The First Layer of Shackles: Ripping Labels#
Everyone's way of thinking is binary, labeling everything as right or wrong, good or evil, better or worse. Schools divide people into good students and bad students based on scores, while society categorizes individuals into different classes based on their status and wealth. Even when watching a movie, we distinguish between heroes and villains, which essentially reflects a laziness in thinking. There is no absolute right or wrong in the world, only differing perspectives. When your values do not align, everything you do is perceived as wrong.
Just like in "Nezha 2," Shen Gongbao surprisingly becomes a man who is solely focused on hard work, wanting to build a career, and is full of passion. In the first installment, Shen Gongbao is an undeniable villain, with many attributing all evil to him. Because he is desperate to climb the ranks and seize the position of the Twelve Golden Immortals, it is generally hard for people to have any affection for someone who is so unscrupulous in their ambition.
However, the appearance of his brother in "Nezha 2" changes everything. Behind Shen Gongbao is the adoring gaze of his brother and the fervent expectations of his father; he cannot afford to fall. Because even a bad person, a villain, often has their own life and obsessions; they are not simply one-dimensional evildoers. Although he is a monster, he worked hard to enter the Zen teaching, and once admitted, he could only do the dirtiest and hardest jobs. While other senior brothers treat elixirs like candy, Shen Gongbao has worked tirelessly for thousands of years and only received six pills, which he has always been reluctant to eat, ultimately giving them all to his brother.
His father always regarded him with pride, also strict with himself, diligently cultivating his skills, wanting to help more children achieve success. But in the eyes of the Jade Void Palace, these little demons are merely materials for alchemy. Five years ago, Shen Gongbao said, "The prejudice in people's hearts is like a great mountain; once formed, no one can take it away." He has repeated this sentence for five years, and probably no one truly understood his feelings at that time.
Until five years later, Shen Gongbao did not suspect that Nezha harmed his kin, while many believed it was Shen Gongbao who slaughtered Chentang Pass. At this moment, everyone realized that there was indeed a great mountain in their hearts; the arrow from five years ago had successfully struck at their core. When the movie reflected reality, many empathized with Shen Gongbao's life: he was the only college student in the village, his father's pride, and his brother's role model. He couldn't even bear to eat the benefits provided by the company, saving everything for his family. He didn’t dare to share his grievances at work with his family because he was the pillar of the household, and his leaders and colleagues looked down on him because he came from a rural background.
The prejudice in people's hearts is like a great mountain, impossible to move no matter how hard you try. But he did not let this extinguish his conscience, because he is Shen Gongbao, appealing against all injustices in the world. After learning of his brother's death and his father's amputation, everyone thought he would slaughter Chentang Pass. But unexpectedly, he calmly deduced the true mastermind behind the scenes, not only uncovering the conspiracy of the Infinite Immortal but also risking his life to save Li Jing and his wife. At this moment, Shen Gongbao became the embodiment of justice in everyone's hearts, and true masculinity was personified in him.
You may not realize: the same group of people who hated Shen Gongbao as a villain five years ago now praises him as a good person. Who says black is bad and gold is good? It is merely defined by some people. In people's perceptions, sheep are good, wolves are bad, and fairy tales, cartoons, and movies define it this way. Because wolves might harm humans and could steal livestock. However, sheep become delicious dishes on our tables, and their skins can be made into the clothes we wear.
What if we consider who is good and who is bad from a positive perspective? Or from the height of nature as a whole, is there good and bad? All defined good and evil, right and wrong, are judged solely by whether they align with one's own interests. Everyone has different positions and understandings, so the labels they attach will differ. Only fools like to argue about right and wrong, while wise people discuss benefits and drawbacks.
The Second Layer of Shackles: Breaking Authority#
When Liu Bang was young, he organized idle people to collect protection fees every day. Historical records state that he enjoyed fine wine and beautiful women; if this were today, he would at least face ten years in prison. Later, during the Battle of Pengcheng, the army was flooded, and 200,000 soldiers drowned. What was the result? The Book of Han praises him for being magnanimous and loving the people. This land has 5,000 years of history, but it is hard to see the true history; history is written by the victors.
Even the great ruler Li Shimin once held a knife to the neck of the historians, demanding either changes or death; this has always been the case—victors write history. If you steal someone’s wallet, you are a thief; if you usurp someone’s kingdom, you are a founding emperor. Female celebrities create labels of independent women while signing surrogacy contracts more efficiently than anyone else. Experts say instant noodles are unhealthy, yet they quickly endorse fast-food brands.
What truth exists in this world? The halos you see are merely what others want you to see; the sordidness behind is dirty and unimaginable. Most people do not even know what they truly want, nor do they care about the truth. What they want is merely emotional release, spiritual comfort, anesthetic-like entertainment, and a bit of fantasy. Whether it’s a large corporation or a small business, as long as these needs are met, there will be no trouble. There is a saying in "Strategies of the Warring States": "Sages do not benefit themselves; their worries are for the common people." In plain language, the essence of all authority is business, and the essence of all sages is acting.
The Third Layer of Shackles: Breaking Appearances#
The core of profit is a single word: if you do not move, you will die; the more you change, the more you thrive. The vast majority of people have a fatal flaw: they believe everything in the world is static and do not view problems from a developmental perspective, leading many to live in illusions. Ordinary people think that taking out a loan of a million to buy a house will ensure a better life, but in reality, it makes life harder. You might think that a child scoring 690 on the college entrance exam is a winner in life, but they may not necessarily fare well in society later on.
You might think that marrying a goddess means a life without regrets, but in essence, it only leads to more back pain, more complaints, and greater risks of being overwhelmed. If you cannot understand the laws of development and see through appearances to the essence, you will eventually capsize in the gutter. Because everything in the world is constantly changing, including your body, thoughts, understanding, wealth, and status; all these things are subject to change.
What you should do most is to change your old concepts and let these things transform in the direction you desire.