富 与 贵 Wealth and Nobility

林巍

日常生活中，人們容易把“富”与“贵”相混淆2，如把有钱人家统称为“富贵之家”。其实，二者是不同的;富者未必贵，贵者未必富。

随着中国综合实力3的提高，国内的富人逐渐多了起来。但他们中不乏这样的人：住豪宅，却大放噪音，干扰邻居;开豪车，可把垃圾从车窗扔到马路上;到国外旅游，如入无人之境，喧哗、吵闹、加塞儿;为自己，一掷千金，捐善款，一毛不拔 …… 。他们虽然富有，却没有4半点儿贵族精神，有的只是暴发户的俗气。

对于贵族精神，可有多种理解5，但几个基本要素必不可少：诚信、 担当6、主见、教养。

诚信的实质是守规则、重荣誉7。在春秋时期的泓水之战中，宋襄公因恪守规矩，不乘机攻打立足未稳的楚兵，结果吃了败仗，被现代国人讥为“蠢猪8式的仁义”，却不知其被古代史家所称颂。欧洲骑士间的战争，类似春秋时代的贵族战争，均摆好战式，堂堂正正地对攻;搞突然袭击，对真正的骑士，是一种耻辱。而绅士间的决斗，更是规矩在前、动作在后;若投机取胜，则只会赢得性命而丢失荣誉，落个千古骂名，得不偿失。所以，境界不同，评价各异。

担当的实质是社会责任、使命感。在中国讲的是“修身、齐家、治国、平天下”9，春秋战国时，整个贵族阶级都以执戈披甲为荣，视冲锋陷阵为己任。秦国国君在选择后嗣时，首要条件是“择勇猛者立之”;而楚康王即位五年无战事，自责为是莫大的失职10。在欧洲，贵族享有特权的同时，意味着担当特殊的责任，包括关键时候挺身而出，为君主、国家献出生命，而历次民族战争，冲在前面、牺牲最多的是贵族。在西方航海业有一条不成文的规定，在船沉没时，船长必须最后一个逃生。英国的威廉和哈里王子，都被送往陆军军官学校受训，毕业后哈里还被派往阿富汗前线，当过机枪手，以为国家尽职为荣，体现的都是典型的贵族精神。

主见的实质是独立思考、高贵人格。他们不会是“千人之诺诺” 中的一员，却宁可为“一人之谔谔” 而终。如陈寅恪所评王国维：“来世不可知也，先生之著述，或有时而不彰。先生之学说，或有时而可商。惟此独立之精神，自由之思想，历千万祀，与天壤而同久，共三光11而永光”。马寅初认定自己“人口论”12的正确性，在巨大的政治迫害下，仍不“悔罪”。在西方，哥白尼、布鲁诺、伽利略不畏教会的监禁、摧残甚至火刑，誓死捍卫“日心说”：“你们可以杀死我，但地球仍在转动。”

教养的实质是文化素质、雅致得体13。这些多体现在日常的细微之中，如孔子的弟子子路，在战争中受了重伤，临死前不忘系好被对手砍断的帽缨，“正冠而殁”。康有为的女儿康同璧，在上世纪大批资产阶级的六十年代，赴好友的家庭宴会，手提包里另藏雅装14（当时不容在街上穿着），进入四合院后，临时换装，也要体面出席。二战时，英国国王爱德华到伦敦的贫民窟视察，站在一个东倒西歪的房子门口，对里面一贫如洗的老太太问道：“我可以进来吗？”体现的是一种贵族式的对人尊重。法国大革命中，在巴黎的协和广场上，路易十六的皇后不小心踩了刽子手的脚，马上下意识地说了句“对不起，先生”;而临刑前的皇帝则坦言：“我清白死去。我原谅我的敌人，但愿我的血能平息上帝的怒火。”几分钟后15，路易十六及皇后便身首异处。两个世纪后，时任法国总统的密特朗在纪念法国大革命200 周年的庆典上真诚宣布：“路易十六是个好人，把他们处死是件悲剧……”

有贵族精神的人不一定都富有16，有的甚至还很贫穷。陈独秀晚年贫困交加，但拒绝接受别人一文钱的馈赠;俄国著名作家托尔斯泰最后把所有的家产分给了穷人，像流浪汉一样死在一个荒芜的小车站。

在精神层面上，贵而不富者，留下17来的是文明、人道和慷慨;而富而不贵者，可以用大把的金钱18换取有限时光的享受，却买不来半点别人发自心底的尊重。                      □

In daily life， people often relate wealth to nobility， such as fu gui zhi jia in Chinese or “a family of wealth and nobility”. In fact， the two are not always necessarily associated; in some cases they are two quite different things.

