1

Why do the Chinese focus on Zuo Zongtang?

Today, Zuo Zongtang has passed away for 134 years.

Through the late Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China, and New China, after years of polishing and the shaping of time, the Chinese people have repeatedly commented on him, and their conclusions have become increasingly clear.

Why do Chinese people pay so much attention to and praise this master regardless of class or age?

In "The Front and Back of Zuo Zongtang", Italian historian Croce said this: All history is contemporary history. Reading Zuo Zongtang will always give people spiritual rewards, cultural enhancement, and method inspiration.

Speaking of spiritual rewards, if you don’t pay attention, it may be a disaster for you. People must have spiritual culture, especially a country.

To gain a spiritual heart and improve personal spiritual quality, we must first resist "opium information".

If in the past, the poison to people was opium, but now, the poison to people is called "opium information."

What is "opium information"? It means that when you watch it, you feel very refreshed and your heart is surging. After that, your brain goes blank, just like when people in ancient times just started smoking opium, they were full of energy and happy like gods. After that, he was so skinny that he almost became a cripple.

Therefore, to overcome anxiety and confusion, you must be like Lin Zexu in the Humen smoke and resolutely resist "opium information". Only then can you spend a lot of time absorbing spiritual nourishment.

The spirit of Zuo Zongtang is innovation and courage, the backbone of the nation, and the Chinese spirit.

Nowadays, many people, including messy information, may be telling you that you must be famous early, so you should pay attention and think carefully about whether this sentence contains silicone.

Let me ask you: Who doesn’t want to become famous as soon as possible? You must know that not everyone has the conditions to become famous early. As Duan Yongping mentioned: I think our culture has a rather impetuous mentality, which is to hope for success.

One thing I very much agree with is that culture allows us to clearly know who I am? Where do I come from? Where to go?

Zuo Zongtang is a person who likes culture, and if he wants to improve his own cultural pattern, he must read poetry and books. As Zuo Zongtang said: Reading unseen books is like finding a good friend; reading already seen books is like meeting an old friend.

He himself likes to read, and aims to "read thousands of volumes and make friends with the ancients". After pacifying the Great Northwest, he happily recounted in his calligraphy: Make good wishes and make good connections. , enjoy the blessings of inferiors; choose a high place to stand, seek a flat place to live, and go to a broad place, which is adopted by many leaders or entrepreneurs as their own cultural motto.

What exactly does it mean?

Generally speaking, it means setting up lofty aspirations, having a happy-go-lucky attitude toward fate, not having too many extravagant expectations for material life, and living a simple life without luxury. You should look far-sighted when looking at problems, be low-key in life, and leave room for things to happen.

Of course, Zuo Zongtang not only inherited Confucianism very well, but was also proficient in practical learning. If you read the articles he wrote carefully, you can always smell the precipitation of history, the warmth of human nature, and the personality of Experience, integrity and soulfulness.

Back in 1884, on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, Emperor Guangxu’s teacher Weng Tongsu discussed Taoism face to face with Zuo Zongtang, and wrote in his diary: Yu Fuqi (Zuo Zongtang) practiced Confucianism Qi .

Today, our culture has been made into a mess by some people, but as the young generation and the hope of the future motherland, I hope that we can spread good social atmosphere while we are young, read poetry and books, concentrate on our aspirations, and embrace With a pragmatic and diligent attitude, improve your own cultural structure, forge wisdom, do one thing well, and work in a field you like with the spirit of craftsmanship.

You must know that a person can be ordinary, but that is just innocuous; if a person is ordinary and has poor spiritual and cultural literacy, it will undoubtedly be a disaster.

I believe that you will get a lot of inspiration from Zuo Zongtang, and Mao Zedong is one of them. Mao Zedong received great inspiration, such as military wisdom, from Zuo Zongtang's strategy to regain Xinjiang.

Not only Mao Zedong, but also Wang Zhen used the Chu army's road map as a living teaching material. Even during the Anti-Japanese War, Zuo Zongtang's winning tactics were used by the Kuomintang army to counterattack the Japanese army.

