The Dual Illusions of Imperial Politics

帝國政治的雙重幻象

Archer Hong Qian

2025年9月 · 波士頓Citizen M Hotle

前言 Preface

帝國政治的核心，在於對權力“永恆化”的執念。這種執念表現為兩種幻象：

The core of imperial politics lies in its obsession with the “eternalization” of power.This obsession manifests in two illusions:

生命幻象 —— 統治者希望以個人長生來延續權力；

儀式幻象 —— 帝國以閱兵等盛典來展示權力的永恆。

The Illusion of Immortality — rulers hope to extend power through personal longevity;

The Illusion of Ritual — the empire uses parades and grand ceremonies to display the eternity of power.

本文合輯呈現兩篇短論：

This collection presents two short essays:

《帝國政治的生命幻像》

《帝國政治的儀式幻像》

The Illusion of Immortality in Imperial Politics

The Illusion of Ritual in Imperial Politics

它們共同揭示了：無論是追求“萬壽無疆”，還是沉迷於“盛大儀式”，帝國政治都不過是幻象的循環。真正的出路，只能來自交互主體共生哲學所倡導的生命自組織與文明再平衡。

Together, they reveal that whether in the pursuit of “eternal life” or in the indulgence of “grand ceremonies,” imperial politics remains nothing more than a cycle of illusions. The true way out can only come from the life self-organization and civilizational rebalancing advocated by the philosophy of Intersubjective Symbiosism.

一、帝國政治的生命幻象

From Legend to Science Fiction — The Illusion of Immortality in Imperial Politics

從秦始皇到毛澤東，再到普京，帝國政治始終執念於一個幻象：權力必須伴隨個人生命而永生。

From Qin Shihuang to Mao Zedong, and now to Vladimir Putin, imperial politics has always been obsessed with one illusion: power must achieve immortality through the ruler’s personal life.

秦始皇派遣徐福東渡，求取“長生不死藥”；

Qin Shihuang sent Xu Fu across the seas in search of the “elixir of immortality.”

毛主席“萬壽無疆”口號，政治儀式化地祈願個人永生；

Mao Zedong’s slogan of “Ten Thousand Years of Longevity” ritualized the wish for eternal life.

當下關於普京的傳聞，則是依靠器官移植、基因延壽，甚至“活到150歲”的一尊神話。

Today, rumors about Putin tell of organ transplants, genetic enhancement, and even a myth of “living to 150 years” as the eternal sovereign.

這些不同歷史階段的“長生術”，從方士煉丹到現代科技，形式雖變，本質卻未變：都是將個人壽命與帝國權力綁定，以統治延續來抵抗歷史的有限性。

Though the forms differ—from alchemists’ potions to modern science—the essence remains unchanged: binding personal lifespan with imperial power, and resisting the limits of history through the illusion of rule without end.

然而，個體的生命終究有限；所謂“永生”，不過是幻象。帝國權力的延壽，往往伴隨着對群體生命的犧牲：徭役橫征、資源掠奪、福利壓抑。

Yet individual life is finite, and “immortality” is nothing more than an illusion. The extension of imperial rule usually comes at the cost of collective life: forced labor, resource extraction, and the suppression of public welfare.

從共生哲學視角看，真正的生命延續，不在於某個“一尊”的壽命能否無限延長，而在於你、我、他的交互生成與共生秩序的延續。家庭、社區、文明的自組織與再平衡，才是人類文明真正的“萬壽無疆”。

From the perspective of Symbiosis Philosophy, true continuity of life lies not in whether one supreme ruler can extend his lifespan indefinitely, but in the intersubjective generation and renewal of “you, me, and others” within a symbiotic order. The self-organization and rebalancing of families, communities, and civilizations constitute the true “longevity without end” of humankind.

📎 原文鏈接：萬維讀者網 525126

二、帝國政治的儀式幻像

Grand Parade Highlights the Illusion of Imperial Politics

閱兵，不僅是軍事展示，更是特權共同體的權力操作。
在帝國政治邏輯中，閱兵的華麗場面掩蓋的是內部的權力分配與外部的擴張欲望。

A military parade is not only a display of force but also a manipulation of privileges. Within the logic of imperial politics, its grandeur conceals the internal distribution of power and the ambition for external expansion.

帝國政治的基本特徵，是用“公”的名義行“私”的實利：

The essence of imperial politics is to act in the name of the “public” but pursue private gains:

經濟上全民所有，實則全民所無；

政治上權力私有化，實行官階大一統；

文化上公私混淆，以“天下為公”之名結黨營私；

組織上黑箱操作，派系輪流坐莊。

In the economy: “owned by all, owned by none.”

In politics: privatization of power, unified hierarchy.

In culture: blurring public and private, using “the world belongs to all” as cover for factional interests.

In organization: factional rotation under black-box operations.

閱兵的光鮮，無法掩蓋特權共同體的裸像。所謂“帝國”，只是家國一體的幻象，與現代“主權在民”的共和國毫無關係。

The parade’s glamour cannot conceal the naked image of the privileged community. The so-called “empire” is merely a family-state illusion, unrelated to a modern republic where sovereignty rests with the people.

出路，不在於更好地分配特權，而在於讓這種遊戲本身不再可能。唯有“我們人民”自組織起來，依託生命共生秩序，才能讓帝國政治的企圖徹底失效。
The solution does not lie in redistributing privileges, but in rendering such a game impossible. Only when We the People self-organize around a symbiotic order of life can the ambitions of imperial politics become null and void.

📎 原文鏈接：萬維讀者網 525088

結語 Conclusion

無論是對“生命不死”的執念，還是對“權力永恆”的迷戀，帝國政治都不過是幻象。
它所延長的，是個人的妄念；它所犧牲的，卻是群體的真實生命。

Whether it is the obsession with “immortal life” or the fascination with “eternal power,” imperial politics is nothing more than illusion. What it extends is the delusion of one, what it sacrifices is the life of many.

真正的“萬壽無疆”，不是某個“一尊”的延壽，而是你、我、他在共生秩序中的相互成全。
True “longevity without end” is not the lifespan of one sovereign, but the mutual fulfillment of you, me, and others within a symbiotic order.