Rational streets, irrational rivers, what does this sentence mean?

In the long-term work of the ancient Chinese people, although many people were illiterate, they still summarized many proverbs full of wisdom based on the principles in daily life. And this sentence "reasonable streets, irrational rivers" is one of them. What this sentence says is that on the street, you have to pay attention to the rules, but on the river, you don’t have to.

The "reason" here can refer to principles or etiquette. The principles and etiquette are derived from rules and norms. If it is unethical and unreasonable, it is unruly. This sentence mainly tells us that when in public, we must pay attention to our image, abide by the rules, and comply with etiquette. For example, it is not okay to go without clothes on the street, but if you are in the river, no one will say you are wrong no matter what.

In fact, compared to some famous quotes, this sentence is still a bit too rough. However, the words are rough but not rough. The main purpose is to persuade us to be civilized, abide by the rules and be courteous to others. From here we can see that we Chinese people attach great importance to etiquette and rules. Even if they are illiterate, ordinary people still pay attention to rules.

However, there are many people now who ignore the rules. Let’s not talk about the big ones. Let’s talk about running a red light. Everyone knows that running a red light is bad, but many people like to fight for those tens of seconds with their lives. Car accidents cause a lot of economic losses and human lives every year, many of which are avoidable, but some people do not follow the rules, resulting in pain for their families.

We all say that ancient times were backward and underdeveloped, but in terms of ideology and morality, except for some war-torn times, ordinary people were even more disciplined than modern people. So now many people are lamenting, in terms of ideology and morality, have we regressed or made progress? In the past, I could sleep with the door closed, but now I am afraid of sleeping with the windows closed. This has to make people think deeply.