Everyone knows that Zuo Zongtang was extremely intelligent, but it is a pity that his legend also left some unsolved mysteries for future generations. For example, when he entered the military aircraft in his later years, he was responsible for the gods. The Jiying directly led the Royal Guards and commanded various internal experts to protect the safety of the Qing Dynasty. Many people are curious about him, how did he gain trust? And how to be as stable as a mountain? .....

Hu Linyi once said: "Looking across Jiuzhou, no one can surpass him." To praise Zuo Zongtang's wisdom as the best in China, it can be seen that only he can interpret this sentence well.

But what I am curious about is that what is shocking about Zuo Zongtang is: whether he was in officialdom or on the battlefield, Zuo Zongtang never suffered an obvious failure in his life.

Aren’t you curious?

Many people may interpret it as luck, but what I want to tell you is that if you simply interpret it as luck, it will only appear that you are mediocre in intelligence.

It was precisely based on this cultural and spiritual influence that he paved the way for making major choices in his life at critical moments.

2

How does he deal with choices?

I think, for many people, what is the hardest thing? That choice was inevitable.

Because of choice, we must be different. So far, the innovations and developments that have occurred in the fields of science, technology, and academic fields are beyond anyone’s expectation. They were the focus of attention of those few people at the beginning. appeared.

For example, Newton discovered "universal gravity". Of course, Zuo Zongtang was no exception. He became obsessed with practical learning due to his interest, conducted in-depth research, and even abandoned his studies and abandoned his fame. The price was undoubtedly too high.

Then why does he persist?

The first point: Interest-oriented, find a breakthrough in life, let the choice be enough to change him, and achieve great achievements.

Including Newton, Darwin, etc., they all started in their lifetime, starting from childhood, and Zuo Zongtang started in 1639.

According to the Ming Dynasty, 1639 was the 12th year of Chongzhen reign of Emperor Sizong of the Ming Dynasty, and the fourth year of Chongzhen reign of Emperor Taizong of the Qing Dynasty according to the Qing Dynasty. The first day of the new year starts on Saturday.

The taste is as frightening as a bereaved dog.

At that time, Gu Yanwu served as the Secretary of the Ministry of War in Qiandeng Town, Kunshan, Suzhou Prefecture, South Zhili. He was a ninth-grade official, equivalent to today's deputy section chief. With the sense of responsibility of a Confucian scholar, he called out what has been regarded as a minor official until now. A famous saying passed down by later generations: Every man is responsible for the rise and fall of the world.

But at that time, he was in a humble position. If he wanted to complete the great cause of "resisting the Qing Dynasty and restoring the Ming Dynasty", ambition alone was not enough. So he began to think about the reasons for the country's collapse and came to some realization: the Ming Dynasty believed in Neo-Confucianism, but officials lacked a pragmatic spirit and liked to talk empty talk.

Ever since, he thought that empty talk would harm the country, and it would be difficult not to subjugate the country. From then on, he advocated "practical learning" to reverse the situation, with only one purpose: to resist the Qing Dynasty and restore the Ming Dynasty.

In this year, he took up a pen and wrote "Book of Benefits and Diseases of the Counties and Counties of the World". Five years later, the Manchus used force to unify China. At that time, Gu Yanwu devoted himself to studying books, staying away from politics and indulging in geography.

As a scholar, he interrogated eruditely and went to dangerous areas to find veterans or retired people as well as ordinary people to understand the reasons in detail. Whenever he encountered something that he knew but was unreasonable, he would find a quiet place and check with a book. .

In order to ensure the rigor of the content, Gu Yanwu read a large amount of history and read more than a thousand historical documents. Later, in order to increase the practicality, he investigated the mountains and rivers, customs, sufferings and diseases, and conducted on-site inspections of military defense, taxation, and water conservancy. . By 1661, "The Book of Benefits and Diseases of the Counties and Countries of the World" was published, with a total of 120 volumes and 2 million words.

In 1659, Gu Zuyu, a scholar inspired by Gu Yanwu, began to compile the historical and military geography work "Minutes of Du Shi Fang Yu" using the preserved documents of the Ming Dynasty. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, he refused to become an official in the Qing Dynasty and sent In order to study his works, he lived in seclusion in the countryside.

