We must be cautious and independent, and we must guard ourselves

Pay attention to yourself, know yourself – there is nothing easier than this thing seeming and more difficult to do.

There is no one who knows himself better than himself, and at the same time no one knows himself more than himself.

Socrates once said, "Know thyself." Since then, aspirants have experienced how difficult it is to know themselves. But there are also people who have criticized this sentence, the French writer Sitt said: "This aphorism is harmful, and at the same time very ugly." To look at yourself is to prevent your own development. Trying to know your own caterpillar will never be able to turn into a butterfly. His criticism also has a point. Sometimes the excess of self-consciousness causes people to analyze themselves with an abnormal cleanliness habit, and the incalculable best efforts to calculate it, slowly arouse enthusiasm, but the place where they arrive is the abyss of nothingness. But gazing at oneself doesn't necessarily create an excess of self-awareness. If you can reflect on your strengths and weaknesses in terms of personality and ability, you will be able to solve the problem if you can reflect on them "honestly" and with courage.

Everyone cares about their own affairs, and everyone does not like to touch their own weaknesses, so this idea will resist the behavior of overcoming and stopping the weaknesses of the character.

Zeng Guofan is a person who pursues prudence and independence, and he believes that only those who can truly prudence and independence can achieve great things.

Zeng Guofan said: Those who taste the only one, the gentleman and the villain are also the same. The villain thinks that he is the only one and gives birth to a delusion, accumulates delusion, and deceives others. The gentleman is ashamed of the sincerity of a thought born alone, the sincerity is prudent, and the merit of self-pride is secret, and the end of the clutch is a few slight, which can be discussed.

Since the cover of "University", the preface has been used to expand it; The daily use is detailed, but also deep experience. Those who care about things in their hearts have been able to analyze public and private, and those whose hearts are beautiful and rational have studied their gains and losses carefully. The husband should be good, and the bad should go, and he should draw his insights early. But he who is a villain cannot see what he knows, but does what he knows. So at the moment of goodness, the fortunate people do not notice it, and they tend to be indecisive. If you are not good at the moment, if you are fortunate enough to serve others, you will not be able to do it. In the solitude, the love is hypocritical, and the so-called deception is also. But if the husband is a gentleman, he is afraid of the ineffectiveness of a good person, and the underworld has depravity; If you don't go away, there will be no time for those who trickle down. The house is leaky and scared like the emperor, and the square inch is as hard as a golden stone. Where you know alone, be cautious. This is the essence of the Bible, and the sages are also keen.

The meaning of the above passage is: The so-called "independence" is a thing owned by a gentleman and a villain. When the villain is alone, he often has an arrogant thought, and when the arrogant thoughts are gathered too much, there will be indulgence, and the bad thing of bullying others will happen. The thoughts that a gentleman has when he is alone are determined by his nature and are often sincere. If you accumulate more honesty, you will be cautious, and if you are afraid of making mistakes, you will put more effort into it. The difference in distance between the gentleman and the villain in dealing with things alone can be commented on.

After the "University" has gained knowledge by exhaustively studying the principles of things, its previous statements and past actions can be used as materials for expansion and in-depth discussion. Some trivial questions in daily life can deepen his experience and insight. When his mind encounters something, he can already analyze the difference between public and private; When the mind is connected with the truth, it can also fully and incisively study the gains and losses of the reason. For good deeds should be done, and the problems of unkindness should be removed, it has long been vividly recognized. But those little people can't have real insight to do what they know they should do. For doing a good deed, lest others not notice that they are doing it in vain, so they hesitate to do it; For doing a bad thing, fortunately others may not necessarily see it, so it is very ineffective in correcting it. When you are alone behind your back, deception arises, and this is deception. And the gentleman, lest he fail to do a good deed, and have depraved deeds in the dark; If a bad fault cannot be corrected, it will be like a trickle of continuous mistakes for many years. In the dark room, it was as if it were in the sky, and the backbone of the heart was as solid as gold. Be cautious and cautious when acting alone where only you know. This is the standard that the saints followed, and the sages of later generations actually studied! In order to achieve the best state of "prudence and independence", Zeng Guofan has really worked hard, and now his "Twelve Lessons for Cultivating the Fa" are listed here for verification:

