Rigid is square, soft is round. "Fang" is the backbone of life, and "Yuan" is the code of conduct that coordinates Qiankun. Responding to all changes is the square, and responding to all changes is the circle, and the ingenuity of life lies in the combination of the square and the circle. For people in the world, when the square is square, the circle is round, there is a circle outside the square, there is a square in the circle, and the square and the circle are mutually beneficial, and the society will be harmonious. Life is free.

Throughout the ages, many self-proclaimed shrewd people have suffered misfortunes in the midst of storms, often because they do not know how to live in the world, and because of their unconventional and sharp behavior, they arouse jealousy. If they could be restrained and patient, they would not be so unfortunate.

Zhang Zhidong of the Qing Dynasty has been an official for decades, with a clean breeze on his sleeves, and he is really "out of the mud but not stained, and the water is clear and rippling but not demonic", and at the same time, he is also vertical and horizontal, commanding the wind and clouds, and entering the cabinet to worship the prime minister in the dark and corrupt officialdom of the late Qing Dynasty, becoming a generation of famous ministers.

Zhang Zhidong's success is not only due to his knowledge, but also due to his agedness, advance and retreat, and balance of rigidity and softness. Although Zhang Zhidong is loyal and upright by nature, he has the courage to pinpoint current affairs and dare to correct the important members of the DPRK and the Central Committee, and has won people's appreciation and admiration. But he did not get carried away even when he was famous, and he was able to keep a clear head in time, which is the cleverness of Zhang Zhidong's life. Zhang Zhidong is a person, although he is upright, he is also good at fortification and self-protection; Both assertive and individual, but also flexible; It is both rigid and flexible, and he is a politician who is round on the outside and square on the inside. He is like a soft sponge on the outside, but steel on the inside. He admired the way of Yuantong and was well versed in the great wisdom of generosity and integration. Zhang Zhidong's character seems to contradict his bold and straightforward advice, but in fact, it is not.

At that time, Zhang Peilun, Deng Chengxiu and others in the Qingliu Party were inspired by the success of a series of direct advice, and their enthusiasm was surging and they became more and more bold. They have risen to the top and impeached a series of officials who were corrupt and bribery or who failed to govern. Zhang Zhidong did not appreciate these practices, he believed that if a person is blindly upright, sharp, and aggressive, he is not only easy to provoke fire and cause trouble, but also often worry about his life. That kind of courage and desire to be happy for a while is definitely not the work of a wise man. In the whirlpool of officialdom of life-and-death and fierce competition, who dares to say that he can be a tumbler in officialdom forever?

The really smart people who are in the middle of it are always good at finding ways to protect themselves, avoid traps, and avoid the tiger's den. Especially the high-ranking and powerful people, every time they become the target of the public, the tree is very popular, the higher they climb, the worse they fall, and finally they end up ruined. Therefore, Zhang Zhidong always thinks ahead and backward when encountering problems, leaves room for improvement, and strives to have a maneuver in everything. For example, every time he plays a lecture, although his words are fierce and impassioned, he often feels about the incident, and generally does not directly point the finger at a certain person. In other words, he pays attention to judging facts and arguing on the merits through facts, rather than engaging in personal attacks. Even if someone has to be touched because of the incident itself, he minimizes the disparagement of the character and instead focuses on the absurdity of the matter. In this way, it gives people a sense of fairness, which not only avoids outsiders from mistaking it for venting personal anger, but also makes it impossible for opponents to grasp any handles. Therefore, Zhang Zhidong is comfortable in officialdom, good at attacking, and skillful at self-preservation.

Although Zhang Zhidong is in a position to slap in, he tries not to offend others. Cixi reused Zhang Zhidong, and had the intention of sharing Li Hongzhang's momentum to avoid Li Hongzhang's gathering of power. Although Zhang Zhidong and Li Hongzhang disagreed in many aspects, such as during the First Sino-Japanese War, Li Hongzhang was the main peace, and Zhang Zhidong was the main battle, Li Hongzhang regarded Zhang Zhidong as a "scholar's opinion". It is said that when Li Hongzhang was 70th birthday, Zhang Zhidong wrote a birthday essay for him, and he worked for two days and three nights, during which he rarely slept. Liulichang bookstore engraved this longevity text in a single book, and Luoyang paper was expensive for a while, and it became the pressing work in the longevity text received by Li Hongzhang. Zhang Zhidong's handling of the relationship with Li Hongzhang in this way obviously contains a profound sense of outer circle.

His strategy of the outer circle is also manifested in the question of whether to abolish the Guangxu Emperor or not. After the Wuxu Reform, Zhang Zhidong, in view of the majesty of the Empress Dowager of the West, has not expressed his position on the abolition of the Guangxu Emperor, and has always been vague, neither supporting nor opposing it, and often deducing that this is a royal family matter. From his attitude towards this matter, it can be seen that Zhang Zhidong is smart, sophisticated, sleek and cunning. It is precisely because of Zhang Zhidong's success as a man that he can not only be like a fish in water in the officialdom, but also get out of the sludge without staining, not only seize every opportunity to let the imperial court appreciate him, but also strategize and do practical things for the people, and become a famous "holy minister" and a leader in the academic world. "Fang" is the foundation of being a man and the backbone of being an upright man; "Circle" is the way of life, and it is a talisman for living in the world safely and wisely. Whoever can combine the two into one will be invincible and invincible. Whether it is advancing or retreating, they are all strategizing and calm.

On the contrary, if a person does not know how to forbear and bend, he will often turn a blind eye to the opportunities under his feet, and at the same time, he will also attract slander and blows, and it is difficult to make a difference. And if a person's bones are too soft and he never knows how to stretch, he will naturally not be able to stand up. There are lows and highs in life, and people with a mind will bend down to protect themselves to the greatest extent when they encounter difficulties; When the opportunity comes, they will stretch themselves to the fullest and give full play to their talents and wisdom.

Forbearance does not mean submission, much less loss of personality. When necessary, only by knowing how to wronged oneself and focusing on the overall situation can we be reborn in Nirvana and make great achievements in the future. When the time is not ripe, when the conditions are not yet available, why don't we "go against the grain", bury our heads in doing things, and make achievements step by step, and at that time, what you say will be loud!