Like Gu Yanwu, he spent more than 30 years compiling the 130-volume, 2.8 million-word "Minutes of Reading History Fangyu". He paid more attention to the combination of learning and application, and wrote in his poems: Chongpu Zhang He is already well-known, and is widely used in Longzhun's army. It's been a mistake to hide for half a life, how can we talk about military affairs in the forum?

It means that some people are already well-known in Xiang Yu's army and can walk around casually in Liu Bang's army. Unfortunately, they have done everything wrong for half their lives. How can a person be able to talk on paper?

In 1747, Qi Zhaonan, an official of the Imperial Academy of the Qing Dynasty, completed an on-site survey, which lasted 14 years, and wrote the 28-volume "Outline of Water Courses". The above three books started the trend of the country. When Zuo Zongtang read them, it was already 1829, 190 years later.

Then why did Zuo Zongtang discover these three books?

01

Regardless of the ridicule of others, he devoted himself to reading "useless" books

In 1829, Zuo Zongtang, a 17-year-old young man from the Qing Dynasty, observed filial piety for his mother Three years later, he followed his father Zuo Guanlan and left the old ancestral hall on Gongyuan East Street in Xiangyin and came to Changsha to study Neo-Confucianism and Eight-legged Essay.

There were two famous academies in Changsha at that time, one was Yuelu Academy. The second is Chengnan Academy, and Yuelu Academy is a high-end institution, equivalent to today's Tsinghua University and Peking University. Only talented people who can afford the tuition are eligible to enroll.

At that time, Zuo Zongtang’s family was too poor to reveal the blame, and because his mother kept filial piety and delayed the examination, he could only enter Chengnan Academy. It was just a popular academy and it is also the first normal school in Hunan today. Speaking of which, everyone may know that it is the alma mater of Huang Xing and Mao Zedong.

When Zuo Zongtang entered the academy, there was a couplet written by Li Yanzhang, a Fujian official, hanging on the main entrance of the academy:

Archeology is now in the present, and its application is related to world affairs;

Worry first and then rejoice, the intention must be when you are a scholar.

The general meaning is that up to now, archaeological evidence has been devoted to the affairs of the world (country); consider immediate worries first, and then have happiness. This kind of thinking must be done when you are a scholar. Just have it.

Because this couplet was grand and far-sighted, it was very in line with Zuo Zongtang’s taste. He took this couplet to heart at that time.

Since the academy was relatively free, Zuo Zongtang, who was very curious, definitely couldn't stay there, so he skipped classes and slipped out of the academy. At that time, he was penniless, and he was able to stay in Changsha only because of the scholarship from the school. If by any chance he could not get the scholarship, he would have to go home and farm.

It was precisely because of the difficulty that Zuo Zongtang became more aware that the opportunity to study was hard-won, which made him cherish it even more. During his free time in class, he went to the old bookstalls in the Miaofeng area near the academy to look for ancient books, hoping to take advantage of the opportunity to read more. Learn some skills and make plans for the future.

Unfortunately, one day he read the three books written by Gu Yanwu and others, and he thought, aren't these books just to teach me how to do things? So, I couldn't put it down and used my food money to buy it all.

As a result, who would have expected that in the golden youth period that determines the formation of lifelong value orientation and outlook on life, it can be said that these three books changed Zuo Zongtang's entire life.

So what did he learn in the book? Worth learning from.

02

Read books with critical thinking and cultivate independent thinking ability

A few years later, Zuo Zongtang said in a letter to a friend that he still has a deep understanding of that issue. 3. The book is still fresh in my memory, and I have a thorough grasp of the content in the book. I can make independent expressions in my own words and have my own thinking and insights.

At first, he was very interested in the complicated textual research in the book. He used his spare time to refer to other works for comparison and checking. Sure enough, once he compared, he saw the advantages and disadvantages of the book and made some comments about it. Did a book review.

03

Read thick books and make them your own

4-year-old Zuo Zongtang recited Confucian classics in private school very strictly according to his father's requirements , allowing him to develop his superb self-learning ability.

This ability completely allows him to get rid of the teacher and conduct self-study; the independent thinking ability he cultivates helps him do in-depth research alone.

At that time, he was reading "The Book of Benefits and Diseases of the Prefectures and Countries of the World" and "Outline of Water Courses". He did not use the previous "comparative reading method", but "read thick books and thin books, and turned the books into his own."

