Eight classic sayings of Gu Yanwu are as follows:

1. Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world. ——Gu Yanwu

2. People are learning. If they don’t make progress every day, they will retreat. ——Gu Yanwu

3. Don’t worry about the sunset on a long journey. When you are old, you will always look forward to the clear river. ——Gu Yanwu

4. If you are not honest, you will take everything; if you are not shameful, you will do everything. ——Gu Yanwu

5. Wealth and honor in life are fleeting, but the only thing left is fame and longevity. ——Gu Yanwu

6. In order to learn, one should neither be small nor arrogant. ——Gu Yanwu

7. Give the power of the world to the people of the world. ——Gu Yanwu

8. Canglong still rains at dusk, and the old trees bloom more in spring. ——Gu Yanwu

Gu Yanwu (1613-1682), a thinker and scholar in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, was a native of Kunshan, South Zhili. His first name was Jishen, Jiang, with the courtesy name Zhongqing, and later his name was changed to Yanwu, with the courtesy name Ningren. To avoid being framed, he once changed his name to Jiang Shanmaid. Living in Tinglin Town, scholars respectfully call him Mr. Tinglin. Together with Huang Zongxi and Wang Fuzhi, they are collectively known as the "Third Masters of the Early Qing Dynasty", and together with Tang Zhen, they are known as the "Four Great Enlightenment Thinkers" in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties.

He was a student in the late Ming Dynasty. When he was young, he joined Fushe, read the Di newspaper, and paid attention to the affairs of the world. At the age of twenty-seven, he was deposed in the autumn examination and retired to study. He read various county and county chronicles and memorials and documents, and studied practical social issues such as territory, situation, water conservancy, military defense, property, and taxation. Gu Yanwu's academic theory advocated "being knowledgeable in literature" and "having shame in doing one's own thing".

Academic Thought

Gu Yanwu is known as the "founding Confucian master" and the "founder of Qing Dynasty". He is a famous Confucian scholar, historian and geologist, and phonologist. He is very knowledgeable and has profound attainments in classics, history, phonology, primary school, epigraphy, archaeology, local chronicles and geography, as well as poetry and prose. He has made great achievements in inheriting the past and linking the future, and has become an outstanding master who pioneered a generation of academics.

Gu Yanwu’s clear purpose of studying the world, his simple and inductive textual research method, his exploratory spirit of creating new paths, and his achievements in many academic fields put an end to the sparse academic style in the late Ming Dynasty and opened up a It paved the way for a generation of simple academic style and had a very beneficial influence on scholars in the Qing Dynasty.