Zeng Guofan's 16-character famous saying about life: Think big, start small; live in groups and keep your mouth shut, live alone and keep your heart

It means: To achieve great things in ancient and modern times, strategy and tactics are indispensable. For big things, we must start small, so as to avoid empty talk and high ambitions. When getting along with others, you should always pay attention to your words and deeds. This is a reflection of a person's self-cultivation. A person must be strict with himself when he is alone. This is the highest state of Confucian self-cultivation. The ability of ordinary people to guard and nourish their hearts is comparable to that of sages.

Extended information:

Virtue occupies an extremely important position in his thoughts, and the reason why virtue can be ranked in front of other advantages is due to its essence. Virtue is not a fixed form, but is manifested through people's actions, behaviors, etc. At the same time, it is also very difficult to establish virtue.

He discovered this, so he began to learn to establish virtues from an early age, and always insisted on it, even if it was not understood by everyone, he did not give up even in the smallest aspects, and always established Follow your own virtue. At the same time, he also educated his children to learn these aspects. Before he became a later minister, he wrote to his family to ask them to establish virtue.