흥망성쇠
[heungmangseongsoe]
興亡盛衰
Etymology
興 (흥) [heung] – rise; get up亡 (망) [mang] – destroy; collapse
盛 (성) [seong] – prosper
衰 (쇠) [soe] – dec
Rise or fall starts from one small point. This does not only apply at the national level, at the individual level we will see the same thing. Ascents and descents always change our environment. It is the fall that we most fear, and what we really hope for is the rise.
Every person has a conscience. Even vaguely, each of us knows where to go and how we should behave. If a person is a patriot, conscience directs a person to live for the good of the country. A person may fight for what he considers good for the nation, but if the nation eventually falls, his own fall is inevitable, because he belongs to this nation.
Following the thread to the very beginning, we will see that the rise or fall is determined by love. Love is the fundamental point of rise or fall. Suppose there is a country. All the people of this country love each other on a horizontal level, and all the people love their president, who loves his people, young people love adults, adults love young people. A wonderful harmony will be established in this country, and the country itself will only rise and never fall.
And if there is any other nation planning to attack this country, its people will rally in response like a pool with tremendous speed. Nobody can defeat them. For the people of this country, anyone who wishes to encroach on it will become their eternal enemy. The same applies on a personal level. If someone attacks the person you love, he becomes your eternal enemy.
Was there ever such a person, such a family, and moreover, a country whose people would love each other in this way, rallying into a single whole? Such a country can unite the whole world. Can any other nation plot to take over this country?
The more people you love, the wider the horizons of your life. This will mean that you loved your family, your nation and the whole world. This is the hope of humanity.