l Zeng Guofan (1811-1872) is one of the most influential figures in Chinese history. He came to Beijing as a scholar from a remote small mountain village in Shuangfeng, Hunan to take the examination. At the age of 37, he served as a minister of the Ministry of Rites, and was an official of the second rank. Returning to his hometown due to his mother's funeral, he coincided with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's huge waves sweeping the land of Xiangjiang River. Because of this, he pulled up a special militia group Xiangjun in his hometown. The first person to be named Marquis Wu as a literati. Later, he served as the governor of Liangjiang and Zhili, and he was a first-class official. He was a pivotal figure in the transitional period of the Qing Dynasty and had an important influence on politics, economy, military affairs and culture. After reading Zeng Guofan's life "six precepts", he learned his way of being a man and doing things.
The first commandment: Don't do what Jiuli does, and don't go to places where people are fighting.
l Don't do things that have always been profitable, and don't go to places that everyone wants. No entry into a dangerous city, everyone yearns for what they desire, which may be harmful. The first half of the sentence said, do not greedy too much! The middle of the day moves, the moon is full, and the things are in decline. There is nothing in the world that can be done once and for all, and there can be no long-term profit. If there is such a long-term profit, it can only be said to be a superficial phenomenon or a scam. At this time, you must keep a clear head. The second half of the sentence is about safety. You should not go to places where people are arguing and fighting. It is easy to cause trouble or cause disaster. "The Analects of Confucius" said "the dangerous gang does not enter, the chaos gang does not live" is what it means. Of course, the "competition" in this sentence can also be understood as a struggle for profit, which means that if everyone is fighting for the interests, you should not try to earn them, because it must be a small profit.
l There are many such examples in our daily life. For example, some people like to put money in the bank, but lend at high interest rates. The returns are very generous at the beginning, and then the more they invest, the more they put their money into the warehouse. lost heavily.
The second commandment: Do not abandon the great beauty of others with small mistakes, and do not forget the great kindness of others with small resentments.
l Don't ignore the advantages of others because of their small shortcomings, and don't ignore the great kindness of others because of their small grievances. As long as people do things, they will make mistakes. These two things tell us that we should not completely deny the goodness of others and forget the kindness of others because of a small fault, a small moral flaw, or a small grievance. "Book of Rites" says, "It is rare in the world to know what is evil when it is good, and know its beauty when it is evil." It means that one loves a person and knows its shortcomings, and hates it and knows its advantages. This reminds us that we must not be too sentimental when bringing people and things, and we must look at other people's shortcomings and deficiencies objectively and impartially.
l This is also in line with our core values of openness and inclusiveness. No gold is bare, and no one is perfect. Everyone is a community of strengths and weaknesses. The evaluation of anyone must be objective and fair. Even great people make mistakes sometimes, not to mention us, we must divide the problem into two parts.
The third commandment: To say that people are short is to protect their own shortcomings, and to praise their own strengths is to be jealous of others' strengths.
l People who often talk about the shortcomings of others, and people who often brag about their own strengths, can be said to be "not good-hearted, but too knowledgeable." As the saying goes, "hitting people don't slap people in the face, and scolding people don't expose their shortcomings." Often talking about other people's shortcomings and boasting about their own strengths is not only a sign of low emotional intelligence, but also inevitably brings resentment to oneself and sows the seeds of chaos. Han Gaozu Liu Bang once discussed with Han Xin about the talents of the generals. Liu Bang asked, "To myself, how many soldiers can I bring?" Han Xin said, "Your Majesty can only bring 100,000 soldiers." Liu Bang said, "That's for you. What?" Han Xin replied, "To me, the more the better." Han Xin was later killed, so it cannot be said that it has nothing to do with his character. People who often talk about the shortcomings of others are trying to cover up their own shortcomings. People who often boast about their strengths are actually jealous or cover up the strengths of others.
l Honesty and sincerity are our core values. We must have a broad mind. Compare the shortcomings and strengths of others, find out your own shortcomings and improve them, and do not publicize your own strengths.
The fourth commandment: Profits can be shared but not alone;
l Benefits are often desired by everyone. If anyone monopolizes the benefits and does not share them with everyone, it will definitely lead to resentment and even become the target of public criticism. Liu Bang conquered Xianyang, but he did not dare to monopolize the land. Cao Cao could "hold the emperor to command the princes", but he never dared to usurp the Han and become independent. They were all afraid of being the target of public criticism. Therefore, in the face of interests, they must weigh the options.
l When planning things, be sure to be with a few people who are assertive, not with everyone. Just as it is said in the "Warring States Policy": "On the most virtuous people do not harmonize with the common people, and those who achieve great achievements do not seek to share with the public." In layman's terms, it means to seek especially important things, and there is no need to discuss with everyone, because those who seek great things will definitely be themselves. If you have an extraordinary vision, mind, and tolerance, you can see it and just do it. If you discuss with others, it will be troublesome. If others have low knowledge, small-mindedness, and ordinary bearing, they will definitely not understand your thoughts and talk nonsense, which will shake your will and destroy your confidence and emotions.
l The importance of sharing is mentioned here. If the achievement of an achievement is the result of everyone's joint efforts, it must be shared with everyone according to certain principles. Even if it is some of the achievements made by oneself, it must be shared with everyone, so that it can be recognized by everyone and make more friends. many friends. In terms of decision-making on some issues, some decisions are often made by a few people. If all people discuss one thing together, it is difficult to form a decision.
The fifth commandment: All the mediocre people in the ancient and modern world will be defeated by a word of laziness;
l For ordinary people, there is no talent, only hard work can achieve a career, so the word "lazy" is the most taboo; and for those who are talented, although they can take shortcuts based on talent, it is easy to succeed, but it is also easy Being arrogant and arrogant, refusing to learn from others, is also prone to failure. Zeng Guofan is a good example of industriousness. In fact, he is not smart, but he can achieve university studies and great careers with "diligence". It can be said that he is an example of ordinary people. For example, Xiang Yu, Li Zicheng, etc., occupied the time and place, but they were defeated because of pride.
l Our minds may not be as flexible as others, our thinking may not be as clear as others, and we are born a "stupid person", this is not terrible, the terrible thing is our laziness, the terrible thing is that we are unwilling to pay, we can pay more than others More time, you can suffer more than others, as long as the results can be achieved, everything else is not a problem. "God rewards hard work", God is fair. Our principle is to win without pride and defeat without discouragement.
The sixth precept: When doing great things, knowledge is the main thing, and talents are the supplementary. When a big thing is accomplished, man's plan is half, and God's will is half.
l To do great things, knowledge is the main thing, and talent and talent are auxiliary, so people who rely on their talents and arrogance are often difficult to achieve great things. Knowledge here refers not only to knowledge, but also to experience and insight. "Man's desire is half, God's will is half" means that no matter what we do, we must hold the attitude of "do our best to obey the destiny. Don't stop working hard because there are factors that you can't control, let alone work hard because of yourself." , but ultimately failed and blamed others.
l In one's life, the more experience, the richer the experience, the more extensive the experience, and the stronger the ability to adapt to the society. So every experience in life is a precious spiritual wealth. When you do anything, you have to ask yourself whether you have done your best, whether you have done everything that should be done, if you have done everything that should be done by human beings, and the result is not up to expectations, it is God's will. No regrets.
l The content of the above six precepts was learned in the process of self-study. I think it is very reasonable. I took it out and shared it with everyone, hoping to encourage it with everyone.
