Zeng Guofan said: "A scholar must be ambitious first, knowledgeable second and persistent third." . If you are ambitious, you will never be willing to be dirty; If you have knowledge, you know that knowledge is endless and you dare not be self-sufficient, such as watching the sea across the river, like a bullfrog peeping into the sky and being ignorant; Nothing is impossible if you have perseverance. These three are indispensable. "Among the three, Zeng Guofan paid special attention to loyalty. Zeng Guofan said in a letter to his son Ceng Jize, "Life is always the first virtue. "unchanged, unchanged." There are endless ways to learn, but I always think perseverance is the main thing. "It is easy and difficult to remain the same. That's easy to say because everyone can do it. The difficulty lies in persistence. It takes several days to persist, but it is difficult to last for several months. It is even harder to persist for several years or even longer.

Mao Zedong once said: "It is not difficult for a person to do good deeds, but it is rare to do good deeds all his life." Zeng Guofan said to his son in combination with his reading comprehension: "There is no difference between old and young, and there is no difficulty in doing anything, but he insists on doing it and planting trees freely, getting bigger and bigger." Therefore, he repeatedly asked his younger brother and younger generation to "see, read, write and do, and the four are indispensable every day." Zeng Guofan not only asked his family to do so, but also set an example himself. Later, there were many talented people in the Zeng family, which had a lot to do with Zeng Guofan's example.

Two expensive "diligence"

There is a familiar story about Zeng Guofan's reading. It is said that Zeng Guofan was not gifted when he was a child. One night he was studying at home, and I don't know how many times I reread an article, but I still couldn't recite it. At this time, a thief came to his house and lurked under his eaves. The thief wants to get some benefits after reading and sleeping. But wait and wait, just don't see him sleeping, or read the article over and over again. The thief couldn't stand it anymore, so he pushed the door and said, "What books are you reading at this level?" Then finish reciting the article and walk away. This story shows Zeng Guofan's diligence and hard work.

Three expensive "specialties"

Zeng Guofan often warned his younger brother and younger generation to study exclusively in his letters home. "Poverty must be focused, not focused." It is the criterion of Zeng Guofan's reading. He even summed up a set of reading methods: "One sentence is meaningless, don't look at the next sentence; I can't see through it today, but I will see it tomorrow; This year is not refined, read again in the year of locusts: this is called tolerance. The way to read history is to put yourself in others' shoes. Everywhere I went, I talked and laughed with people at that time. Everyone doesn't have to remember, but remembering someone is like finding that person; You don't have to remember everything, but remembering one thing is like kissing it. There is nothing to learn from poverty, from history and giving up both. If the husband goes out of history, a hundred schools of thought contend with sweat. Maybe I want to watch it, but it's not appropriate to watch a person's album. When I read Changli Collection, I saw and heard that there were no books between heaven and earth except Changli Collection. I haven't finished watching this episode, so I won't change the other episodes. I also specialize in words. " Zeng Guofan expounded the principle of "specialization" in reading from three aspects: reading classics, reading history and reading poems. It can be said that this is the essence of reading, which is worth learning and using by every scholar.

Watching a person read can tell who he is and what he does. Zeng Guofan's way of reading is actually his way of dealing with people. Because of the three spirits of "perseverance, diligence and dedication", Zeng Guofan not only made continuous progress in his knowledge, but also promoted his career step by step. Modern people are used to embracing some so-called success stories, thinking that they can find a shortcut to success. In fact, we might as well learn Zeng Guofan's "three essences". Maybe success is not far away from us.