1. Hold on to yourself. Keep your clothes neat and outward, your mind and expression upright and serious, and always be vigilant and check your thoughts and demeanor for any deviations from righteousness. When you are idle on weekdays, you are quiet and peaceful, maintain your virtue, and once you devote yourself to affairs, you will concentrate on it, without distractions, and your mental state will be clear and clear, just like the rising sun and shining brightly.

2. Meditation. There is no limit to the time of day, and a certain amount of time should be set aside to meditate and nourish one's nature, reflecting on and realizing the benevolence and righteousness that is hidden in one's nature. Sitting upright, calm and calm, as calm as Baoding.

3. Wake up early. Get up quickly at dawn, and don't fall in love with the bed when you wake up.

4. Be single-minded in reading. When you don't finish a book, don't read other books. Reading and reading at will is not beneficial to one's moral learning.

5. Read history books. Bingshennian purchased a set of "Twenty-three History", and his father admonished him: "You borrow money from others to buy books, and I will do everything to make up for you to pay off the debt. Since then, Zeng Guofan has carefully read 10 pages every day.

6. Be cautious in your speech. We should always pay attention to this, this is the most important kung fu of self-cultivation and introspection.

7. Maintain true qi. The true qi is stored in the dantian, and it is completely upright and upright, and there is no shame in what he does to say to others.

8. Take care of your body. In December, I received a letter from my father, saying: "Temper your labor, temper your desires, and temper your diet." "This should always be used as a guideline for physical fitness.

9. Every day you should learn something new. Record your own experience when reading a book every day, if you deliberately hollow out the book to seek deep meaning, it is to favor others.

10. Don't slack old skills every month. Write a few poems every month to test how much righteousness you have accumulated and maintain the strength of your true qi. But you can't completely indulge in it, because this is the easiest way to make people lose their minds and hide their nature.

11. Writing. Write half-hour words after the meal. All aspects of communication can be used as an opportunity to practice writing. Don't leave anything to the next day, the more things accumulate, the harder it will be to clean up.

12. Don't go out of the house at night. It makes people delay their work and exhaust their spirits, so they must be stopped. Good family style brings good habits

The formation of Zeng Guofan's philosophy of life and the achievement of merit are inseparable from the family style of his "family of cultivation and study".

The Zeng family has been farming for generations, and since his grandfather Zeng Yuping has been going back to at least five or six hundred years, there has never been a showman.

When Zeng Yuping was young, he was not interested in studying in order to gain fame, and he liked to go to Xiangtan to fool around with the children of rich families, or drink and eat to chase each other, or sleep soundly every day, and be idle all day long. Later, when his father died, the burden of life for three generations of grandparents fell on his shoulders, and at this time, he felt a great responsibility. The elders of the village, seeing that he was lazy all day long and did not do his job, ridiculed him for being the son of a loser in the future. This aroused his determination to change his ways, sell his horses, and return home on foot, determined to start his ancestral business with his feet on the ground. Since then, he has been getting up before dawn every day, painstakingly managing his own family business, digging ditches, cultivating fields and vegetables, saving food, raising fish and feeding pigs, and intensive farming, all of which are hands-on. After more than ten years of hard work, he not only kept his foundation, but his family gradually prospered.

Although Zeng Yuping did not read much, he was upright and full of a sense of justice, and was quite respected by the villagers. If there is a dispute between neighbors, he often mediates and makes peace, and acts as an arbiter. If someone is not convinced, he will "rebuke him harshly, and he will be like a thunderbolt of power", which often makes those "fierce men" depressed, and they will give up, and some people will even be afraid of his prestige and go to the door to apologize before it can be over.