To put it simply, he copied down all the content in the book that is still of practical value and made it into a notebook for his own research and use.

At that time, Zuo Zongtang was obsessed with studying extracurricular books. His classmates instantly cast surprised looks, puzzled by what he was doing, and even laughed at him for looking like a fool.

The books that were not tested in the exam were also called "useless books" by classmates at the time. They read them with relish. To use our Shaanxi dialect, I said: Is my brain funny?

But Zuo Zongtang still exudes a stubborn and unique character. It is this stubbornness that is unique to others that gave him the determination to persevere during a critical period in his life.

04

The courage, stubbornness, and gentlemanly personality learned behind Dingli

Speaking of Zuo Zongtang’s stubbornness, he has grown like a calf since he was a child , has endless brute strength, of course it is also inseparable from social influence, family environment, and starvation and cold are the norm, and even ridiculed and attacked by others.

After his father became sensible, he personally taught him the Analects of Confucius, in order to make him understand that a scholar should have the world in mind.

That means walking around, living up to the king's orders, "filial piety" taking precedence among clans and races, and respecting each other among neighbors in townships and towns.

At that time, Zuo Zongtang was called a gentleman by reading the works of Confucius, but the country people who pursued profit and were popular in comparison were dissatisfied with Zuo Zongtang, saying that he was making a fuss and ridiculing him.

It was under this blow that his stubborn heart suddenly burst out, so he got up early in the morning and read "The Analects of Confucius" and "Mencius" at the peak of Changsha, and the "Analects of Confucius" exuded The "righteousness", "gentleman personality", "morale and morale", and "the road ahead is long and arduous"; coupled with the majestic spirit of a man expressed in "Mencius", they were injected into Zuo Zongtang's heart in his childhood.

In 1820, there was a very mysterious saying in Zhejiang: There was a paper man carrying a pair of scissors and flying in the sky day and night. Once he found someone on the ground, he quickly fell from the sky and instantly cut off the man's braid and the woman's hair. Clothes and shoelaces, and the life of the person being cut is in danger.

At that time, rumors spread throughout Hunan, causing panic in Changsha and surrounding areas, and social unrest. At that time, the court had to send troops to maintain stability.

After hearing this, Zuo Zongtang was not afraid, but instead doubted whether it was true. Then he went to check and confirm it himself, and elaborated on the process of self-verification of rumors in "Bingzi's Reply to Yang Shiquan Zhongcheng Shu".

In Zuo Zongtang’s case, he had the courage to expose the truth of rumors alone, his strong stubborn personality, and his lofty belief in the Confucian gentleman’s personality. These three points made him dare to leave the eight-part essay class at the age of 17. In order to find and satisfy your own interests, study 3 practical books.

This was indeed very rebellious at the time, because the society at that time focused on the correct path of scholars: studying, coping with exams, and becoming an official. And doing other things is all heretical and mysterious.

Of course, a casual interest does not suddenly determine the path you will choose to take in your life. This is not realistic. After all, many young people nowadays are interested in playing with novelty. When the novelty disappears, persistence requires willpower and even the courage to endure the hardships of learning.

If the concentration is not enough, the spiritual level is too low, the pattern is too small, coupled with the diversity of interests, it is difficult to determine where the light this interest brings to you?

It was at this time that Zuo Zongtang met the person who guided him on the road of life.

The second point: Strengthen yourself and ask the teacher.

When Zuo Zongtang was 15 years old, his mother unfortunately passed away, and soon after his father died unexpectedly. The sudden and devastating blows devastated the entire family. At that time, he began to take on family responsibilities and work with his two children. Brother has finished handling his parents’ funeral affairs.

Being penniless, he didn't seem to care about poverty. He left the 15 acres of land left by his father to his deceased elder brother's son. After that, he borrowed money for boating and meals from relatives. Empty-handed, I returned to school and continued studying.

Because Zuo Zongtang was used to being disciplined by his father, the death of his parents caused him to lose his father's guidance. He had to do everything personally and take the initiative, so that he might be able to blaze a trail, so He began to embark on the path of seeking teachers and asking questions.

