Explanation: If you have ambition, you will never be willing to be at the bottom. If you have insight, you know that knowledge is endless.

From "The Complete Works of Zeng Wenzhenggong" by Zeng Guofan of the Qing Dynasty, original text:

For Gaishi people to study, they must first be ambitious, secondly knowledgeable, and thirdly perseverant. If you have ambition, you will not be willing to be inferior; if you have knowledge, you will know that knowledge is endless, and you will not dare to be self-sufficient in one thing. You are like a river boy looking at the sea, like a frog in a well peeping into the sky. They are all ignorant; if you have perseverance, you will be able to accomplish anything. All three are indispensable.

Translation:

Intellectuals must first have ambition, secondly be knowledgeable, and thirdly have perseverance. If you have ambition, you will never be willing to be at the bottom. If you have knowledge, you know that knowledge is endless, and you dare not be satisfied with a little gain. For example, looking at the sea with the eyes of a river uncle, and looking at the sky with the perspective of a frog at the bottom of a well, these are all due to lack of knowledge. With perseverance, nothing is impossible. None of these three aspects will work without one.

Extended information:

"The Complete Works of Zeng Wenzhenggong" is a book published by China Bookstore Publishing House in 2011. The author is Zeng Guofan. This book presents the complete "Complete Works of Zeng Wenzhenggong" published by Chuanzhong Bookstore in a simplified Chinese version for the first time.

This publication, based on the Chuanzhong Bookstore edition, also referred to other versions of Zeng Guofan's collected works that have been published on the market, conducted multiple research on the similarities and differences, and revised the biography. Some errors in the Zhongshuju edition. The publisher has also put a lot of effort into the text proofreading and binding design, and has invited many domestic first-class design and ancient book editing talents to participate. It is hoped that it can present readers with a set of books that has strong practical value and is also pleasing to the eye. of classics.