During the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, a "wonderful book" appeared in China, which was the "Cai Gen Tan" that had far-reaching influence and became famous at home and abroad. "Cai Gen Tan" is also known as "Cultivation of Life". It is named after the famous saying of Wang Xinmin of the Song Dynasty, "If you can bite off the vegetable roots, you can do everything." Vegetable roots are the foundation of vegetables. All things originate from the roots. If the roots are cultivated thickly, the taste will be thick, which is a metaphor for the foundation of life. Tan Tongtan compares the taste of vegetables to the taste of the world. It is necessary to cultivate the roots and consolidate them, and to meditate and meditate. Only then can you understand the wonderful idea. Therefore, "Cai Gen Tan" means a philosophical talk about the fundamentals of life. Yu Kongjian, a contemporary of Hong Yingming, believed: "Tan is named after the root of vegetables, which comes from the hardships of poverty and cultivation and irrigation. It is conceivable that it has experienced ups and downs and encountered dangers." From this point of view, Hong Yingming is a I use the bitter experience of vegetable roots to describe the transcendent and masterful character I have acquired after going through the vicissitudes of life.

As a collection of aphorisms that specifically discusses how to behave in the world, "Cai Gen Tan" does not have a strict logical relationship in content. Instead, it adopts the form of quotations, consisting of 360 aphorisms, divided into revisions. There are several parts: province, entertainment, evaluation, leisure and general introduction. The sentences in the whole book are neat and rhyming, elegant and wise; the writing is natural, fresh, fluent and free, and it reads like flowing clouds and water without hindrance.

From the content point of view, the scope of this book is extremely broad. It can be said that it covers almost all major issues that can be encountered in life. The whole book combines the thoughts of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism as well as the author's own life. Experience, using the Confucian idea of ??"entering into the world, moderation" to help people grasp life with a positive and tactful attitude in the complicated society; using the Buddhist idea of ??"being out of the world, advising the world" and the Taoist idea of ??"doing nothing, embracing simplicity and returning to the truth". People have provided guidelines for how to behave in the world, helped the world accurately understand the dialectical relationship between being born in and joining the world, and formed a set of rules of experience and unique insights into how to behave in the world, which is very inspiring to future generations.

Hong Yingming attaches great importance to the cultivation of human moral character, believing that virtue is the foundation of life and career, and the commander and backbone of personal talents. The first motto at the beginning of the chapter is "Those who live in virtue will be lonely for a while; those who rely on power will be desolate for eternity. A wise person looks at things outside of things and thinks about the body behind him. He would rather suffer a moment of loneliness than suffer eternity of desolation." He said, "When establishing meritorious deeds, everything must be based on reality. If you cherish a false reputation, you will achieve false results; when preaching and cultivating virtues, you must build a foundation from a false foundation. If you only care about the results, you will fall into the dust of desire." etc. Thoughts reflect Hong Yingming's concept of virtue as the leading factor.

There have always been different opinions on the choice of literati to "come out of the world" or "join the world". Confucianism attaches great importance to "learning well and becoming an official" and advocates actively "joining the world" in order to benefit the world; Taoism emphasizes "purity and inaction" and advocates seclusion from the world in order to maintain one's true nature; Buddhism declares that "all things are suffering and all phenomena are illusions" and advocates becoming a monk , for relief. Chinese literati in the past dynasties have always been confused about this and often became red-faced over it. "Cai Gen Tan" eliminates this confusion, and Hong Yingming puts forward such things as "living in the crown of the crown, one must have the smell of the mountains and forests; living under the forest and springs, one must embrace the economics of the Langmiao." The view that "when the machine is resting, the moon will come and the wind will come, there will be no need to suffer in the world; there will be no traces of cars and horses far away in the heart, so there is no need to be chronically ill in the mountains." This view is not only opposed to "escaping from the world" and "monasticism", but also does not fully agree with the Confucian view of eager for quick success and instant benefits. Thought, he advocated "doing the business of joining the world with the spirit of transcending the world", thereby establishing an exemplary code of conduct and even becoming the realm that countless people in later generations pursued throughout their lives.

Hong Yingming believes that no matter whether people are busy or not, proud or not, they should never forget to find free time to self-examine in order to maintain a quiet state of mind and abandon those inappropriate and non-standard fantasies. From what is said in "Cai Gen Tan": "In the calm wind and waves, you can see the true state of life; in the place where the taste is light and the sound is rare, you can recognize the true nature of the mind and body." It can be seen that Hong Yingming paid special attention to the "quiet" state of mind. He regarded this as a prerequisite for self-cultivation and took the trouble to state it many times in the book. For example, he repeatedly mentioned in "Cai Gen Tan" that "the water flows freely and the anxious heart is always calm, and the flowers fall frequently and the mind is at ease". From his relishing tone, it is not difficult to see that he has a deep understanding of this "noisy place". The ideal state of cultivation is "seeing silence".

Keeping a quiet mind in noisy places seems to be even more important today. The hustle and bustle of real life often conceals the true side of human nature. It may be difficult to find a pure land. Because only when the mind returns to the original state of life can we effectively conduct self-examination of the mind and avoid losing our true voice in the hustle and bustle of the city. Not only can one clean oneself and improve oneself, but also handle one's relationship with others and society well, which is conducive to the cause and interests of the people. This Confucian idea of ??"examining myself three times a day" permeates "Cai Gen Tan" everywhere.

"Cai Gen Tan" combines the wisdom of traditional Chinese culture, and has the characteristics of clear words in Ming Dynasty sketches, revealing true knowledge in the ordinary. Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty personally compiled the Manchu-Han version of "Cai Gen Tan" and ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs to print it for the education of his children. After this book came to Japan, it was republished in the Edo period and became popular in the three islands of Japan. In economically powerful countries such as Japan and the United States, it has become a must-read book for entrepreneurs to cultivate themselves.