As the name suggests, it is a game process with the same structure, which will be repeated many times. To a large extent, whether it is business, military, or politics, repeated games are the basis of credit.

To translate it in a sentence that anyone with no background in economics and sociology can understand,

It's like the store downstairs of your house doesn't dare to cheat you too much, because you still have the opportunity to ask him to buy things in the future, and he loses his credit to you, so he loses long-term orders.

But the shops of tourist attractions can fool people casually, because anyway, the vast majority of tourist attractions are only visited once in a lifetime for the vast majority of tourists.

Even if he doesn't cheat you, you won't think of his good next time to take care of his business. If you don't cheat, you will lose money, and you will make less money. Therefore, the shops that do not pit people in tourist attractions will only be unable to pit people, and will be eliminated by the most pit ones in the end.

From this point of view, it is not unreasonable for later generations of Chinese to gather in places that are more pitiful. After all, people also know that the vanity ratio of Chinese is higher, and a little money is calculated in order to show off themselves to go to a few more countries and post a little more circle of friends. This year, Phuket, next year, Cebu, Bali, Saipan...... Every place knows you're only going once, so why not rip off customers?

If you are like those who are more confident and unassuming in Europe and the United States, they are looking for a place to sunbathe and spend a vacation every year, either Miami or Grenada, nor do they post on Moments, and they don't want to show that they have been to more countries, then the consumption of seaview sunbathing resorts in Miami and Grenada is relatively harmonious.

In the final analysis, it is a matter of cultural pride, and Americans feel that going to a "foreign country" is the same as Chinese feeling that going to the southwest mountainous area, there is nothing to post in the circle of friends. If you don't live for the circle of friends, you won't have a pit.

It's a bit far, back to the discussion between Gu Biao and Professor Vogel.

The theory of repeated games, when applied to the rise and fall of society, is the easiest way to reflect the differences between China and foreign countries.

That's right, it's the difference between "China" and "outside" On the issue of repeated games, it can be said that except for China, as well as the North and South Gangs, Vietnamese, Laos, and Cambodia, which were more strongly influenced by the imperial examination culture in ancient China, all other countries on the earth are in the other camp.

Because they don't have a history of unification that exterminates everything and eradicates the roots.

The wars of the Europeans, until the death of the queue in the Napoleonic era, were still as ridiculous and deceitful in the eyes of the Chinese as Song Xianggong Zhiren.

It's not that they don't know the benefits of treacherous deceit, but the problem is that you can't destroy all of Europe with a single profit, and then others will unite to destroy you, a treacherous fellow, and you'll be gone.

It was not until the outbreak of World War I that in 1914 and 15 the diplomatic principles and international law were still more emphasized, and it was not until 1916 that the two sides clearly realized that this was a general war between the two camps to destroy each other's species, and realized that after you completely wiped out the other camp, you could cut the grass and eradicate the roots, reshape the international law of the whole world, and reshape the historical outlook of the whole world. In World War II, it was even more extended.

And the Chinese knew as early as Liu Bang's time that it didn't matter if they didn't want to face it. As long as this kind of shamelessness can achieve complete unification, first destroy the other party's nine clans, cut the grass and eradicate the roots, and the matter of face and benevolence can be done slowly, and then burn books and pit Confucianism with the knife in hand, and depose the hundred schools, then it doesn't matter what you have done.

The slaughterer will be slaughtered directly with a knife, and the children and grandchildren will be cut off, and there will be no next business.

Of course, these are just the accumulation of history, a kind of cultural existence, and there is nothing right or wrong, good or bad in itself.

In order to develop, to interact, it is necessary to acknowledge the existence of this kind of history, and then treat it in an appropriate way.

With civilizations that do not have a history of repeated games, only win and lose, and losers exterminate their clans, we must adapt to their attitudes. If we take the casual attitude of the Americans that "if you lose, you will only do it again in a few decades", you will definitely have friction.

