This article was originally written by Baijiahao's Thinking about History!

Hello, I'm "Taojun". Welcome to learn more about the wisdom of Chinese studies and historical knowledge. If you want to watch this column continuously, please click on the blue word "attention" above. What I'm sharing with you today is-familiarize yourself with these three couplets of Zuo Zongtang and understand the three stages of life. The sooner you know, the better!

Zuo Zongtang, one of the four famous ministers of ZTE in the late Qing Dynasty, made major historical contributions: suppressing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, establishing westernization, pacifying Shaanxi and Gansu, recovering Xinjiang, and building northwest China. Zuo Zongtang's life was full of ups and downs, and he was very inspirational in general: he won the first place in the boy's exam at the age of 14 and got the provincial entrance examination at the age of 2, but he failed in the exam many times, and then he became a college teacher for more than ten years. It was not until the Taiping Movement broke out that he officially entered the official career with the recommendation of Lin Zexu and Hu Linyi, and at this time he was 4 years old.

Zuo Zongtang made his fortune by quelling the Taiping Movement, and he was good at fighting wars. He was good at leading troops to fight Zhang, and made great achievements in the war. He was the governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, the governor of the two rivers, the official to the university of Dongge, the minister of military aircraft, and the second-class marquis. In fact, Zuo Zongtang's success has both accidental and inevitable factors, because he read widely during the low period of his life, devoted himself to studying the classics and assiduously studying the art of war. These efforts and efforts are all preparing for the later "accumulation of money and thin hair"!

Zeng Guofan knows people and Zuo Zongtang knows how to fight. Zeng Guofan likes to write letters from home, while Zuo Zongtang likes to write couplets. If we can read these three couplets by Zuo Zongtang, we can understand the three stages of life, so the sooner we know, the better! At the same time, Zuo Zongtang also explained his life with these three couplets, which also correspond to three realms of life! Let's take a look together!

1. I'm broke and worried about the world. Handwritten ten thousand volumes, God made friends with the ancients. -Zuo Zongtang

Interpretation: For a person with lofty aspirations, although he is penniless, it does not prevent him from paying attention to the national economy and people's livelihood. For a person who is still angry and has read thousands of books in a difficult situation, the ancients in the book are his confidants and friends.

This couplet was written by Zuo Zongtang when he won the first place in the boy's test at the age of 14, which shows that he is ambitious and young. At the same time, he also used this sentence to motivate himself. This pair of couplets just corresponds to the stage of life's determination to study hard. There is no end to learning from the sea, and only by laying a solid foundation can we go further! In the words of Mr. Wang Guowei, a master of Chinese studies, it is "last night, the west wind withered the green trees, climbed the tall building alone and looked at the end of the world", that is, the first realm of life-"Li" (determination and virtue).

This is just like our present study stage from elementary school to university. We need to read thousands of books, make friends with the ancients and learn more from their wisdom, but we can't "concentrate on reading sage books and ignore things outside the window", but we should "care about everything"! Zuo Zongtang's dormant reserve period at this stage is very long. He started studying at the age of 4 until he met Bole's recommendation to be an official at the age of 4, ***36 years, but it was this solid foundation that made him brilliant in the future!

2. It is true that you can be grinded by heaven, but you are mediocre if you don't attract people's envy. -Zuo Zongtang

Interpretation: A truly indomitable man can endure all kinds of hardships from heaven, and those who are not jealous are truly mediocre!

When Zuo Zongtang said this, it was at the time when his career was successful and his reputation was at its peak. Because his achievements were getting bigger and bigger, he also attracted all kinds of frame-ups and jealousy from his colleagues, so he also felt it. Although he was jealous and persecuted, Zuo Zongtang was not discouraged at all. Instead, he took pleasure in suffering, had a good attitude and expressed his persistent optimism.

in the words of Mr. Wang Guowei, a master of Chinese studies, it is "the clothes are getting wider and wider, but people will not regret it, and people will be haggard for Iraq", that is, the second realm of life-"keeping one's job and keeping one's name". When a person reaches middle age and has a successful career, it will inevitably lead to envy of others. Therefore, we should actively adjust our mentality, encourage ourselves with Zuo Zongtang's phrase, "He who can be ground by heaven is a true Han, and he who does not make others jealous is a mediocre man." Don't give up, don't give up, make persistent efforts, and crush all doubts of others with his own strength and virtue.

3. Make a first-class wish, make a middle-class marriage, and enjoy a second-class blessing. If you choose to stand high, sit flat and walk wide. -Zuo Zongtang

Interpretation: People should be broad-minded, seek only moderate fate and live an ordinary life. Look at the problem with great foresight, be a low-key person, and leave room for things.

This couplet is Zuo Zongtang's most classic famous saying, even learned from successful entrepreneurs like Li Ka-shing, and hung on his office wall. This pair of couplets was written by Zuo Zongtang in Meiyuan, Wuxi, Jiangsu Province in his later years. At the same time, it also showed his calm and peaceful mentality at that time, and it was also the precipitation after he gave up his competitive spirit in his prime of life, which belonged to the great enlightenment of life.

Zuo Zongtang was ambitious when he was young, but later he found that there was a gap between his dream and reality, which inevitably backfired, so he still only sought a medium fate; As for the enjoyment of life, Zuo Zongtang thinks: it's not that luxurious food is good, but that ordinary people's lives are the happiest, and plain life is true!

Zuo Zongtang's young ambition is far-sighted and arrogant. After becoming an official, he not only likes to be a high-profile person, but also likes to fight with others, so he has offended many colleagues. Therefore, in his later years, he realized the truth of "sit flat and be lenient", and finally understood that being a low-key person and leaving more room for things should be regarded as his repentance for the mistakes he made when he was young!

in the words of Mr. Wang Guowei, a master of Chinese studies, "many people look for him." When I suddenly look back, that person is there, and the lights are dim ",that is, the third realm of life-"getting "(getting the Tao and getting enlightenment). The sooner we young people understand Zuo Zongtang's couplets, the better. We can avoid many detours, and then have great ambitions, seeking only moderate fate and living an ordinary life. Look at the problem from a far-sighted perspective, be a low-key person, and leave room for things.

These are the three classic couplets of Zuo Zongtang, which explain his life and correspond to three realms of life-standing, defending and winning. If we can familiarize ourselves with these three couplets of Zuo Zongtang, we can understand what to do in the three stages of life-youth, middle age and old age, and what kind of mentality we should have to behave, so the sooner we know, the better.