Huangtian paid off. He met a scholar named He Changling, who was the political history of Jiangsu Province and was equivalent to today's deputy governor in charge of civil affairs. He focused on the study of practical knowledge.

For Zuo Zongtang, who was passionate and obsessed with practical learning at that time, he naturally respected this person and couldn't help but want to ask him for advice.

After the two had a head-on conversation, He Changling was very surprised. He praised Zuo Zongtang and gave him a high evaluation: a national scholar.

Today we are called "National Scholars". The teacher's encouragement made the young Zuo Zongtang full of strength and confidence.

Moreover, He Changling recognized heroes and cherished talents, so he decided to train the genius in front of him. At that time, he knew that Zuo Zongtang had no money to study, so he vacated his study room so that Zuo Zongtang could borrow books at any time. read.

In this way, in the process of frequent interactions, Zuo Zongtang improved rapidly under He Changling's rigorous intellectual education. Every time he finished reading a book, He Changling would ask him, what did you gain from reading this book?

Of course, Zuo Zongtang is good at expressing his opinions orally under previous training, and the two will often exchange academic ideas together.

Once, He Changling told Zuo Zongtang, which I think has great reference significance for us. He said: You should pay attention, there is a serious shortage of talents in China’s officialdom today. I observed you and found that you are a good candidate for big things. Life is a long road. You must have great ambitions. In the future, you must not be tempted by petty officials, small positions, or small careers, and just look for a position, so as not to waste your talents and limit your achievements.

It was He Changling's spiritual sustenance and encouragement that made Zuo Zongtang, who had suffered setbacks and discrimination at the age of 18, no one think so highly of him before, feel a surge in his heart.

So that every time he made a key choice in his future life, he could find the answer from the teacher's words, and the answer was He Changling's knowledge, character, and respect for Zuo Zongtang. Teach by precept and example.

In 1831, He Changling had not yet completed his filial piety. Due to the shortage of people in the court, he entrusted Zuo Zongtang to his younger brother He Xiling and asked him to accept Zuo Zongtang as his student.

Who could have predicted that? This entrustment brought Zuo Zongtang into the new world of practical learning.

He Changling encouraged Zuo Zongtang in terms of ambition, guided academically, and inspired Zuo Zongtang, while He Xiling took Zuo Zongtang step by step and taught him to specialize in "Confucianism plus practical studies" and provided guidance.

At that time, He Xiling was 24 years older than Zuo Zongtang. Although there was a big age difference, the friendship between teacher and student lasted forever. On the one hand, He Xiling loves talents and does not pretend to be a teacher. The two are like old friends like Charlie and Buffett, and they often communicate and learn.

On the other hand, in the eyes of He Xilinghui, Zuo Zongtang is a unique model of reading. His independence and spiritual structure are admirable. He always reads with critical thinking and can draw inferences from one example to other cases. . And this ability is too rare among our younger generation.

He guided Zuo Zongtang to focus on the two major studies, the study of principles and principles, and the study of management of the world, that is, Confucian classics and practical learning techniques, and put aside the subjects of scientific examinations.

Due to this period, Zuo Zongtang was not only interested in books during his studies, but he also had a mentor around him who could answer his questions, which suddenly opened up his horizons and structure.

During the contact process, He Xiling saw Zuo Zongtang's shortcomings. At this time, he paid great attention to teaching methods and did not point out Zuo Zongtang's shortcomings in person, but based on his advantages. , to encourage and praise.

It can be said that in the golden period when Zuo Zongtang’s interest sprouted, he met two mentors who followed their instructions and taught students in accordance with their aptitude. In addition, Zuo Zongtang followed his own heart and interests, and he soared on the road to practical learning.

His golden growth period coincided with the transformation of local education ideas from old to new in China. If he wanted to go far, he had to be determined, face the difficulties, and become a challenger to break the old system.

Therefore, people can’t just bury their heads in the road, but also look up at the road.

Especially in today's era of rapid change, the old and the new are constantly being refreshed and replaced. We must continue to iterate so as not to be severely abandoned by this era.

The third point: Choose what you want to choose and give up what you should give up.

