DDJ 39. 琭琭如玉 Emoluments

  第三十九章 [原文]昔之得一①者，天得一以清；地得一以宁；神得一以灵②；谷得一以盈，万物得一以生；候王得一以为天一正③。其致之也④，谓⑤天无以清⑥，将恐裂；地无以宁，将恐废⑦；神无以灵，将恐歇⑧；谷无以盈，将恐竭⑨；万物无以生，将恐灭；候王无以正⑩，将恐蹶⑾。故贵以贱为本，高以下为基。是以候王自称⑿孤、寡、不谷⒀。此非以贱为本邪？非乎？故至誉无誉⒁。是故不欲琭琭如玉⒂，珞珞如石⒃。

[译文]往昔曾得到过道的：天得到道而清明；地得到道而宁静；神（人）得到道而英灵；河谷得到道而充盈；万物得到道而生长；侯王得到道而成为天下的首领。推而言之，天不得清明，恐怕要崩裂；地不得安宁，恐怕要震溃；人不能保持灵性，恐怕要灭绝；河谷不能保持流水，恐怕要干涸；万物不能保持生长，恐怕要消灭；侯王不能保持天下首领的地位，恐怕要倾覆。所以贵以贱为根本，高以下为基础，因此侯王们自称为“孤”、“寡”、“不谷”，这不就是以贱为根本吗？不是吗？所以最高的荣誉无须赞美称誉。不要求琭琭晶莹像宝玉，而宁愿珞珞坚硬像山石。 http://www.daodejing.org/39.html

 不欲琭琭如玉，珞珞如石。 这是道教的标准美学。 贵以贱为本，高以下为基。 这是道教的平等自由意识的来源。

 Checking out pilgrim costume for historic enactment:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/249383227/thanksgiving-historical-clothing?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=pilgrim%20costume&ref=sc_gallery_1&plkey=55f4cde8eb25e0bcf08cac455638ceb99ed37198:249383227

 Taoist wear.   Since the funding for science and taoism was cut over the last thousand years, we Taoists started to wear very boring and stain resistant clothing.  https://world.taobao.com/item/520608060339.htm?spm=a1z3o.7695283.0.0.1CvdxU

  Other colors Taoist wear.  https://world.taobao.com/item/25798600995.htm?spm=a312a.7728556.2015080705.21.U2dyZ5&id=25798600995&scm=1007.12006.72291.i35068774721&pvid=4fb15001-5964-4587-9bb7-07c2117971db

  During the Jin, Song, Tang dynasties, Taoist literatis could afford white shades.  But the grey, black and navy colors remained the eminent pragmatist choice for the self-sufficient and free-thinking.  Colors like gold, red, purple, metalic shine associate more to Confucians or Buddhists.    

  So when someone asked, why not join the Confucians or Buddhists.  I make my choice based on aesthetics alone.  Sparing, minimal, and pragmatic.  Like Occam's razor or the Puritans, taoist logic and taoist aesthetic sought purity and simplicity in life.

  Confucius and Laotze were both students of Zhou dynasty.   孔子的数据主要来源于鲁国，周公后人封地，孔子把周朝的长寿归功于周公制”礼“。 但是老子的数据（中央和各诸侯，甚至前代商朝夏朝）却认为“礼”既不够开国，也不够中兴,  末世更加无力回天； 礼是锦上添花，容易轻易伪造； 好礼君子本末倒置，酿成大祸的破坏性往往胜过真小人。  

 道德经和US Constitution属于foundational texts.  人生在世，一个foundational text就够幸福，两个就可以立足。 贪图很多个foundational texts就容易迷失本心，邯郸学步。

＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊《美国宪法》＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊

"No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.

ARTICLE I, SECTION 9, CLAUSE 8
http://www.heritage.org/constitution/#!/articles/1/essays/67/appropriations-clause
"Republicanism so understood was the ground of the constitutional edifice. The prohibition on titles of nobility buttressed the structure by precluding the possibility of an aristocracy, whether hereditary or personal, whose members would inevitably assert a right to occupy the leading positions in the state.

Further, the prohibition on titles complemented the prohibition in Article III, Section 3, on the "Corruption of Blood" worked by "Attainder[s] of Treason" (i.e., the prohibition on creating a disability in the posterity of an attained person upon claiming an inheritance as his heir, or as heir to his ancestor). Together these prohibitions ruled out the creation of certain caste-specific legal privileges or disabilities arising solely from the accident of birth."。。。

In every day and age, we need to go back to the original. https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/04/donald-trump-conflicts-of-interests/508382/

Do We have the New Monopolies:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/22/opinion/sunday/is-it-time-to-break-up-google.html