Zeng Guofan said that all the mediocre people in the world, ancient and modern, are defeated by the word "lazy", and the talented people in the world, ancient and modern, are all defeated by the word "arrogant". Therefore, people should always be in awe and have the "three fears", that is, fear of destiny, fear of people's words, and fear of the king and father. To maintain awe, we must do the "three no's", that is, no confrontation, no end, and no victory.
No, a professor from Peking University explained it as "no participation", which is not a correct explanation. The original meaning of Qi is to give, and giving does not mean giving more. A spoonful is "with". By extension, it is precisely to get rid of one's temper and become petty, and the Tao is also in line with the true nature of a person who is proud of his talents. "A person's face changes as soon as he gets richer." There are also people who have a bad temper when they are officials and feel that they are extremely capable. This is the best example. Therefore, if you don't cooperate, you can't lose yourself under the blessing of power and other external things, and you can't inflate yourself. If you have three taels of cotton, you feel that you should be a gardener. That’s why Lao Tzu said, “Those who are good at being soldiers do not use martial arts, those who are good at fighting do not get angry, and those who are good at defeating enemies do not fight against them.”
To not end is to not know where to end and not to look back. The Hunan proverb said by Zeng Guofan's grandfather Zeng Yuping, "To know how to go down to the pond, you need to know how to get ashore" is the most appropriate explanation. The poem goes, "There is no beginning, and there is an end." It means that the true nature is easy to change, but the original intention is difficult to end. This is also in line with human nature. For example, "Don't forget the friends of the poor and the lowly, and the wife of the poor will never leave the court." This is exactly what the poor and the lowly often say. It is common for people to change their wives when they become rich, and to change their friends when they become high-ranking officials. However, the world is impermanent and the wind and water are changing, and no one can guarantee a lifetime of wealth. Zeng Guofan said, "Youth cannot endure good times, middle-age cannot endure leisure, and old age cannot endure adversity." The most terrible and pitiful thing is not knowing where you will end up and not ending up well. As a human being, you should know how to follow common sense, never forget your roots, and never turn back.
If you don’t win, you don’t know enough. It’s not scary if you don’t have any ability, you can always learn. What’s scary is bragging about your little ability, as if God is first, he is second, or even God is second. There are three sayings that are good: to be a person, you must be content, to do things, you must be aware of insufficiencies, and to be knowledgeable, you must be dissatisfied. Nowadays, there is a word called "skilled panic", which is quite good to fear. Life is fleeting, and in the limited time, how you use your life is to achieve your mission. That is to say, we must always maintain a humble heart and always maintain the ability to learn. If we don't win, we will win.