Zuo Zongtang started his scientific examination at the age of 14. He had to observe filial piety for six years due to the death of his parents. He actually participated in the scientific examination at the age of 20. The beginning of the scientific examination was also the beginning of an iteration of his life for Zuo Zongtang.

Because Zuo Zongtang had learned the techniques of practical learning and studied Confucian classics in the early stage, the style of his eight-legged essay was very different from that of others. At this time, he discovered that what he had learned before seemed to work , and when he tried to integrate the three, the eight-part essay he wrote was very novel.

For example, in April 1832, while participating in a scientific examination, Zuo Zongtang wrote a composition with his own unique insights:

"Select soldiers and soldiers, be concise and concise" "Jiujie, full-time and meritorious", translated in vernacular, means to select a group of talents who can be used by oneself, organize a refined and capable army, and concentrate on achieving world-class achievements.

You have to know that Zuo Zongtang was able to write such an article when he was young, which shows that he had far-sighted thoughts, and this article became his "voucher" for choosing the path of life. Indeed, he was also completely Just do it according to the book.

Interestingly, Zuo Zongtang was awarded the title of Juren because he wrote articles that integrated practical learning and Confucianism. As a result, even the adjutants in the examination did not understand it. Many people were unable to predict whether it was good or bad, and added The examiners had the opportunity to avoid the dogma of the eight-part essay in selecting talents, and together with some scholars such as He Changling and He Xiling who advocated practical learning, many people were able to break out of the thinking constraints of the eight-part essay, and more people accepted the value of practical learning.

In fact, this is to warn people that a person's success can rely on luck, but if you want long-term and sustained success, you must rely on strength.

Don’t be “blind to what is going on outside the window and only read the books of sages”.

From 1833 to 1838, Zuo Zongtang went to Beijing to take the exam three times. However, he finally got the Jinshi, but was dismissed because of the limited number of places, but he didn't care too much.

There is indeed a theory of destiny in the exam. I remember Xiang Yu said after his defeat with Liu Bang, wasn't this "a crime other than war?", then he joked that he failed the exam, maybe it was " It's not a crime."

The main reason why he failed the exam three times is that the practical thinking skills have been deeply integrated into his blood, and if you want him to follow the form of eight-legged essay, it is simply wrong.

When Zuo Zongtang became an official, he spent all his energy on rectifying the old system, and said: The system is sick, and society needs medicine.

As time passed by, when Zuo Zongtang took the scientific examination, he relied on his interest and persistence to learn the "real talent and practical learning" expected by Emperor Qianlong. However, the old system did not change at that time. Even talented and intelligent people not only do not bring luck, but their thoughts are contrary to it.

As a result, 26-year-old Zuo Zongtang was filled with righteous indignation and announced a permanent strike to express strong resistance. He believed that there was no problem with his own standards and that if he could not pass the exam, it was because of the fault of the national examination system. question.

Hu Linyi and Zeng Guofan had already passed the exam that year, which was a huge blow to Zuo Zongtang. How difficult was it to get a Jinshi exam in the late Qing Dynasty at that time?

For Zuo Zongtang, it was 10 times more difficult to pass the Jinshi exam than it is to take the Tsinghua University exam today.

But what is surprising is that Zuo Zongtang did not take the Jinshi exam seriously, and repeatedly prevented his son from going to Beijing to take the Jinshi exam. Although Zuo Zongtang chose to study in practice, under the old system at that time, But it became "astray". But fortunately, in the end, he turned this misguided path back to the right path.

Later, he still chose the path of practical learning that he was interested in, and gave up taking the Jinshi examination.

Therefore, choose what you want to choose, give up what you should give up, and what kind of person you want to be is not defined by others, but by you.

Point 4: Those living at the bottom of material poverty are the best teachers.

As the saying goes: modern thinking emerges from "local methods".

The 17-year-old Zuo Zongtang focused on agriculture and geography. He really gained depth in his studies after passing the national examination at the age of 20 and after he stopped taking the exam at the age of 26.

Zuo Zongtang boldly referred to the "pushing method" way of thinking used in the Chinese calendar, and also referred to the textual research method of Gui Yanwu to solve the problem. The specific idea is: to know the ancient terrain, first according to the contemporary situation For some maps, the overall framework is drawn, and then each place is detailed to check the name of the place today and what it was called in ancient times. Trace it back from here, compare it with scriptures, history, geography, and check it repeatedly.

