Zeng Guofan's famous sayings about reading

1. Sitting quietly and doing your own thing, reading is to build virtue.

2. Belief in fortune telling and feng shui are all caused by delusions. Those who read and are sensible will not believe in the righteousness of their lives.

3. The word "wrath" is also found in sages and sages, who can endure it for even a moment without harming their lives.

4. The mind can be calm, and nothing will happen despite all the changes. If there is no tranquility, Yan will live in leisure, longing and peaceful. Be still in your heart, not in your surroundings.

5. Therefore, if we work hard to eliminate arrogance, guard against complacency, and avoid being laughed at by others, we will make progress.

6. When you are old, you will know that your temperament is contradictory, and your thinking is just a rough reading.

7. If you eat a vegetarian diet, your breath will not be turbid; if you sleep alone, your spirit will not be turbid; if you sit silently, your heart will not be turbid; if you read, your mouth will not be turbid.

8. If you don’t think deeply, you can’t create the Tao. What is gained without deep thought will be easily lost.

9. The way of heaven prohibits cleverness, be modest and retreat without fighting, and do not ask for tricks.

10. Those in high positions take it as their job to know people and things.

11. I will be left alone for a long time. I will study again after returning from a hundred battles.