Stand up high, sit down flat, and walk wide. The author is Zuo Zongtang.

In the turbulent situation of the late Qing Dynasty, there was such a famous minister Zuo Zongtang. After experiencing ups and downs, he wrote this couplet: "Make high wishes, make middle fate, and enjoy The second half of the couplet is regarded as a wise saying by many people. It expresses the three realms of life in just twelve words.

Zuo Zongtang is known as an outstanding politician, military strategist and thinker in the late Qing Dynasty. He came from a scholarly family when he was young. Under the instruction and influence of his parents, he has been familiar with Confucius and Mencius since he was a child. , recite articles, and have a very strong interest in learning. But he not only studied hard, but also wanted to apply the principles in the book to the world and accumulate knowledge to realize his lofty ideals. Therefore, when he was a boy, he wrote, "I don't have half an acre, and I worry about the world; reading Breaking thousands of scrolls, God makes friends with the ancients. "Such heroic ambition is rare in the world.

In his middle age, Zuo Zongtang was already a world-famous minister. People at that time also called him "Zeng Zuo" together with Zeng Guofan. Since Zuo Zongtang has always been conceited, he was very dissatisfied with this title. One time, he deliberately asked the attendants on the left and right: "Why do others call him 'Zeng Zuo' and not 'Zuo Zeng'?" The attendant replied: "Because Mr. Zeng sees Mr. Zuo, but Mr. Zuo does not see Mr. Zeng." Zuo Zong After hearing this, Tang thought for a long time and realized his problem. It turns out that the problem of being conceited is already known to everyone.

From then on, he began to learn to put down his arrogance, work hard to get rid of his usual arrogance, and learn from others with a peaceful attitude. The criterion for measuring whether a person is great is not to see what great achievements the person has made, but to see whether the person can live peacefully under the aura of great achievements.