So, I couldn't wait to buy the "Kang Zhen Book Series" published by Zhonghua Book Company. As soon as I moved home, I immediately opened the book "Kang Zhen talks about Ceng Gong", just like a hungry person suddenly got good food, plunged into it and "ate" it in one breath before feeling happy! I haven't had this feeling for many years. Now that I think about it, I still feel really enjoyable!
From afternoon till dark, I finally finished reading Kang Zhen on Ceng Gong. After reading it, I was even more moved, and I couldn't calm down for a long time: among the eight people, Ceng Gong was the only one who studied hard while taking on the responsibility of supporting his family; Among the eight great scholars, Ceng Gong is the latest one who entered the examination, but he is also the one with the most family members in the examination of the same subject. Among the eight masters, Ceng Gong was the only one who was famous all over the world before he was admitted to Jinshi. Among the eight great people, Ceng Gong's brilliance may be the least, but he is a shining star stubbornly relying on his own energy, and he seldom uses the brilliance of others to foil himself. Therefore, among the "Eight Masters of Tang and Song Dynasties", Ceng Gong is the closest to us and has the greatest reference value for us. That is, as long as you persevere, as long as you work hard and never give up, you will be able to achieve one thing or two, and you will be able to leave your own memories in the history books.
Mao Kun of the Tang and Song Dynasties in the Ming Dynasty advocated learning the ancient prose of the Tang and Song Dynasties, and compiled the Notes of Eight Famous Writers in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Since then, Ceng Gong, together with Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, Ouyang Xiu, Su Shi and others, has joined the ranks of the best essayists in ancient China, and has been handed down for hundreds of years. Why did Mao Kun choose Ceng Gong? Is it to make up the number, just put a little-known ordinary literati in? Of course not! That's because Ceng Gong is an excellent essayist and essayist.
Several other great writers in the literary world at that time had their own characteristics: Su Shi's articles were spontaneous and mixed; Su Xun's article Wang Yang is unrestrained and vigorous; Wang Anshi's article is steep and forceful; Ouyang xiu's articles are calm and easy, soothing nature; Su Zhe's article Wang Yang is indifferent, mellow and clean. Compared with them, Ceng Gong's articles set a new example, which is pure thought, correct attitude, elegant language, rigorous layout, down-to-earth style and practical purpose. This is also the beauty of an article, an aesthetic style and standard. The reason why the big names in the Northern Song Dynasty praised Ceng Gong so much is that they praised this new style and beauty of articles, which is the main reason why Ceng Gong became Ceng Gong and was able to stand on the literary scene in the Northern Song Dynasty.
Ceng Gong's articles are correct, pure and simple, and the reason why future generations admire him is because he has very pure and elegant Confucianism. Then, why did Ceng Gong have such an idea and write such an article? There is no doubt that there will be what kind of articles if there is what kind of personality, and Ceng Gong's personality is tempered from this difficult life. Ceng Gong is a great essayist, but first of all, he has a strong sense of responsibility, and he has the courage to take responsibility and practice it: he not only makes a living for his family, but also seeks a way out for his younger brothers and sisters, without relaxing their education.
Ceng Gong's life is relatively simple. He began to study in his teens, and until he entered the imperial examination at the age of 39, he worked and studied in his hometown for 21 years. Later, he went out and worked as a local official for more than 2 years. He did not participate in or experience major political events like Ouyang Xiu and Wang Anshi, nor did he spend his life in stormy waves like Han Yu and Su Shi. His life experience is not very rich and simple, so he gradually develops a quiet and introverted personality.
