Without indifference, there is no clear ambition, and without tranquility, there is no way to reach far.

It means: If you don’t see worldly fame and fortune clearly, you can’t clarify your ambitions, and if you don’t have peace of mind and body, you can’t realize your lofty ideals.

From: Zhuge Liang's "Book of Commandments".

Original text: The journey of a husband and a gentleman is to cultivate one’s character through tranquility and cultivate one’s virtue through frugality. Without indifference, there is no clear ambition; without tranquility, there is no far-reaching goal.

Study requires tranquility, and talent requires learning. Without learning, one cannot expand talents, and without ambition, one cannot achieve learning. If you are coy and slow, you will not be able to inspire your energy; if you are impetuous, you will not be able to cultivate your nature.

The years go by with the times, the thoughts go with the sun, and then they become withered and withered. Many people do not take on the world, and they stay in the poor house with sadness. How will they be able to do it again!

Interpretation: People with moral cultivation carry out self-cultivation and exercise in this way. They use inner peace to perfect themselves, and use frugality to save money to cultivate their noble character. If you don't have a clear mind and few desires, you won't be able to make your ambitions clear and firm, and if you don't have stability and tranquility, you won't be able to realize your lofty ideals.

Extended information

“Without indifference, there is no clear ambition; without tranquility, there is no far-reaching goal.” Zhuge Liang wrote to his son in the 12th year of Jianxing of the Shu Han Dynasty (AD 234). Zhuge Zhan's "Book of Commandments". This is not only a summary of Zhuge Liang's life experience, but also a request for his son. Here Zhuge Liang uses a "double negative" sentence pattern, expressing his teachings and unlimited expectations for his son in a strong and euphemistic tone.

In modern terms, it is: if you don’t take the fame and wealth in front of you lightly, you will not have clear ambitions, and if you cannot study calmly, you will not be able to achieve lofty goals.

Through the above analysis, we can see that Zhuge Liang used the "double negation" in logic to emphasize that he wanted to express "indifferent to clarify one's ambition, tranquility and far-reaching".

This is a philosophical statement. This is the same as "if you want to get it, you must first give it to it" and "if you want to achieve your goal, you must first take detours". "Indifferent" and "tranquility" are not about seeking purity and not wanting to achieve anything, but about learning " "Clear ambition", establish lofty ambitions, and when the time is right, you can "reach far" and do something vigorously.