Speaking to the present moment — I think marrying a little later is perfectly fine. People today are more self-focused. By a certain age, you become more mature and tolerant. Your financial situation is likely stronger too.
I also believe that parents who leave no material foundation for their children — those who default to “children will find their own way” — are fundamentally irresponsible.
Unless you’re born into wealth or political privilege, building your material foundation requires time and real effort.
It must have been about three years ago. A good friend invited me into a group chat. The people in it were no slouches — at minimum, leadership at foreign companies or Fortune 500 firms.
I almost never spoke in that group. I treated it purely as a little window into the yuppie lifestyle. After all, my own core circle is made up of older-generation capital and establishment figures — heavyweight people, but they rarely talk about巨富民, Pure Fitness, Brompton, Acne Studios, or any of those refined white-collar topics. So having this little window into current trends? Not a bad thing.
Student Question: Master Chi, this year many regions have seen a wave of early mortgage repayments. The current first-home interest rate at commercial banks for new properties is between 3.7% and 3.9%, whereas the average rate on older home loans was around 5.8%. Will lowering existing mortgage rates help stimulate the new home market?
Master Chi’s Response: Of course it will. If you currently have an outstanding loan and the bank brings the rate down further, naturally your total interest burden is reduced.
Still away from home — a few casual late-night thoughts, this one runs long. I’ll write more tomorrow.
For ordinary people like you and me, the greatest pitfall is going too deep into 执念 (obsession — being trapped by a fixed desire or attachment).
What I mean is: don’t let life’s current setbacks send you spiraling — desires churning, emotions collapsing.
Your heart will only grow heavier, until you find yourself living under a quiet cloud of misery.
Someone wants to dig for gold. You tell them there’s nothing but sand over there — there’s nothing to find.
They hate you for it. They come and curse you out. Why should they listen to your advice?
They only love the people who cheer them on, who tell them to keep digging. The ones who sell them shovels. Those people get thanked.
Without dreams, people do live more miserably. And so people love those who support them in chasing their dreams. They have no love for the ones who speak too many hard truths.
Student Question:
Master Chi, in recent years, many people around me have experienced significant turbulence in their lives. Expectations we once took for granted have been suddenly shattered. We are all eager to understand — in the current environment, how does one find development opportunities suited to their own situation? This includes the challenges and opportunities facing both the nation and individuals within the current major cycle. What are your thoughts on this?
Student Question:
Hello Master, I’d like to ask about investing. I worked at a bank in Beijing for several years but made no real progress in my career, so I eventually resigned. My parents gave me a sum of money, and I decided to use it to invest and make it grow.
Because I desperately wanted to succeed, I cast a wide net looking for projects. At first I felt like there were plenty of money-making opportunities out there — what I lacked wasn’t projects, but the right people. So whenever I met someone who seemed capable and had a project, I’d invest in that person.
【Student Question】 Hello, Master. In the current mainstream views and analyses of the property market, many reasons are cited for why the state needs to intervene to maintain housing prices:
Real estate is the mother of all industries. When the property market rises, the economy does well. Rescuing real estate is not about rescuing developers — it is about rescuing debt, rescuing the currency, rescuing domestic demand, and ultimately protecting employment. It is also said that 75% of Chinese residents’ assets are tied up in real estate, while Americans allocate only 28% of their wealth to housing. So if property prices crash sharply, many people will end up deeply in the red. In your view, when it comes to risks in China’s current property market — which single point deserves the most attention?
(Published 2023-06-25)
Yesterday’s first post was deleted. The second went through — and now it’s stuck in review again. Yesterday’s read was correct: Kadyrov was the real latent threat; Wagner never had the actual foundation for a genuine rebellion. Both Russia and Ukraine face the problem of warlordism, but Ukraine’s situation is far more severe. Russia still has the capacity to rein in its regional powers. Ukraine has completely lost control over its internal factions — and each of those factions has its own outside patron.
Today Shanghai hasn’t stopped raining, and I’ve had my hands full with countless matters — writing a long piece simply wasn’t in the cards.
That’s fine, actually. It’s the perfect occasion to share a few small insights.
Especially these past two years, everyone has their own difficult chapter to get through. Knowing how to shake off the “dirty things” — the negative energies that cling to us — has never been more important. Only when you’ve freed yourself from them can your days flow with real auspiciousness and ease.