Of course, just like when we want to solve a problem, we first find the essence of the problem, then draw the steps or map to solve the problem based on the cause of the problem, and then complete it step by step in detail. If there is a problem, go back and check it again and make modifications repeatedly.

After Zuo Zongtang failed three times, he returned to live in seclusion in the countryside. He was both a farmer and a scholar. He had been dealing with the land for a long time, and he gradually developed a strong affection for the people at the bottom.

It is this hard life of farming and studying that he has never stopped thinking about. Although the life of farming and studying is indeed good, from a Confucian perspective, scholars are not encouraged to farm the land.

Later, in order to correct those statements, Zuo Zongtang wrote in his article:

In ancient times, most educated people farmed while reading.

You see, Yi Yin, who assisted Tang Jian and Shang to destroy Xia, was born in a peasant family. When Zhuge Liang was in Nanyang, he personally cultivated the land. Tao Yuanming also wrote a poem: "I cultivated and planted my own crops. I was still studying at that time."

This does not mean that scholars should not farm their own land. It is a pity that the scholars of the younger generation are careless and do not correctly understand the teachings of Confucius and Mencius. They think that educated people cultivate the land in a polite way. In the end, although they are well-read, they are ignorant of all kinds of crops. They travel around the world all day long and sell various political opinions. But they waste several acres of crops in their own fields. Although such people are called scholars, what is the actual difference between them and unemployed vagrants?

It was the dual identity of scholar and farmer that allowed Zuo Zongtang to examine the profession of farmers from a cultural perspective and made many new discoveries, which were rarely seen in Chinese history.

The reason is that farmers lack literacy and cannot see it themselves, while scholars are separated by mountains and no one can discover it. So he integrated the two disciplines and created a new "marginal science".

Who could have predicted that? This also became the accumulation that he must be innovative in everything he did in his later life, and the countryside gave him a lot of insight and experience.

Get close to the people at the bottom and learn to understand human nature.

In 1840, Zuo Zongtang caught up with the Tao family to divide their inheritance. The Tao family all pursued fame and fortune. Fortunately, with the help of He Xiling and the Tao family's son-in-law Hu Linyi, they were able to calm down.

Zuo Zongtang came to teach in a foreign land. In the eyes of the Tao family, he was regarded as an outsider. The master of the Tao family was the governor during his life, but he had nothing after his death and did not leave behind a fortune. How could the Tao family believe it at that time? Suspicion arose that Zuo Zongtang, the younger in-law, must have embezzled it for himself, so he sent someone to monitor Zuo Zongtang every day.

Everyone knows that he has a stubborn personality since he was a child, he is particularly self-respecting and self-loving, and he also has his own way of being a person. One thing he often says is: It's not worth the trouble for me.

Roughly speaking, it is not worth ruining my innocence over a small matter like Sesame. At that time, he was very aggrieved by being suspected by others.

But he has studied Confucian principles since he was a child, advocating self-righteousness, not complaining when facing doubts, but reflecting on his own heart first. As for what others think, it doesn't matter. What matters is what you think and do.

Being accustomed to the life of swords and swords at the bottom, Zuo Zongtang has honed his strong patience and tenacity, understood the life at the bottom, and learned to have insight into human nature.

So what is human nature?

In "Shang Shu Dayu Mo", there is a Confucian "Sixteen Characters of the Heart": The human heart is only dangerous, the Taoist heart is only weak;

What it talks about is that the laws of the world are subtle and difficult to see clearly; the changes in people's hearts are fleeting and dangerous.

What should scholars do? Don't look at the world first, don't be busy observing others, take care of yourself first. As long as you are upright, sincere, sincere, fair and objective, all the strange phenomena in the world will disappear on their own.

To succeed, one needs individual efforts, guidance from superiors, and supervision from villains.

The villain makes you vigilant, stay awake and reflect in time, and avoid making big mistakes.

Therefore, the road is long and long, and I will search high and low to know what kind of things should be done at what age. Don’t forget, there are these senior masters who can show us the way. What’s the point? What about those who are confused and anxious?