The twenty-one years of "staying at home" is actually a joke, which is not accurate. To be exact, I studied hard at home for 21 years for the sake of a large family. During this period, all kinds of difficulties and frustrations made Ceng Gong breathless: Ceng Gong's eight-year-old mother died, and since she was 14 or 15 years old, she has been studying with her father. At the age of eighteen, their father lost his official position and they returned to their hometown of Nanfeng. Since then, Ceng Gong has begun to shoulder the burden of family life. How heavy is this burden of life? Ceng Gong has an 8-year-old grandmother, a 5-year-old father, a stepmother, a brother, four younger brothers and nine younger sisters, while Ceng Gong's father and brother are not good at managing the family. The problem of dressing and eating for dozens of people in the whole family depends on Ceng Gong. His stepmother takes care of the housework, while Ceng Gong seeks a living outside. He has a poem "Reading", which describes his difficulties in making a living: "...... how many years have passed, and the family has become independent. Business is crowded with people, and the four sides are wandering around. A suit is like a flying cloud, flying in the wind. The mountains and rivers are boundless, and the risks are strange. Sunset Tiger Leopard, I haven't parked my car. The waves move the dragon, and we sail. ...... "
However, the other side of the truth is really like this: in the second year of Jiayou, Song Renzong was admitted to the Jinshi in Ceng Gong at the age of 39. At the same time, his younger brothers Zeng Mou, Ceng Bu, cousin Zeng Bu, brother-in-law Wang Qi and Wang Yanshen were also admitted to the Jinshi in the same scientific examination, and six people in the same subject; In the next ten years, my brother Zeng Zai, my brother-in-law Guan Jinghui, my brother's son Zeng Ye and my brother Zeng Zhao were all admitted to Jinshi. In the past ten years, there have been poets in Zeng's family who have been admitted to Jinshi. I have to say that Ceng Gong is the creator of this miracle.
So, how did Ceng Gong overcome difficulties in such a difficult life, persist in reading and studying, and lead his brothers to the road of success in the imperial examination step by step?
First, under difficult circumstances, Ceng Gong insisted on studying and taking the imperial examinations. Try again and again, but you don't care! At the age of thirty-five, I took the exam with my brother, and both failed in the exam. When I returned to my hometown, I was ridiculed by my fellow villagers: such a poor family can hardly eat, and I still want to be a dragon and a phoenix all day! However, Ceng Gong's attitude towards this is that "Nanfeng does not mind, and urges his brothers not to be lazy."
Second, Ceng Gong is brilliant and has always been appreciated by many great writers such as Ouyang Xiu. Therefore, although Ceng Gong felt pain in the face of reality, it was more important for him to gain the appreciation and esteem of Ouyang Xiu and others. You know, great pain is also a kind of strength for people with unique ambitions and tenacious will.
compared with the villagers in Ceng Gong, these people completely belong to another world, another realm. Therefore, in the past twenty-one years, Ceng Gong has been studying hard to achieve success while supporting his family, because he is in Nanfeng and his heart is in another world.
Third, always keep a correct and healthy attitude. When he failed in the exam at the age of 24, Ouyang Xiu felt worthless for him and wrote a letter to comfort him. But Ceng Gong himself didn't even complain. He didn't criticize the candidates in the exam, and didn't blame the imperial examination authorities. He just told Ouyang Xiu that he was going home, continued to broaden his knowledge, and stuck to his ambition in order to take the exam again next year.
I think it is common for a person to encounter setbacks and failures. The key is to find problems not from society and others, but from himself. Ceng Gong's articles are pure and correct, which is related to his Confucian cultivation, but more importantly, he can always maintain a correct and healthy attitude in the process of studying, working and making friends. What is a correct and healthy attitude? It is to maintain an understanding attitude towards society and others as much as possible. If a person can do this, then society, people and even the whole world will become more glorious, more hopeful and more promising in his eyes. A person whose team world is full of expectation and hope will have a bright future. The more knowledge such a person has, the richer, more beautiful and more open his mind. Ceng Gong is such a person.
Therefore, among the eight masters in the Tang and Song Dynasties, Ceng Gong's personality is not as distinct as Han Yu's, his birth is not as prominent as Liu Zongyuan's, his rank as an official is not as high as Wang Anshi's, his talent is not as outstanding as Su Shi's, and his influence is not as good as that of Su Xun and Su Zhe's. But Ouyang Xiu, Wang Anshi, Su Shi and Su Zhe all admire Ceng Gong and have high opinions. Why? It relies on Ceng Gong's own real skills-kind quality, honest morality, pure articles, and a sincerity of diligent housekeeping and simple cultivation.
After reading Ceng Gong, I don't feel that if an ordinary person wants to do something, he has to calm down and do it persistently, and it will be done slowly.