Zeng Yuping ruled the family very strictly, and the whole family, including his wife Wang, who was 7 years older than him, was not disrespectful when they saw him. Zeng Yuping was very strict with Lin Shu and Jiyun brothers, especially the eldest son Lin Shu, "often sitting in a thick crowd and scolding loudly." or some are unhappy with others, reprimanding them, and occasionally making agitating words." In the face of his father's scolding, Zeng Linshu always "respects filial piety, holds his breath and bears the wall, hesitates to advance, and enjoys the same color as ever".

Zeng Yuping also created a number of family rules that his family must follow, some of which are common in rural Chinese households. For example, "men plough and read, women must weave". Male ploughing and female weaving is a typical self-sufficient lifestyle in the old era, reading is the ladder of development, you can seek fame if you advance, and you can make a living by relying on male ploughing and female weaving. Some are Zeng Yuping's unique ideas, for example, he asked his family to do eight things: reading, planting vegetables, raising fish, raising pigs, getting up early, sprinkling and sweeping, worshipping ancestors, and being good neighbors; Alienate six types of people: feng shui readers, fortune tellers, doctors, monks, witches, and those who do not leave.

Reading is the basic education of China's feudal society, and urging children and grandchildren to study is the same as demanding the development of agriculture, which is called the two right ways to teach children.

Growing vegetables requires as much intensive cultivation as possible, so that there are grains and rice in the fields, vegetables in the garden, diligence and thrift, and self-sufficiency.

Fish feeding, Hunan Province is the land of fish and rice, ponds are dense, and all fish are produced. Fish farming can not only increase non-staple food, but also increase vitality, reflecting a prosperous atmosphere of family business.

Pig raising, pig is the main sideline of Hunan, pigs eat rice bran and rich waterside plants, grow very well, advocate pig breeding, can meet the family's food.

Waking up early, working at sunrise and resting at sunset is a virtue of Chinese farmers. Advocating early morning is to reward diligence and increase vitality.

Sprinkle sweeping, that is, to do cleaning work. The first thing women do in the morning is to clean. At the end of the year, there is also a general cleaning. Since ancient times, our country has attached great importance to the gift of sprinkling and sweeping to deal with advance and retreat, and the matter of sprinkling and sweeping is compared with the gift of coping with advance and retreat, which shows that attaching importance to sprinkling and sweeping is a fine tradition.

Sacrifice, the Chinese attach great importance to the sacrifice of ancestors, reflecting people's reverence for ancestors.

Good neighborliness, people are in society, no one can be good alone, and no family can be good to one's own family. The relationship between people is closely linked. Being kind to relatives and neighbors is the treasure of home.

In the past, rural medicine was not developed, and it was also a common practice not to believe in medicine, but there were many folk believers in monks and witches, earth immortals, and Duzeng Yuping's family did not believe in it, reflecting his personality.

Zeng Guofan bathed in his family style and passed on his family style. Later, Zeng Guofan summarized his grandfather's family rules as follows:

Books, vegetables, fish and pigs, early sweep of the treasure; It is often said that it is always done, and all eight are good. The earth is destined to heal, and the monks and witches pray; Staying for a long time, the six are afraid.

Early: It is to get up early. Get up early for three days, you can be a worker.

Sweep: It is to sweep. Cleanliness and hygiene should not be neglected.

Kao: It's a sacrifice. Be cautious and chase the distance, and the people's morality will be thick.

Bao: It's good neighborliness. Caring for each other in adversity, only good is treasured.

Book: It's education. Read books and popularize knowledge.

Vegetables: It is to grow vegetables. There are vegetables in the garden, and they are always new in all seasons.

Fish: It's fish farming. The fish jumped in the pool, lively.

Pigs: Just feed the pigs. There is fat meat, and the elderly are hospitable.