Vogel and Song Yimin are also knowledgeable, and the previous literacy words don't need to be talked about much, and those narrations are not for Vogel.

Everyone clicked and stopped, and soon got to the point.

……

It seemed that in order to make the topic less heavy, Gu Biao made a seemingly joking sentence to adjust the atmosphere.

"Professor Fu, today we are just chatting, anyway, we don't appear in the media, I don't care if it's serious or not. I recently read a new comic that I published last year, and there is a line in it that I really like:

The same trick cannot be effective against Saint Seiya for the second time. I think this is particularly appropriate to complement your understanding of China as Americans.

Li Shimin relied on killing his brother to force his father to usurp the throne, so how could he let the Tang Dynasty repeat such a drama for the second time? Of course, he would strictly guard against it, so I think it was extremely stupid for Li Chengqian to try to repeat this kind of seizure of the throne at his father's place.

Zhao Kuangyin was added to the position in the yellow robe, so he would immediately release the military power with a glass of wine, and ensure that through the construction of the system, even if the Song Dynasty could die in a foreign race, it would not be possible to die in the division of military ministers and mercenaries.

No matter what era, I think foreigners who deal with Chinese must always remember this in order to deal with Chinese well. ”

Vogel listened expressionlessly, these truths were too superficial, and he really couldn't arouse his interest as an academic leader: "Gu, do you mean something? I think these words are too cliché. ”

Not everyone can learn and apply clichés, and it is very difficult to integrate knowledge and action. Gu Biao smiled, and didn't refute it head-on, but just rolled his eyes, "Then, let's use the example of the Tang and Song dynasties to repeat the Ming Dynasty, Professor Fu, are you familiar with the history of the Ming Dynasty?"

"That's not my research direction. Oh, Xiao Song is very familiar, if you want to talk about this, he can talk to you. He did fieldwork in Hu Jian for several years, and he was always studying the coastal defense of the Ming Dynasty and the Japanese Kou. Vogel looked humble and asked his assistant to talk to Gu Biao about this specific issue.

Gu Biao smiled and said: "I can hear that Professor Song's accent is that he has been in Hu Jian for a long time when he hears it, and he reads 'Huaxian' when he 'discovers'." ”

Song Yimin's Mandarin accent is also a strange joke in the Harvard Sinology community. Anglo-American sinologists generally have either the standard Mandarin or Jinling dialect, or Cantonese, and Song Yimin's Hu Jian dialect is an outlier.

"Let Mr. Gu smile, I heard that Mr. Gu is from Qiantang, and I will have the opportunity to learn the Wu dialect in the future. Song Yimin said with a smile, looking very sincere. After all, he is only in his early 30s, and he is only an assistant to Vogel, not a great scholar, and it is necessary to put a low posture.

Gu Xiao stopped talking nonsense and went straight to the academic question: "We are not polite, I want to ask Professor Song, according to what we just said, just according to the theoretical perspective of 'don't underestimate the opportunity for Chinese to repeat the game', who do you think is the stupidest person in the Ming Dynasty?"

Song Yimin thought for a while: "According to your theory just now, do you think that in a dynasty, 'there is a precedent for certain things in this dynasty, so they are strictly guarded, and it is impossible to replicate their success', and the people who blindly mess around are the most stupid?"

Then I think that the most stupid person in the Ming Dynasty should be Zhu Chenhao, right? Zhu Di is the usurped throne of 'Fengtian Jingjing', it is impossible for him not to leave a set of systems to prevent the vassal kings from rebelling, and his descendants will never be able to relax their vigilance on this point, so Zhu Chenhao is the most stupid to seek death. ”

Gu Biao thought about it, although it was not the answer he wanted, it was not wrong.

There are some questions that have more than one standard answer.

"Professor Song's basic skills in Ming history are still good, and from the scope of my definition, Zhu Chenhao is indeed one of the stupidest. Then let me ask another question, do you think Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng are also one of the stupidest?"

