Zeng Guofan was a famous minister in the late Qing Dynasty, and he was also regarded as a perfect man because he had made contributions in China culture. Throughout his life, Zeng Guofan strictly abided by the guidance of self-cultivation and virtue, and perfectly practiced the Confucian way of being sage inside and king outside in China, which can be said to be a rare great master in the history of China. To be busy, no one is busier than Zeng Guofan, but Zeng Guofan worked hard all his life, kept writing and keeping a diary, and recorded his wisdom in life. His letters from home, in particular, are profound and unpretentious, and full of the wisdom of China's traditional culture. Seven famous couplets of Zeng Guofan are selected for the fun Chinese studies and dedicated to readers and friends.

1. If you are not a sage, you are an animal; Mo Wen reaps, but asks for cultivation

This is Zeng Guofan's motto, which profoundly reflects his lifelong pursuit and way of doing things. About sages and beasts, this is the thought of the sage Mencius. Mencius believes that people have moral values and human nature is good. If people can cultivate their nature intentionally, they can all think that they are Yao and Shun. On the other hand, if they lose their kindness and just pursue those things that make a name for themselves, it is no different from animals who only know how to eat and sleep. Mo Wen's harvest, but not his hard work, is actually talking about the Confucian thought of destiny. Confucianism believes that the way to be a man is to know the destiny as much as possible. As long as you work hard, you can calmly wait for the result of fate. A person who doesn't do his best is not qualified to talk about fate. In other words, if you don't work hard, you shouldn't blame the injustice of fate.

2. Be kind to others and be kind to others; Worry is a lifelong pleasure, and lifelong couplet is the way to be good. Doing good is an important thought of Confucianism. Mencius believes that the greatest thing about Shun is that he is kind to others and can drive others to do good things together. In interpersonal communication, the best thing is to be kind to others, because then you will gain happiness and security. The second couplet is also Mencius' thought. Mencius emphasized the responsibility and responsibility of being happy with the world, worrying about the world and focusing on the world. Fan Zhongyan, the Ming Dynasty prime minister in the Northern Song Dynasty, had a famous saying: Worry about the world first, and enjoy the world later.

3. Feeding a spring festival means; Supporting two poor bones

This is Zeng Guofan's way of life. In fact, it is said that a person should have a hard and soft realm. The first part of the book "the meaning of feeding a group of spring" vividly expounds that to be a man and do things like spring, we should be able to support everything, be tolerant, stand up and nourish ourselves, and everything should be positive and promising, whether in good times or bad times, downstream or countercurrent, and we should be as full of vitality as spring. The second couplet "supporting two poor bones" means that people can't just be "soft" and "inner saints" blindly. No matter what situation they are in, their backbones must be supported and can't be bent. For the sake of career, we should not blindly compromise and seek perfection, but stand erect, seek a way out in hardship and seek straightness in hard struggle.

4. There is no easy situation in the world, and there is no difficulty in the world. There is joy in life and sorrow in life.

Easy situation is prosperity, and difficult situation is adversity. Prosperity and adversity, happiness and sorrow are two groups of contradictions in life. They complement each other and are two sides of an organic whole. Life is to keep a clear understanding. Nothing is difficult in the world if you work hard, and nothing can be achieved if you are lazy. Where is one's lifelong joy, where is one's indifference in have a good conscience, and where is one's worry? In the words of Confucius, it lies in one's failure to cultivate virtue and failure to learn it!

5. Focus on the big picture, and start to live in groups and guard your mouth, and live alone and guard your heart.

This is Zeng Guofan's life realm and the theory of life cultivation. Looking at the big picture means that the stage is as big as the heart, and the pattern creates fate, because those who do not seek the world are not enough to seek for a moment; He who does not seek the overall situation does not seek a domain. In fact, "live in groups and keep your mouth shut" is about being modest and prudent, because most disasters come from your mouth, while living alone and keeping your mouth shut is about being cautious and independent. The more unsupervised people are, the more you have to keep your inner bottom line.

6. Be afraid, that is, when you are born, you don't forget that hell is frank and open, and you will be happy despite adversity.

This is Zeng Guofan's motto in dealing with people. The first part is that a gentleman should be cautious, wary, treading on thin ice, facing an abyss and being prepared for danger in times of peace. This spirit comes from the Book of Changes, the oldest philosophical book in China. The Book of Changes tells us that if a gentleman works all day long, he will be completely blameless. Only in this way can life be disaster-free. The bottom line is that we should be open-minded and open-minded, even if we are dying in adversity, we should also relax our feelings and maintain a positive attitude. This is the truth of An upright man is open and poised while a petty man is anxious and worried. in the Analects of Confucius. If you are frank, you will be calm, and if you are intrigued, you will be sad all your life.

7. In the past, such as death yesterday; After all kinds, such as today's birth.

This couplet is not Zeng Guofan's work, but one of the four teachings of Fan. It means that whatever happened in the past has nothing to do with me until today, and whatever happened in the future, I will start from today. In fact, this is a zero mentality of life. Forget the past, I should still work hard, all the successes and failures are happy and sad, and everything is dust to dust, let him go with the wind. In the future, no matter what his future results are, I will still grasp my own principles, be the best I can, and do my best to know my destiny!