comes precisely from mistaking clothes for skin
your job title is clothing
your savings are clothing
your degree is clothing
what others think of you is clothing
but after wearing it long enough
you feel you can't take it off
you feel that without it there's no you
this is how Wen Zhong died
he'd rather die wearing that outfit
than live with nothing on
but Fan Li lived bare three times
each time putting on new clothes
each time wearing them well
but he knew which was the clothing
and which was himself
in Buddhism there's a term no-mine
it doesn't mean you can't have anything
it means the things you have
not one of them is you
Fan Li probably knew nothing of Buddhism
he lived centuries before Buddhism reached China
but through a lifetime of action
he lived out this idea
I sometimes think
the most remarkable thing about Fan Li
isn't that he knew when to leave
but that leaving didn't hurt
does it hurt when you quit your job
does it hurt when you break up
does it ache when you spend the money you worked hard for
if it hurts
it means that thing has grown into your flesh
of course pulling it out hurts
Fan Li didn't hurt
not because he was cold-blooded
a man who gave his entire fortune to the poor three times
couldn't possibly be cold-blooded
he didn't hurt
because he never let those things grow into his flesh
they always stayed outside his skin
pick it up
put it down
coming and going freely
so if you ask me
what exactly was Fan Li cultivating
what he cultivated wasn't how to let go
what he cultivated was how not to pick up
these two things are worlds apart
how to let go
means you've already grabbed hold
and now have to pry your own fingers open
this is painful
and exhausting
but how not to pick up
means you knew from the very start
it can flow through you
but doesn't have to belong to you
you tend it seriously
but don't think it's yours
you give it everything
but can let go at any moment
this is a very advanced way of living
honestly
I can't do it
but I think
even just knowing that such a way of living exists
will loosen our fingers a little
finally a question I keep thinking about
when Fan Li left Yue
he's said to have taken Xi Shi with him
the two of them sailed the five lakes
and were never heard from again
this is the most romantic version
but some records say
that Xi Shi was drowned in the river after Wu fell
others say Gou Jian took her into his harem
which one is true
I don't know
but if Fan Li truly couldn't take Xi Shi away
then at Gou Jian's side he learned not only that power changes a person
he may have learned an even more painful lesson
some prices
even the clear-eyed can't afford
all his life he clung to no role
yet on the matter of Xi Shi alone
we can't be sure he achieved complete non-attachment
maybe
this is what makes him most human
cultivation in the end
isn't about becoming a person without feeling
but living with feeling
yet not being trapped by it
Fan Li may have escaped being trapped by power
not trapped by wealth
not trapped by fame
but facing someone he truly loved
could he do it too
this question
the histories give no answer
and maybe it was never meant to have one
what do you think
I'm Wang Lijie
see you next time