Zeng Guofan was a mediocre man who was a late bloomer. As the saying goes, "You should learn from Hu Xueyan in business and Zeng Guofan in politics". Zeng Guofan's promotion speed was extremely fast. At the age of thirty-seven, he was promoted to the second grade, and his achievements were outstanding. He led the movement to pacify the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom and vigorously advocated the establishment of the Westernization Movement. He was the forerunner of China's modernization construction, and he was the most stable official protector. He was still honored in his old age. He was one of the four famous ministers in the late Qing Dynasty. He is also very successful in dealing with people and family education. From the Letter from Zeng Guofan, we can see that he is self-disciplined, pays attention to education and has a good character of off the charts.
Zeng Guofan is also a model of "success". Many young and middle-aged people in later generations regard Zeng Guofan as a model of their life pursuit and actively copy Zeng Guofan's success.
However, Zeng Guofan is also a very real person. His first half of his life was no different from that of ordinary people, and he also had many shortcomings, troubles and frustrations. Zeng Guofan's life is not smooth. Although he has made many achievements, what people see and interpret is a kind of persistence of being a late bloomer: a person with ordinary background and mediocre qualifications finally succeeded through his own continuous efforts the day after tomorrow.
Zeng Guofan was a scholar after taking seven exams, and he was admitted to the imperial examination after taking three exams. The road to the imperial examination was very difficult. His starting point in life and his experience in the imperial examination are a true portrayal of the grassroots of all sentient beings. Although the reality is cruel and skinny, he never gave up, and finally entered the Jinshi at the age of 27.
Like Zeng Guofan, young and middle-aged people today only realized their mediocrity and powerlessness in their thirties and forties. There have always been few outstanding people in this world, and most of them are busy all day and don't know what to do. If you compare life to a marathon, what Zeng Guofan taught you is not how to win the first place, but how to insist on running the whole course. Yes, life depends on a word "Ting". How can what's going on in the world be satisfactory? Since ancient times, those who have achieved great things have been half lucky chance's co-financing and half reluctantly accommodating. -Zeng Guofan's "Ting Jing" There are so many talented people in the world and so many opportunities in the world. How can everyone get what they want?
Since ancient times, half of the people who have been able to achieve something are gifted or have good opportunities, and the other half are those who reluctantly accept death. Zeng Guofan obviously belongs to the latter.
At the beginning of this article, it is said that Zeng Guofan was a mediocrity in the first half of his life. The mediocrity here refers to the mediocrity of his talent, not his acquired efforts.
Zeng Guofan was clumsy since childhood, and his ability to master knowledge was extremely poor. His study depended entirely on diligent study and hard practice. One night, a thief sneaked into his home, ready to steal something when Zeng Guofan was sleepy. Unexpectedly, Zeng Guofan was reciting the same text all night, and the thief was really impatient, so he recited the text aloud, called Zeng Guofan an idiot, painstakingly advised him to stop studying and change his profession, and finally left.
Zeng Guofan was so humiliated that his brain was not as bright as that of a gentleman on the beam. It is difficult to understand his mood at that time. However, due to difficulties and hardships, Yu Ruyu was successful. Fortunately, he was diligent and inquisitive, and firmly believed that diligence could make up for the shortcomings, and he survived the trough of life. After 3 years old, he rose to the top.
As the saying goes, "No pains, no gains", but the reality tells us that things are impermanent. In the face of natural and man-made disasters, it is often a hard work, half gains, and the gains are less than hard work. I have been busy all the time, never meeting my expectations, and I have to endure cynicism. This is the living condition of most people. Zeng Guofan's experience makes us understand that the more difficult it is, the more determined it is. If you are not a sage, you are an animal. Mo Wen reaps, but asks for cultivation. -Zeng Guofan's Diary of Zeng Guofan
Before entering the Jinshi, Zeng Guofan's greatest wish was to pass the Jinshi. After entering the Jinshi, he began to eat the imperial salary and enjoy the salary. However, he was not satisfied with the status quo and did not want to be once and for all. Instead, he was prepared for danger in times of peace and set himself a higher ideal of life-to become a saint like Confucius and Wang Yangming.
The ancients paid attention to "standing at the age of 3". How can a saint be so good? This goal is too difficult for Zeng Guofan, who is not talented. After all, his qualification is far from that of Wang Yangming, a great talent.
"If you are not a sage, you are an animal". Although this sentence is extreme, you can see Zeng Guofan's persistent pursuit of ideals. "Mo Wen reaps, but asks for cultivation", which shows Zeng Guofan's open-minded attitude towards life, not seeking fame and fortune, but seeking for the country and the people. have a good conscience, he is strict with himself according to the Confucian principle of "cultivating self-cultivation, governing the country, keeping the family in harmony with the world".
In order to become a saint, he consulted the learned Tang Jian and Woren at that time, settled down and devoted himself to the study of The Complete Works of Zhu Xi, and made many achievements in self-cultivation, moral integrity, and meritorious deeds. From mediocrity to sage, it depends on persistent pursuit, rigorous scholarship and extraordinary perseverance. Zeng Guofan has a famous saying: the mediocrity in the world, ancient and modern, is defeated by a lazy word; Talented people in the world, ancient and modern, all lost with a word of pride.
In his eyes, there are only two kinds of people: mediocre people and talented people. They fail for different reasons. Mediocre people fail because of laziness, while talented people fail because of pride.
In his view, talent is one thing, but the cultivation after tomorrow is particularly important, which can make up for the congenital deficiency. In dealing with people, we should be more strict with ourselves, and we should not rely on talents for pride. Zeng Guofan studied hard and practiced hard, and changed his destiny through reading. After entering the official career, he was modest and prudent, and rose step by step, eventually becoming a generation of civil servants.
If you think that your qualifications are mediocre and your talents and environment are not as advantaged as others, then you need to understand Zeng Guofan and understand his diligence and assiduousness.
If you feel that you are in adversity and are hesitating to stick to and give up, then you also need to understand Zeng Guofan's tenacity and persistence.
If you are talented and pretentious, then you need to understand Zeng Guofan and understand his self-discipline and open-mindedness.
Young students, after studying hard for 12 years, should not only learn rigid knowledge, but also have the minimum ability to resist pressure. The college entrance examination is not a pause in life, but a brand-new starting point. Regardless of success or failure, life has just started, and the road ahead is being launched for you in Xu Tu.