A good family style lies in timely teaching and encouragement. In the autumn of 1838, when Zeng Guofan returned home with great ambition after being ordered to take the imperial examination, his grandfather Zeng Yuping had some earnest teachings.

At the end of the year, Xinhanlin returned to his hometown with glory, and relatives and friends came to congratulate him, which was naturally lively. At this time, Zeng Guofan's grandfather, Mr. Yuping, was 65 years old, and although his son had not achieved any hard work for many years, he realized it in the eldest grandson, and he was very happy, so he told Lin Shu: "We are a family of farmers, even if we are rich and noble, we must not forget our roots!" The eldest grandson is a Hanlin, let him do his business with peace of mind! Don't burden him with food at home! So Zeng Guofan went to Beijing to be an official from then on, and his family still relied on farming to make a living. Sometimes I send some money back, and most of them give money to the relatives.

Such a family of cultivation and study, full of vitality, full of joy, full of productive capacity, full of filial piety and friendship, this is a kind of model family. Zeng Guofan grew up in this kind of family since he was a child, and what his eyes were in contact with was the industrious, thrifty and simple life of his ancestors, what he heard with his ears was the teachings of courtesy, righteousness, honesty and shame, and what he talked about in the book was the idea of loyalty and patriotism. With such a family style, such a family background, and such an environment, a figure like Zeng Guofan was finally created. Zeng Guofan's style of farming and reading can be said to have a long history. Today's people look at his daughter Zeng Jifen - Chongde old man in the Republic of China wrote a memoir reminiscing about his father, the font is extremely dignified and beautiful, a woman in her 80s can still write such a good hand, which shows that she cultivates and reads the style of the family.

Zeng Guofan's life's career is closely related to his family background. Broadly speaking, the war of the Hunan army under his command against the Taiping army was also similar to a religious war. Because the Taiping army believed in a religion similar to Catholicism, this was a so-called "heresy" that violated the ways of Confucius and Mencius in the eyes of Confucianism. Zeng Guofan's family background is that of Confucianism for generations, and he must be Confucian and Meng, and he will undoubtedly hate the "heresy" of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. From a small point of view, Zeng Guofan's life did not forget the legacy of his ancestors for a while, starting at dawn, he was diligent and thrifty, helping the poor, alienating doctors and witches, and even compiled his grandfather's family rules into mantras for himself and his family to follow. It wasn't until later that the official was awarded the first-class marquis, and he became the governor of Liangjiang and Zhili, etc., and he didn't dare to be idle for his diligence and thrift. Zeng Guofan's character in his life is really contributed by his family background.

Zeng Guofan's successful personality in his life is because he pays attention to cultivation and is not hurt by outsiders. Here, we must take a look at his strict family rules and his own code of conduct.

A "light" word is worth 10,000 gold

Zeng Guofan believed that the best state is when the moon is half-round. Zeng Guofan not only found the root of his disease, but also found a cure. A "light" word can be described as a word of ten thousand gold, indifferent and tired, indifferent and indifferent, which has won the true meaning of Zhuangzi.

People with excessive selfish desires are "hounds". Zeng Guofan tried his best to avoid being too eager for fame and prevent unfavorable factors from appearing in his personality to truly gain success.

Tsang also sometimes contradicts himself in his ideas and actions. For example, he praised the "lack of beauty" and believed that the moon is the best state when it is half-round. For success, he also believes that people can only achieve one or two things, and it is impossible for everything to be as they wish, but in fact, Zeng Guofan is also a person who pursues perfection. When he failed to suppress the twist, he said that he should retreat bravely after capturing Tianjing, and should not have "painting snakes and adding enough strokes" in his perfect career as a eunuch, because he had achieved success, and he did not want to see failure again.

Influenced by the strong traditional Chinese culture, Tsang was certainly not immune to being too eager for fame and too much to see, but as a diligent introspective person, he recognized the dangers of both and was determined to overcome them.

