There is an article "Zicai" in the Book of Zhou, the theme of which is to warn the people who are government officials, asking them not only to always care about the safety of the people's livelihood, but also to pay special attention to the external etiquette.

In the article "Zicai", when giving examples of arguments, there is such a sentence: "If you are a housekeeper, you will be diligent and diligent, but you will be able to paint it." If it is made of catalpa material, it is diligent and simple, but it is coated with Dan. "The gist of it is that if you build a house, you are not only busy laying brick walls, but also painting the walls and building thatched roofs; If you use precious wood for furniture, you not only need to have a tight mortise and tenon joint, but also paint it with color to protect it and show its preciousness.

Therefore, from the perspective of national dignity, we must treat any talent like cherishing valuable utensils, not only to ensure that the internal reality can be used, but also to pay attention to the external quality and elegance.

Therefore, Kong Anguo of the Western Han Dynasty said: "The art of politics is like the use of Ziren to govern materials." However, in modern times, civil servants usually only focus on external fame and glory, and do not delve into inner virtues and virtues.

Because of this, Cao Pi sighed in "The Book with Wu Quality": "Ancient and modern literati do not protect their fine behavior, and they can rarely stand on their own feet with their reputations." It is to the effect that since ancient times, the literati have not been informal, and few people have made a name for themselves by virtue of their discipline alone.

Wei Dan, a contemporary of Cao Pi (179-251 AD), was a famous calligrapher from Jingzhao Duling in the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms) who wantonly slandered the literati and scholars at that time.

As a result, later critics echoed their arguments, and sang about the humanities together, and even boiled it down

"The literati are not informal", commonly known

"Literati have no virtue". Isn't this a state of affairs? Looking at the famous literary masters in the past, the flaws that exist in them are cited, such as Sima Xiangru eloping with a widow and accepting bribes; Yang Xiong is addicted to alcohol and does not choose roommates, and deliberately flatters; Feng Yanna's concubines drove his wife, and he was selfish and unkind; Du Du is difficult and narrow-minded; Ban Gu clings to the powerful and indulges in evil; Ma Rong formed a party for personal gain, greedy for money and extravagant; Kong Rong was arrogant and out of moderation, and he was in trouble; You Heng is wild and uninhibited, and he kills his head with foul language; Wang Cang is sharp and impatient; Chen Lin was reckless and rude; Ding Yi is greedy and unscrupulous; The road is a fox and a fake tiger, fresh and shameless; Pan Yue colluded and framed him, and lost his conscience; Lu Ji clings to the powerful and is repeatedly ridiculed; Fu Xuan is arrogant and self-serving; Sun Chu is restless and paranoid, and he can't do anything he can...... Personality defects or behavioral errors such as these are not uncommon and innumerable to occur to literati writers of different eras.

In fact, since ancient times, not only civil officials and scholars, but also generals and martial artists, especially the clumsy story that happened to the ancient general Xiangguo, is even more eye-catching.

For example, Guan Zhong has a bad reputation for theft, Wu Qi is greedy and lustful, Chen Ping has a filthy temperament, and Zhou Bo and Guan Ying have slandered and framed others...... Similar inferiority and stains are even more innumerable in other court officials.

If you analyze the reasons in depth, it is not difficult, for example, Kong Guang (the 14th grandson of Confucius in Xia Qufu in 65-5 BC) was the prime minister of the Western Han Dynasty, and he still flattered Dong Xian, the favored minister of Emperor Ai of the Han Dynasty, not to mention the petty officials such as Ban Gu, Ma Rong and Pan Yue?

In addition, there was also being scolded by the people at the time

Wang Rong, who was "terminally ill", as the founding minister of the Western Jin Dynasty, still sold his official beard, and even became stingy, not to mention poor and humble literati officials like Sima Xiangru and Du Du, not to mention despicable and shameless people such as Ding Yi and Lu Cui.

However, Kong Guang's flattery and ugliness are humble and humble, but it does not affect that he is still a famous Confucian; Wang Rong's bad reputation for being stingy can't affect him

The location of the "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest" ...... Why is this so? The root of this lies in the fact that their academic achievements and career achievements greatly exceeded their own moral deficiencies, thus buffering the ridicule and ridicule of them at the time and after them.

