First — if you’ve been under immense pressure lately and feeling anxious inside, it means you haven’t spent a single moment of energy on “reading which way the wind is blowing.” In our world, this is a cardinal mistake in how one conducts their life.
There’s a saying that rings true: in this life, you have to learn to read the sky before you eat. If you can’t even read the sky, then all I can say is — good luck to you.
Everyone must learn the art of health cultivation (养生).
The most concise and effective approach is simple: eat light, sleep more — and make it a habit.
Over time, you’ll find your condition improving day by day — your Chi and blood growing stronger, your blessings flowing more freely.
One particularly bad habit I see in many young adults today: an obsession with supplementing the body at an early age.
One day, when you’ve reached the social standing I occupy, you’ll understand one thing clearly.
The core of Chinese society has always been: “everything depends on the noble person’s ceaseless self-improvement.” This holds true at every level of society — no exceptions.
No matter how favorable your background, birth, talent, fortune, or destiny chart (命盘), you still need to maintain a relentlessly positive spirit. Only then will you be capable of actually receiving everything those advantages have to offer.
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.
Student Question
Master Chi, hello. I’m a woman in my 30s who built everything through my own effort. I caught the right wave at the right time, and with all my mortgages fully paid off, I still have eight-figure savings in the bank.
I come from an urban middle-class family. My parents will also leave me a considerable amount of money and assets. Combined with what I’ve earned myself, the total is quite substantial. Even on my own, I could live very comfortably here in China.
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?
End of the month — taking a short rest, so no lengthy essays today.
Half a year has passed once again, so let me jot down a few concise thoughts. Some points remain unchanged at their core; others have been lightly updated:
1 - A reminder once more: throughout all of 2023 and into early 2024, this is not the time to charge ahead aggressively in your career. Don’t agonize over the future. If you’re not losing ground and you’re holding your footing steady — that alone is something to be grateful for.
Yes, make no mistake.
I have already seen it — an unprecedented downpour is about to fall from the heavens.
In the language of a weather forecast: we are about to receive an exceptionally large total rainfall, prolonged and sustained.
This rain will be extremely favorable for cultivating land, growing crops, and restoring the natural environment.
And yet, despite all this, the same human absurdities will play out right before your eyes as always.