How can these two ills be eliminated? Zeng Guofan continued to write in the same diary: If you want to get rid of these two diseases today, you must pay attention to the word "light". Not special (only) wealth and fame and the smoothness of the net worth, whether the prosperity of the descendants is determined by heaven, that is, whether the establishment of learning and virtue is also mostly related to heavenly affairs, all of which are forgotten, and Shu (maybe) this heart is a little at ease. Zhuangzi said that "indifference is infinite and all beauty follows it", and in "Deliberately" he said: "If you are easy and tranquil, you will not be able to enter the trouble, and the evil spirit will not attack, and you will not lose your virtue and God." In this way, the mood is calm, Mo Ran has no soul, and only then can "the time be smooth, and the sorrow and joy cannot enter".

Zeng Guofan has an objective understanding of himself and others. He said: "People are driven by fame, by profit, and especially by power. It is said that in the era in which Mencius lived, Su Qin, Zhang Yi, and Gongsun Yan generations, "there is a tendency to overwhelm the mountains and seas, flying sand and stones, and Mencius can not be shaken by it, and the true heroes are enough to vibrate the stone for a hundred generations." Su Qin was a scholar and was said to be a student of Guiguzi. He is not reconciled to the status quo and is eager to try in a turbulent society. He brought the lobbying style of the Warring States period and the realistic attitude of scholars to learn from fame and fortune to the extreme.

Zeng Guofan is in Vanity Fair, and he can always guard against fame and fortune, so he can keep a certain distance from fame. He said: Everything in the world needs to be returned, and there will definitely be times of great disappointment. The Buddhist concept of karma cannot be believed in its entirety, and there are things that have a cause but no effect. Recalling Su Shi's words: "Governing life does not seek wealth, and studying does not seek officials." For example, if you don't get drunk, you will have more than you can enjoy. I added a few more sentences: "Governing life does not seek wealth, and studying does not seek officials." Cultivating virtue does not seek retribution, and does not seek to pass on the text. For example, if you don't get drunk, you will have more than you can enjoy. The meaning is not enough, and the argument has been forgotten. ”

Be extra cautious and you won't be walking on thin ice

Zeng Guofan especially likes to talk about the word "cautious", so he has repeatedly warned the people around him to guard against arrogance and be cautious, so as not to cross the thunder pool half a step.

The ending of Fan Li's successful retirement shows that Fan Li is not only good at seeking the country, but also good at seeking his life. Su Dongpo commented on this: "Since the Spring and Autumn Period, there has been no such thing as Fan Li. The reason why Fan Li adopted this approach of retiring after success was because he saw a social phenomenon with regularity at that time: "The birds are exhausted, and the good bow is hidden; The cunning rabbit dies, and the lackeys cook. Of course, due to historical conditions, he has not been able to see its essence through the phenomenon. Gou Jian's crossing of the river and demolition of the bridge cannot be simply attributed to his personal morality, let alone because he has a long neck and sharp mouth, but is determined by the social system at that time and his class nature. Under the historical conditions at that time, the relationship between the monarch and the adviser was a relationship of personal dependence and mutual exploitation. The self-aware monarch knew that his intellect was not enough to deal with the intricacies of the struggle, and that "wisdom is not prepared for one man, but he must consult the crowd." Especially in the entrepreneurial stage or when the situation is in danger, he can be courteous to the corporal to varying degrees and humbly listen to the opinions of the ministers. Strategists hope to rely on the monarch who has made a difference, seek personal fame and fortune, and display their talents. However, the extent to which this relationship can be maintained depends on whether it is conducive to the power of the monarch. For those who are ministers, they are the most jealous of high merit. When Gou Jian was defeated and "ten years of life gathering", he was able to listen to the opinions of Fan Li, Wen Chong and others more humbly, and even declared that he wanted to "jointly govern the government of the country" with them; And once it is done, they do not hesitate to reject and persecute the advisers when they think that they no longer need the help of the advisers, or even that the advisers have become a threat to their own power. Therefore, under the social and historical conditions at that time, Fan Li's approach was a wise choice.

