There has always been a saying that throughout the past five thousand years, China has "two and a half" saints. Confucius is one of the most saintly teachers, and the second is Wang Yangming, a great Confucian who was famous in the late Qing Dynasty. The minister Zeng Guofan was half.

As a person who has studied Confucius’ articles since elementary school, I know the most about the sage Confucius. After reading "Those Things in the Ming Dynasty", I became interested in Wang Yangming, the master of spiritual studies. Then I read "Zhuanxilu" and "Unity of Knowledge and Action Wang Yangming" and gained some understanding. As for my understanding of the "half" saint Zeng Guofan , just a few words about "suppressing the rebellion of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom", "Westernization Movement" and "famous officials of the late Qing Dynasty" in the history text. Also, when I was wandering Zhihu a few years ago, I occasionally saw posts commenting on Zeng Guofan. It seemed that criticizing Zeng Guofan was Zhihu’s “political correctness”.

I read Zhang Hongjie's "The Biography of Zeng Guofan" in one sitting on the weekend with curiosity. I really like Zhang Hongjie's narrative style, which smoothly and delicately depicts the real life of Zeng Guofan. I also have some insights after reading it.

Let’s first talk about the wisdom in the book about Zeng Guofan who went from being an unknown countryman with no family background to becoming a famous official in the late Qing Dynasty.

Zeng Guofan passed the imperial examination through 7 times and was admitted to the Hanlin Academy. Zeng Guofan's philosophy of life of "Shang Zhuo" cultivated in him a spirit of diligence, hardship and down-to-earth that are beyond ordinary people. Whether it was the fellow countrymen who made fun of him at that time or the many people who have successfully studied books today to prove how stupid he is (how can a person who won the Jinshi at the age of 27 be stupid), as ordinary people without super high IQ, the right way is to work hard and work hard. As Teacher Liu Run said: "Every day you put in as much effort as ordinary people."

The "stupid effort" here should be based on the diligence and perseverance of daily accumulation, and the pursuit of solidity and thoroughness, one step at a time.

First of all, self-examination, self-examination refers to self-evaluation, self-reflection, self-criticism, self-regulation and self-education. The first thing a person needs to do is to understand himself.

There are three important introspections about Zeng Guofan in the book that impressed me deeply.

1. Zeng Guofan failed the scholar test 6 times. When he took the scholar test for the last time, he was even criticized with a "suspended card". After a year of reflection and summary at home, he figured out the ideas for the exam and successfully entered the Hanlin Academy. .

2. After arriving at the Hanlin Academy, he discovered the gap between himself and others. Therefore, at the age of thirty, he determined to be a saint. Learners learn to self-manage.

3. He was abandoned by the emperor at the age of 47 and lived in seclusion in his hometown for two years, reflecting on himself and finally regretting it. After re-emerging from the mountain, his conduct as a person was completely transformed. Not only did he eliminate his political enemies, but he also defeated his old military enemy, the Tianping Heavenly Kingdom, and attained the throne.

Later, self-discipline, self-examination came to self-regulation and self-education

Zeng Guofan determined to be a saint when he was thirty years old. As a great Confucian scholar learning self-management, he began to develop the habit of writing a diary every day. By writing a diary, he reflected on every detail in his life and every thought in his brain to change and improve himself. In his diary, he also set rules and standards for himself:

1. Respect. Neat and serious, never careless. When there is nothing to do, the mind is in the cavity, and when there is something to do, it is focused and undivided. Qingming is bowing, like the sun rising.

2. Sit quietly. No matter the time of day, sit quietly for four moments every day and experience the benevolence of recovery. In the right position, life is concentrated, like the town of a tripod.

3. Get up early. Get up at dawn, don't fall in love after waking up.

4. Read well. If you haven't finished one book, don't read other books. Reading here and there, you are just trying to be a foreigner.

5. Read history.

6. Be careful. Pay attention at all times, the first time.

7. Nourish Qi. Qi is stored in Dantian, and there is nothing that cannot be said to others.

8. Protect yourself.

9. The sun will tell you what is going to happen. Read and record your insights every day. Seeking deep meaning is showing favoritism.

10. Never forget what you can do. Write several poems every month to test the amount of accumulated principles and whether the Qi is nourished. Don't dwell on it blindly, as it is the easiest way to become discouraged.

11. Writing.

12. Don’t go out at night.

In the end, perseverance

Zeng Guofan formulated corresponding military regulations around his core competitiveness, and strictly implemented them, day after day, year after year, through the passage of time. Through accumulation, he became a Confucian Neo-Confucian master.

Honesty is one of the core concepts of Confucianism. Zeng Guofan called himself sincere throughout his life, which is mainly reflected in his starting point, sincerity to himself and sincerity to others.

Sincere starting point: Zeng Guofan believed in "cultivating oneself, harmonizing one's family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world." At the age of 42, he organized regiment training and founded the Hunan Army, not for meritorious service and seeking an official position, but for the Qing Dynasty not to be divided and achieve success. He immediately retreated and quickly disbanded the Hunan Army, dispelling the emperor's concerns. Whether in the war against the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom or in the subsequent implementation of the Westernization Movement, Zeng Guofan always maintained his original intention of "serving the country and the people"

Be sincere to yourself: you consider yourself stupid, never proud, and especially able to face up to your shortcomings. This is reflected in the fact that Zeng Guofan wrote down all kinds of bad habits in his diary and warned himself not to do the same next time. At the same time, he also showed the diary to his relatives and friends to supervise each other and improve their self-cultivation.

Be sincere to others: Zeng Guofan said, "The way to control a general is to value the most, not to use power." Zeng Guofan tried his best to share the three major interests of money, power and fame with his subordinates. He even advocated treating "foreigners" with sincerity in diplomacy, which was unimaginable under the social background at that time.

Selecting and appointing talents is a magic weapon for Zeng Guofan's career success.

Zeng Guofan was in power for forty years and had more than 400 staff members, most of whom were trained and recommended by him as senior officials in the court, army or local areas.

Zuo Zongtang, Li Hongzhang, Peng Yulin and many other famous ministers are the best among his many staff.

In terms of leading the team, he values ??talents and knows how to appoint people well.

1. "Half Saint" and "Zeng Shaved"

I also briefly learned about the controversy over Zeng Guofan's evaluation. Some people regard him as a saint, while others sneer at him.

My personal opinion is that although Zeng Guofan has certain historical crimes in terms of historical characterization, his historical status should be classified as a figure who promoted modern progress and was a patriotic figure. To view and understand a historical figure, one must look at it in the context of a specific historical era, and cannot use the values ????of the people of the world.

For individuals, it would be better to learn from Zeng Guofan.

2. When I first met Wang Yangming before I was 20 years old, I felt that he was free and easy, as a saint should be. When I was young, I liked these kind of characters. Now that I have read briefly about Zeng Guofan, I understand a little bit about the sentence "Zeng Guofan is a model for mediocrity and a comfort for middle-aged people."

Zeng Guofan’s starting point in life was similar to that of ordinary people in his 90s: he had no amazing talents or a prominent life experience. He was a man who experienced many failures, and his ending could not be said to be satisfactory or high-spirited. Zeng Guofan pointed out a clear path for us ordinary people. He personally used "persistence, tenacity, restraint, and perseverance" to tell you how mediocre people can achieve their ideals.

This is my first brief reading, and I hope to read it again in the future. Maybe I will have different insights at different ages and different situations.