Qi Tai and Huang Zicheng were both ministers around Emperor Jianwen, and they suggested cutting the feudal domain in their early years, but later they failed to resist effectively, and they were all finished, and there is nothing to say about the specific history.

And Gu Biao compared these losers to Zhu Chenhao, but it made Vogel and Song Yimin feel incredible.

These people are just losers, but they can't be the "most" stupid, right? Isn't this a double standard?

Vogel couldn't help but hurriedly answer: "Gu, your words are biased, Qi Huang persuaded Emperor Jianwen to cut the feudal domain, the operation steps were a bit too hasty, or the military talent was insufficient, resulting in failure, that is all there." But do you judge heroes by success or failure in your analysis of history? This is not the same as the standard of the 'stupidest' category you just proposed!"

Gu Biao just smiled slightly: "Professor Song, what do you think?"

Song Yimin's face was a little pale, and he thought for a long time: "If you have to be far-fetched, are you using Qi and Huang's remarks to persuade Emperor Jianwen to strengthen their confidence back then, to determine that Qi and Huang are the most stupid in the whole Ming Dynasty?"

Gu Biao nodded with satisfaction: "Sure enough, there is still a specialization in the art industry, that's right, Professor Song is really young and promising, and he reacts quickly." ”

Vogel threw a look over and asked Song Yimin to explain.

Song Yimin also understood and slowly analyzed: "When Huang Zicheng was still the emperor's grandson, once Zhu Yunwen was worried about his uncles, Huang Zicheng used the allusion of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty to calm the rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms of Wu and Chu, and encouraged Zhu Yunwen, saying that the vassal king was not to be afraid.

Judging from Huang Zicheng's consistent scholarly performance, they all sincerely believe that the examples they gave are right, so according to Mr. Gu's theory, they are also one of the stupidest people in the Ming Dynasty:

Why did Zhu Yunwen play Emperor Mingjing? Who was Emperor Jing of Han? He was the son of Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Bang's fourth son, so he had to be Zhu Yunwen's cousin and his fourth uncle's son Zhu Gaochi was Emperor Mingjing.

Zhu Yunwen himself, but the son of Zhu Biao, the 'Emperor Hui of the Ming Dynasty', should be the young emperor who is not qualified to be counted in the history books as the 'Twenty-four Emperors of the Han Dynasty', that is, the grandson of Lu Pheasant, and was later destroyed by Zhou Bo under the pretext of 'not born to Emperor Hui, but a wild seed stolen by the Lu family', before Emperor Wen was recruited. His fourth uncle is Emperor Wen.

Qi and Huang Zhenxin felt that Zhu Yunwen could be compared to Emperor Jing, which means that they misjudged whether the usurpation of the vassal king was the first or second appearance in the Ming Dynasty Mr. Gu said that if every trick is used against a saint warrior for the first time, it is possible to kill with one blow. What is ineffective is only the repetition of the second start, because there is no innovation, so it is purely looking for death.

Qi and Huang Lian didn't think clearly about whether it was the first time they tried to happen or the second time in this dynasty, they were blindly confident, if they didn't die, who else would die?

Perhaps Machiavelli said: as long as the motive is right, the means can be justified. But this is a repetitive game society in the West. In a society where the nine clans are wiped out once in the eastern game and have no chance of turning the tables, as long as you have no innovation in your means and your motives are not even qualified to be measured, you are in vain and are wasting national strength and people's strength. ”

{Note: Liu Bang has eight sons, the eldest son Liu Feishu is out, so he is only the king of Qi, the second son Liu Ying is the eldest son, that is, Emperor Hui, and the third son Zhao Wang Ruyi, who was born to Mrs. Qi and was poisoned by Lu Pheasant, so Emperor Wen of Han, who was established after the elimination of the Lu family, is the fourth son of the king. }