Zeng Guofan said: "Lifelong danger and danger, like walking on thin ice, but can be self-sufficient, self-disciplined, do their best to know the destiny of heaven, go to school and go to school." These are the most important principles of his life.

At all times, be cautious and do not act rashly. People who really acquire a successful personality must work more on their prudence and not add trouble to themselves. Zeng Guofan's life was only cautious, and prudence made him less prone to mistakes, and eventually acquired a successful character.

Zeng Guofan said that all talented people always want to show themselves, hoping that others will recognize his cleverness, just like a peacock, when there are many onlookers, they will open the screen to show their beauty. In fact, this can easily attract public anger. At the same time, it is difficult to have right and wrong, judgment, and trade-offs in one's mind, but pretend not to know.

Zeng Guofan once said: A person in a position of power cannot but be especially careful about his actions, including the words of his family. As early as the Daoguang period, he instructed his family not to go to the yamen to talk about business. If he broke into the yamen, on the one hand, he would lose the grace of a squire, and on the other hand, he would also humiliate Zeng Guofan; At the same time, it can embarrass the magistrate and sometimes be despised by the magistrate. Therefore, he repeatedly instructed his family that even if he was willing to suffer a loss at home, he must not cause a dispute with others, so as not to be suspected of being bullied by the local governor.

Zeng Guofan knew that many high-ranking officials in history had been defeated at the hands of those around him, so when his uncle interfered in local government under the banner of his father and him, he immediately wrote a letter to stop it. And talked about the truth that this is a loser and a misguided country. At first, his uncle disagreed, and even a little angry, but at this time, it was Zeng Guofan's father who moved out of the "ancestral training", and Zeng Guofan's uncle reined in.

By the time Zeng Guofan was the governor of Liangjiang, he was more powerful and Zeng Guofan was more cautious. In a letter to Zeng Guoquan, he wrote: "When I donate to business, I mean that my brother will never say a word. When the official fortune of the great mortals was at its peak, their children were also very comfortable in handling office affairs, singing a hundred harmony and responding to every call. However, gossip also arises from this, and resentment and slander are also born from this. Therefore, our brothers should foresee the time of decline in the time of the great thy, and the time of the decline of the bad when the times of prosperity and the reversal of the times of the great times. Brother, when you go to Changsha, Hengzhou, and Xiangxiang in the future, you should regard non-interference in official affairs as the first important principle. This is a very experienced word for my brother, and I hope that my brother will remember it in my heart. Zeng Guofan is afraid of the sky but not afraid of the sky, afraid of death but not afraid of death, what he is afraid of is the suspicion, gossip and slander of others. He and Zeng Guoquan led the same army, which was a very special relationship, one was prosperous and the other was lost, and Zeng Guofan was particularly cautious. He said to his younger brother, "If I am a magistrate, if I only bring one younger brother by my side, then the good things may not be seen by the ninth brother's merits, and the bad things must be the fault of the ninth brother, and you must not be careless." How to deal with this relationship? Zeng Guofan wrote a couplet to encourage his younger brother: If you are an official in the world, your brothers will be in the same province and must be avoided;

For the soldiers of King Qin, the brothers walk together, and the more decent. Zeng Guofan's core idea of strategy and tactics in managing the army was also based on prudence, and this prudence was manifested in retreating as advance, not attacking easily, preserving strength, and striking first. In February of the ninth year of Xianfeng, Zeng Guofan wrote in his diary: "Soldiers have no choice but to use it. Always have a heart that does not dare to be the first; The first hit must be made, and I will hit the second blow. It is the embodiment of this idea.

Being cautious in life cannot but be said to be an important reason why Zeng Guofan was saved from defeat.