Pointing to a Deer and calling it a Horse

zhi lu wei ma

  One of the most successful dynasties of China was the Han dynasty which lasted for four hundred years beginning about 201 B.C.E.. Just before this, however, there was a short lived Qin dynasty. This is a proverb from this latter dynasty involving an adviser, named Zhao Gao, of the second emperor who rose to great power. The following is from the book A Thousand Pieces of Gold: Growing Up Through China’s Proverbs by Adeline Yen Mah.

     "Unaware of the smoldering turmoil within his empire, the Second Emperor, after Li Si’s death, promoted Zhao Gao to the post of prime minister. All affairs of state were decided by him. He was now so powerful that he began to have designs on becoming the emperor himself. Only one man stood between him and the throne. On September 27 of the third year of the Second Emperor’s rule (207 B.C.E). Zhao Gao decided to test his authority on the ministers to see whether they would yield to him. Shiji relates,

     "One day Zhao Gao presented a deer to the Second Emperor all the time pointed to the animal and calling it a horse. The monarch laughed and said "This is not a horse. It’s a deer. Why do you call it a horse?" Zhao Gao repeated that it was a horse. The emperor then turned to ask his ministers around him. Such was the terror instilled by the eunuch that most of those in attendance claimed it to be a horse. Some remained silent, but there were a few who spoke the truth and agreed with the emperor. Later Zhao Gao arranged for all those who called it a deer to be either killed or arraigned.

     "The emperor thought that he was zi yi wei huo, ‘suffering from hallucinations.’ He became alarmed and consulted the grand diviner, who advised him, ‘Your Majesty has not been sincere enough when carrying out the suburban sacrifices in the ancestral temple during the spring and autumn. Therefore you have come to this. You must fast and purify yourself.’"

      From this comes the Proverb "Pointing to a deer and calling it a horse."

     When I read this story one thing which comes to mind is the idea of evolution. Evolution is presented as if it were an unquestioned fact in school text books from the second grade on, and yet evidence is not presented along with these dogmatic statements. Neither is an opposing viewpoint or explanation. Students are pressured to accept unsubstantiated statements without critical analysis and any who question what they are taught or who have a different opinion are subtlety punished , ridiculed, or discriminated against. This process of indoctrination and brainwashing is continued in the professional science, and teaching fields, and those who do not fall into line or quote the party dogma continue to be ridiculed and discriminated against. The people like "Zhao Gao"  are not interested in the truth, but only in their own power, independence, and advantage.

      In this case the "deer" is genetic variation. All living things on earth propagate themselves in a way so that the descendants vary in form and tolerances for the environment in which they can thrive, or merely survive. However they can change over a period of time within pre-programmed tolerances and the variations over a period of time are not linear, but have more of a spiral pattern so that a frog may have descendants different than itself but each one will always be a frog, no matter how far in time this passes, and not only that, but eventually down the line of descendants there will be more frogs like the original. There will never, for example, be the gene in this line for "feathers". When we examine fossils what we are looking at is a "phenotype", and there is no way to examine the DNA of fossils to see if, or what degree of, variation of the "genotype" is over a period of time.

      What is the "horse" that evolutionists claim to identify? A term that they use is "micro-evolution", and thus they imply that genetic variation is a vehicle of evolution which will lead from one form gradually into another form, entirely different. The problem with this fantasy is that it is also a lie. Though there are more than a hundred million fossils catalogued and studied in museums around the earth it is plainly evident that not only do they not support "micro-evolution" ,or evolution in any form, : they never will.

       There is another way in which evolution is like the above story.  In the field of science the basic premise beneath every study is  "Since evolution is true then…". If any scientist wants to seem credible he or she has to make gratis references to evolution to make whatever supposition they are advocating appealing for the approval of the "peer review" system, who also assume the same view. The only reason that they give is that to believe in anything otherwise would be to believe in the "supernatural" or "myths". It is evolution, though, which is a myth, and since it is not true, or a part of the natural system, then it is evolution which is supernatural.

Mai du huan zhu

        There is another proverb: "Mai du huan zhu" which means  "Purchasing the box and returning the pearls." The following is also from the book A THOUSAND PIECES of GOLD:

"A jeweler from the state of Chu went to another state to sell a strand of beautiful pearls.  He made a box for the pearls with fine-grained wood from the magnolia tree, treated it with sweet-smelling perfume made from osmanthus blossoms, mounted it with white jade, decorated it with rose-colored precious stones, and lined its borders with green jadeite.  The craftsmanship was so exquisite that a man bought the box and returned the pearls to the jeweler. It can be said that the buyer made a strange decision.  He was so much swayed by the beauty of the box that the never noticed the value of the pearls.  The proverb mai du huan zhu, "purchasing the box and returning the pearls, " describes a person who grasps the image but lets go of the substance."

          Evolution is presented in a fancy box: so much so that few people bother to look inside to see if it contains genuine "pearls of wisdom"; any real provable truth.  This facade of intellectualism appeals to pride and insecurity: the desire to fit in with the group which is in power and looked up to by others. No one really wants to be left out and looked down upon. Also this fancy "box" is certainly used by many as an attempt to justify a course of life which is alienated from God, or in opposition to him.

        I remember one person I was talking to and even when I quoted dictionaries and encyclopedias he wouldn’t accept anything they said because he claimed that they were written only for the "ignorant layman" and had not been "peer reviewed".  Basically then such a person as this accepts as a basis for thought or argument that which only supports their own view exclusively. This is very convenient since there is no proof or substantial evidence to prove their beliefs. It is just an empty box, and is only accepted as valuable because the only alternative is , to them, unpalatable. 

I have posted this message on some message boards and have gotten the comment "Actually the Chinese have no problem with evolution".  First of all no where in this message did I say that they do, and secondly, not all Chinese people believe in evolution; there are some who believe in a creator.

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