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I remember hearing Professor Li Bo comment on "Zeng Guofan's Family Instructions" at the Baijia Forum, and I was deeply impressed. Su Dongpo had a famous saying: "You can eat without meat, but you cannot live without bamboo." Zeng Guofan changed it into: You can't live without reading for a day. Zeng Guofan said this and did the same thing. In the decades since he made the vow to study, he has truly achieved every day without reading. In his later years, he became blind in one eye, but he still continued to study.

You may be shocked when you see this, or you may also be confused. There are many people who love reading, but there are not many people in history who can insist on reading every day, right? Thinking that modern people often talk about self-discipline, and after reading Zeng Guofan’s family motto, I think it is not an exaggeration to call Master Zeng the originator of the self-discipline world.

Of course, when it comes to his love of reading and the fact that he never fails to read, there must be some origin.

The origin has to start with Grandpa Zeng Guofan. Grandpa Zeng Guofan, named Zeng Yuping, was also a man of idleness when he was young. However, once he was criticized by an elder for his ignorance and his heart was stimulated. He changed his ways from then on. No, I have a great ambition to cultivate, study and pass down my family. "I don't hope to be rich from generation to generation, but I hope to have talents from generation to generation. I am committed to cultivating the reading education of my children and grandchildren.

In such a family environment, it is reasonable for children and grandchildren to love reading. But why did Zeng Guofan How could he study every day? What prompted him to take the oath and persevere was his father, who passed the imperial examination 17 times before becoming a scholar. It shows his extraordinary wisdom.

Zeng Guofan was a scholar, and after passing the imperial examination, he went to Beijing to take the exam with great ambition. After two years of hard preparation, all his savings were spent and he was penniless. Failed.

Zeng Guofan was heartbroken after failing the exam for the second time, but he didn't want to go home, so he was poor and had no choice but to borrow 100 taels of silver from his father's friend. Thinking that he had become a bookworm again, he used all the borrowed belongings to buy a copy of "Twenty-Three Histories".

After embarking on the road home in embarrassment, Zeng Guofan felt uneasy and didn't know what to do. Finally, he had to tell his father the truth. After understanding the situation, his father not only did not blame him, but said calmly, "It is a good thing to borrow money to buy books. I am happy to repay your debt, but I I hope you will not forget the original intention of buying the book and study it carefully. "At that time, 100 taels of silver was a huge sum of money for this family. When Zeng Guofan heard his father's words, instead of criticizing him for failing the two exams, he did the same to him for impulsively spending 100 taels on books. Zeng Guofan was greatly inspired by this and made a vow that if he did not finish reading the books he bought, it would be a great disobedience.

Zeng Guofan read countless books in his life. Regarding book selection and reading methods, Zeng Guofan also had his own unique insights.

He mentioned in his family motto:

1. To read, you must read classics. Books that have been tested over time and accumulated through thought are truly good books. Only by reading good books can a person absorb the essence of the book, thereby establishing his or her correct beliefs and learning how to settle down.

2 . Never read a new book. This is the immersive reading method he advocates. At this point, many people have the problem of not paying attention and not focusing. I remember that every time I went to the library. , I always feel that there are too many good books, and I borrow several at a time. When it is time to return them, I often haven’t read any of them, or I have only read a few pages of each book. . If I could learn Zeng Guofan's reading method and read one book at a time, I would not only be able to understand and appreciate the essence of the book, read more books, but also truly enjoy the fun of focusing on the present. .

3. You must cultivate your personal interest and direction in reading

Zeng Guofan was a great scholar in literature and history and a beneficiary of the imperial examination, but he said that studying is definitely not just for the imperial examination. In the examination, one must cultivate personal interest and direction in reading.

This is the attitude of Zeng Guofan towards his son's reading education.

Zeng Guofan's eldest son, Zeng Jize, was the most famous in the late Qing Dynasty. Diplomat. When he was young, he did not want to take the imperial examination. When Zeng Guofan found out, he not only did not object, but also respected his son's preferences and allowed him to choose his own interests.

His other son, Zeng Jihong, did not like literature and history, but liked mathematics. Zeng Guofan also fully supported it. Because Zeng Guofan did not understand his son, he also found this book to study. In the end, he raised two sons who were different from their father but equally outstanding.

In his later years, Zeng Guofan said to his son Zeng Jize, "I have nothing to be proud of in my life, but there is one thing I am worthy of." The thing I am proud of is that I have never read a day in my life.

These words sound truly majestic!

Zeng Guofan never fails to study, and I would like to encourage everyone!

Yanfei