With the growth of overall national strength， more Chinese have become wealthy. Among them， however， are those who make a tremendous noise to annoy neighbors from their luxury homes， or throw out rubbish from the windows of their classy cars， or talk and laugh uproariously and jump queues as if entering an unpeopled land when traveling overseas. While throwing away money like dirt， they donate none like an iron cock… Wealthy they are， what they actually display is nothing more than the air of nouveaux riches， which is totally unrelated to the spirit of nobility.

Speaking of noble spirit， although people may define it differently， there are certain components which are deemed to be essential， such as credibility， commitment， thoughtfulness and upbringing.

To have credibility is to abide by the rules and behave honorably. During Chinas Spring and Autumn Period （770–476 BC）， for example， in the battle of Hongshui， Duke Xiang of Song was defeated by the troops of Chu due to his rigidity in following the “gentlemens agreement” which promised not to attack opponents when they were not ready. The Dukes act， praised by ancient historians， is nevertheless satirized by some people nowadays as asinine ethics. Likewise， wars between European knights were also launched in a dignified and imposing manner， openly confronting one another. Launching a surprise attack would be seen as a disgrace to a genuine knight. In a duel between gentlemen， action had to follow rules， otherwise any win （to save ones life） could only result in indignity， earning eternal infamy， which was utterly not worthwhile. Clearly， things are judged differently by different standards.

By “willingness” is meant to be infused with a sense of mission and social responsibility. Guided by the creed of “cultivating the self， supporting the family， governing the state and ruling the world”， from the Spring and Autumn Period， the Chinese noble class have been proud of charging forward wearing coats of armor， as exemplified in Emperor Qins imperial order to choose his heirs based primarily on their bold and powerful character. It may also be evidenced in Chu Emperor Kangs deep self-accusation over his five-year warless reign （so he had no chance to go into battle to defend his country）. In Europe， the privileged aristocracy were also those who threw themselves into the breach at crucial moments and history has witnessed sacrifices mostly by nobles when their sovereign or country required them. In Western seafaring， there is an unwritten rule that the captain has to be the last to escape when the ship sinks. Princes William and Harry were both sent to military academies for training， and Harry was then dispatched to Afghanistan as a gunner. In this sense， honoring ones national duty typifies a noble spirit.

Thoughtfulness comes with independent thinking by those of noble character. “The blind obedience of thousands is not worth the straightforward advice of one person” is what a noble believes and practices. In commenting on the well-known scholar Wang Guowei （1877–1927）， professor Chen Yinque （1890–1969） said， “Wangs works and theories may remain controversial for quite sometime in the future， but his noble spirit of independence and freedom of thought will mingle with heaven and earth， providing a light for thousands of generations， which will never fade away.” Examples can also be found in these noble characters： Ma Yinchu， a prominent Chinese scholar， never confessed to his “Chinese malthusianism” even under extreme political pressure. In defending their heliocentric theory， western scholars Copernicus， Bruno and Galileo were not afraid of being imprisoned or even burned at the stake by the church： “You can certainly kill me， but the earth is still rotating.”

Upbringing， which embodies cultural quality and decency， is reflected in daily subtleties： Zi Lu， a disciple of Confucius （551–479 BC）， while mortally wounded and on his deathbed， still managed to fasten his toories to have a “decent death”; Kang Tongbi， the daughter of famous reformer Kang Youwei （1858–1927）， attended a family banquet in the 1960s when the “bourgeois life-style” was severely criticized， and hid all her elegant dresses in her bag （since they were not allowed to be worn on the street）; after entering the courtyard she found a “change room” in a corner to make up and appear gorgeous at the party. In Europe， during World War II， the British King Edward visited a shabby slum in London. “May I come in please？” he asked the owner， a poor lady， revealing noble respect for ordinary people. During the French Revolution， in the Place de la Concorde in Paris， a few minutes before their execution， when Queen Marie Antoinette （the wife of Louis XVI） accidentally stepped on the foot of the executioner， she instinctively said “Sorry， Sir” and Emperor Louis XVI then said to the crowd： “I will die as an innocent but I forgive my enemy. May I wish my blood calm the wrath of God.” Two centuries later， President Mitterrand sincerely announced in the General Assembly on the 200th Commemoration of the French Revolution： “Louis XVI was a good man. It was so tragic to kill the couple…”

A man of noble character does not have to be rich; some of them are in fact very poor. Chen Duxiu （1879–1942）， a well-known figure in modern Chinese history， was impoverished in his later days， but he refused to receive a penny from others. Tolstoy， the famous Russian writer， shared out all his possessions to the poor before he died miserably like a beggar in a small deserted railway station.

Evidently， as far as spirituality is concerned， those who are noble but not wealthy are enlightened， humane and generous for generations to come， while those who are wealthy but lack nobility， although enjoying a good （but limited） time of living like a king， can never buy any respect from the bottom of others hearts.                                                      ■