Hello, I'm Tiaojun. Welcome to learn more about China's wisdom and history. If you want to watch this column continuously, please click on the blue word "Follow" above. What I share with you today is to be familiar with the three couplets of Zuo and understand the three stages of life. The sooner you know, the better!
Zuo, one of the four famous ministers of ZTE in the late Qing Dynasty, made great historical contributions: suppressing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, establishing westernization, pacifying Shaanxi and Gansu, recovering Xinjiang and building the northwest. Zuo's life is full of ups and downs, and he is generally very inspirational: 14 took the first place in the boys' exam, and passed the provincial joint exam at the age of 20, but failed many times, and then became a university teacher for more than ten years. It was not until the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement broke out that he officially entered the official career under the recommendation of Lin Zexu and Hu Linyi, and at this time he was 40 years old.
Zuo Yi succeeded in pacifying the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom movement, and was good at recruiting and fighting Zhang. He made a great contribution and was the last governor in a high position. He has served as governor of Fujian and Zhejiang, governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, governor of Liangjiang, non-commissioned officer of Tengger University, minister of military aircraft and second-class officer. In fact, there are both accidental and inevitable factors for Zuo's success, because he read extensively during the low period of his life, devoted himself to studying classics and assiduously studying the art of war. These efforts and efforts are all in preparation for the later "accumulation of wealth and thin hair"!
Zeng Guofan will know people, and the left will fight; Zeng Guofan likes to write letters from home, while Zuo likes to write couplets. If we can understand the three couplets of Zuo, we can understand the three stages of life, so the sooner we know, the better! At the same time, Zuo also explained his life with these three couplets, which also correspond to the three realms of life! Let's take a look!
1, I have no money and I am worried about the world. Handwritten thousands of volumes, God makes friends with the ancients. -Zuo Tang Zong
Interpretation: For a man with lofty ideals, although he is penniless, it does not prevent him from paying attention to the national economy and people's livelihood. For a person who is still angry and has read thousands of books in trouble, the ancients in the book are his confidants and friends.
This couplet was written by Zuo when he won the first place in the boy's exam at the age of 14, which shows that he is ambitious and young. At the same time, he also used this sentence to motivate himself. This couplet just corresponds to the stage of life's determination to study hard. There is no limit to learning the sea, only by laying a solid foundation can we go further! In the words of Mr. Wang Guowei, a master of Chinese studies, it is "the west wind withered the green trees last night, and I climbed the stairs alone to look at the horizon", which is the first realm of life-"reason" (morality).
It's like we need to read thousands of books, make friends with the ancients and learn more from their wisdom in the study stage from primary school to university, but we should not "concentrate on reading sage books and ignore things outside the window" but "care about everything in the world"! Zuo's dormant reserve period at this stage is very long. He started studying at the age of 4, until he met Bole and recommended him to be an official at the age of 40, ***36 years, but it was this solid foundation that made him brilliant in the future!
2, it can really be ground by the sky. If it is not attractive, it is mediocrity. -Zuo Tang Zong
Interpretation: A truly indomitable person can bear all kinds of hardships from God, and a person who is not jealous is truly mediocre!
When Zuo said this, it was the time when his career was successful and his reputation was in full swing. Because his grades are getting bigger and bigger, he has also attracted all kinds of frame-ups and jealousy from his colleagues, so he also feels it. Despite being jealous and persecuted, Zuo was not discouraged. On the contrary, he takes pleasure in pain, has a good attitude and expresses his persistent optimism.
In the words of Mr. Wang Guowei, a master of Chinese studies, it is that "clothes are getting wider and wider without regrets, and people are haggard for Iraq", which is the second realm of life-"keep your job and keep your reputation". When a person reaches middle age and has a successful career, it will inevitably arouse the envy of others. Therefore, we should actively adjust our mentality and encourage ourselves with a left sentence: "Those who can be ground by heaven are true Chinese, and those who don't make people jealous are mediocre." Don't give up, don't give up, make persistent efforts and crush all doubts of others with your own strength and virtue.
Make good wishes, get married and enjoy the next blessing. If you choose to stand tall, sit flat and walk wide. -Zuo Tang Zong
Interpretation: People should have ambition, just seek a moderate fate and live an ordinary life. Look at problems with foresight, keep a low profile and leave room for things.
This couplet is Zuo's most classic famous saying, even learned from a successful entrepreneur like Li Ka-shing, and hung on the wall of his office. This pair of couplets was written by Zuo in his later years in Meiyuan, Wuxi, Jiangsu. At the same time, it also shows his calm and peaceful mentality at that time, and it is also the precipitation after he gave up the spirit of being competitive when he was in his prime, which belongs to the great enlightenment of life.
Zuo Tang Zong was ambitious when he was young. Later, he found that there was a gap between his dream and reality, and it was inevitable that it would backfire, so he only sought the golden mean. For the enjoyment of life, Zuo thinks: it is not luxury food that is good, but the happiest life of ordinary people, and the plain life is true!
Zuo's ambition when he was young was far-sighted and arrogant. After becoming an official, he not only liked high-profile, but also liked to fight with others, which offended many colleagues. So in his later years, he realized the truth of "being lenient" and finally understood that being a low-key person and leaving room for things should be regarded as his repentance for the mistakes he made when he was young!
In the words of Mr. Wang Guowei, a master of Chinese studies, it is "looking for him in the crowd." Looking back suddenly, the man was there, and the lights were dim ",that is, the third realm of life-"getting "(getting enlightenment). The sooner we young people understand the left couplets, the better. We can take fewer detours, and then be ambitious, just seeking a moderate fate and living an ordinary life. Look at problems with foresight, keep a low profile and leave room for things.
These are three classic couplets of Zuo, which explain his life and correspond to the three realms of life-standing, defending and winning. If we can be familiar with the three couplets of Zuo, we can understand what to do in the three stages of life-youth, middle age and old age, and what kind of mentality to be a person, so the sooner we know, the better.