But all Zeng Guofan's fans like to quote this sentence very much. Liang Qichao is a typical "Zeng Fan". In his letter to his son, he once said this sentence: "In my life, I have been most impressed by Ceng Wenzheng's two words:' Mo Wen gains, but asks about cultivation.' What will you achieve in the future? What do you miss about him now? What is he worried about? On the one hand, we should not be conceited and slow down, on the other hand, we should not be timid and self-satisfied. We should do our best to achieve where we are, so that we can be fearless and not complacent, and we will always make much contribution to society. I've learned a lot in my life, and I hope you can all apply my spirit. "Mr. Liang Shuming also educated his son:" In short, you are sincere in serving the public and can be seen everywhere, that is, it is suitable for doing things. But what to do is still unknown. Once you have a definite idea, of course, you should start with this knowledge first, and your heirs should do, study, learn and do it, and work hard all your life. As for achievement, it seems that it can't be managed, that is, whether there is achievement or not, it can be ignored. As the old saying goes,' But ask about cultivation, don't ask about harvest.' Yes, too. " Mr. Wen Yiduo also quoted "Mo Wen reaped, but asked about cultivation" as the last sentence of the preface in his poetry collection "Red Candle", which not only inspired himself, but also inspired the world. It can be seen that this sentence has a very deep influence on future generations, and many heroes regard this sentence as a code of conduct.
Zeng Guofan said, "If you are not a sage, you are an animal; Mo Wen reaps, but asks for hard work "as the motto, in fact, it reminds himself to know that" you can't do what you can't do, but ask for yourself ". Zeng Guofan once said in his family letter: "If you are ambitious, you will do something wrong and ask for yourself." Indeed, life needs an open-minded attitude. If everything is about fame and fortune, and everything is about "if you have cultivated, you will ask for harvest", then such a life will be unable to extricate itself from the whirlpool of fame and fortune, and you will not really make a difference!
Therefore, Zeng Guofan warned his younger brothers: "We should be open-minded in learning, and those who have seen beautiful materials among our friends often rely on their talents to be arrogant and call others inferior to themselves. See the township ink, then scold the township ink impassability; If you see ink, you will scold it. Scold both the housing officer and the examiner; Those who enroll in Zhu will scold the college. In all fairness, there is nothing better than poetry; There is nothing special about winning people, but also something unbearable to people. Just because you refuse to ask for yourself, you will see that others are not. Scold not only the examiner, but also the one who got the first place in the same exam. Pride is long, but it never makes progress, so I have been down and out all my life without making progress. " In Zeng Guofan's eyes, it is useless to complain about others without gaining anything. Only by constantly paying can you make progress.
In many cases, harvesting is just like the growth of trees, but with long-term accumulation, small trees can grow into towering trees. No pains, no gains, that's the truth. Therefore, Mencius said, "cultivate its heavenly Jue, and the Jue follows it."
Luo rirong, Ningxia Daily