In fact, in addition to some of the above-mentioned celebrities, we can also look at the loyal and patriotic Qu Yuan and Jia Yi, and the alert Zou Yang and Mei Cheng, as well as the benevolent, filial piety and loyalty of Huang Xiang (c. 68-122 AD, the character is strong, Jiang, Xia'an, Lu, and Eastern Han officials, 24 filial sons

The protagonist of the story of "Fan Pillow Wenshu") and Xu Gan, who is happy to live in poverty, are not only writers and celebrities with noble morals, but even more like white and flawless treasures and jade!

How can it be said that all writers must have faults and flaws? Needless to say, the talents and temperaments of the world have always varied from person to person, so there are shortcomings, deficiencies and mistakes in each person, if a person is not born to attain the great virtues of sages

At the height of the "sage", I am afraid that no one meets the standard of perfection in his life. Therefore, there is no need to blame everyone for perfection.

Needless to say, in the midst of secular common sense, people treat emperors and generals and the like, often because of the dignity and grandeur of their positions of power, and generally ignore or forgive their defects and mistakes.

But. When people treat literati and writers, they often give them the same ridicule and ridicule because of their humble status.

This long-standing social phenomenon does not belong to an unexpected special cultural fashion, just like the rivers and seas surging down from the heights, they must be rampant and rushing, so that they are invincible, and those weak and subtle rivers are destined to have a bumpy and tortuous fate.

Therefore, even if two people have the same shortcomings, they will be significantly different in terms of the amount of praise and disapproval they receive because of their social reputation, and the dignity of social status will also have the same results.

Because of this, the so-called in the world

"Success", for literati, is to become useful talents who serve the society.

Just as Zuo Qiu Ming explained the truth in "Chinese Lu Yu Jing Jiang on Labor and Leisure", Jing Jiang, the mother of Gong Father Wen Bo, as a wise woman, refuted the corrupt harm of good and bad labor by adhering to the customs and traditions of hand-weaving, so as to interpret the right and wrong of the statecraft.

At the beginning, people like Yang Xiong, Sima Xiangru and others only paid attention to the color and rhythm of the article, and did not have the intention and plan to make substantive contributions, so their social status was always not high.

Looking at Yu Liang of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, he was talented and beautiful, and he was only famous for his outstanding military and political achievements, but few people praised his writing talent.

In fact, if Yu Liang hadn't been a high-ranking official, he could have won fame just by his literary talent. Therefore, it is completely possible to combine literary talent and martial arts, just like the right and left hands complement each other.

For example, in the Spring and Autumn Period, the Jin State (682-632 BC, Ji's surname was the name of the Jin State, and the first Chinese military general of the Jin State was not only fond of reading, but also proficient in "Poems" and "Shangshu", and became the leading general in China.

Therefore, if you love poetry and literature like Xuan, can't you also be proficient in martial arts? Moreover, there is Sun Wu's "The Art of War", whose writings are gorgeous and precious, and they are really as precious as pearls and jade...... Who would dare to say that it is impossible for those who study military strategy to be proficient in beautiful rhetoric?

"Zhou Yi Department Resignation" has a saying: "The gentleman hides his weapon in his body and moves when the time comes." That is to say, all literati who are determined to make a career must devote themselves to self-cultivation, cultivate and improve their own moral integrity and knowledge, judge the situation, and move with the times.

Yang Xiong said in "The Words of the Law: The Gentleman": "Or ask, the gentleman's words are written, and the movement is virtuous, why is it?" Said, with its middle and outside. "The reason for this is that we should cultivate ourselves to grow as burly and solid as nanmu, and to cultivate personality qualities as rare and noble as camphor trees.

Therefore, those who write books and speak should contribute to the prosperity of the national economy and the people's livelihood, and once the literati stand up and become prominent, they are not only enough to be worthy of the pillars of the country, but even if their careers are unfavorable or their lives are down, they can also be good and write books and speak; If the career is smooth, or the life is prominent, you can take advantage of the situation and make contributions...... Such literati are the talent standards discussed in "Shangshu, Shangshu, and Zicai".

All in all: talents have many flaws since ancient times, and both virtue and art are too rare; Qu Yuan, Jia Yisheng Chutian, Zou Yang, and Mei Chengliangdi.

Rotten wood is difficult to carve, and Zhangnan has seen high quality for a long time; The literati are only good and comfortable, and the merits of the world are round.